LaQuinta di Francesco Restaurant

IXTA Restaurant Bar Lounge

Sauce street in Terralta One, yes the paint is peeling.

Living and dining room looking from the kitchen.

Kitchen and dining room taken from the living room.

Martes, Febrero Nueve, Dos Mil Diez!
Buenos Dias, mi amigos! I’ve realized that it’s been 11 days since I’ve arrived and I haven’t said much about mi casa. So permit me to give you a verbal tour along with a few interior and exterior pics.
My place is a 2 story 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath condo located in a gated community called Terralta One. (yes, there are more than one Terralta The kitchen, living, dining, and ½ bath are on the first floor. The 3 bedrooms and full bath are on the 2nd. It has a small balcony off one of the bedrooms and a spiral stairs to the roof, however, the rooftop is not ‘finished’ like some of the neighbors, and so it’s really not usable.
The place is furnished with a full size fridge, 4 burner gas stove and oven. No microwave or dishwasher. Some of the units have a washer/dryer combination, mine doesn’t. Some have A/C, mine doesn’t but with ceiling and portable fans, I have found that Jan-March, you really don’t need A/C.
It does have a TV and DVD player along with a portable CD player. As mentioned in an earlier blog, the place now has a full size coffee maker. Some dishes, pots/pans, and silverware are supplied, however, it is lacking in the normal spices we sometimes take for granted…i.e. salt and pepper.
It appears that the sun wants to come out, so I’m going to pack up and go for a nice beach/town hike. I’ve been told of the best Italian place in town, and I want to locate it. (no, not for breakfast, just for future reference) LaQuinta di Francesco on Constituyentes Esq. Agustin Melgar in Bucerias. It takes longer to say that than find it. Lol Hasta la pronto!
I found the restaurant on the far South end of town. Might be a taxi restaurant. A small inconspicuous place but it comes with numerous recommendations that I need to personally confirm. I then stumbled across the IXTA (ees tah) Restaurant Bar & Lounge. Their sign caught my eye ‘Happy Hour from 9am to 6pm!” (closed Monday) 15 peso cervezas! I popped in and had coffee and free internet. Cool. (coffee wasn’t that good) After an hour of emails and blog, I continued my morning walk with a stop at The Sweet Thing and had to try their infamous sweet roll. (30 pesos) A meal by itself. Yum. I wandered through the markets and noted several vendors with beautiful (bonita) stone chess sets. One guy told me 450 pesos and had reduced it to 300 pesos before I was 15 meters away. Might even take 200 pesos. So they do barter! (info for mi hermano, Pedro) At 1pm I wanted to check, one more time the status of my ATM card, so I popped into the Office and logged in. The credit union had apologized and reset/verified/winked and promised me that my card would work. Fortune would have it that next to my office is a working ATM. I tried it and after punching in my backup pin, it worked. YEAH! I can stay! After a celebratory cerveza, it was nap and shower time. (note, if the news wasn’t good, I would have used a different adverb, but the same resultant action)
In the afternoon I ran into Mary L. and John y Ruth from Canada, who are staying at the Sayulita trailer park. John was getting some dental work done in Bucerias and we slid over to The Shamrock for a pint of Guinness. My attempt to talk Mary, Gail, Pete, and Sharon have apparently failed, but not worry, I shall venture out myself. Yet another attempt to rid my shyness. Lol
Met another Shamrock regular, Simon who left England 7 years ago and since then has lived in Bucerias y Sayulita. He also gave me his thoughts about the best places in Bucerias. He helps Sharon on St. Patty’s Day to which I’m so much looking forward. Briefly met Sharon’s mother from Belfast.
It’s going to be an early day tomorrow, so:

Buenos Noches!

Camarones Linguini Cabonara

Lunes, Febrero Ocho, Dos Mil Diez!
Up early, coffee going, read my meditations and wanted to finish yesterday’s blog entry and download pics. Cool morning. Love it.
Finished the book, all 644 pages. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Definitely a ‘can’t put it down book’. Now on to three other books, ones that I brought down with me. (more on those later)

Word of the day: caro, adjective, adverb expensive
Caro is the basic word to describe something which costs a lot of money:

Going to head to the office to attempt to contact my Credit Union, write some emails, and do some Wall Street homework. Adios.
While at YoYo Mo’s, we got a short but heavy downpour. Very strange weather for Feb here in Mexico. It was over in 10 minutes. I wanted to get some more details on the Banderos Bay excursions, so I walked over to talk to my friend Romero. After some ruthless negotiations (there’s a side story about me and negotiating in Mexico) we agreed on a price of $350 pesos. Usually the tours get $500 pesos. The boat, The Kontiki II, leaves out of Nuevo Vallarta at 8:45 am and heads to Puerto Vallarta to pick up more passengers. Then it heads to the rock called Los Arcos for some snorkeling, then to the beach/bay called Animas for a lunch buffet, and then to a 2nd beach called Quimixto. (key-me-toe) I decided to make a reservation for Wednesday for cuatro persona. (4 persons) Romero assured me that I could use the tickets on any day if the weather wasn’t great or if we changed our minds. (Gail, Mary, Pete, & Sharon are interested)
Picked up my laundry (cleaned, folded, and wrapped) on the way home. $55 pesos. ($4.25) Nap time.
Headed to The Shamrock. Going to ask Sharon, the owner, if I can put an ad on her bulletin board. Jess & Gil were working and Natalie was on her way out. Sharon had no problem with it. To supplement a dead ATM card, I decided to rent out one of my rooms on a short time basis, by the day or week. If I don’t get my ATM card sorted, my trip might be cut short.
Met an interesting couple from Chicago tonight, Pat & Mary Beth. They own a condo in Nuevo Vallarta. He had won a square on the Shamrock’s Superbowl pool, and bought everybody a round. Thanks, Pat! (for any accountants reading this, during happy hour, that means two rounds)
Posted my ad! Short night at the Shamrock; Decided to cook tonight and stopped at the corner fish store (pescados) for shrimp. (Camarones) Making shrimp linguini carbonara. (see pic) Watching a movie borrowed from P&S.

