Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Gary Thompson, the owner of Gallery Pacifico in Vallarta, led a tour of the sculptures on the Malecon which lasted two hours. It was really nice learning the backstories of some of the pieces of art, as well as the artists. We ended the tour in his gallery where he offered all 50 of us water, soda or beer. He does this gratis, but asks for a donation to the Vallarta Public Library. He does a wonderful job!

The Subtle Stone Eater by Jonas Gutierrez ~ 2006

El Juglar, Flautist by Ramiz Barquet ~ 1999

St. Francis by Augosta Bozzano ~ 1997 This piece was willed to Ramiz Barquet by his Spanish friend Bozzano. Ramiz donated it to the city of Puerto Vallarta.

Gary Thompson talking about The Unicorn of Good Luck by Anibal Riebeling ~ 2011.

The Seahorse by Rafael Zamarripa ~ 1976
This is perhaps the most famous sculpture. There are actually two of them.
The second is on Los Muertos Beach near Vallarta Shores.

One of the shoes of a piece in Rotunda of the Sea by Alejandro Colunga ~ 1997

As we walked by the City Park, artists were working on their chalk art for an exhibit.

Tiger in progress.

Working in the hot sun.

We had our last beach lunch at Cuates y Cuetes. Very yummy grilled fish tacos and some cold beer. Ruth bought a silver chain for her pendants from a vendor. They are really working on the new pier. It should be ready by Christmas, if not sooner.

The railings are up.

We think they will be inlaying river rock like they have on El Malecon.

After lunch we did some shopping and bought dinner for the next two nights at Pollo Feliz. Ruth also bought some carrots at a little tienda. Easy meals!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Lindo Mar brunch for a second time! Yum. Next we headed to Casa Isabel to see our waiter Ilesio and his sweet little dog, Jean, who knows all of her tricks in English and in Spanish. Problem ~ No Bronco vs. Carolina game on their TV's. So, we walked down the very steep hill to Old Town and found a table in a room full of Bronco fans at El Torito. Great game!

Casa Isabel

We came home to Ocho Cascadas and gave Mary a Face Time tour of the villa. Ruth made Shrimp Florentine with shrimp from the little fish market and spinach from a small tienda that sells vegetables. Very yummy!

Dining Al Fresco

Open Air Living Space

Beautiful Wood Headboard

Little patio off the master bedroom.

Long Hallway to Master Bedroom

While Ruth was giving Mary the Face Time tour, she saw a group of mariachis at the top door  trying to get in. Not sure if they were soliciting or were supposed to be there, she went about her tour with Mary. A little later we heard the most beautiful music from Villa 4. It turns out that they had hired the mariachis for an hour of seranading. As they sang their farewell song, Rick and Ruth both noticed that they were the same group with the same signature song from Hacienda San Angel ~ La Joya de Mexico. We loved them so much that night and here they were, all eleven of them, right in our own Ocho Cascadas. Ruth ran out to see if they could sing one song for us while they were here. The mariachi she snagged coming up the steps was the one who sang La Paloma right to her at Hacienda. He was such a wonderful singer. But, sad to say, they were on their way to the airport for another job and were late...probably because Ruth would not let them in the grilled door.

This guy has a great voice!

As Ruth and Rick were talking with the mariachis on the stairwell, the door to the villa shut, locking us out. Rick had to boost Ruth up and over the wall. She shimmied along the wall over the infinity pool and made it across without falling into the water. Pretty hilarious!

Made it over!

Almost there!

We enjoyed the very delicious bottle of wine that Pat and Don bought Ruth as a thank you for helping with an internet problem at Vista Del Sol. Great day!

Thanks Don and Pat!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Today we all moved up the hill from Lindo Mar into Ocho Cascadas, which is a unique and beautiful property. It is open air on the ocean facing side with sweeping views of the Bay of Banderas. For our first night, we had the chef cook a meal for us. This time our chef was Lupe's niece, who did a great job with our Mahi Mahi Veracruz style.

That night none of us got too much sleep due to our very loud neighbors and their Kareoke party, which lasted until after midnight. When the singing was over, the party continued until dawn. Poor Barb and Bill had to fly out the next morning after a sleepless night. Many in the neighborhood complained and they were very quiet the following evening. The worst part is that NONE of them could sing worth a lick. Ouch!! Here we are doing catcalls. Barb is yelling, "Freebird!"

Ruth had ordered a kilo of lobster from the fisherman in the kayak at Lindo Mar. We walked down the hill and spent a nice beach day there. We brought the lobsters back and had a very interesting time opening them to get the meat out. Jose suggested sauteing the meat, so we did. Tasted great, but we think an easier way is to just boil them.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Barb and Bill walked into town for some shopping and some exercise. Ruth and Rick took the bus and located the Mercado near the Cuale River. We bought pasta, fruit, vegetables, vanilla and some glass items. We then made our way towards the beach for a quick shared fish taco at the Sea Monkey where we said a final farewell to Rafael. After lunch we walked up the street to the fish market, where we bought some shrimp. Also stopped at Los Mercados for some cheddar cheese, which is hard to find in PV.

Returning to Lindo Mar, we had a beach afternoon. It was very murky, but Ruth was surprised to see a large spotted ray swim by underneath her.

Dinner was a special time. We had sunset reservations at Hacienda San Angel. This compound was purchased for Susan Burton by her husband, Richard. She sold it to a woman who has created a beautiful boutique hotel with an amazing restaurant.

The mariachis were the best ever. Ruth was WOWED by the rendition of La Paloma Cucurucucu that was sung directly to her.

Too bad we did not have the camera figured out for that song. Ruth bought a CD and Barb bought the second. We will switch and have both on our iPods.

The dinner was  amazing. What a special night!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

We finally got to spend a "Lindo Mar Day" on the little beach. It is so lovely...non existent when the tide is in and cozy when it is out. Did some reading, some snorkeling and some swimming.

The fisherman who comes in daily in his kayak with lobster to sell brought a huge dorado today. He must be a skilled fisherman to be able to reel that fish in his little kayak. He sold it to La Playita restaurant at Lindo Mar, so I imagine we will be eating some of it. The cutest thing is the fisherman's best friend Mr. Pelican. He comes whenever the fisherman is on the beach cleaning his fish, loving the leftovers.

In the late afternoon we headed to Old Town to sample some well remembered daiquiris at Daiquiri Dicks on the beach. We ran into our favorite mariachis, Veracruz. We walked down the boardwalk to Si Señor for a sunset viewing and some guacamole. Ruth found owners for the last eight Beanie Babies. She came down with 76, so it took some doing giving them all away.

Embarcadero is a new restaurant just up from the pier and we gave it a try. Very good food! The owners have plans to double the size, as they own the small storefront next door, as well. There are plans to close Rodriquez Street and make it a pedestrian zone, which will be a nice little area leading to the pier and the beach. We hope they do well.