This Saturday come and celebrate St Patrick’s Day at The Shamrock Irish Pub’s
6th Annual Festival. We have live music all day, with local bands and direct
from Ireland, this year we have Mark Kane joining us, plus much more musical
entertainment.The list of attractions is huge, there will be fun and games
for all the family, great food available all day including Corned beef and
cabbage, Irish Stew, our famous Pot Pies and more. There’s plenty to do for
the kids too, with donkey rides, trampolines, face painting and games throughout
the day. Admission is just 50 pesos for adults with kids under 12 free. There
will be lots of space and ample seating. We also have a VIP section,
reservations are available now or just pay on the day.For our band line up,
more information and for any questions you might have, please Facebook us at https://www.facebook.com/theshamrockbar or email us at theshamrockbar@gmail.comWe also have a stand for the charity PEACE, our local charity who does so much for the area. We have lots of merchandise and of course commemorative tee shirts for this year as
always.We look forward to seeing all our old friends and hope to make some
new ones too!

Ice cold beer and beverages! Get your Ice cold beer, here!

Gillian and Rita smile as they take a 5 second break from selling tickets and wristbands.

There is nothing I can add to this photo. (so I won't)

The lovely Carmina was working the V.I.P lounge upstairs. And they sang.....When Irish eyes are smiling, Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring. In the lilt of Irish laughter You can hear the angels sing. When Irish hearts are happy, All the world seems bright and gay. And when Irish eyes are smiling, Sure, they steal your heart away.

Ivan the leprechaun was a natural today. He really did color his hair for this special occasion.

Even Natalie made an appearance and quickly jumped in to help behin the bar.

A 1000 words in a picture or a 1000 pints of Guinness? Gotta love it.

The Soundboard to help mix the music, food, drinks, and dancing. Great job.

Again, great performances by all the musicsias. Thanks to Rob Hill and Mark Kane, the fiddler, for a week of his un-ending musical and comical talents.

"In Dublins fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I once met a girl called sweet Molly Malone, As she wheeled her wheelbarrow, through the streets broad and narrow Cryng cockles and mussels` Alive alive

Alive alive oh, Alive alive oh Crying cockles and mussels, Alive alive oh."

Two lovely young lassies were eager to help take food orders.

Dana & Mike strike a pose. Mike did much of the chef-ing for this wonderful event. Dana, along with the entire staff of The Shamrock, was hustling all day. Thanks.

And they arrived at The Shamrock in all kinds of green garb singing........
"Her eyes, they shone like the diamonds. You'd think she was queen of the land, And her hair hung over her shoulders, Tied up with a black velvet band.

"Everyone can use a donkey!" A famous Silvian quote.

The Elias Mann is a 68 foot sailing vessel (tip to tip) that holds up to 24 passengers and 4 crew members. The perfect ship for a 3-hour tour. (you should be humming the Gilligan's Island tune about now) Our tour was closer to 8 hours.

Brenda (friend from PA) begins the day with some OJ and fresh fruit. The crew took excellent care of all us....all day.

A humpback whale taken with an inexpensive Nikon that was not zoomed in. Yes, this magnificent creature was THAT close to the ship. Awesome. Her newborn calf was along side her.

The competition with perhaps 120 passengers was no match for the Elias Mann. We had only 8 passengers. You read that correctly.....8 plus a crew of 4. How sweet!

Aye maties! Captian Juan Marcos at your service. Although the travel time was almost 2 hours to Yelapa, it was relaxing and.....that's all that matters.

Yes tequilla makes you crazy.....a little. 8 passengers and 5 were women. Can you spot the loco? All drinks on the ship were included, and even a few during lunch. All food was included.

For the snorkelers in the group, good equipment was furnished. The waters are not the clear blue gulf waters of Cancun, but reports of some awesome fish from below made the adventure worth it.

Since a dock was not available, our personalized shuttle boat worked great. Embarkation was a bit tricky.

During lunch at Yelapa, Izzy the Iguana finds a home on Sarah's head while Jonathan enjoys his cerveza.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This was my view from the lunch table at Yelapa. Can you find the water?

After a short walk through town, we found ourselves at the base of this waterfall. Perfect for cooling off, quickly.

The 4-member crew of the Elias Mann handled the hallenge of 8 lucky passengers. Job well done!

The trip back to Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta was spectacular! We had dropped off 6 of the passengers, so only two of us (plus crew) enjoyed this moment. A great finish to the day.

Let me begin by applogizing to my readers for taking a few days off. Plenty has happened since the last post, but I am going to jump into yesterdays story.

Wow! What an adventure we had yesterday. But before I forget, go to the following site for more info on this fantastic charter Brenda and I took yesterday....... http://pegasochartering.com.mx/yelapa-waterfalls.html

I also recommend that if you're staying in Bucerias, go to JDTours for a great price on this charter. Expect to pay around $75-$80 for this all day tour. Be surprized when you don't.

www.JDTOURSvallarta.com

Mi amiga, Brenda, was introduced to my favorite restaurant in La Cruz....El Coleguita!