Buenos Noches

Superbowl Sunday at The Shamrock. Mike's brother, Mike's brother's wife, and Sherry.

Sayulita beach looking South from the RV park.

Sayulita Beach looking North from the RV park.

Domingo, Febrero Siete, Dos Mil Diez!
Had a great breakfast at Alaskan Gail’s this morning with about 15 people. She makes the best sourdough pancakes with all kinds of fresh fruit on the side. Yum! Took a couple pics of the Sayulita beach. (see pics) Decided to head back to Bucerias right after that. Have to deal with my banking concern.
Took the bus from Sayulita to Mega Store on the very south end of Bucerias. (15 pesos) Tried yet a third bank using my Sandia ATM card. Failed. Not good. Not happy. I tried my Marine Credit Union Bank ATM, no problem, except it doesn’t have much money in it, but it worked. Did some grocery shopping until I realized that whatever I bought, I had to haul back to 102 Sauce along with my already full backback, so kept it simple. Milk and juice are heavy! Nap time. Need to prepare for the Superbowl at YoYo Mo’s and The Shamrock.
4pm, arrived at YoYo Jo’s…..full, not packed. 7 of the 8 tvs had the pre-game on. Found a little shelf space for my laptop, Courtney brought over a cold Corona, and I made a blog entry. The place is still filling up. Some die-hard Canadians were not happy when they turned off the one tv that had the curling championship……It’s the Superbowl!! Decided to relocate to The Shamrock.
Still plenty of room at The Shamrock. The best seats were at a tall table directly in front of the large hdtv. A young couple were sitting there and I asked to join them. (no problem) Of course they were from Canada, most everybody down here is, she was studying to be a lawyer and he owned a DMV store. I learned that in Canada, they have privatized vehicle registration. Not a bad idea. A bit later an older lady, older than me that is, joined us. A real sports spit-fire. Loved to talk about sports, especially baseball. She ordered some wings and shared them.
The bar filled up pretty good and the entire crew was working, Jess, Sharon, Gil, Natalie and even Katie with her cute pigtails. Katie shared a story about almost being killed on her motorcycle earlier in the day. While returning to Bucerias on the main highway, her engine seized. Back tire began to fishtail but she gained control and got to the side of the road just as one of Mexico’s finest buses screamed past. Scary, but she was in great spirits. I even offered to check for road rash. Lol Later on, Sarah popped in and said hello.
What a game! I was cheering for Who Dat? But thought Manning would pull out yet another win. I was wrong. Loads of fun. Time to go home.
Not! The Cuban band was setting up and it appeared that the fun was just starting. Met two couples from Michigan, and they were staying of all places in Terralta One. Mike and Sherry. (see pic) For some reason, the next two hours went by very quickly. The Michigan couples were buying buckets of beer with one problem, there were 5 beers in each bucket and only 4 of them. What were they to do……hmmm. Mr. Helpful to the rescue! They were most generous and absolutely refused my offer to chip in some pesos. (thank-you if you’re reading this) Before long the entire bar was dancing, including….now it was time for that hike. 11pm
Buenos Noches!

Mary L. and Juan Marcos battleing for the last bite of fabulous desert.

Sunset on the beach in San Pedro. How sweet is that!!

Pedro, with his back to me, Sharon to his left, Alaskan Gail center, and Mary L. right.

Alaskan Gail was thristy!

My new hand painted sipping glass from the Bucerias markets.

