Mexico & New Zealand - 2019/20

December 2019 - March 2020
From the known to the unknown. Read more
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  • Day 37

    Chacalilla Priv. Beach & Gated Community

    January 16, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    A week of Ukulele workshops with James Hill is planned for the last week in January. Of course, Gail and Pat are involved in the ukulele programs which appear to be lots of fun for the 20 participants coming from the U.S. Chris and I are leaving for New Zealand during this week so will not be attending but know that everyone will enjoy Chacala.

    James Hill’s mother-in-law, Dorothy, stays in Chacala during winters and we have met her on several occasions. She invited our gang for an afternoon visit to Chacalilla, a gated community on a secluded, peaceful beach, where she lives.

    The eight of us sat in the shade under palm trees, swam in the turquoise water and drank cervezas. The life...

    Then we walked to Dorothy and Bruce’s house, had a guided tour and ate the club house’s tasty french fries, and Lola’s guacamole and tostadas. The house is built in a jungle so we slathered ourselves with repellant and enjoyed watching the hummingbirds and other jungle birds flit through the trees.
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  • Day 38

    Zacualpan

    January 17, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We wanted to go back to the bustling town of Las Varas so that Pat and Gail could use the ATM and get some anti-itch stuff for the noseeums here. The hot weather has brought them out early and they are hungry. Chris wanted a haircut and we needed to check on buses to San Blas where we are going next week.

    Well, no point in staying too long in Las Varas when there are other towns we can visit, one being Zacualpan. We heard that this is a small town with 4,000-5,000 people. Most of the people living there are farmers or support the farming community. There is a pretty square and a lovely church.

    So, we caught a combi to Las Varas watched a young man with 10 fingers juggle machetes, and then took another combi to Zacualpan. The towns are not that far apart. We went past fields of tobacco, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelons until we came to the arches at the entrance of the town.

    It is a small town but does have a well-kept and active square. The bandshell in the middle was brightly painted and the old stone benches were also painted by individual families. A sign advertised the old hacienda that had once been in this area and owned by the Santana family.

    It was lunchtime and there was a taco stand with delicious beef, chorizo or goat fillings, as well as a goat stew, soup called Birria. We filled ourselves with the tacos and a Jamaica (HIbiscus flower) drink and listened as the animated waitress told us about the scary spirits who came out at night. Also about the old coins that were hidden inside the walls of the adobe houses. Treasures yet to be found!

    She also told us that there was a museum and we went looking for it after grabbing a Michoacan ice cream bar. The museum was actually an outdoor garden with several large stones with petroglyphs but the area was locked. We think that it was on the site of the old hacienda.

    Chris noticed a girl cutting hair so he asked if he could get a 2 finger scissor, rather than razor, haircut. His hair was 5 fingers long. Haha. She did a great job with his hair and charged him 40 pesos, or $2.80 Cdn.

    Gail and I walked around the outskirts of the town and everyone was friendly. The houses were definitely very old, many of them just one room. Lots of tractors and farm implements were on the rough cobblestone streets.

    The church with its stained glass windows and loaded with flowers, was airy and very nicely taken care of.

    The kids were all starting to come home from school and the old ranchers were meeting up with their buddies in the square.

    We jumped on a combi and headed back to Las Varas and then Chacala. It was a great way to spend a few hours away from the beach.
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  • Day 38

    Opening of a New Bakery

    January 17, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We met a wonderful couple who sell bread at the Saturday organic market in Chacala. Their bread is delicious. They mentioned that they will be opening a tiny bakery very close to our apartment and next door to the laundromat. It is an exciting time for them.

    Today, the bakery opened its doors and we went to visit it.
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  • Day 39

    Music and Dancing at a Tapas Bar

    January 18, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We heard that a very good band was playing Cuban Music at a little weekend Tapas Bar on Saturday night so we made plans to go for dinner and then enjoy some good music.

    Service was slow but we weren’t in a hurry. The music that started at 7 p.m. was excellent and Gail did a lot of dancing!

