Puerto Vallarta

Arriving just before 1:00 PM we disconnected the Jeep and checked out the space we hoped to use as we knew that site 3 was clear of trees in the line of sight for the Starchoice satellites. Problem. The coconut tree that that overhangs the patio and parking areas was loaded with ripe and over-ripe coconuts and the ground was littered with those that had already fallen. Too much risk of damage to the rig or ourselves, so we parked in site 3.

A nice enough space but there were a couple of trees that could be a problem for the satellite. We got the slides out, water and power connected and Art activated the dish. It went round and round and up and down then finally gave up and stored itself in the down position.

Later on the neighbour offered us the use of the one remaining output from their dish. We accepted with thanks, and ran a cable through the driver's window. The receiver we are using has two inputs which allows reception of two channels at a time, one to watch and one to record, or record two different channels at the same time. Art disconnected one of the input cables from our dish and replaced it with the one from the neighbours. We had a signal.

Or did we? 299, the default channel was fine but when we changed to 358 to watch the news from home there was no signal. We were a bit surprised but tried a few other channels to find that half of them worked and half didn't. Very confusing.

After playing around for a while Art noticed that the channels that the had a signal and those that did not alternated! For example if there was a signal on 299 and we switched to 358, then 358 would report no signal. Moving on to say 336 (Global BC) it would be fine. Going then to 299, which first worked, would now show no signal! Going from there to 358 would result in a signal! Weird! Still don't know why, but all we have to do is go to random channel before selection the one we really want to watch. Art will mess around with it another day to try to figure out what is going on.

We didn't have a lot planned for PV other than a visit with our friends. We called Melchor and Marta to see what was on their schedule and the same with Bill and Anita.

Bill and Anita were a Punta Mita for the weekend, we thought we could visit them on Sunday. Saturday morning Art strolled up the block to Melchor's Language School and caught him just before class started. They had a quick chat and arranged to meet after class.

A few minutes to one we arrived at the school and waited out side for class to finish but Marta saw us through the glass and brought us inside. Class was running late so we sat and took in ten minutes or so. As always we were impressed by how effective this lesson arrangement is.

They advised that tonight (Saturday) would be the best time as Marta had plans with her mother on Sunday. We asked if they had a favourite restaurant and they both quickly said with a grin “Oh Yes!”, El Cafe de las Artistas. They told us that it is very expensive and that they had been there before but only as guests. We decided to splurge and invited them to join us.

We settled on a plan: Melchor and Marta phone to make reservations and would come to the RV Park at 7:30 and we would take a taxi to the restaurant as parking was difficult. We arrived at 8:00 to find that they had written the reservation down for two people instead of four. A few minutes wait and we led to our table.

The menu looked promising and was not as expensive as expected. Not cheap but not outrageous.

After we had all received our drinks and had made our dinner choices we were presented with a “l'amuse bouche”, (amuse mouth), a very tiny appetiser; a salmon sushi which we all pronounced delicious, except that Gillian's contained bones!

Starter courses were up to expectations, though Melchor at first was a little surprised when his soup plate arrived. The next moment he looked a lot happier.

Art's chicken and quail pairing was perfect, the others too much enjoyed their meals. The bottle of Pinot Noir we ordered was not available but surprise surprise they had another from another company that was listed at 160 pesos more but they could give us a better price! The wine was very good, well worth the price as was the entire experience.

We had a marvelous evening chatting, catching up; Yesi is now 20 and still at university in Morelia, Alex is now 18 and attending university in Puerto Vallarta. He was unable to join us as he is also working. We remember the first time we had met their children, Alex not yet walking or talking, sitting and mostly sleeping on Art's lap throughout dinner! We think that we first met Melchor and his then girl friend Marta in 1987 or 1988.

We took a taxi back to the RV Park and continued our visit in the mororhome until the small hours. We only get together for a few hours each year but our friendship somehow endures.

Sunday Art remembered to look into the problem with the electrical connection to the Jeep. A volt meter to the outlet on the back of the motorhome showed no electrical power at all. Getting down on to look below he made a discovery. It appeared that an electrical harness had passed under a frame member. Something had obviously some solidly against it, severing the cablle.

