Our friend, Alaskan Pablo joined our table and we all feasted well tonight.

Captain Pablo's restaurant fileted and served the tuna to our table. How cool was that! A very dark fish meat and absolutely wonderful. Cheers to the fisherman. Oh look! A saved chicken!

Juan Marcos still waiting on the beach. A very tough job, but 'one for the team'.

Wow! Four nice sized fish. (only 3 shown here) Yellow fin tuna! Great job you two. There is going to be a lot of fish tonight. I believe the largest fish was 9000 pounds. Slightly up every time they tell the story. Although it began about 8 kilos or 20 pounds.

Finally at about 1pm, the fishermen returned. Was it going to be chicken or fish tonight? The big question.

Juan Marcos decided not to join them and was forced to wait on the beach. I constantly searched the horizon for their boat. Gotta love the horizon.

Captain Pablo operates a restaurant and charter service out of Sayulita and at dark-thirty, I got Len on a bus pointed in that direction.

Day 6 of 9 for Bec/Len visit. Thursday (yes I am) Feb 24, 2011

Today was long awaited by Len who together with Pedro, were going to take a fishing charter and catch dinner for 6 of us.

Tonights menu included the Juan Marcos Signature hamburgesa con queso. Without a grill, a person has to be a bit creative. I made up the burgers with egg, bread crumbs, horseradish, Worcestershire, and Fagundes seasoning. I then pan seared them in garlic, butter, and olive oil. I finished them in the oven topping them with some Manchego. (Mexican cheese) Enjoy.

One never knows what might happen at Joe Crows: Bartenders Ty and Courtney along with a regular, attempt the boot skoot boogie.

Len and Juan Marcos discuss their dance steps at Joe Crows, or was it fishing thoughts, or politics?

A Mexican commute after a tough day. A whole lot better than mine was.

This was the site of most of today's activity: The Mezzo Giorno Beach Club. A fantastic place to relax while they bring you their oversized beach towels, beverages, and some awesome food.

Since Sister Bec said she would eat almsot anything, I just thought that maybe chicken claws were included. They weren't. Quite affordable by the kilo!

A small sample of a typical bakery departement in Mexico. Grab a pizza pan, some bbq tongs, and start wandering through the department. Bring your selections to the counter where they bag and mark them for checkout. Very cool.

Day 5 of 9 of Bec/Len visit. Wed. Feb 23, 2011

This is my 2nd home when it comes to buying groceries. I first try to get them at the small local ma/pa stores in town, but when that fails, I head to MEGA. There are also 5-6 banks, ATMs, and money exchanges located in this complex. A 50 cent bus ride from my condo.

Only one EMS moment that we are calling a shark attack. (right Len?) Couldn't afford bait. or.....a minor slip on the wet rocks as we attempted to forge a 2" deep river on the way to the falls. "It's just a flesh wound!" (Monty Python)

All you need is a wheelbarrow, scale, and nuts to start a business in Mexico.

Now there is a boatload of FUN! This was our water shuttle to the beaches.

For those that took the 2 mile challenge, the reward was a beautiful waterfall. I highly recommend it.

Brother and sister take a moment from their return hike so the tour guide could catch up.

Talk about two very frightened lizards! Pedro shows his composure as these two guys take a dump.

Los Arcos is the Spanish name for these rocks in Banderas Bay. (The Arches) Gorgeous spot where most tourists don snorkeling gear and thrash in the water to attract sharks. We decided not to join them today.

A gigante sea turtle surfaces for a Kodak moment and charges us 25 pesos. Without a reference scale, you are going to have to believe that this guy was over 3 foot long.

Let me explain that this photo is of the Puerto Vallarta coastline, not Pedro's Green Bay Packer hat or any other obstructions.

No, not the bar setups.....look at the massive whale! That's how close they were. We got an unexpected treat as we watched several whales and their offspring play. Very very cool.

A three-hour tour. (you're supposed to be humming the theme song to Gilligan's Island) Bec, Len, and Pete have no idea what's in store for them today. They weren't disappointed.

Tuesday-Thursday could be cruise ship day in PVR and today was no exception. Two huge ships were docked across from WalMart as we stopped to pick up some more passengers.

