The last post for 2012

the last pose

As we prepare to pack up the question before us both was - did the great experiment work? That was how does one fill a month in a different place without blowing the budget or going mad and killing th3e marriage? As Doreen puts it "We just do what we would do at home except we are doing it in the sunshine and warmth."

All I can say is that without an internet connection and a ton of books on my e-reader I would be climbing the walls right now. For instance this morning's attitude was, "we have to get out  of here." A solid day of rain and a broken internet connection can only be stretched so far. So what happened to us this morning was a wonderful surprise. We got on a green bus marked "Centro". Normally green buses serve the suburbs and don't venture downtown, so we usually use the blue ones. Anyway this green bus was marked Centro but still took us all around the 'burbs and streets that we have never seen before before we got to Centro. Pittilal is a very interesting place that few 'gringos' venture into without purpose, not because it is not safe - it is - but because they have no need to visit.

a mountain view fom the seventh floor

Arriving downtown with little ambition we meandered around, rediscovered the farmers' market and walked up and down a few streets just idling. Stopping at a real estate office we had a conversation with Monty who told us he had plenty of rentals for next year, including four in the newest condo downtown. Walking over to look, it was built on the lot that we parked the car on three years ago, we walked in a went to the seventh floor - it was a magnificent view and worth the effort. This place could be ours next year for only $1800 a month.

As we arrived back at the Plaza Marina to wind down we realised that as it stands now we must do this again next year!

Thanks for reading this travelogue.

Monday and it's time to catch up

Brother Charles left us on Saturday, but just before we parted at the airport we had to taste "the best burritos in the world" so says the champ of burrito munchers - Patsy's Sandy B. The tacos hang out in a small roadside cafe under the pedestrian arch at the airport, a quick and easy walk for us all. Marlin tacos are the speciality of the house and they were good. One odd thing was that the waiters directed us the store next door to buy the beer. Inside the terminal the place was just as crowded this week as it was last week. Saturday is a bad day to travel to and from PVR.

Sign advertising the Primary elections downtown

Sunday was the start of phase three - the next ten days are ours; will we be able to stand ourselves? Skipping the walk because we had to be downtown by ten o clock. We were off to see the Constitution Day Parade. Not knowing what it was we just hopped a bus and got off where we thought it might be. Arriving at the main square we saw hundreds of people neatly queued in a circular line around the square. As we stood the lineup grew and we were intrigued. Walking to the front and spying tables and ballot boxes political juices kicked in and interest was piqued. A fellow with a nametag identifying him as a candidate's representative appeared and I asked what was going on. He told us it was a Primary Election for the PAN party and all were here to vote on their selection for three positions - President, Governor and National Deputy. All we could think was that these were mighty committed folks. When we came back a few hours later we saw from the bus that the lines had become bigger. Congratulations to the organisers for getting out the vote; most people had to travel in to Town to do this.

It turned out the parade was the Annual Charros de Puerto Vallarta celebration. PV is based on farming and cattle ranching is a big part of this and any occasion that lets the industry dress up and parade is a welcome and festive  opportunity. This year was the fifteenth year for the parade. We had been told it was on the Malecon, but nothing was happening there at the appointed time. Seeing a family, on horses, coming down the street we decided to follow them to find out what was really going on - people on the street did not know. Over the bridge into Old Town we came upon the collection of horse trailers and 'charros'. Asking them about the time we were told "11am". Good, time for a coffee at the "Page in the Sun". Back at the Malecon an hour later the crowds had swelled but we sat down on the roadside step and waited.

The parade consisted of about one hundred and fifty horses and riders, two bands and a couple of roping exhibitions. A community and family affair the riders lined up by the regional associations that they belonged to. Except the women's team they rode as one. Loudly cheered by all on the sidelines. There were three roping displays, two charros on the ground and one on his horse. The parade finished with the cleanup crew armed with brooms and shovels picking up the "pucks".

Feeling hungry and knowing where there was a good place to eat, we walked over to "Fredy Tucan's" this restaurant specialises in breakfasts and closes at two in the afternoon, We arrived at twelve forty-five to see the usual lineup. This place is very popular with the Mexicans even though it is completely Americanised in makeup. Hearing the constant refrain - "fifteen minutes to wait" we knew it was going to be longer - and it was.

Completely fed and watered back to the Plaza Marina and into the grocery store to buy a couple of days supplies. Into the pool and called it a day.

here is a video of one of the ropers at the parade

Thanks to the readers for coming in everyday

Had a post ready but the pics never materialised - no memory card in the camera - had a couple of good ones too.