The good news was that Art felt that this repair was well within his ability, the only question being "Did he have enough of the required connectors or would he have to wait until Monday to get more?".

The answer was "Just!".

Happy that the job had gone so smoothly Art wondered what would go wrong next? We leave for Mazatlan in the morning.

He should have suppressed that thought. There were more "RV Moments" or as Gillian likes to say, "Blog Fodder", yet to come.

Leaving Zihuatanejo

Wednesday, March 7th, Departure Day.

We woke up around 7:30 which is just as well; we still had some things to take care of, not the least was to feed ourselves and the dogs. We also watched bit of the Global BC News out of Vancouver which tends to slow us down a bit. The dogs too needed a good walk before we set off.

Eventually we got everything stowed inside and the slides in and were ready to start moving. The engine fired up instantly, no long cranking or outpourings of black smoke. A good omen! Once the air pressure had built up enough to release the spring brakes and fill the air bag suspension Art rolled the rig out and backed it up the the Jeep which had previously been moved.

While Art attached safety cables, the air line and cylinder and piston which allows the motorhome air brakes to actuate the jeep brakes, the wiring harness for tail, signal and brake lights on the Jeep and of course the towbar itself Gillian packed the last box of stuff into one of the bins and picked up and stowed the leveling blocks that we need while the hydraulic levers are in operative.

Then it was hugs all round, a photo op (I'll post them when Julia e-mails them to me. Hint Hint Julia!) and we rolled out the gate at 10:30. Julia was not overly impressed with a certain gentleman who had told her we would be leaving at about 9:00 AM as she had been out late doing a photo shoot and up until 4:00 AM editing and posting them to the website. She had set her alarm so that she could wake up in time to say good-bye. Good thing we are friends.

We were surprised to see some major road construction and a few detours to the north of Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa. Years ago they had begun construction of a new section of highway including a large bridge over the river. The bridge had ended at a cliff face and construction stopped for many years. We referred to it as "The Bridge to Nowhere". We were particularly taken by this detour sign which pointed directly at a deep ditch with 50' high rock wall beyond it!


They have almost completed the section through Zihuatanejo itself and now it looks like they plan to complete the entire section to the north. Not before time. This is a section of the Mex 200, the only north-south road along the coast that runs from Tepic, which is north of Puerto Vallarta, all the way to the Guatemala border.



Along the way we made notes and took photos of the route to and through Lazaro Cardenas for a friend and fellow camper who will departing in another week. Apparently last time he drove this route he missed a turn and ended up down in the docks in Lazaro! Much easier this time, the roads have been changed a little and there is great signage--a rarity in Mexico. (See above detour sign!)





The run north was uneventful, in spite of the road construction which continued on for quite a distance. Someone must be serious this time. They are cutting off a lot of tight corners. There were a few bits that took a little attention and caution but as I say, more or less uneventful. As you can see in the photo, even the straight bits could use some improvement.

It was getting warm in the RV as the day progressed. The dash air isn't too effective with such a large volume to try to cool. We had our water bottles and a bit of breeze so we were quite comfortable.

At kilometer marker 103 we knew we were seconds away from the RV Park, located at KM 103.5 BUT as we rounded the corner there was a military check point just a few meters before the park entrance. This was our second military check today. They asked our names, where we lived, where we came from today and where we were going today. In answer to the last question Art was able to point down towards the RV Park just below us. The entrance was just a few meters away!


A very short time later, about 2:15, we were parked on the grass. We hadn't bothered to unhook and back into a space since we were not staying long and the 15 amp power wouldn't be enough for the air conditioner anyway so we just dry camped and ran the generator for a few hours to cool the rig down a bit.

We put the satellite dish up and watched a bit of TV during the evening, mostly the news, using the inverter and our well charged batteries.




This is a very pretty place, owned we think by the local community. It's full name is Zapote Tizupan Centro Ecoturistico. It is better known as Kilometer one o three and a half from its address. (Km 103.5 Carretera Playa Azul--Manzanillo, Michoacán)

Water for the pool and we assume everything else comes from a dug brick lined well.


March 8 to Cadillac Ranch, Barra de Navidad

Thursday morning we were on the road again at 8:45, another fairly easy drive. It would be possible to make Puerto Vallarta but it would be a very long, hot day with the worst of the road at the end. No point in pushing it. The driving days after PV would be long ones.