Sábado, Febrero Seis, Dos Mil Diez!
Wow, one week since I arrived. Where did the time go? Oh, that’s right, one doesn’t care. You’re in Mexico. Looks like another beautiful day in paradise. A travel day it is, if you count a 20 minute bus trip as travel. Heading to Sayulita for a fun packed evening. Details to follow. Want to drop off laundry on the way to the bus stop. The cool thing about the two time zones is that I can leave Bucerias and arrive in Sayulita 40 minutes before I left. Talk about time travel! (My God Jim, I’m only a doctor!)
Made the mistake of picking up the book….the bookmark quickly moved to page 400. As I prepared to leave, the lady from next door knocked. Elsa Aach is her name and she needed access to the roof to shut off her gas while she travelled to Mexico City. I also met her daughter and grand-daughter. I asked her if she would consider renting out her place next year and at first she was a bit apprehensive…..wouldn’t you? She said come take a look….she spoke as much English and I do Spanish but we managed quite well. Her place is almost identical with a couple exceptions….she has a washer and dryer and AC. (although I don’t think I would need AC in Jan-March) She told me that to get high-speed internet would cost about $600 pesos/month. Cool! She agreed that she would accept $750/month. She did not have a microwave, but would furnish one if I requested. Her place was nicely decorated and very clean. We exchanged emails and I was on my way.
Arrived in Sayulita about noon, never quite sure what time it is. The finals for Annual Trailer Park bocce tournament were underway. (side note here, Pedro won the tournament one year, and the next year I did, tons of fun) We watched some good friends lose in the semi-final and decided to go get some cervezas and prepare to head North to San Pancho for a polo match. (Alaskan Gail, Mary L., Sharon, Pedro, and I.)
First major problem in Mexico: my Sandia Credit Union ATM card didn’t work. PROBLEM! Tried two different banks. I had used it when I first arrived in Puerto Vallarta at the airport and it worked fine. Have to deal with it tomorrow and Monday. Oh well, I’m in Mexico.
Five of us grabbed two small cabs and in less than 20 minutes we were sitting on the beach in San Pancho. (a few miles north of Sayulita) (see pics) After some lite tacos and a margarita, the girls wanted to head over to the polo grounds. Pedro and I were content to look at the bikinis, I mean skinny sunsets. About 30 minutes later the girls returned and said the match was cancelled due to a muddy grounds. New game plan, head to La Ole Rica, one of our favorite restaurants.
The ribs were great, the coconut shrimp were fabulous, the deserts were incredible. As always, a great meal. With full bellies, it was time to find a way home. After circling the block, we found a taxi stand and before long a large suburban pulled up and asked for 100 pesos. Great, we all climbed in and were whisked away.
Arrived safe in Sayulita and the girls headed to the bocce celebration while Pedro and I hit the beach for a final cerveza. Awesome star filled sky. Met a young lady, Heather from Canada, that was doing the same. She had arrived in Sayulita for a wedding. Must have talked for over 45 minutes. Very charming.

Buenos Noches!

Viernes, Febrero Cinco, Dos Mil Diez!
Friday, the day the cleaning lady comes. (Jessica) So I suppose I need to vacate the place for a few hours. Just Got a feeling that it’s going to be an interesting beautiful sunny Mexican day. Yesterday, nearby, I found the ‘lavanderia’ or Laundromat. Only 10 peso/kg. (that’s why you study math conversions in grade school) You simply drop off your laundry and pick it up the next day, washed, dried and folded. Did I mention how much I’m suffering? Translated, for me that’s about $4 for a week. Through some rough Spanish, I learned that they are open 7 days/week. When traveling for 2 months, this is a critical item. So finding one close and reasonable is precious info.
I reward myself with breakfast if I include a ‘long’ hike to the destination. The Sweet Thing was the choice (two days running) and I found it nearly full. A special on the board that caught my stomach was Biscuits n Gravy with 2 eggs and hash-browns. (60 pesos) yum! Going to have to add a few more miles to my walk. Coffee was delivered con leche and it was good, not great, just good. But it’s Mexico! Perused the menu and found a tempting plate of fresh fruit, granola and yogurt.(45 pesos) Darn, missed that one. Perhaps next trip.
Met a retired guy named Tom at breakfast from Canada, and staying in Terralta 3 for 6 months. He shares a condo with a roommate. Exchanged emails. Very interesting. His place was rent plus plus, which meant he had to pay extra for gas and electric. He said that electric was expensive. (more on him later)
What a gorgeous day! Here comes that feeling again!
On my walk to the office I also stopped back at the tour shop to verify prices, departure times and reservation details on the all day whale watching, snorkeling, beach, sailing excursion. Romero was the same salesperson and after some discussion, I think the prices have gone down, a little. The all day excursion from Nuevo Vallarta to Los Arcos, Animas, and Quimixto is now $350 pesos. ($27) Since the dollar vs. the peso changes daily, so does the cost of everything. It has varied from 12.80 to 13.30 since I arrived. The all day excursion from PV which included Yelapa is now $400 pesos.
Walking through the gauntlet of vendors, I found a small place, they’re all small, that sold some interesting glasses. (shot, brandy, wine, margarita, etc.) I met Maya who sold me on a unique sipping glass (vasa) She told me that only her father (padre) makes them. (see photo) 50 pesos lighter, I resumed my hike.
11:45am Office open. Quote of the day when the bartender said, “For you Juan, we start happy hour when you walk in!” And thus began my day at the office.
If you haven’t noticed, one of the things I do in Mexico is study Spanish. Brilliant choice, John! I like to use it while writing as you may have noticed. By the end of my stay in Bucerias, the entire blog should be in Spanish greatly reducing my extensive readership. LOL. I also like to use the Spanish word of the day. I don’t include every one, only occasionally. Today it is:
animar, verbto encourage
When you want to encourage someone to do something, you express the idea in Spanish with the verb animar.
I encourage you to come and visit me. Now for my hike and nap.
I found a hidden Italian Ristorante called Mezzo Giorno. Avenido del Pacifico 33 http://www.mezzogiorno.com.mx/ Will take a photo later, closer to sunset. (see pics) Beautiful romantic setting for dinner. Heard it was great food.(I asked a couple sitting there.)
Arrived at the Shamrock at 5:01pm with a muy fria cerveza con limón waiting. How great is that! Jess was tending the bar while Sharon and Natalie scurried to please a table of 8 Canadians. Seated at the bar were two guys whom I had spoken with yesterday. One being from Aberdeen Scotland with a brogue so thick, I could only make out every 5th word. (memories of my trip and laughs in Ireland 2003) They had talked about an early morning fishing trip planned for today. It turns out they were quite successful and one of the tuna weighed in at 25kgs. They had even brought one to the Shamrock and using the fresh catch, Natalie was busy preparing several orders of proper Fish n’ Chips. (English style)
The ever Smiling Katie arrived later to help with the trickle of patrons. Pedro and I had met her last Saturday night. She works as needed, mostly weekends. She helped me pick a square on the Super Bowl board for 20 pesos. Sarah, fresh off the beach, popped in for a bit and I briefly met Natalie’s blonde roommate, Lola.
I met one guy, didn’t catch his name, that has been living full-time in Bucerias for 4 years. For the price of one Corona (80 cents), he gave me his recommendations for the best food in town. I took a few notes. Later, Steve the VN Vet and ex-postal worker showed up and sat at the bar with me.
By now my stomach was speaking and after a considerable amount of drooling I decided that an order of proper Fish n’ Chips was required. Thanks, Natalie.
With great food in hand, I headed uphill to 102 Sauce. The fish was fantastic. Fell asleep on the futon downstairs with page 300 bookmarked. And indeed it was a beautiful and interesting day. If you haven’t noticed, a cast of characters has been forming.