Stay tuned we are off the parade, it's Constitution Day

Sayulita - sleepy no longer

A Beach Band, drummer is only about six years old

Sayulita, a town to the North of PV has been a favourite of ours for years. With a reputation of being more laid-back than than the City it has always attracted those looking for peace and quiet. Well folks it is no longer peaceful or quiet, in the original sense. The masses have invaded and now the people looking for p&q are moving further North - San Francisco et al.

However enough of the original charm still exists, mainly due to the smallness of the Town. The streets are now being filled in with  shops and cafes. Hotels appear to be of the Mexican style so the younger crowd prevails. The main attraction is still the surf. Sayulita is recognised as the second-best surfing beach in Mexico, Puerto Escondido is the best. Sandy decided to surf. Hiring a board is cheap and easy, sign the waiver, grab a board and head off into the briny. The rest of us sat down in the sun and waited for the intrepid surfer to get ashore. As usual the waiting place was with drinks at a table on the beach. One  of the reasons for this is that only patrons of the bars are allowed to use their wasrooms, rather a redundant position - have to buy drinks just to use the washroom - definitely only renting the beer.

A word of thanks to the person on the internet who gave us the best tip of the travels - always book the rental car online. When I took the car back, I asked "how much would this rental have cost if I walked through the door?" "Seventy five dollars Senor" As I completed the credit card slip for half of that it felt pretty good. 

Vendors waiting for customers

Stopping in Bucerias, the place that was sleepier before Sayulita was awarded the monicker, we browsed around the flea market, all the while feeling sorry for the vendors who were fighting with a decreasing number of tourists. "Business is bad this year, Senor."

One sight that we will never see in Ontario is the Voter Registration Van. This van will park itself in small towns and register voters. There are upcoming elections and naturally a complete registration list is the backbone of a vibrant democracy. These vans do a good job - MPAC should take notice.

Now for something completely different

We went to the rodeo yesterday! It was fun and hot, we saw 'charros' ride fine horses, saw Mexican locals dress in their finery and (we cannot go anywhere without mentioning this) we ate well. Now for the details.

Having seen all the signs for the "Nacional Charro Championships" hanging from most streetlight poles we knew the cowboys were in Town. Telling us all that the event was being held in the 'Arena Vallarta' was the easy part finding said Arena was much harder. This new Arena had been newly built this year way out of Town. A small village called "Colorado" in fact. Thirty minutes out of Town. So how to get there. Most taxi drivers wanted twenty to twenty-five dollars to take us and there was no guarantee that there would be a taxi to bring us back. So on to the trusty computer at nine-fifteen in the morning to "Mr Thrifty", my car rental pals and booked a car online for ten o clock. BTW booking a car online is the cheapest way to do things. We got a five-seater Nissan for $11.53 per day , but hold the rejoicing, by the time mandatory Mexican insurance and sixteen percent tax is added the final tally came to forty two dollars - still cheaper than two taxi rides to Colorado. So fitted with wheels we set off. Pointed towards the mountains and got out of Town. Navigating the usual danger of "Topes" - vicious speed bumps that are hard to see until one is right on top of them, we made it following the huge blue directional signs. The signs became smaller until the last turn when we saw the incongruous sight of a motorway sign in the middle of nowhere telling us to turnn left onto the dirt road. The dirt road took us through the usual Mexican village sights, dusty houses, smallholdings, chickens and roosters in the yards and horses tied to hitching posts - we were in the Country. Finally we came onto a very wide dirt road that had obviously just been graded. Looking ahead we saw, in the middle of a freshly cropped corn field, the Arena, A brand new steel competition ring with an impressive vinyl roof. We had arrived. "Twenty pesos Senor" ($2 parking fee) "Admission is free" the attendant told us in perfect english. Waved over to the next parking person he meticulously guided us to park on the white line marked in the field that designated the rows. He would not let us park until we had put the front wheels on the white line - such is the mindset, we have a line you will park on it.

Charro on a cell phone - the old meets the new

Suitably impressed by the Stadium we found seats in the nearly front row, we deduced later that had this been a paid admission these seats would have been the "golds" as they were up front and padded flipdowns, as opposed to the nearby 'bleachers'. The show we had come to see was the celebration of the end of the Championships and a fun competition for the local charros. The atmosphere was a fun one not a competition by any means. That meant we saw bulls that had to prodded to buck and missed lariot tosses by the younger charros. What was impressive was the riding displays by the female riders - all riding side-saddle, see the pic, and the way all were dressed in finery, These were not charros dressed in working clothes. One touch of the modern was the one time, during a speed run, one of the charros received a cell phone call. He immediately pulled up his horse and proceede to answer the call. A clash of centuries.

