PLAYA AMOR FEB 14 -28 2006
Our “renegade” caravan joined us from their Puerto Vallarta outing. Kay had a reaction to camerones (shrimp) as well as a severe infection and required hospitalization while in Puerto Vallarta. We were glad to see that she was much improved after her four day stay in the hospital and it was good to see everyone. Kay expressed grateful appreciation for the care she received both from the hospital staff and the doctors in Puerto Vallarta. She reported that the hospital was modern, exceptionally clean and expressed an opinion that the hospitals in Canada could benefit from their example. The group all seemed impressed with the care and quality of the hospital which, for those who are traveling in Mexico, is reassuring.

Wednesday, we did a day trip to Puerto Vallarta with “look see” stops in the villages of Ixtapan and Zacualpan. We drove through the little beach community of Penita de Jaltemba and stopped in Rincon for a short visit with friends of Diane and Bill. Rincon appeared to be an ideal resort, within walking distance to the village, a modern club house, pool and a lovely sandy beach that seemed to stretch for miles. However, it lacked the roar of the crushing waves and the privacy of Playa Amor that we have enjoyed.

After our Rincon stop, we proceeded further south and stopped in to look at Sayulita (a lovely spot where Len and Agnes stayed a few years back). According to Bill and Diane, who are old “salts” to Mexico, the place is really growing and the number of “winter displaced” Canadians alone must contribute a goodly sum to the Mexican economy. (Bill says the difference between a Canadian and a canoe is that a canoe tips. – don’t think I should comment on that one.) We then headed into Puerto Vallarta, stopping at the Nuevo Vallarta marina for Ken to check out the boats. (He had not seen a real yacht for 10 days, so he was feeling “deprived”). We had lunch at a little restaurant on the dock and then drove into old town Puerto Vallarta.

My first impressions of the city were mixed. It is a large city, more Americanized (or should I say Canadaized?) than most of the that we have visited in Mexico and bustles with commerce and activity cities (with the exception of Lake Chapala near Guadalajara which is a “bloody colony” of Americans and Canadians). Three cruise ships were in and the beach was adorned with bikini clad sun lovers of all sizes, shapes and colors.

We concentrated on our third try decided on a hotel on the beach where the action was. The sound of waves crashing and the blaring music from the nearby establishments reminded us that these were the vibrant sounds of nature and people enjoying their holiday. Although on a five star scale, the hotel might reasonably be rated as a fading star it provided us with yet another experience in humility and appreciation for the comfort and security that we take for granted in our travel by RV. It is nice to carry your own bed, pillow, food and comfortable air conditioning or heat as the need requires.

With our base established, we had refreshments at the open bar/restaurant, took pictures, walked down the beach and enjoyed the view from the shore. We introduced ourselves to fellow patrons, Roy and Lee, from Kelowna, B. C. Canada an area familiar to Bill and Diane. (We keep wondering if anyone is still in Canada there are so many in Mexico). At Roy’s suggestion we walked the 2 ½ blocks to a Brazilian restaurant where we enjoyed the different experience of a simulated Brazilian churcheria (sp?). The adventure of the experience was fun but Ken in what I considered a “snobby” attitude, compared it to our prior experiences with the churcheria restaurants both in Brazil and in California and pronounced it lacking. I don’t know who died and left him in charge of Brazilian cuisine. I thought it was good and when in Mexico, do as the Mexicans do, right? We capped off our day with a walk over the bridge, on the boardwalk and along the beach and enjoyed the beautiful starlight night and the lights of the city.

After a quick breakfast Thursday morning we checked out of the hotel and did a drive through Gringo Gulch. Miraculously (according to Ken, horse shoe? luck according to Bill) we found the houses to which Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor escaped for their romantic liaisons during their courtship. It is easily identified by the bridge across the street from Elizabeth’s house to Richards (or vice versa). The houses, each built like a fortress, sit on a hill overlooking the bay and city. The view is breathtaking but the homes in the area are all side by side against each other with no visible yard which seems reflective of the predominant city architecture of Mexico. Perhaps there is a courtyard inside the homes, but otherwise, all of the homes seem to be abodes with little attention to yards, space or outside. Tours are supposedly available, but we did not take the time to explore that possibility. Our sightseeing concluded, we stopped for a few things at the grocery, visited the second major marina located in the city, had lunch and returned to Playa Amor where we reunited with our travel partners.