Buenos Noches!

Claudia y Juan y Jennifer at The Shamrock

Jueves, Febrero Cuatro, Dos Mil Diez!
Some blue skies today, perfect for some pictures of 102 Sauce and surrounding area. I must apologize for the quality of my photos as my camera has decided to begin limping. The monitor is almost gone and only shows ghosts, so capturing Kodak moments will be rare. (as If I could before)
I headed towards the south end of town in search of a place called LaPosada deBucerias. I noticed a large tree, a victim of the big storm..(photos) Many power lines were tangled in it’s branches. Definitely an OSHA training opportunity.
LaPosada advertised Free wifi and some interesting white coffee. (white coffee is roasted very little and has much more caffeine than typical longer roasts, so I was told.) Found the place and the coffee was pretty good, but the internet connection really sucked. Coffee was expensive. So after a cup I left and found The Sweet Thing Bake Shop and Café. Lazaro Cardenas #64. Pablo recommended it. Great place with 10-12 tables and open for breakfast and lunch. I think their signature item is their huge sweet rolls. (or was it the waitresses) Café was 15p and not bad. Real coffee cups, not paper. (Did I ever tell you that I absolutely hate paper cups) A full breakfast cost 40-60 pesos, so one of the most reasonable places in the high end of town..
On the way to my office, I jotted down a few notes about some future dining spots. Eva’s Brickhouse has a 35% discount for dinner between 4:30 and 6:15pm. And Adriatico has 2 x 1 Cervezas from 3-6pm and their brick pizza oven looked very enticing. Sandrina’s was more reasonable than the other upscale places.
While at YoYo Mo’s, I got a call on my Mexican cell phone. Yeah! Pedro was calling from Sayulita using his computer and Skype. Worked great.
Got some more exploring to do, then to head back whilst checking out some local stands for good Mexican tacos. The Crazy Burrito adjacent to the noisy highway looked interesting but right next to it was a tiny place called Loncheria Paz with a handwritten sign which included ‘hambergesia grande con queso 22 pesos’ This I have to try. Half-way home I stopped at the Super and bought some dipping ketsup. Not a bad burger for under $2.00. Nap time.
5pm: Refreshed and rejuvenated, I hiked towards town. The sun was brilliant and beckoned me to la playa. (the beach) I turned North when I got near the water and walked along the road. The storm damage was extensive and workers were scrambling to repair the numerous pallapas over their casas and restaurants. However, the mood of locals and tourists was great and barkers continued to tempt potential patrons into their establishments. “Only for you tonight Senor, cinco cervezas por ochenta pesos!” Time for a pint at me pub!
Sharon was minding the pub when I arrived and there were a handful of tourists enjoying their steak and kidney pies. (Yes they serve traditional Irish pub food) Discovered that Sharon’s brother was owner of a 46’ Sailing Yacht called “Timpani” and it’s rented on a private basis for up to 10 persons. And it sails out of LaCruz just to the North of Bucerias. On some occasions, they have an open Saturday where singles or doubles can join a few others on the boat. From our talk, it appears that it would cost between $80 and $100 USD per person for a 6 hour excursion and that includes food and drink.
Met a VietNam vet, Steve, from Iowa and we traded stories regarding why two Midwesterners were talking/drinking in an Irish pub in Mexico. Natalie arrived a bit later looking stunning and took over the duties. Later a trio of locals from Puerto Vallarta arrived. Claudia and Jennifer, although I don’t think these were their real names. (photo) After a brief chat, it was time to take a hike.
Headed back home with the intent on a good book and Chinese food. Place closed, no Chinese for me! Aqua y Pan y Mermelada Fresa (water, bread and Strawberry Jam) tonight. Passed the 200 page point of my 600+ pg novel. Love it.
Midnight! Buenos Noches!