We stopped for lunch at the toll booth on the Manzanillo cuota (toll highway) at 12:15 and again at 1:30 for fuel in Manzanillo. Somewhere along this stretch the official photographer and navigator took this picture of one of the many waterways.





We turned off the highway towards Barra de Navidad, the campground entrance just a kilometer up the road. We thought. We had been here before a few years ago and remembered that the entrance was down a very narrow rough track. We recognised it immediately and turned down it proceeding very slowly as it was worse than we remembered.

When we got to the point where we would turn right into the park we noticed a wire fence closing off what was now an obviously disused lane. The track we were on stopped a hundred meters further on, ending in a thankfully mowed and flat area big enough to turn around in. We stopped and got out to disconnect the jeep.

Art opened the jeep's drivers door to set the parking brake and the alarm went off! This shouldn't have been possible as the jeeps battery has an automatic disconnect switch that opens when there is power down the electrical connection from the motorhome! A mad scramble for the jeep key with the alarm attached and we were able to quiet it.

We got unhooked and turned around and made it back up the track to the road. We carried on a few hundred meters further along the road we came across a new sign to the Cadillac Ranch RV Park. We met Don, the owner, on his way out on his bike to come and get us!

The new entrance wasn't a lot better but at least it was open. Don said that he had rented the original road from the neighbouring property owner who kept increasing the rent to the point that it became impossible. The new entrance is directly opposite the large blue Corona sign.

We were in our space by 2:45.

Art decided to dump the holding tanks and refill the freshwater tank first then moved the rig over a few feet to a more level part of our site. This way he was able to use the short sewer hose and not have to fight with the longer ones. This led to another RV Moment: Art hadn't been careful enough when connecting the hose. As he opened the black tank valve Gillian shouted that it was spilling. He thought she meant at the connection and looked at that but what she meant was that the drain was backing up behind him where he was kneeling on the ground.

He closed the valve then slowly opened it again then suddenly the hose came off the drain! Shades of Robin Williams in "RV"! He still had one hand on the gate valve and was able to close it quickly and with the other hand pushed the hose back onto the drain and secure it tightly. Nothing on his clothes. Some copious use of water and a little bleach and we were good!

The rest of the tank dumping went fine, keeping the valves partially closed to keep the flow rate down.

There was a shy young German Shepherd puppy who was quite interested in Trekker and vice versa and they eventually got along just fine. Gillian tried out the pool while Art, after a change of clothes, lay down on the couch for a nap!


With all the excitement of our arrival we completely forgot to check what allowed the Jeep alarm to function.


Friday morning we proceeded to hook up the Jeep only to find there were no tail lights, brake lights or signal lights. Oh Right!--there was a problem yesterday. Art really didn't feel like tackling it at the moment and the motorhome lights are clearly visible over and around the Jeep so he decided to set off anyway. So at 8:45 we hit the road for PV.

Most of the road was fairly easy driving bit as we get closer to the city the highway becomes very hilly and twisty and narrow and full of pot holes. On the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta we ran into some much needed road reconstruction; they were pouring a very thick layer of concrete over the asphalt., Much of the road was single lane with alternating one way traffic with sharp drop offs on each side. Not hard driving but needed to pay attention.

What with the construction delays and the heavy traffic in town north of the tunnels it took about an hour from Mismaloya to the Puerto Vallarta RV Park on Calle Francia. We arrived at 12:55.


March 9 10 11 Puerto Vallarta coming in the next post.

Last week in Zihuatanejo

One more week then we must leave. Lots to do but we'll get it done somehow.

March 1st, the first step was to take down the rope lights and Christmas lights, take down and wash awning screen and rehang it on the awning to drip dry. Besides, we'll need the shade until the last minute.

We also remembered to check the tire pressure. Fortunately they had only lost a pound or two so we a are good to go.


Friday (March 2nd) we attended a display of a local artists work then proceeded into centro for dinner. The place was very busy, no place to park so we went back towards home to Puesta Del Sol restaurant on the La Ropa road above Playa Madera, over looking the bay.