After a while we were enticed by the smell of the barbecue to investigate. Finding a restaurant, with table cloths in a tent, we looked at the menu - all beef items (what would you expect at a Rodeo?) Doreen chose a burger, she declared it was better than the previous winner of OldTown and I had a plate called "Arrachera". For those trying to translate this Spanish forget it there will always be items on the menu that don't appear in the Berlitz lists of food items, this was one. Turned out to be grilled beef strips and dipping sauce trimmed with grilled green onions. Very tender, good food all round.

Back to the ring it was time for the bullroping. The idea was to demonstrate roping skills but started off with the release of a bull from the chute, and one of the more daring charros would try to be bucked off. The problem was that the bulls must have been more at home in the breeding (hey this is a family tale but the more poetic of you can change the word to rhyme) ring than the bucking ring and they were not inclined to jump. But undeterred the ropers still looped the first toss around the bull's neck and tried to hold tension on the rope to make the bull stand still long enough to allow a second roper to toss a loop under the bull's back feet and then entice the bull to step into it. Once looped at the back the bull was then hauled down, presumably to be branded. Enough of that and the lengthy presentaions, we were off to look at the vendors, Charles wanted to buy a hat, couldn 't find one, they were all either too big or too tight. We left - it was fun - great day!

Two pics that need no explanation but you will get one anyway

#1 - The Beer Warrior
The Beer Warrior, Charles on his way to the pool decided to carry some ammunition to get him through a hot couple of hours. Wrapping the beer sock around his chest he carried six beers - maximum load into action

#2 For Foodies

Pipi's is the home of the fajhita and big meals. The owners must have trained in America, the home of 'big food'.

Ordering for four, three had Fajhitas and one had a Mexican pork loin. All food was judged to be fantastic but way way too much. In fact the pic shows the food we had bagged to take home - enough chicken for another two meals!

We are all here now

0630 hrs

All the siblings have arrived. One esconced in an all inclusive resort two miles down the road and one bunked in with us. Both arrived on AirCanada and both arrived late. Patsy and Sandy delayed just a bit and Charles delayed ninety minutes by the late arrival of the plane into Toronto from Montreal. It's a pity that the easiest and most relaxing airline to fly with is so unreliable on its flight times. We will be meeting Patsy and Sandy later this afternoon as they explore.

Walking to the airport was a ten minute walk and we arrived at the supposed time of the plane's arrival. It was delayed so we bit the bullet and bought a couple of drinks, the most expensive drinks in town, but who cares we are on vacation. The airport was a bloody zoo as seven or eight planes landed within the half hour. And a lot of other people crowded in to meet them, add the chaos of the porters, hucksters and taxi drivers and the place is a mass of movement. Watching it all from the safety of the bar made the experience easier. During the sipping a man emerged from behind the bar a gave out "beer socks" long tubes of insulated plastic festooned with beer names. We are now able to carry six beers that shouldn't get warm when we go to the pool.

Interruption for the walk.

Back to the story, Charles was suitably impressed by the walk amongst half million dollar homes backing on to a golf course - Very picturesque. Armed with free mickey d's coffee we are now ready for breakfast.

The lull before the storm

1030hrs

 Today one of Doreen's sisters (Patsy) arrives for a week, they, she's with Sandy her fiance,  will be staying at an all inclusive resort two kms down the road. Tomorrow Doreen's bro' Charles turns up and he is staying with us. Look forward to seeing them all and posting pics of us doing touristy things. I still haven't found anyone willing to zipline - wussies, but everything else will be sampled. There's a rodeo on in town this weekend may get out to see the Charros.

So what to do today, we have already walked 5kms and eaten a hearty breakfast of cornflakes, yoghurt and banana, all washed down with the free MickyDees coffee. Downtown on the bus for sure, we still have to find the lunch bar that offers a free beer with a hamburger. It may not be here most establishments have a very short business life. Coming back each year it is always fun to discover if the cafe you 'found' last year is still there this year.

to be continued

1600hrs

Tough being here, took a bus (65cents one way) downtown walked from one end of the Malecon to the other, mostly in the shade, arrived at the familiar burger place but no checkered table cloths. Asking the mesaro if the place had changed hands he explained that the owner was stepping back but still owned it, hence the little changes. The burgers were still as big and as good as ever. the one in the pic was advertised as a thick burger with cheese and bacon - and it was. Only 65 pesos a piece. The sad part the beer was not free, but still only a $1.

Walked back up Basillio and caught a bus back to the condo. This time the bus, they are all different, (but as long as you get on one that hasAeropuerto written on the windshield you know you will be going to the right place but you never know the route youare taking) took us through the bypass. Up into the mountains and through the Mexican part of Town and under the mountain through a "Tunel". Definitely a slice of Mexicana.