Miercoles, Febrero Tres, Dos Mil Diez!
Spent the night at P&S, they have an office in their bungalow with a single bed. Even with the storm, thunder and lightning, I slept great.
Wow, what a storm. The beach was covered in jungle growth and many branches lay on the ground. I heard that Sayulita got 3 inches of rain.
Pedro and I went out to breakfast at the Tropical House. (see pic) Nice place and only 20 yards from P&S place, so I didn’t call a taxi, and the owners are Dennis and Eileen. Good food y coffee.
Again, the 90 cent roller coaster called the local bus service to Bucerias was an adventure. I have to admit that it works. Today’s driver seemed particularly in a hurry** and the trip to Bucerias only took 15 minutes including about 5 or 6 stops.
**As if the bus was made by Toyota just waiting for a private recall notice.
The rain has held off so far today, and after a healthy nap, I shall be ready to hit the office.
Got to the office at 3:45, a bit late, but the boss had no concerns with my tardiness. Began some blogging and emailing when the power went out at 4:28. Courtney was quick to bring me a beverage (not sure if I looked distressed or my beverage was near empty. That just might be a double negative) while the pool table action continued…nobody blinked. Including me. Learned that last night’s storm was pretty wild. Power lines down, trees down, attitude unchanged. It’s Mexico.
Power back, 5pm, time to clock out…. Hasta luego! (see you later)
On my way over to The Shamrock, which is usually a 30 second walk, I passed the dentist office. (Dr. Adrian Malja, who is highly recommended and used by ex pats and tourists) As I passed by I thought I recognized somebody in the waiting room, Cindy from the RV park in Sayulita. Sure enough, and her husband John. (tough name to remember) As I was saying hello, I turned to my left and there sat Pablo and Christina, very good friends of P&S. Pablo used to own a house in the jungle just south of Sayulita. He also used to be a commercial fisherman in Alaska and now Christina and he live in WA. They both were having some dental work. (Brilliant John, it wasn’t a vet clinic!) After some chit chat, I scurried over to The Shamrock.
Gilbberto & Natalie were serving and a good friend of hers and Sharon’s, had just arrived, Sarah. She was heading to Australia but was able to spend about a week or two in Bucerias. An interesting young lady who began teaching high school kids in Mass. and has since travelled the world stopping for a few years in Taiwan. I also got to meet Saffron, the lovely young 10 year old daughter of Sharon. From my stories, one might surmise that I don’t just sit on a bar stool during my travels. I tend to greet and engage the person(s) adjacent to or in close proximity of me. (A recommendation by my therapist in an attempt to shed my introverted tendencies.)
A bit later, Pablo dropped in to have a cerveza as he was waiting for Christina to have her new crown installed.
Tonight The Shamrock must have been a magnet for Cheeseheads, because two separate groups came in from the frozen tundra. (see pic) Of course the traditional cheer was given by all: “Ya hey der, how bout dem Packers!” followed by, “Let’s have another round, we’re only here until Friday!”
Later a group of four arrived, with two women who were barely able to stand when they entered the establishment. After some Irish Car Bombs and two wickedly large margaritas, it was confirmed, neither could talk, stand or walk. I have no idea how they were poured back to their hotel. Mexico!
It was a fun night but an early one and I retreated to 102 Sauce by 7:30pm. Dinner consisted of bread and jam and I decided to watch a movie borrowed from P&S called “Into the Storm, Churchill At War” with Brendan Geeson portraying Churchill and Janet McTeer as his wife. Very interesting part of history. I recommend it for history buffs.
As I headed for the bedroom, I remembered that Pedro had also loaned me a book he highly praised, titled “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”: by Stieg Larsson. Ok, I will take a peak at it. 60 pages later …
Buenos Noches!
Midnight, can’t get that book out of my head. Another 60 pages. The best place to read upstairs because of lighting and seating is in the bathroom. I do believe I now have a permanent tattoo closely resembling the shape of a $2.00 toilet seat. I have no way to confirm this as the mirror is too high and good friends haven’t arrived. Perhaps when they do arrive, one of them can lower the mirror.
And another Buenos Noches!

Photo taken at Pete y Sharon's bungalow in Sayulita.