    We went home at 9 p.m. which is called the Chacala MIdnight. Haha. The place was packed with old geezers. One guy took a photo and then fell over. Someone called out that he was a Rock and Roller.
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  • Day 40

    Ladies’ Art Show

    January 19, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    From 2 - 5 p.m., some lady artists had an art show of their work in the Chacala Cultural Centre. They sold their art and profits went to supporting the centre. We forgot our phone so Gail took some photos for this footprint. We especially liked the photography on flowy nylon material.Read more

  • Day 41

    Overnight in San Blas

    January 20, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    If you've heard of San-Blas, you've probably heard about the bugs. The mosquitos aren't too bad, but the jejenes, sand flies or no-see-ums, can be brutal for some people. I tend to be the bug magnet for the group, but there is no way that a trip to this buggy place was going to deter me. San Blas has a wonderful reputation for the birds that live there (because of the bugs) and the river tour sounded wonderful.

    The good news is the bugs generally hang out down at the beach and are usually not too bad in the afternoons. They don't come out if there's a breeze. They come out mostly in the mornings, and late afternoons.

    So, having taken Vitamin B for a week and armed with bug spray, we caught the 11:30 Nayar bus from Las Varas to San Blas. Anticipating wiggly roads, I took a 1/4 of a gravol and was happy that I did that. Gail and Chris felt a little queasy and we were all happy when we arrived in San Blas.

    San Blas is a small fishing village of about 12,000 people on the Pacific Coast of Mexico located between Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan. There are no condos here, no major resort hotels, no shopping malls, no freeways, no golf courses and no stoplights. You don't need a car to get around. It is flat, so you can walk or take a bike around town, and buses run everywhere in Mexico.

    For such a small town, San Blas has really left a mark. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem about it called The Bells of San Blas. There is brass plaque with one of the verses on the very old church in the centro.
    “But to me, a dreamer of dreams,
    To whom what is and what seems
    Are often one and the same,
    The Bells of San Blas to me
    Have a strange, wild melody,
    And are something more than a name.”

    We heard that was a movie filmed in San Blas - Cabeza de Vaca - and we saw a part of the set in the river. There is also a hit song from the rock group Mana called El Muelle de San Blas.

    San Blas has also been in the international news several times. In 2002 San Blas was hit head on with Hurricane Keena, a category 5 hurricane. Much of the town was damaged or destroyed. We didn’t notice any evidence of the damage.

    In 2006, three fishermen from this area were rescued on a boat near the Marshall Islands after 9 months lost as sea. There was even an article in the New Yorker about them entitled The Castaways.

    We had done a little research regarding small clean hotels and immediately found Hotel Familia, about two blocks from the square. It had been a large house in the 1890’s, and the same family owns it but they have renovated it and now rent out the bedrooms. They also have a little restaurant in the front. Old world charm with a lush courtyard garden.

    Being pretty hungry, we flagged down a taxi and went to a beachside restaurant for some fresh seafood. It was a nice breezy spot with a musician who occasionally played some traditional music. Vendors casually sold beaded jewellery and coconut figures. They weren’t aggressive.

    The music encouraged Pat and Gail to waltz and some other Mexican women to easily coax an elderly chiclet vendor to dance with them. Well, he turned out to be quite the dancer. He even led a Congo line around the tables. He looked like a sailor to me and we learned that he was 100 years old!

    Little did we know, but an International bird festival was being held in San Blas during this week and lots of activities had been planned. Bird artwork was on display, daily afternoon children’s programs were offered and evening concerts were being held in the square.

    We walked around town but it was hot . No bugs though. Yay! We stopped in for refreshing drinks at the McDonalds bar. (Our friends’ last name is MacDonald. Close. As we were relaxing, two young boys came by with a big bag. We were not sure if they wanted us to buy what was in the bag or if they were joking. They opened it up carefully and there was a really big snake in the bag - a python! They actually said that it could be a pet or it could be eaten... They fed it mice.

    Dinner was a few tasty tacos on the square before the concert began. The staff in the restaurant used a gel bug repellent that they recommended. They sold us a few containers (Stanhope Healthy Care) and it really seemed to work for me.

    Tonight, a Rap Battle was on the agenda. Chris and I plopped ourselves down in the audience and totally enjoyed the skill that the young men had as they ‘battled’ against different opponents, with different background music and themes pulled from the audience. One theme that came up was about chocolate milk and another was about guacamole!!! People were laughing out loud. It was too hard for us to understand even though we got the gist of the battles. The audience as well as two judges declared the winners of each battle.

    We returned to the hotel and noticed an old man on a 4 wheel drive vehicle playing classical music. He would stop occasionally and play his violin to the music and then move on. Was it a statement or just something he liked to share with others...