Wonderful dinner. Their specialty seems to be flambeed everything! Not thankfully the made-at-your-table Caesar Salad. Egg cracked against the edge of the large wooden bowl using two spoons and just enough egg white dribbled onto the mix.




We were entertained by a talented singer who accompanied herself on the guitar.


Saturday Art cooked a huge breast of turkey on the BBQ for our dinner tonight, sandwiches for lunches on our trip northbound and likely another meal somewhere along the way. Gillian had marinated the meat in a mixture of yoghurt, garlic and fresh tarragon (from our herb garden that would be left behind for the chef) which resulted in a beautifully tender and moist roast.

The worst cleaning job was done on Sunday; getting rid of three months buildup of carbon and grease! We let it dry for a few hours then packed away.

Art found time to head over around the corner for a much needed massage then returned for a short nap! Gillian also took a short break before Art took down the hammock so it too could be washed, dried and stowed away.

At the end of the day the outside shade for the drivers, passenger windows and windshield were taken down to be washed, though Art washed them in place when he cleaned the front of the rig.


Monday: The tow bar needed to reinstalled on the jeep, and easy chore, just a quick wipe, it had been cleaned and stored with its cover in place since we arrived. The cover though needed a good wash as did the Tow Shield which attaches to the front of the Jeep to deflect the worse of the dust and gravel. Then it was time for lunch in El Manglar.

After a short rest after lunch Art filled the freshwater tank, dumped the holding tanks and cleaned and stowed all the hoses. We never like to leave this task for the last!



By the time we were done the day we were both tired out and neither of us felt much like cooking or even going out. So the next best thing was to order a take out from El Manglar. As usual when we do this we take our own plates down to the restaurant and either Martin or Memo delivers to the motorhome door. We decided to order one El Manglar Salad with prawns and one order of calamari and we would share. Art ate most of the prawns and Gillian most of the calamari.



Tuesday, our last day, was the busiest one. Finally the sun shade was taken down once the sun had reached its zenith and stored in its bag. Now, how did we fold this to fit? After a couple of tries we got it to work.

The wooden stand for our water bottle had to be taken apart to be stowed. While Art was working on this a neighbour came around to borrow our latter before Art tied it back on its rack on the back of the motorhome. When Dieter returned the latter he stopped at the front of the motorhome and washed the windshield!

Finally the large patio mat need to be cleaned. We carried it over to a relatively clean patch of gravel in the parking lot and went work with brushes, soap and water. A good rinse with the hose and to get the soap off we then draped it over the Jeep to dry in the sun. Then we had to get it back into its bag! Fortunately the creases were still visible and we got it right the first time.

At long last everything was stowed. The tomato plants and herb container were carried down to near the restaurant to be taken home by Martin, the waiter, Edmundo, the owner's father, and Niño, the chef.

While Art lay down for a short rest Gillian took the dogs for their last evening walk. That evening 12 of us met in the El Manglar Restaurant for our Last Supper. This has become almost a tradition here, whenever one of the long term regulars leave or arrive.





On arrival back at the motorhome we found the remains of the empty dog food bag that Art had left in the sink as it was too big for the small garbage bin under the sink. Trekker found it anyway. This year is the first time he has taken things from the counter or tables. Major work ahead when we get back. It might even involve mouse traps!

Zihuatanejo February 2012

February


For the next couple of weeks we took turns doing our stint at the Sailfest sales and tickets desk in centro in front of the Barracruda Bar. We sold hats, t-shirts, tickets to various events and provided information to the passers-by.

Thursday: One of the weekly visits to one of the schools supported by last year's Sailfest. The pictures show the three rooms of the current school built by parents out of salvaged materials and the new three room concrete and brick building almost ready for occupancy. The bathroom building was built a couple of years ago. Hopefully next year the old buildings will be torn down and replaced with a modern, safe and clean structure. Please read the link to the Por Los Niños site.

Thursday evening we also managed to take in the SailFest Benefit Concert at El Pueblo restaurant. We volunteered to man the ticket sales table here too as it would guarantee us a non smoking seat! Art arrived first (Gillian stayed back to walk and feed the dogs) and walked up to the bar to order a beer and asked the bartender if he could run a tab for the evening, including our dinner. The response was “Claro Arturo!” Art gave him a second look and recognised Chucho (Jesus) a former waiter from El Manglar!