Day 4 of 9 for Ben/Len visit. Feb 22, 2011 Shamballa Bay Cruise! This is the same tour as the Kontiki II tour that I took several times last year. (they sold that boat) By 7:30am we had met Pedro at the bus stop and made our way to Nuevo Vallarta (Paradise Village) to join this 9 hour tour of Bandaras Bay. A really fun way to spend a day in Mexico. (see me for best prices)

The day was completed with a stop at The Shamrock for their powerful 2 x 1 (two for one) national drink. aka....margarita. Two were plenty.

Even the flat people have to eat, although not much. So the fries and hot dogs were finished by their relatives. To those that are counting, three, not just one or two, flat people made the trip.

This is evidence that security at Vista Vallarta was lacking....Juan Marcos managed to get in.

Other than the large walking obstruction, the first impression of Vista Vallarta is quite good.

The pina colada tree, sometimes called the coconut palm is found all over in Bucerias and Mexico.

Sometimes the views from your lounge chair are horrible. This time they weren't. Enjoy. We did.

Day 3 of 9 for Bec/Len visit. Monday. Today our motto was...."relaxation" and indeed that is what we did, well. Here we have Bec and Len preparing to de-stress on Vista Vallarta lounge chairs overlooking the Banderas Bay.

And finally we can check 'sunset' off our list, as we calmy watch the end of yet another day in paradise. The round of chairs and fire were connected to some ancient burning ritual, or else part of the wedding celebration.

"Another one bites the dust!" was not played at this sandy wedding. Muy bonita comes to mind.

As sunset nears, Len and Pedro are trained to avert their eyes from the beach candy.

Even the flat children were allowed to play today, as they attempt to tame a herd of elephants. Or is it a pod?

At the town square, Pedro, Juan Marcos, and Len seriously discuss the political unrest in Madison.

Pedro y Sharon giving tours of Casa Sharon, their fantastic bungalow in Villas Del Palmar.

Day 2 of 9 for Bec/Len visit. Sayulita! Here we see Juan Marcos walking towards Casa Sharon at the beginning of a wonderful day in Sayulita. Only thing on the list: sunset.

Which way did they go? Chef Juan Marcos looks very confused. Not the first, nor the last.

A short tour of Bucerias with a stop at the ocean before happy hour was on the agenda.

The table was set for a Juan Marcos specialty......Rustic roasted jitomates y poblano y chipolte chile marinara con camarones over spaghetti rigati. Served with iceberg lettuce, roasted pecans, dried cranberries with my honey dijon mustard vinaigrette. For dessert we shared khalua cheesecake and tres leche capacino.

Day 1 of 9 of Len and Bec's visit. On Saturday, Feb 19th, my sister Bec and husband Len from Tacoma WA arrived. It was their first visit to Mexico. They snuck their flat grand-children into their suitcases and saved a bundle in airfare.

Maybe this is just plain mean after the snowstorms in WI and WA, but I had to take and send it. Note that both of these cervezas are not for me. And note the sun-soaked legs!

Ok, I know. I haven't written in several days, so I thought I would send a teaser. Imagine the fear on the Iguana's face!

Armed with a new limerick (c b low) and in order to properly toast my friend, Ron Wink from Fond du lac, who suddenly passed away last weekend, I headed over to my favorite Irish pub here in Bucerias. Smiling Politely a 2pc band from Vancover, BC was due to play at 9pm.
Brothers Dave & Duane Keogh are actually part of a 5 piece band called TheTownPants.com and have produced several cds with their latest being Shore Leave. (like I remembered all of that) They were fantastic as my head will attest this morning. A couple of pints would have sufficed nicely, but oh noooo, I had to have a few liters of Negro Modelo.
As an added bonus, mi amigos, Ricardo y Leslie, showed up to join in the festivities. The band will also be performing Thursday and Friday.

And here’s to you Ron Wink! Salud! You will be greatly missed.


There once was a young man named Ron Wink
Who rarely was given to drink.
But buy him a beer
He’d talk off your ear,
So tonight let’s toast Ron, do you think?