On Monday, Bill, Di, Ken and I drove into San Blas and enjoyed the jungle trip up the river, a pleasant and enjoyable boat ride. We saw several crocodiles, blue and gray herons, turtles, finches etc., but the achinga seemed to be the “resident bird” that perched on every tree. After our jungle outing, we drove into San Blas and enjoyed a delightful gourmet lunch at the Hotel Garza, a first rate restaurant that we recommend as a “must” for anyone visiting San Blas.

Tuesday we were up early to see our “renegades” off at 8 AM for their return to Mazatlan for further tests for Kaye and to enjoy the festivities of “carnaval” with Len and Agnes. We decided to forego “carnaval” in order to enjoy another week at Playa Amor. Bon voyages exchanged and feeling abandoned, we decided to explore. Diane wanted to explore a mountain road that their group traveled down on a previous voyage. She was curious to see if it was as bad as she remembered as well as she had read about some falls that were off the beaten track up that way that we might try to find. The road was not particularly “coach friendly” but maneuverable. Mid way up the hill we asked for directions to the “cascades” and they pointed “thata way”. We were off through avocado groves, bannana fields and coffee plantations, over hills and around curves, meeting an occasional pickup truck with a farmer who waved as we passed. We drove approximately 10 miles through the countryside before coming to a small village where the paved road turned into a dirt road. Uncertain, we stopped at a market where several young senioritas stood on the steps of the local “mini super” and in response to our inquiry regarding the cascades, one of the young ladies drew Bill a map. We thanked the girls, who appeared to range in ages of 15-20 all very pretty, slim and friendly. They laughed and waved back at us as we roared off down the dirt road. (Four aging teenagers, we were). After a mile or so, we met a farmer leading a horse not to water but carrying a load of bamboo) and confirmed that we were still “on course”. He verified the route and cheerfully posed for a picture “for the loco gringos”.

We turned at the road designated on the map and there just off the road sat two taxis with drivers who assured us that we could safely maneuver the road to the falls in our jeep. We drove another 1 ½ miles to the end of the road where a “viewing” site had been constructed of bamboo and looked down at the cascading falls below where people were swimming and with squeals of delight diving from the rocks. We assumed that these were the passengers from the waiting taxis and after snapping pictures from our bamboo perch, Bill, Di and I descended the rocky path to return to the jeep. Ken, presumably in search of better pictures, chose the path to another “viewing” site. The next thing we knew he was out of sight. I suspected that he had decided to explore the path to the falls which is not unusual for his “adventurous nature” but I was surprised that he would do so with others along. Bill climbed up to the viewing site to see if he could see him but nothing. After an hour, we were all growing pretty impatient and our mood (mine especially) was rapidly deteriorating.

I blew the horn on the jeep several times to no avail and if I had been in possession of the keys to the jeep, I would have seriously considered leaving him there. Finally, after approximately 1 and ½ hour he returned, excited to tell us about his adventure and not one of us cared to hear anything that he had to say. The warm climate outside did not help the frosty climate inside the car. Later, back at the coach, we all listened with a half tuned ear as he told us that the people at the falls were vacationers to Puerto Vallarta from Colorado, Oklahoma and Glendale, approximately three streets over from us. It is a small world.

Wednesday - Bill and Diane came by and we pondered what to do with our day. Bill suggested that we could drive to Puerto Vallarta to return a brake drum that he had bought for his VW and Ken had a pair of shorts that could be returned, so why not? We closed up the rigs, piled in the jeep and we were off to Puerto Vallarta. Our first stop was at the Pelican (Mexico’s super market version of Walmart) to exchange Ken’s shorts and then on to lunch at the marina which turned out to be worth the trip in itself. We did a quick survey of the restaurants at the marina and found one that was really “jiving” and decided to try it in spite of Bill’s reluctance to “do fish”. It turned out to be a wonderful lunch. Bill and Diane shared a fish taco lunch, Ken and I shared a fish sampler and all of us had more than we could eat. Two shrimps accompanied our beers and our lunch included a cup of soup and concluded with fried plantains and a toddy made with kuhula. Beyond a doubt, it was one of the best and most reasonable meals of our trip and we have had very few bad ones.