The music was terrific, possibly the best SailFest benefit concert ever. The locale is good too; much of the restaurant is in a central courtyard with a nice backdrop for the stage. The photos are of Juanito Zihua and friends and Michelle Lavalle

There were the sail boat pursuit race, a grand sail past, auctions, a Chili Cook Off, Artisans' displays etc etc etc. We had a great time throughout.

One day we returned to the motorhome to find the bread box on the floor, lid off to one side and two torn paper bags that had once been intact and had previously contained bolillos. The box had been left on the dinette. Trekker is the prime suspect in the Break and Enter but Tia was likely an accomplice in disposing of the goods after the fact!

And in the Small World Department:

One day mid week we went to Lety's restaurant just south of centro and across a canal that runs into the bay near the pier. After an excellent meal we began chatting with two couples at the next table. As usual, in part the conversation (after commenting on the wonderful meals) led to “Where are you from?”. To our response of Victoria they said that they too were from the Island and lived in Ladysmith. Gillian's response to that was a short laugh as Art responded with “How long have you lived there? I grew up there, had all my schooling there". One of the men asked our last name and when he replied “Jackson” He looked Art in the eye and said “Art Jackson!” put his hand out and said “David Savard”! His wife said that Art looks just like his brother! It must have been the better part of 40 or 50 years since we had last met.

David's older brother was one of Art's child hood friends, he knew his mother quite well as she was the local dentist's assistant. There was also later a family connection through marriage and David and his wife knew his brother and niece quite well. Art also had probably met David's wife many decades ago as her parents ran a small corner store that he had visited. We later met them again at El Manglar Restaurant a couple of times, Art having recommended it to them--they seemed to like it. Further investigation indicates that they live just a few houses from one that Art used to own.

Next Saturday we joined our friend Nancy and Steve first at Daniel's for dinner to Jimi Mamou playing and singing, then to Barracruda for drinks and Colin Austin's old time rock and roll.

Monday, February 20 Laundry day again. So you can get an idea of what it costs to live down here, here is Art's morning spending:

Laundry, (2 washers one dryer) 76 pesos. Breakfast 50 pesos plus 10 peso tip. Double espresso 30 pesos plus 10 peso tip. Hair cut 20 pesos plus 10 pesos for the hairdresser's 5 year old. Shoeshine 30 pesos (overcharged 10 pesos so no tip!). Total 241 pesos, about 20.00 dollars.

Later in the day Art spent some time in the restaurant and around the estuary with the camera and found some good subjects.

This baby crocodile is about 18 inches long.

He was pleased to finally get photos comparing the estuary from full to empty in just over 3 hours apart. It will stay low until the tide and waves rebuild the sand bar then it will slowly fill over a few days.

And the view from the other direction:

Tuesday we had diner at El Manglar with Nancy and Steve, they leave tomorrow, we leave in two weeks! Art brought along a bottle of Laphroaig for sipping after dinner.

Wednesday we attended a show of old photographs of Zihuatanejo in the local volunteer Art Gallery. Very impressive. There were many excellent exhibits, many by a local (American) photographer Gene Lysaker, who has been taking wonderful pictures here for decades. He is known to the locals as "Cri Cri" from the noise of the old time shutter snapping. This is also a sound attributed to crickets.

We finished the month making sure we visited a few new to us restaurants, notably “La Papa Loca” (The Crazy Potato) famous for stuffed potatoes . Delicious and inexpensive.

Sunday night many the campers in the RV Park got together for Pizza, delivered by Jungle Pizza, just down the road from us. This was the Buen Viaje party for our friends Keith and Yvonne and Brian and Arlene who were leaving in the morning.

We all got up to see them off. Sure is quiet around here now!

February 29^th we finally made reservations at Zi Restaurant for the three course dinner we had the winning bid for at the charity auction. Our starter courses were excellent to good, a cuitlacoche soup (a black mushroom or fungus that grows on corn—tasted like an earthy cream of mushroom soup) pronounced excellent by Art, a salad with dried fruit described by Gillian as “tasty but different”.

