Last Day in Mascota

Well, today is our last day in Mascota. There are several places that we would have liked to have visited but we can’t do everything that we’d like to do, in three weeks.

The Sierra Lago resort, high in the mountains sounds like a gorgeous place to visit with its lovely cabins and beautiful mountain top lake. The little town of Navidad with its famous homemade ice cream and people of French background. The 7 hour circuit through the mountains to all sorts of hidden towns, lakes and volcanoes. Also to San Sebastien, an old mining town, that has been left behind in time with its mountain and mirador called La Bufa. The verb bufar is the sound that bulls or horses make, a kind of snorting sound. It is called La Bufa because when the wind blows in the mountains there, it sounds like snorting.

We walked to the bus station and bought our tickets to Puerto Vallarta, where we will meet our friends before taking a taxi to Chacala, Nayarit. Then wandered around to say goodbye to Silvia, our maid, Andreas in the coffee shop, the pharmacist who walks his dog up the mountain to the cross every day, Manuel, the tourist information guy in the centro, Ruben the belt and saddle maker, the tortilla ladies, the ice cream maker on the corner, and so many more. It has been easy making friends with the warm and friendly people who live here.

While we were in the centre, we met an artist from the States who was looking forward to teaching a landscaping course in Mascota, Thomas Van Stine. He won’t have trouble finding beautiful places to paint!

Fifteen minutes later we met Jonathan Dahl, an editor and chief of the Wall Street Journal, who was on tour from Vallarta to Talpa. The tour group had an hour stop in Mascota and we think that in the short time that Jonathan was here, he fell under Mascota’s charm, as we have.

Chris did a last walkabout, while I cleaned out the fridge and did some housekeeping, and then we went out for a dinner at our favourite restaurant, El Tapanco (the loft). The owner is Italian so we had his tasty lasagna with a salad, and a beer for $7 Cdn. That included the tax and tip. Where can we get a delicious meal for that price at home? Even making it at home would cost more!

We have really enjoyed being here and wish Mascota and its residents a prosperous New Year!

But we are looking forward to a new adventure with our friends Pat and Gail in the small beach
town of Chacala in the state of Nayarit.Read more