Jan 26, 2018
I think we packed as much as anyone could have into our short but wonderful time in Bucerias.
Jocelyn wanted to see the boats arrive for the annual blessing of the boats during the Bucerias town festival. They came across the bay from La Cruz. It took two hours as they traveled slowly in a cross formation.
Many of the 36 boats were decorated.
We were sitting at the top of a beach side restaurant. We waited for close to two hours for the boats to arrive. Good thing we did as the beach and all the restaurants were packed.
We then went over to Punta Mita for lunch but the restaurant was not open due to a broken water pipe so we simply walked down the beach to another. For some reason I never got any photos. It had become cool and windy so after lunch we returned home.
A group were to have come in but folks got busy so it was only three jamming in the afternoon. I used the time to create my last post.
We went to an outdoor pizzeria for dinner.
We ordered this pizza as an appetizer for everyone and it was great as well as the other food we had.
Lots of laughs and great conversation.
Of course when the mamma came begging for food I had to indulge her. She had one bowl of creamy pasta and politely begged for a second with her eyes. Once she was done she left to care for her puppies. She was not in as good a shape as Princess. I did not pet her but I made certain that her stomach was full.
Somehow once we got back home it was time for yet another impromptu party, with different people. More singing with drama, guitar playing and dancing. It was a very late night. We only got to bed at 2:30AM yesterday.
Gracias mi amigos, it was a wonderful few days. But please, next time, I need more then five hours of sleep at night 😕
You have a lovely home. Hopefully the bananas will be ready soon.
Jan 24, 2018
We got here about 4:30PM local time exhausted. Sadly it took us a solid 7 hours of driving and we arrived tired. Lots of confusion despite 2 paper maps and 2 different sets of GPS directions. The detour around Tepic went on and on. There was no road where the green line cut off to the left.
I thought that we would have to call our friends and tell them that we were going to Guadalajara instead. The bypass was very long and it is obviously the wrong way to go. We did follow the green line and ended up at the checkered flag, our destination. I have no proof but I think that the gray line just above the word Tepic should be the final leg of the bypass BUT there were no signs indicating a turn to Puerto Vallarta. So is there an actual completed road or is it still in the completion process?
I could to a full post on directions and notes that I took but it is pointless as in the end we have no idea as to the correct road. We later saw a lot of new roads that are obviously going to be part of the eventual new bypass Tepic to Puerto Vallarta but no signs anywhere. As no one was using them and we were already behind schedule we just kept going onto Compostela and then to Las Varas. We did not avoid the climbs and descents nor the twisty roads.
The weather has been cool and cloudy and I have worn a sweater most days. This was taken at the Puerto Vallarta Marina. Next to the hotel at the top right is the cruise ship Ruby Princess, likely heading to Mazatlan.
We have spent every minute that we have not been sleeping with our friends Shirley Ann and Jocelyn, the last two on the left. Their friend Beto is in the middle, we met him on the Isla last March.
From the moment we stepped out of the car we have been taking, eating, drinking, site seeing, drinking, playing guitar and singing and did I mention drinking 😯 Seriously it has been non stop from the moment we open our eyes in the morning till we crash at night. Monday we packed it in at midnight and last night it was 1:15AM this morning. I haven’t had a moment to even scan emails never mind compose a post. The only reason I am now is that some of the guys are jamming and I begged off from the ladies at the other end of the house to put this together. I know I am being rude to my hostess but I just needed a few moments alone. I have taken a few hundred photos which I will likely never post. We have seen so much and enjoyed so much great food at a variety of restaurants. One of the neatest things is that every conversation is a mix of French, Spanish and English and most sentences a mix of at least two if not three.
Loved this unique look.
Jan 22, 2018
Heading south with our first stop in Bucerias, just North of Puerto Vallarta. It is between a 7 to 8 hour trip and there is an hour time change. So even if we depart as planned at 8AM, it is already 9AM. So I’m already behind before I even leave 🙄
I leave with you with photos taken in my garden over the past few weeks.
Jan 21, 2018
Yesterday I called the shelter to check on Princess or Princessa as she is called in Spanish. They say she is doing just fine. Of course I asked a number of questions. She had been there five nights and five full days. I asked if she was happy. They said no but that she was not sad either and doing as well as a beach dog could be doing under the circumstances. They said that she would adapt. She was eating all the kibble they gave her which is puppy kibble as it is higher in calories and of course drinking water. She was being a good Mom and her pups were feeding with no issues. She was even going out a few times per day on a leash for a bit of a walk. She had had an examination and blood drawn and she was 100% healthy. The puppies had a bath yesterday for the first time. They did say that the puppies were getting lots of love and attention from the volunteers. I specifically asked them to please give Princessa lots of head rubs and hugs as she craved love. They told me that she would likely be spayed in a month.
So after that call I was sad but what can you expect. I was happy that she was safe and can only hope that she will be adopted when the time is right.
We spent the day today getting ready for our road trip, arranging for my garden to be watered, etc. Oh and learning how to use Goggle maps which I thought came with my iPhone. Turns out I had Apple maps so had to download Goggle maps. I also downloaded TomTom GO which I can use without WiFi as it runs off the satellite. Trying to learn how to run both and my head is spinning. Hopefully we won’t need either. There is good deal of new construction and roads and exits where we are headed. I have printed out some copies of Google maps to get us by. Yes there is a way to download Google maps to use off line but I could not even figure our how to get to Safari from settings. I am very very far from understanding all this tech stuff and totally admire those of you who do. I had someone here help me but I ended being even more confused. I really don’t need extras, just what I need to know.
We will be gone six nights, the first three at the home of friends. I have no idea what WiFi will be like so that means no idea about when my post will be published. Hopefully everyday. I do have some data that I can use if needed.
I had seven hibiscus blooms open yesterday 🙂
Not easy to show them all.
Anyway it made me happy.
Sunset last night was a no go due to heavy cloud.
Jan 20, 2018
We did not even start making dinner last night until 8:30PM so there was no post. We are not the only ones who work late. Here is Eric our RV tech working at 7PM Wednesday with two flashlights to guide him. He was putting in a steel brace on our main palapa support beam, on both sides.
Thursday morning we were headed into Mazatlan when we saw this as we left the entrance to the RV park. Note the RV trying to come into the RV park. There is major road work being done to install sewer pipes.
New sign, we used to have one of these years ago. Umm it should read site #8.
Not much space between the tree with the sign and the one to the left of it for an RV to pass thru and make a left turn where RV 2 is located. It did eventually get in.
Not sure that we would have even attempted it. With some difficulty you could get into RV1 where we are. Likely this will all be done with in short order.
Saw this lady trying to sweep up debris and dirt in her yard which as you can see is full of dirt.
The road to the embarcadero was lined with these trucks. The first one was broken down and when we came back hours later the fellow was still trying to repair it.
There is some sort of construction happening in the parking lot at the embarcadero. So no parking. We have no idea what is going on.
Even the dock to the lanchas was gone and being repaired off to the right of the photo. You can see a boat further in the distance.
We paid at the same ticket booth but had to walk behind it through this dirt.
And there was the temporary embarcadero.
Interesting view of the cruise ship in port for the day.
A shock to us. The main street in front of the Mercado was being torn up. New asphalt is being laid block by block.
Needless to say this is creating major traffic jams in Centro.
We had only just arrived in the market when we ran into Carol and Bill and their friend Mark who happens to be one of my blog readers. We had a short visit and totally forgot to take any photos. Next time for certain.
So as you can see, even paradise is not perfect. We were happy to get back to the Isla once our shopping was done.