For the main courses the food was very good and nicely cooked (Art had rack of lamb, Gillian had Tuna) the choices of accompaniment seemed a bit odd. Full marks for using traditional foods but we each thought that the items didn't suit the meat. We could almost have traded.

Deserts were excellent. Art's Coffee Soufle with Cream of Kahlah was rich yet melt-in-your-mouth light and frothy. Gillian's Chocolate Blackberry cake got the same response. Drinks were good, wine list better than most in Mexico. One of the more expensive places to eat, but we probably won't go back.

We've paid for another week, we'll be leaving one week today.

Zihuatanejo January 2012

New Year's Day

Breakfast: We had decided to start the new year by going out for brunch or at least a late breakfast. The question was “Who would be open after celebrating all night?” We settled for Margarita's, a restaurant which Art used to patronise regularly when they were in centro near the laundry. A year or so ago they moved to the Playa Madera area and we had yet to visit their new location.

Margarita's appeared to be open, at least the door was partially open. We pushed through. Inside, not a sound, the kitchen vacant, not a single person in the dining area. Almost spooky—like something out of The Twilight Zone!

Back out in the parking lot a bystander said something about a big party last night!

Hungry and disappointed we drove on into centro to see who might be open. We chose Los Braseros, another restaurant that we are familiar with, also one that features traditional Mexican dishes as well as the standard eggs, pancakes etc. and started 2012 with an enjoyable Mexican breakfast; huevos a la mexicana, chiliquilies, fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee.

Wednesday we invited our friends Jorge and Lulu to join us in drive south to the village of La Maciel de Soledad, also called El Chole for some reason.

For decades the locals have been finding bits of pottery, tools and other signs of ancient habitation and all knew that under some of the hills were pyramids and the ruins of an old settlement. Several of the locals had small collections of items found while farming their land. Most of the good stuff had gone to the museums in Mexico City but the officials there seemed rather uninterested in this archeological site except for erecting a small sign: Zona Arcologia. 7 or 8 years ago we toured the area with Adan, one of these young locals who had a small museum in his house to display the items that had been found.

A few years ago The Powers That Be finally decided to invest a little time and money and to begin a proper excavation. Unfortunately the self-taught locals were more or less ignored and their private collections were confiscated.

This website shows much of this early museum. http://soledaddemaciel.com/index.htm

A new museum has been built and several of the locals now acting as unofficial guides around the ruins, excavations and reconstruction areas.

Unfortunately the museum was closed during the time Jorge and Lulu were here but we did get the opportunity to have a good look around the site. Perhaps we'll manage a trip back when the museum is open.

Friday the 6^th we took a few more pictures around and in the estuary alongside El Manglar; A couple of guanas and a tortuga.

The rest of the first half of January was taken up with relaxing, visiting old friends and checking out old and new restaurants. We did finally get to eat at Margarita's; we took our friend Lynda and her two kids out to lunch there one afternoon.

Monday the 16^th we decided it would be pizza night—home made pizza on the Baby Weber BBQ.

Gillian mixed the dough using the breadmaker, saved half in the freezer for another day, rolled the remaining half out and constructed the pizza--Chicken, red and green peppers, onion and mushroom. Art was tasked with babysitting the BBQ. It turned out perfectly.

And over the next few days he managed to get a few good shots of local birds in their natural habitat.



and a couple of nice sunsets.

The last week or so of the month the twice weekly organizational meetings for the upcoming SailFest began. SailFest is an annual fund raiser for the Por Los Ninos organization which helps build schools for the very poor areas and provides English language and other scholarships to these children.

We also attended a fund raiser wine and cheese at the Catalina hotel, to raise money to help support chronically ill and handicapped children and their families. Here we were successful bidder in the silent auction for a three course dinner for two at the Zi Restaurant in the local Club InterWest. We'll report on that when we try it.

On the 30^th Gillian attended a cooking class where she learned to make chili rellenos. This looks promising!

And to finish the month we attended the first fundraiser for SailFest, where the band M.Docs played at Paccalo's restaurant and donated all their tips to Por Los Ninos. In spite of their amplifier failing after 40 minutes they raised over 800 dollars, finishing their evening by going table to table to perform!