Mary L., Pedro y Sharon con papier. (precious) Sayulita Bungalow

Martes, Febrero Dos, Dos Mil Diez!
Rain? Very unusual, but it’s raining this morning. Not sure of the plan for today. Maybe just read and write. I had planned on heading up to Sayulita, but not sure……maybe a nap will help me decide.
Almost 11:16am and the skies are still spitting. I think the attire for today is flip-flops, my Mexican sombrero and a swimsuit. (yeah, picture that!) I left the umbrella in WI. Will venture out, regardless, when my office opens. (YoYo Mo’s) Meanwhile the coffee is delicious. Back to my books. More on those in a future blog.
Just learned of a new coffee shop called LaPosada deBucerias with free wifi. Good to have an early backup. It’s located on the south side of town. Will check it out tomorrow. (break)

I’m writing from Sayuilta….decided to hop on a bus. Best 90 cent carnival ride for your money. Bouncing all over the place. Exciting also. Take an overloaded bus with an underpowered engine, passing a large truck on an uphill blind turn……now that’s a ride and a half. Worth twice as much!!
Sayulita has changed a bit since I left last March. The main road into town is now a paved 4 lane boulevard with palm trees in the center divide. Several of the other side streets are partially paved, as the town decided to pave one block here and one block there, not contiguous mind you. Nonetheless, an improvement.
Mary L. from Fond du Lac and Alaskan Gail joined Pete, Sharon and I for dinner. Roasted pollo (chickens), papas (potatoes), rice, steamed veggies, and great bread were on the menu. Yum.
After looking at photos of Gail & Mary’s trip to Spain, and some of my German Oktoberfest pics, it was time for bed. A few minutes of darkness when we lost power didn’t seem to faze anybody. Tequila by candlelight is still possible.
Buenos Noches!

Headed back to The Shamrock about 5pm and met a guy named Doug. He’s from Alberta and stays in Bucerias for about 4 months a year. Cheap. He found a place, albeit a rough place (his words), for $250/month. Met another guy from Australia who was packing up and heading to San Francisco via the Baja. Great story teller and with an accent.
A bit later, Jeremy (one of the seed guys) showed up and we had a few cervezas before heading over to The Twisted Rose. There I met the owners Hugh and Simon along with a very stunning cocktail waitress, named Michelle from Fells Point in Baltimore. (see photo) Of course that led to many stories about the cool places in MD. Then the tequila started. (OY) Besides waitressing, Michelle is also a Salsa dance instructor, so when I can get a few friends together, I believe a lesson or two are just what the doctor ordered. (is Salsa dancing relaxing?)
A few minutes later Carol and Jamie, the Canadians, walked in, and the evening was off and running. (see photo) At some point the 4 of us headed back to The Shamrock where we found Natalie and Sharon sipping tequila. (Not true! Sharon & Natallie don’t sip tequila, they slam them.) Note to self: never try to keep up with Irish women. Truly a fun evening. The hike home was brutal.
Buenos Noches!

Ok, I had to go back to my office, aka YoYo Mo’s, but this time I stayed clear of the 5pm happy hour cut-off. Got there about 1pm. Coronas were a whopping 15 pesos. ($1.25) Just felt compelled to take a photo of my work-space. So for 30 pesos I was able to check my email, stocks, enjoy two beverages with lime and update my blog. Not bad. Exhausted I returned to 102 Sauce and a nap.

I would be remiss if I didn’t include a few pics of the beaches of Bucerias. I think it best to let the pics tell the story. And the suffering continues. I see that Fond du lac got up to 18 degrees today. (my bad) Did you see the blue ball in one of the pics? (most guys don’t)

If you wondered where I find all those expensive gifts that I bring back, i.e. shot glasses, bobble turtles, and fine jewelry, here’s my secret….the Bucerias market. (of course you can find other markets that sell the same stuff, but this trip, it’s the Bucerias market)

Lunes, Febrero Uno, Dos Mil Diez!
The café con leche is especially good this morning. I slept in till 8:30 but not sure what time zone I’m in, so it might only be 7:30. For those that don’t know, Bucerias is in the state of Nayarit(MST) and Puerto Vallarta is in Jalisco.(CST) The state line is just a minute or two south of Bucerias, but they use CST here so the many visitors don’t miss their planes.
Day two of my diet. Yes, the d-word. One of my goals, and upon doctor’s orders, I have to lose 20 pounds. My blood pressure is on the high side. The plan was to lose 10 in Feb and 10 in March. So the good thing about being 12 blocks uphill from the town/ocean, is that I have to make that trek at least twice a day. One going, one coming back. But I’m going to try for two trips every day. I timed my extensive walk today, and was not very impressed when it only took 9 minutes to get from my casa to my office. (OY!)
Also it was imperative that I relax and try not to get too stressed. If I can’t do that in Mexico, I’ve gotten bigger problems. (no comments, please)
So my Spanish word of the day is: tranquilo. How coincidental is that!

tranquilo, adjective calm
Tranquilo is another Spanish adjective which covers two different English meanings. First, you use it to talk about your state of mind, in which case you use it with estar:
El día del examen estaba bastante tranquilo.On the day of the exam I was quite calm.

I wanted to go for a longer walk this morning, so I headed to the South end of Bucerias. There are a number of high-end restaurants that I wanted to locate. Sandrina’s, Adriatico, Marks Bar & Grill, Eva’s Brickhouse, and Karens Place on the ocean. Most all of them are on Lazaro Cardenas Street. The pics will show my success.

Here is a better photo of The Bar Above and Tapas del Mundo. My camera is beginning to fail, so it's difficult to take photos, but I will keep trying till it dies.