    It was a fun day full of interesting experiences. And best of all, no bites!
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  • Day 42

    Tovara River Birding

    January 21, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Our hotel had very thick, old walls and good air conditioning so we had a very peaceful night. A light breakfast of coffee, toast, jam, fruit and cookies was served outside of our door at 7 a.m. and then we headed out to see some birds.

    The reason that we came to San Blas was to go on a river cruise up the Tovar’s River to see some of the many birds that inhabit this area.

    First a taxi ride to the dock area.

    Then an hour and a half slow boat trip starting out in a wonderful mangrove swamp. The guide helped to point out and identify the various tropical birds, alligators, turtles and iguanas that live in this natural habitat.

    We didn’t write down the names of the birds that we saw but I remember that we did spot several boat-billed herons, kingfishers, flycatchers, woodpeckers, doves, ibis, a great white heron, swallows, an osprey, vultures, chachalacas, anhingas and more. This area is home to more than 300 species of migratory and local bird species. In fact, over 80% of the migratory birds come here during the winter months from North America, making San Blas, Mexico’s best, ‘undisputed’ birding location. That is why birders have come from all over for the International Birding Festival that was being held in the town.

    One of our favourite moments occurred when we were watching up-close, a tree full of swallows. They didn’t seem bothered by us and then in a ‘puff’ all of them flew away. It was like watching a giant dandelion seed puffball had been blown upon. Very magical.

    We continued on and came to an open area where part of the Cabeza de Vaca movie set remained - little houses on stilts in the river.

    Eventually, we arrived at a swimming hole (which is fenced in securely, as it is in the same river as the crocodiles!), and our driver let us off for an hour to swim, lounge or grab a snack at the small restaurant. The water in the river was warm but refreshing and we had the whole swimming hole to ourselves.

    The guide returned and we had a fun speedy boat ride back to the docks. The excursion was well-worth the $10 Cdn admission.

    On the back to town, we thought about getting out of the combi and walking to the Contaduria fort, built in 1760. We changed our minds when we realized that we had to hike up a steep hill in the early afternoon heat. I guess that it will be something new to do if we ever visit San Blas again. The fort was also a counting house for the Spanish and has quite the history.

    When we got back to town, we had to wait around a bit for the bus, which gave us time for a lunch in the square and time to people watch. Kids were getting out of school so it is always fun to see what they are up to. Gail had time to get a haircut and I went on a successful search for postcards for our grandkids and stamps.

    Just before catching the bus, we took a 1/4 of a gravol which made our trip back to Las Varas on the Nayar bus, easy. Then a taxi to Chacala. We didn’t feel like making dinner so a ‘hamburger and fries’ dinner at the Surfer Boys restaurant was next on our agenda. We are so spoiled. On the way home we picked up our washed, dried and folded laundry ($2.80 cdn).

    Mexico ... With a little patience, a few dollars, no expectations of perfection and a ‘go with the flow’ attitude, you can have a pretty good life here.
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  • Day 47

    3 nights in Puerto Vallarta

    January 26, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Since our short trip to San Blas, we just hung out for 5 days and did beachy things with Pat and Gail, and apartment neighbours, Van and Lola, in Chacala. They are from Bellingham also and Lola has been busy getting things ready for the ukulele workshops. Gail will be running jam sessions during the workshops and Pat will be a gopher. So lots of excitement as everyone around us prepares to do their part. James Hill, the ukulele guru from Nova Scotia, arrived with his family and is staying with his mother-in-law, Dorothy. Chacala is small, so communication is pretty good.

    On Sunday, after a significant Saturday rainstorm, all of us packed up and got ready for the next segments of our trip. It’s always a little sad to say goodbye but we know we will meet up sometime in the future. We just don’t where! It has been a fun 3 weeks with our old friends.

    Pat and Gail moved into a hotel for a week and we got a bus to Vallarta. It was an extremely easy 2 hour trip to the bus terminal near the airport. We paid a taxi driver 200 pesos to take us right to our hotel, Hotel Eloisha, in the Old Town. Quick and easy!

    I picked the hotel because it is in an interesting part of town, was a reasonable price, and at the far end of the malecon. There is a park directly across the road and the hotel has a rooftop patio and small swimming pool with a good view of the ocean. A light breakfast is served in the mornings.

