Puerto Vallarta Monday, November 11, 2014

Rainy, rainy day! We woke up to thunder and rain. It drizzled and then rained hard and the drizzled again. We have not seen all day rain here very many times.

Sandy and Victor went on a scuba trip to Los Mariettas Islands early this morning. Hope the weather was better out there for them.

Rick and I read, played cards and watched TV on our special big screen television!

We had a homemade gourmet dinner tonight. Earlier we had picked up a kilo of shrimp at the fish market in town. Eduardo, our chef from Thursday night, left several spices and sauces in our fridge. We had a ginger fish sauce, a chili oil, sesame oil, fresh ginger, fresh cilantro, garlic, an onion and shrimp soup and various spices that we did not know what to do with.

Victor did all of the chopping.

Rick dried each cilantro leaf for Victor to chop.

We began by sauteing the onion, garlic and ginger in the sesame oil. Then we added the shrimp and the sauces. We served our creation on linguine.

Our salad was a combo of leftovers. Earlier we had cooked fresh market carrots with onion in sesame oil. Ruth had cut up a jicama earlier. And we had purchased a star fruit at the market out of curiosity.

We were very happy with ourselves!

Oh, and Sandy and Ruth loved wearing their new beach dresses for the evening!

Puerto Vallarta Sunday, November 10, 2014

Sandy and Victor took off for the Malecon to explore. Rick and I headed to El Torito to watch the Bronco/Raider game. We ran into SoozS again...we sure like the same things! Lots of Bronco fans today!

Crazy Bronco hat!

After the game the four of us walked to the Plaza in front of Our Mother of Guadeloupe church to listen to the Civic Band play in the plaza gazebo and watch the dancing.

The pink ribbons for Breast Cancer Awareness are strung on the trees in the Plaza. Brest Cancer is a universal issue.

There was a chalk art contest. A young boy named Raul was exhibiting along with the adults. His peacock was quite good.

Then we walked down the Malecon extension to get to No Way Jose. Kind of a touristy name, but this is a top notch restaurant! We shared a bottle of very good Cabernet as well as table prepared Caesar salad.

Sandy and Victor in front of the Mexican Navy Museum

Cotton candy and all kinds of goodies are for sale on Sunday night.

Lots of toys for lucky kids.

Kids playing on the statue.

Table side Caesar Salad!

Fun to watch and oh so good! Sandy and Victor tried my favorite ~ the Chili en Nogado ~ a poblano chili stuffed with ground beef in a walnut and spice sauce. It always has pomegranite seeds on top. Great traditional Mexican dish.

Since Sandy and Victor were going scuba diving the next day, we did not stay out late. Headed home for a Kahlua and cream and listened to various artists' rendition of Maleguena Salerosa. Love that song!

Puerto Vallarta Saturday, November 8, 2014

Today was a beach day with Victor and Sandy at Linda Mar after the wonderful brunch there. We always look forward to brunch at Lindo Mar! after brunch, we said goodbye to Barb and Bill, who were headed back to Denver.

At sunset we met our beach vendor, Jose, to pay him for the dresses we bought when we were cashless. So nice ~ the trust! Dinner was at Joe Jack's Fish Shack. Always delicious and we love the mojitos.

Sandy and Victor wanted to try to find a Cuban dance spot that they had visited 8 years ago. We located La Bodequita de Medio on the Malecon with the help of Tripadvisor. Our taxi driver wanted to take us to the Hotel Zone, so we appreciated knowing the location ahead of time.

Of course, we were too early, but there was huge car show on the Malecon. We had fun wandering and looking at so many tricked up cars. One had a BBQ grill on it and most had loud music and lots of lights.

Lots of Volkwagons ~ Beetles and Vans

This one has a grill!

This one has a visor.

La Bodequita del Medio was fun. Sandy and Victor enjoyed some dancing while Rick and I enjoyed watching the dancers are drinking our ice cold Cabernet. They always chill the Cab in Mexico!

The original Bodequita del Medio was in Havana and Ernest Hemmingway frequented it.

Thousands of signatures on the walls.

Friday, November 6, 2014

Ocean Grill was our destination for Friday. This wonderful discovery that is only reached via a panga (boat) is perched on a hill in the jungle south of Puerto Vallarta. We took the 20 minute bus ride to Boca de Tomatlan south of town. The bus rides are an adventure to themselves with jolting stops and starts and beautiful vistas of the ocean all the way. From the bus stop we walk to the pier and wait for Alfonso, the owner of Ocean Grill, to send his panga to fetch us. In five minutes we are at his sweet little spot in the jungle.

We visited Alfonso and Wilson, his great dane, the first year he opened. Last year he added a large deck with a huge palapa roof, tripling the size of his restaurant. His food is gourmet and his House Margarita is wonderful, with ginger and mint.

Excellent shrimp!!

After our delicious shrimp lunch with grilled vegetables, we walked down the rickety wooden pathway to Los Colomitos Beach, where we spent the afternoon swimming and sunbathing. Ruth snorkled and saw quite a mix of fish, the most interesting being two 5 foot gars.

 Wilson, the resident Great Dane, has his own island complete with sand and a hammock.

Wilson's Island

Pineapple truck on the way to the market.

We took the bus from Boca to Puerto Vallarta's Municipal Market where we bought fixings for dinner: El Pachugon rotisserie chicken, papas and fresh carrots that Victor cooked in foil packets with sesame oil and spices. Very nice end to a fun day!