Puerta Vallarta by land and by water plus update

We picked a great day to cruise the shore of Puerta Vallarta and Old Puerta Vallarta.

The church is really cool looking. After losing the dome to an earthquake they reconstructed with lighter materials to withstand the next quake.

 And again by sea below.

And down the coast further are three rocks or islands called Los Arcos.

Anchorages on this south side of Banderas Bay are few and deep. The depth was 250 feet just 60 feet from shore. In contrast, a quarter mile off the north shore, you can be in 40 or 50 feet of water.

We are off to Bahia Tenacatita and anchorages near there later this week when the north winds and choppy seas die down a bit. Then back to Banderas Bay and Paradise Village Marina for the regatta in March.

Rocky is really doing well. He LOVES to get in the dingy and just barks a happy bark. To quiet him down, we have to put him in our laps. He is so funny--still chasing pelicans and frigate birds--  watching the air, water and passing boats for reasons to bark and protect.

We were second place in the multihull class of the Vallarta Cup this January. The boat we almost bought, the Tramatuana, now La Ballona Too, raced the last race and did very well. They beat the Kiapa, a 52 foot Gun Boat. The one we let get away......and that is okay. We love our Sun Baby. Although, to me, it still feels like Bill and Sue's boat. It just had been that way for so long.

Sailing back and forth in Banderas Bay is a heads up ordeal. There are whales everywhere, even on the race course. Larry says they are like cockroaches. I hope to upload some video but have not been successful unless the video is short. I will work on it.

P.S. Iguanas are everywhere. Our mangrove tour via dingy this morning revealed many iguana and one crocodile! Yikes!!

Botanical Gardens of Puerto Vallarta

We took a tour of the gardens and old Puerto Vallarta the other day. The Gardens are highly recommended. It opened in 2005 and boasts a myriad of plants, trails, a lucious clear river and a delightful restaurant with tables on the second level overlooking the river. The lower level has a ceiling height of about 20 feet, all open air and is a lovely place to cool down and take in the tranquility. Take a look:

This is a vanilla orchid! I never knew that vanilla comes from an orchid. It grows a long bean and I am told that vanilla extract is one of the most labor intensive products made.

This is the restuarant, shop and museum with koi pond out front. Just a great place. They have cases of butterfly specimen as well as beetles and other creepy-crawlys inside. Some incredible things live in the jungle.

Next stop was Old Puerta Vallarta. I will put those in the next blog.

View of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (u-ah-n-a-cau-sh-le)

This is our second stay here at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. (huanacaxtle is a tree you will met in our last  blog.) The town is small with minimal corporate interests. Streets of cobblestone take you to small tiendas and family owned businesses.  Foreigners discovered what the Indians and Spanish and now Mexicans already enjoyed; proximity to beaches, marine life, fishing and a lush landscape with water allowing productive agriculture not to mention warm weather.

The town has developed a big music scene with nightclubs and restaurants having live music most nights, both American music and Mexican music can be heard from the marina at night (past my bedtime).

The Sunday Farmer's market draws people from all around....even Puerto Vallarta, 21 kilometers away. We bought organic fruits and veggies, homemade bread and farm fresh eggs.   Take a look.

I have to say, fresh is yummy!

The fish market is open every morning. Pangas live in the northeast portion of the marina along side a smartly developed open air market. Fish come in and go direct to market. Chefs from all over come to buy shrimp, tuna, dorado and many other things I don't recognize.

Here are some photos of the marina area. They developed in an amphitheater, open air market, restaurant and Sky bar with great view of the area. Will try to add video when I have a better connection.

  video to up loaded here once I have a good connection!

Some other photos taken in the last weeks.

This is a yummy and stinky fruit. Oh, and Elizabeth too :-).

The inside.

Racing in Banderas Bay. Looks funny...a big flat cat and the graceful shapes of a monohull.

Tying up post race in Paradise Village Marina. Kiapa coming up behind us and Rocky is set to get pet!

Sailing Banderas Bay includes the responsibility of NOT hitting the whales. Here is an example of that. This pod kept going back and forth in the area we needed to sail to.  Must have been feeding on something good!

look here later for a video to be uploaded. need better signal.

Petroglyphs and jungle hike

We joined our friend April who has lived and raised her kids here in La Cruz for thirty years to go see the petroglyphs etched by native Indians thousands of years ago.

We hiked on a road for a few miles then down a rocky river bed under native palms and Huancaxtle trees. One tree is called the Gringo tree as it is red and peeling.

I have placed photos of some of the signs along the hike for your information about these Indians.

This is the Gringo tree. See that it is red and peeling.

Great jungle hiking in the shade! Lucky--no bugs or no biting bugs.

The Indians used this little plant to color in the petroglyphs although no paint is left to see over so much time. 

Larry found the coolest plant life. This is some sort of flower with seeds.

I spotted these philodendrons living up on the tree.

The tallest tree with the fine leaves is the Huancaxtle tree. It is similar to the Poinciana that Larry grew in Florida. These grow tall and thin trying to get light. Normally they grow out and up making an umbrella. The are fabulous in the town square casting a lot of shade.

A dragonfly.

This little guy (preying mantis) was in the road in our path. Amazing that we did not step on him.

Lush jungle with a Gringo tree up ahead.

Now for the petroglyphs. Most of them, it is thought, have significance of the sun, fertility or water.  The man figure is thought to be the shaman. The snake is said to be a symbol of water. The cross stands for the four cardinal directions. The sun is the spiral. That being said, I can't tell you exactly what all this below means but it looks cool.

With water we could make the petroglyph stand out.....

Now for the part I LOVED. This is the gathering area of the Indians and it is a sacred place. There are still a small band of them that celebrate here.

This place was so serene. We immediately stopped chatting and sat and soaked in the history and serenity of the area.

A couple more tidbits about the Indians...yikes!