    We arrived before check-in time and we were offered available rooms. We actually chose an indoor room that ended up having a bit of a septic smell, so after the first night, they moved us to a room overlooking the park with a nice sunny balcony. We enjoyed watching the activities in the park. The huge patio on the rooftop was a great place to hangout and the pool was just right.

    Walking on the malecon was a daily treat. One day, we stood and watched a big pod of whales spouting and causing waves. Another day, we watched a very tanned man stack large and small rocks, one on top of another. Quite the balancing act. There are lots of wonderful restaurants so one night we took a break from tacos and pozole and had a pasta dinner in an Italian restaurant with wonderful service and excellent food. I think it was called Dolce Vita. Another afternoon, we ate two Mexican favourites of ours - a guacamole and Molcajete - at a nearby place called Margaritaville.

    We had a final laundry run before packing up and I got my hair cut. Mexican prices and service are the best!!! Our boarding passes for Our flight to L.A. were printed off in a nearby cyber cafe and we bought some didactic games for our grandkids at the Book Fair that was going on.

    We loved the convenience of everything. We will miss Mexico...
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  • Day 49

    Mosaic Project in Lazaro Cardenas Park

    January 28, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Right across the street from the Eloisha Hotel,there is a very active community park. The day that we arrived, there was a Ceviche Festival. Every morning, a large group of people have a Zumba class at 8 a.m. Folk dancers perform in the evening and musicians play. We were very impressed by an interesting and beautiful mosaic project that is ongoing. All the concrete park benches and pillars and walls are being covered with colourful mosaics - a huge project that volunteers are encouraged to take part in.

    Have a look at some of the many benches already completed.
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  • Day 50

    Puerto Vallarta to Auckland

    January 29, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The big travel day has arrived - 10,500 km. of flights!

    The past six weeks in Mexico have been everything that we thought that it would be. Three weeks in the traditional ‘magic’ village of Mascota in the mountains, three weeks on the beach with our friends in Chacala and a weekend in a bustling tourist city, Puerto Vallarta. As they say, ‘Variety is the spice of life’, and we have enjoyed many spices on this trip.

    We always look for flight options/deals when we travel. I found that we could fly to Auckland from Puerto Vallarta using Air Alaska (P.V. To L.A.) and then connect to Fiji Airlines (L.A. to Nadi to Auckland). By looking up each leg of the trip separately, I found that I could save a significant amount of money and the new times for departure worked better for us. Once again, it was less expensive to book separate flights for the trip to Auckland and home to Toronto (not round trip).

    We left P.V. by taxi at 11:30 a.m. after our last leisurely, inexpensive and tasty breakfast in Mexico. The ride from Old Vallarta to the airport cost a standard 200 pesos. We didn’t have bags to check-in and we had our boarding passes so we were in the departure lounge in no time.

    The flight to L.A. took 3 hours, but it was pretty bumpy. The poor lady sitting next to us was not feeling well at all. She was so happy when we were down on firm land.

    The L.A. Airport is big and we had to find Fiji Airways but we had lots of time as we had a 6 hour wait for our flight to Fiji. While we people-watched, we noticed face masks of all shapes and sizes.
    People from Asia were being held in a secure room for screenings with a ‘no entry’ sign on the door. Everyone is afraid of the Coronovirus that is spreading quickly in China. We were concerned too, as we were going to be confined in a plane for 10 hours.

    At 10:30 p.m., we took off and were impressed by the organization and care that the flight attendants offered on Fiji Airways. They even gave Chris and I masks when one of the passengers started to cough. We slept off and on as well as we could and were given two good meals.

    We arrived in Nadi early in the morning and took advantage of the 2 hour break to walk around and stretch a bit before boarding once again for the short 3 hour flight to Auckland.

    We arrived at midday on Friday, as there is an 18 hour time difference. We easily got a Vodaphone phone chip - 2 months, 10 gigs data, 200 minutes of phone call time, including Canada and other places in the world. $50 Cdn for the chip, which was installed right there. A great deal.

    We called the Apex car rental company and a shuttle came to pick us up. The process was easy and we now have Toyota Yaris for 2 months. Due to insurance covered by our Visa card, we will have to give up the car at the Wellington office and then pick it up 24 hours later.

    Now the test... driving on the other side of the road to get to our unfamiliar accommodations in a new city. Using the window wiper levers instead of the turn signals. Arghh.

    Thank heavens for Google maps. We made it to our homestay in 20 minutes without incident.
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