Between the free flowing Don Roberto Reposado, the camarones topped Tecate cervezas, and grande margaritas.....I forgot what I was going to write.

Richardo begins his self-made commercial for Salsa Huichol Picante. A popular hot sauce in these parts of the country. About 75 cents at your local grocery store.

Brenda went with the "Lonja Coleguita" which consists of a large portion of Durado filet con camarones. Most excellent! I stayed with my tried and true "Coco Loco". The leftovers easily made two more meals.

Last night was El Coleguita, Round II. This time Pedro y Sharon joined me in yet another fin Friday feast in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.

The 50 peso margaritas are indeed Grande. That's about $4.00 USD. Tecate cerveza was going for 25 pesos, do the math, and included two nice sized camarones crammed into the opening. They went well with one of the starters, the fish soup. Yum! The tequila, lets just say it was included.

Sharon had decided on the Mignon of the Sea which were three bacon wrapped MahiMahi fish medallions with shrimp that had been cleverly tooth-picked into the side. Most delicious.

The Juan Marcos usual, The Coco Loco, which if memory serves me correctly, was the same dish I had last time. It really was that good. As I write this, I am enjoying a 2nd meal of the coconut crusted fish which in this photo is trying to hide beneath the 10 camarones.

Here was Pedro's meal, before it came. The diet plate. No food, no calories. No cost.

And when it did arrive, there were no disappointments. Pedro had decided on the Shrimp Combination. A trio of succulent camarones including, garlic, butter, breaded, and diablo style. Yes those are thin strands of red chilis in the photo. I recommend you have a cooling beverage within arms reach.

El Coleguita is an extreme coupon shoppers kind of restaurant. For a fixed price of 109 pesos or about $9.00, you get more food than a normal person can devour. After a couple beverages each, the bill came to a total of $500 pesos. Or about $40 for three people. And enough food each for lunch the next day. Oh, I almost forgot the taxi cost of 8 pesos per person. 60 cents each way.

Are you beginning to understand that a person can retire, travel and eat out (once in while)?

Bon Appetit!

Juan Marcos

Here we have the infamous "Monkeys House" located on the beach in Bucerias, Mexico. What a fine example of craftsmanship here in Mexico. For the past 3 years, I have admired this place and desired to gather more information on it. This trip, Pedro & were successful.

For those interested, go to this site to see more pictures of the cool Mexican Palace. There is also a contact listed for more info and reservations.

Here is a view from the oceanside looking at the back of the structure. (or front, depending on the theory of relativety)

The balcony on the 2nd level of three. This level has large sliding windows with magificent views of the bay. All the rooms have a wireless internet connection.

Although the rooms are not large, they have plenty of space for a couple, and include a large bed, small but very functional kitchen, and nice sized bath.

We were fortunate to have met an Italian couple, Angela y Agustino, who were living here and even more fortunate to have been invited over, last night, for an absolutely wonderful homemade pizza dinner with two of Angela's latest salad creations.

As they might say in Italian, "Che è stata una cena deliziosa!" With a nice glass of vino tinto....yum!

And WHAT A SUNSET! Viewed from their patio. Breathtaking doesn't do it justice.

Bon Apettit! (just to mix my languages)

Juan Marcos

No doubt about it, it was a Vista Vallarta day! Vista V. as I've written about several times, is a quiet resort that is a 20 minute stroll from Casa Juan Marcos. Today, I simply wanted to listen to last Sunday's sermon in a beautiful setting, do some recreational reading to surpass a self-imposed goal of 10 books while in Mexico, and to simply take a siesta with the waves crashing in front of me. Score Three!

After the two weeks of a unusual weather pattern that had rain & clouds dominating the skies, it has been refreshing to get back to boring. High of 80 and a low of 65. Love it.

Buenos Tardes, mi amigoa!

Juan Marcos

Carrots, celery, garlic, red/yellow/green peppers, red & white onions, poblano, jalepeno, serrano, and Chile de Abol were finely chopped. All veggies were gathered from local markets.

Roasted jitomates which have been marinated with EVOO and garlic salt in a Zip Lock for 10-15 minutes, were baked for 35-45 minutes. They end up in a pulsed blender.

This is what all the finely chopped veggies look like as they are softened for about 10 minutes in garlic and EVOO.

Using 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of carne molida (ground sirloin) and some eggs, pan molida (bread crumbs), and Worcestershire, and garlic salt, I made up 25 albondigas (meatballs). I actually had enough extra meat for 3 grande hamburgers, which I froze for later. These will bake for 15-18 minutes.

Ahhhh.....the finished product. "Diablo Marinara Sauce con Albóndigas con Pasta" With a fantastic salad, by Sharon, and cerveza by Pedro, the meal was a success. Email me for the detailed recipe.

Bon Appetit!