Here is my free internet cafe. YoYo Mo's. Happy hour from 11am to 5pm. 15 pesos por cerveza. Not bad. Connection is a bit slow, but the cervazas don't care.

Bucerias Gardens. Not so impressive from the outside, but wow! the inside is gorgeous. More research on that one. Enjoy.

The Shamrock Irish Pub with the owner, Sharon on my left, and Natalie from Dubllin on my right. I'm the huge blob in the middle. Maybe I should buy bigger shirts....lol They had a Latin/Cuban band ...way cool. Enjoy.

Domingo, Enero Treinta y uno, Dos Mil Diez!
Buenos Dias mi amigos!
So with no coffee pot, hot water, or tp, what do you do? Find some breakfast with a banos. Pedro and I headed into town about 7:30 in search of good huervos rancheros mexicana. After checking out a few places on the beach, we decided on Adriano’s (see pics) It was just opening and not crowded at all so we chose a table overlooking the beach. With high tide, the waves were coming right up to us. Awesome view, fabulous desayuno (breakfast). I have a couple pics of the outside dining area.
Following breakfast we walked around the center of town for a bit and stopped at one of the tour places to check on details. One particular all day cruise departed from PV and included a continental breakfast, lunch, snorkeling equipment and an open bar. (yes, you read that correctly, open (inclusive) bar. The one boat visited Los Arcos (an island), Animas, and Quimixto, the latter two being some really nice coves and waterfalls that aren’t reachable except by boat. (Just south of Puerto Vallarta). January and February are whale watching times, so that’s another plus. So for about 450 pesos, ($35, you get a pretty nice day of touring & swimming & food and drinks) The plans are to check out one of these tours during the upcoming week so that when friends from the frozen tundra get down here (you know who you are), we can repeat that excursion. Remember, I have a 3 bedroom place with tp and coffee, so you are invited.
After that, Pedro decided to catch a bus back to Sayulita, and I headed back to 102 Sauce. Paul, the owner had left a note that he would stop by later, he did. I explained the few minor problems and in no time he had the water heat lit and was heading to the Mega store for supplies. He returned an hour later with a brand new large coffee pot, 4 coffee cups, filters, napkins and most importantly a 12 pack of toilet paper. (Life is now good) He also loaned me his 2nd cell phone with a 300 peso refundable deposit. For those that might want the number, it’s 322-117-9613 (just dial that 10 digit number from a Mexican cell phone) If you’re calling me from a land line, in Mexico, you have to add 045 in front of that. No charge for incoming calls and between 1.5 and 4 pesos por minute for me to make the call. (to Mexico) So that is The Rest of the Story, and it ended very well. Calm and patient! You’re in Mexico!
After unpacking and organizing my extensive wardrobe, a hot shower and nap had my name all over it.
Rested and refreshed I began authoring this blog and went in search of a wifi café. (ok, that’s not entirely true, I was in search of a pub with free wifi, but the first one sounded better) I was told that The Shamrock had free wifi but when I arrived, with a sad face Jess the She-man said it wasn’t working and with Monday being a Mexican holiday, Constitution Day, it was unlikely that they would have it fixed until later in the week. He whispered in my ear, which was for the record, way way to close, that YoYo Mo’s had wifi and happy hour from 11am to 5pm. Off I scrambled and was pleasantly surprised with a table in the pub, electrical outlet and free wifi. Since I had arrived at 4:50pm, Courtney told me that I would get 2 x 1 on the Corona. Sweet. So the fingers were flying and megabits were flowing as I downloaded a few photos to this site. After about a half hour my 2nd cerveza was delivered. However, when I asked for the bill, ‘Yo quiero la cuenta, por favor’ I was told that the first one was cheaper, the 2nd one was regular price.(since I didn’t get it before 5pm) So if it’s two for one, isn’t the 2nd one free? What can you say, Mexico. Now I know. lol
I packed up my electronics and headed back to The Shamrock.
I found what happy hours (5-7pm) at The Shamrock include: cerveza. (2 x 1) Two for one, so instead of the hefty $1.66, the price is now 83 cents. (even for me the math is not that hard) However, the bar was on PV time and it was now 6pm. Not quite sure what they are saying this morning, but did I meet quite the variety of people last night. In no particular order, there were these 3 guys from Wisconsin (ok, that says a lot right there) who are into Renk Corn Seed Research. (hey, you can’t make that up) The one guy Steve, asked me to call his work on Monday and tell the secretary that he was ill, robbed, beaten and hospitalized. (so he could stay longer)
I didn’t want to get him in trouble with his boss until his other two friends told me that he is the boss. Lol One the guys brews his own beer, and a lot of it. He said they usually make 15 batches (5 gallons/batch) each time they brew. His specialty is more of the barely wines and porters. Needless to say we had nothing in common and I didn’t talk to him all night. lol
Carol and Jamie were two friends (at least they started the evening as friends) from Canada. One was a mortgage broker the other….not sure. Let’s just say that Carol was very inebriated and thought I was extremely handsome. Wow, that’s drunk! Jamie realized that she needed to get her friend home and they left in search of a taxi, but not before the obligatory Irish farewell kiss. (not sure who came up with that one, but it worked) Had one of the bartenders laughing.
Got to meet the very Irish owner of the pub, Sharon Bell, with her long red hair. She is in the picture with Natalie. Very friendly and welcoming.
There were about 5 or 6 other characters that for now are nameless, but fun was had by all. To add to the frivolity, a Latin/Cuban band began playing about 9pm and if that doesn’t want to make you dance! (no I didn’t, just bar stool dancing)
Buenos noches!