After our more than ample lunch, we stopped at Walmart for a few items, returned the break drum and during a stop for pictures at a view overlooking the valley, saw whales cavorting in the water below. All of that in one day and still, we were home before dark.

On Friday, we were up early for our excursion to Mexicalitain, another interesting and fascinating adventure. We traveled from San Blas up Highway 15 to Vila Hildalgo, where we turned left to Santiago and over a bridge that took us into an expansive and prosperous appearing farming delta. We did a brief stop in Santiago to walk through a market of sorts (more like a swap meet). As we carefully wound our way down the narrow cobblestone streets, we became curious about the activity at the town square. People were gathered, bands were in full dress and of course, the proverbial speakers were performing. Curious, we stopped, did a walk about and enjoyed the “confusion”. Ken surmised that a High School band contest was just concluding and that we had missed the “main event”. We, nevertheless, felt like we had at least experienced the fringe of local excitement and that delighted our cultural senses.

We were surprised to find that Highway 78 leading to the island of Mexicalitain was a good paved road much better than the heavily traveled Highway 15 down the coast from Mazatlan into Tepic. At the end of the road, we parked and boarded “small boats” for the 10 minute trip to one of the oldest communities in Mexico, a village that dates back to the mid 1500's. According to our tour book, many of the residents have never been off the island. The village has one hotel, two restaurants and small boats provide rapid transit to the villagers. The tour book said that some of the residents have never been off the island and there was no reason for us to doubt that as fact. The nearest town is Santiago, down the delta approximately 10 miles. The only obvious enterprise is fishing but surprisingly, the standard of living in that small village seemed more compatible with my concept of a typical Mexican village than most. It was cleaner, no litter on the streets, no graffitti, workmen were painting and doing building maintenance and there was a “pride” reflected in the overall appearance.

Bill and Di, Ken and I each shared a lunch of camarones at a restaurant where we exchanged greetings with a German tourist on a two month bus trip through Mexico. He was leaving for Mazatlan the next day to attend carnival and then planned to travel back to Mexico City for his return flight home. (Mexico appears to be a favorite “winter” visit for Europeans as well as Canadians. On our bus trip from San Blas to Guadalajara, we traveled with a couple (he was from Budapest and she was from Amsterdam) who were traveling by bus throughout Mexico.) A couple from Colorado came in and kibitzed with us as well. We are always delighted to be able to share a communication with English speaking travelers. After lunch, we walked around the island village, explored several streets, visited the hotel, museum, shopped and took lots of pictures. Soon, it was time to leave so we returned to the landing, boarded our boat back to the delta and returned home via the route from whence we came. It was a memorable highlight and peek into a quaint Mexican lifestyle in a trip with many fascinating adventures and explorations.

On Saturday we decided to try the oysters which are one of the main resources of the area. Bill prepared baked oysters which were tasty and quite good. Ken tried cooking a dozen oysters on the grill but that turned out to be a disaster. The oysters did not open as we thought they would. We finally concluded that further input or lessons on grilling oysters might be desirable.

Sunday after a drive into San Blas for www access we returned via El Portal, a little village off the highway that we were curious about. The main village was about a mile off the highway from San Blas to Puerto Vallarta but as Ken is prone to do, we drove on to the end of the paved road and another village. Our visit prompted another discussion about the lifestyle, which I find depressing and for which I lack a good empathy. Ken on the other hand feels that the people have never known anything else, have nothing on which to base a malcontent attitude and his attitude is one of acceptance. I don’t argue with that but I cannot help but be somewhat disappointed in what to me seems a surprising lack of motivation to improve their living standards but perhaps, I do not understand poverty Mexican style?

Back at the “ranch”, we did the sunset, and persecuted Bill and Diane with a dvd showing of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (not a great movie).

Monday - February 27 – our last day at Playa Amor was spent with housekeeping chores in preparation for an early getaway Tuesday. A final dinner and sunset at Casa Mana heralded our last night of a wonderful three weeks of fun, adventure and exploration with Bill and Diane, who have been wonderful tour guides and travel partners. Back to Mazatlan tomorrow, February 28.