Quick dip in the pool and now a salad for supper. The salad store is downstairs too. Oh I forgot to tell you I had to buy some more beer!!

Good for Mickey D's

All this for 8 pesos, 6 cents CDN. Part of McDonalds free coffee giveaway. This event must be worldwide as we read about it in a PV forum last week. Seeing the sign, in our walkabout at the Liverpool shopping Plaza, free coffee with a cuenito (croissant) for eight pesos. When the tray was made up there was a flyer for free coffee until feb 3rd. Another great deal for all.

At the same mall we discovered that of the ten movies being played in the CinePlex, three of them were in English, another way to keep American dollars in play, and at five dollars admission (seniors' discount) another great deal.

As the day revolves around the evening meal, we don't buy much food in advance, the immediacy of the supermarket has to be appreciated. Where we are staying is in an apartment/condo complex on the first floor of a large mall complex. The anchor store is a food store called Mexicana Comercial. A very good store to boot.The impressive part is in the prepared food dept, where one has to be at the salsa tray before ten in the morning or else you will miss it, it is so popular, and the way the very responsive staff will cater to your whim. For example find a whole water melon of your choice amid other pieces of melon and they still cut your choice as opposed to telling you to choose from the selection. We did the same with a large piece of salmon. "Can you cut a piece?" (of this nicely packaged larger piece), "Si". A mighty fine piece of fish too.

So back to the supermarket this morning, we have got down to bare shelves in the cupboards.

A day spent at ease

Hands up those of you who know what this device is? Of course you do it's a washing machine - but what kind of washing machine? One with instructions in Spanish and an all in one machine. Set the wash up - wait for it to finish and then dry the clothes in the same machine. So what's so great about it? Its efficiency of course - uses little water and less hydro on the dry cycle. We had seen them in Europe but this was the first time we had to actually use one. No pictographs here, straight in at the deep end. Load it up press the right buttons and wait. The cycle is about three times longer than a normal machine but as said uses much less resources. And the results are just fantastic. Lets just say as we downsize the next cleaning/washing device might just be one of these.

Btut we couldn't hang around and admire the washing all day we had to change some money. Of course that can never be easy as each bank and cambio has a different rate. Today's rate for one US dollar ranges from as low as 12.30 pesos to 13.70 pesos. T bank we normally use is a short bus ride away but that was the easy part. As this bank paid a high rate it was always crowded. And to add to the waiting time was the recollection from last year that upon the first time in the bank a form had to be filled out giving passport and residency details. Anybody changing US money has to show a passport  for ID. Waiting to see the clerk who normally handled the form was painful as he was in the middle of issuing some form of loan to two middle-aged and garrulous women. Interrupting their mirth and merriment after fifteen minutes, I was told, in halting English by all parties involved that a form was not necessary. As  I arrived at the wicket, after another wait of fifteen minutes the first thing the teller told me was that I had to fill out a form. I told her, in a loud and visibly annoyable tone, that "That man told me I didn't have to" However I did, but as soon as she inputted the info into the computer my name popped up. You have been here before, "Yes two years ago." "OK", and I got my money. Just a normal day in Mexico.

A day downtown

After a two mile walk and a small breakfast the bus was sighted and jumped on. Getting off on the far side of the River Cuale (it bisects the Town) we proceeded to reacquaint ourselves with familiar haunts - the Page in the Sun Coffee shop, the Farmers' Market and a walk along the Malecon - the seaside front. The Malecon has been remodelled in record time (warp speed for the Mexicans) and traffic has been rerouted to make the area pedestrian friendly. It works well. We also discovered the greatest bargain of the vacation - a breakfast for less than four dollars USD.

At the end of the malecon a surprise awaited. Each year we have been coming down one of the sights to see was a group of aerial dancers who climb to the top of a one hundred foot pole, arrange ropes around a windlass pole and then spin in the opposite way to the windup to come to ground in thirteen turns. These folks had been displaced by the reconstruction and there was discussion in the forums about their future. Well I guess the Mayor (who manages everything here) decided to allow them to get back in action. This has been the first time we saw the ritual from start to finish - a great show. Walking back to the bus stop, which was not in its usual spot (reconstruction repositioning) we saw a familiar sign CASINO, I guess that word needs no translation. Casinos here are new and small and usually only are slot arcades. The procedure is different one has to buy-in at the cage and all the money goes on a slot card. Cash out when you have won or hide it if you bust. The card is works on all the machines so one can wander. Needless to say we decided the check the place out, load up a card for twenty bucks, play twenty minutes on that money and cashed out ten bucks ahead! 