Mexico January, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
YEAH, the blog of Juan Marcos is back!!!!! Enjoy.

Day 1 Arrival into Puerto Vallarta, First day in Bucerias, Nayarit
After a very short night, heavily blamed on my Backyard friends, I left Fond du Lac at 4am heading to Chicago. (David, one of my roommates, drove me)
I was pleasantly surprised to be assigned a window seat in the exit row. Plenty of room to stretch. The flight was on schedule and I arrived in Puerto Vallarta along with 7 other planes. Customs and immigration was a mad house. But this was my 6th trip, so I knew the secret was calm and patience. (not usually my middle names) What seemed like hours, was probably only 30 minutes. After gathering some pesos from the machine and changing into proper attire, since it was 82 degrees when I landed, I headed towards the bus stop across the street.
Mi hermano, Pedro, suprized me at the airport and snuck up on me. A great way to begin my primero dias. (1st day) After a couple welcoming beverages, we hopped on a bus and for 12 pesos ($1.00) we were bounced Northward heading towards Bucerias.
After a short 15-20 minute ride, we arrived at Mega, one of the larger grocery-type stores in Mexico. A few staples were purchased, tequila y cerveza y café y leche. (the latter two being coffee and milk) Then we jumped in a taxi (the Spanish word for taxi is taxi) My directions slightly confused our driver, but after he made a phone call, we found the owners’ house and met Paul and George. They drove us over to 102 Sauce in Terralta One. (yes, that really is my address for the next 2 months)
The house/casa is located in a sub-division on the North side of Bucerias. It was built about 3 years ago, but the some of the exterior paint suggests they were built many years ago, or the paint/cement is bad. (the latter is true)
Mi casa has 3 bedrooms and a full bath upstairs, and a half bath, kitchen, dinning/living room downstairs. I was pleased to see how clean it was.

After some financial matters, Paul and George took off, leaving Pedro and myself to a bottle of tequila. (not a good thing, or maybe it is a good thing)

A much needed trip to the banos was the start of several discoveries: not only was there no hot water, there wasn’t even water. Worse yet, there wasn’t even enough toilet paper for a constipated juvenile. After being assured that the casa had a coffee maker, we found no such animal. No coffee cups, no coffee, no filters. The owner had also failed to leave a promised cell phone with me so that I could contact him when just such emergencies arose. So what do you do? Hey, I’m in Mexico……..who cares, we will sort it out mania….so after a couple ounces of the country’s universal liquid, it was time to explore. Remember now that we don’t have a car.
After a 12 block walk to ‘north downtown’ Bucerias, Pedro and I began the evening explorations with a stop at an Irish pub. (yes, you read that correctly) The Shamrock Irish Pub and Lounge just seemed to draw us in and dos muy fria cervezas con limons were soon in front of us. (two very cold beers with limes) We met two lovely ladies, Natalie from Dublin, Katie from Bucerias, and Jess with a manly voice(not sure of his/her gender) Most of the places charge 20 pesos for Corona. ($1.65) and 50 - 60 pesos for a nice margarita, but during happy hour they often have 2 for 1. Or (2 x 1) as they would write it. Others have cinco cervezas por 80 pesos. (5 beers for $6.60) So not exactly cheap for retired folks.

All the places listed this evening are within a block of each other, so if you were concerned about our health, don’t be. Place #2 was called the Twisted Rose(now) and is billed at Bucerias’ largest Bar. It was a huge place with a muy bonita (very beautiful) garden bar and outdoor dance floor. Later in the evening they had a Salsa band playing, but we only stopped for one beverage.

Place #3 was called Tapas del Mundo y The Bar Above and as we climbed 3 sets of stairs, we just knew that the view would be fabulous. It was! It has sunset written all over it. We tried their margaritas, which were served in fabulous glasses. (vasos) The Bar Above is known for its wonderful deserts, so this will be a place to keep in mind. Tapas del Mundo, the restaurant below, also has cooking classes. Their ad reads, “Cost $35 USD (or 3 chickens, 2 ducks & 18 eggs) Libations additional.” You just know I will be signing up for that one.

Place #4 was called Bucerias Gardens and was also a large garden setting. Heather was our bartender and we enjoyed a couple cervezas before heading across the street to find food.

Place #5 is called YoYo Mos and it was time for food, and the pizzas looked inviting. Pedro chose a Philly Cheese Steak pizza and it was pretty good. The grande size easily could feed 4 people. The place was a sports bar and hockey seemed to be favorite that night with two Canadian teams brawling. As the saying goes, “I went to fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out!” I also learned that they have a nice happy hour and wifi.....cerveza and internet......a slice of heaven?

Buenos Noches! We managed to survive the 12 block uphill climb back to 102 Sauce. The end of the primero dias!

Tomorrow, The Rest of the Story and How it all worked out!