Back to a home cooked meal of green beans with yesterday's delicious BBQ chicken from the stand downstairs. One whole chicken and boiled/roasted small new potatoes for nine dollars - beats Swiss Chalet every time. Not much on TV tonight, we only have four english channels and two are Canadian - CBC Newfoundland and CTV Halifax. Not much choice unless you want to watch hockey or ice skating. The last hing we want to see is ice. BTW thanks to all those who posted on facebook their snowpics - great entertainment.

More housekeeping

Poolside for a while today as we can't go far beyond the building. We now have a new property management company the owner did not like the way the apartment had not been prepared and acted accordingly. So we have to wait to meet the new management rep later this afternoon. Meanwhile we will meet up with Judith and Gerry again to take possession of their extra bottle of tequila as they leave today to come back to the big city of Colborne. They have used  their  full allowance for duty free. Walked before breakfast again, took a circular route through swanky houses set around the golf course. A few Canadian license plates on the cars parked outside 500K villas, where do these guys get their money from? Nice to look at. Big decision what to do tomorrow? Hasta Manana.

A better day

The day turned out to be a good one after all. The letting agent - pvkid - excelled himself and organised the Mexicans into action. Lucy the maid turned  in a supreme performance and produced North American cleaning standards. Isaac the 'owner's rep' produced a coffeemaker and promised a toaster and patio furniture for the balcony, which was not seen in any of the pics and has been a very nice surprise. One of the joys of living here is a coffee/wine/rubbernecking session on the balcony. At the moment for instance there is a cop standing around two cars, on the other side of the road, and it appears to be a either shakedown or an accident. It's been going on for half an hour. Dusk is falling and the lights are quite magical. We spent the day walking around, getting tomorrow's food and just hanging out at a cafe. This can be done for another twenty-seven days. Combined with the thirty steps on the two sets of stairs and the legs are aching tonight - well we'll have to walk that off tomorrow. The temp when we get up will be about sixty degrees just right for a brisk walk to the beach and back. We did check out the pool and that may be on the agenda. Tomorrow I may also put some thought into the perennial problem in Cobourg sidewalk plowing.

A rocky start

After a pretty placid flight, a couple of turbulence bumps and not much else, we arrived at PVR. The usual customs lineup and then we moved to pick up the baggage and encountered the "button". Mexico has a peculiar system of allocating random baggage checks. As you show the immigration form to the last guy in the process he says, "Press the button". A light will come on. If it is green you get to leave, if it is red you move to an examining table and another guy looks for contraband. What is contraband is unknown to us. But it is part of the process. A bit like winning the lottery.

The condo we have rented was only about six hundred metres from the airport so we decided to walk. In the sunny weather it was a longer walk than we thought but we made it and went to the place where we had to meet the "owner's rep". He wasn't there but the guy who rented us the condo online - "the pvkid" was. "You must be the Burds." He said introducing himself. He then explained that he was waiting for the rep too. Five minutes later a couple turned up full of apologies and then preceeded to find out how to get in the building. The wife took off and Isaac, the rep, took us to the door he thought would lead to the condo. It was the wrong one and we entered the correct one after a couple of phone calls to the wife.

Navigating the stairs and corridors in the large building led us to #6. It was not a pretty sight. The owner obviously had not had it cleaned since the previous letting. We struggled to adjust and then we cried uncle. Seeing a Comfort Inn right next door we went over and booked a room, phoned the 'pvkid' and let him have it with both barrels. Promising to phone later we went to the room #407. Pvkid phoned, told us that he had arranged a cleaning crew and the owner had agreed that she should pay for our stay in the hotel.

We slept soundly not really looking forward to the next phase - the reentry and rewind to day one

Two more sleeps and we kiss this stuff goodbye. Lists made, bags out from the closet and the thinking is Mexican.

Three more sleeps!

And the bags aren't even hauled out from the basement. However lists have been prepared and all house expenditures  are viewed from the lens of "Do we need it and can we stretch it until Monday?" Meanwhile ziploc bags are at a premium as we stow electronic gizmos and personal items in them for travelling. A list has been prepared for inventory purposes and this year we will have to inspect the house and label light switch locations for the hordes of house buyers that will infect the place as soon as we leave.

Preparing for the 2012 trip

Yep we are off again. This time on the 17th January for FOUR weeks. Doreen and me for three and a couple of family members for a week, that means the dynamic duo - ben & Doreen, will be cheek and jowel for twenty eight days. Can we survive, will we be in the same bedroom at the end of the stay and will we speak to each other when we come back?

Come back to find out writing starts on the 17th and continues as the urge strikes.