Exploring PV

Been getting a lot of good use out of our rental car these last few days, exploring all of the little beaches to the north of us as far away as Playa Chacala - about 50 miles up the highway. All of them pretty, and each of them reminding us very much of "Old Hawaii"...probably the way it was back in the 50's or 60's.

Sunday morning we headed the other way into Puerto Vallarta and walked around the city for a few hours before grabbing lunch in a small local place just off the Malecon, which is their pedestrian thoroughfare along the waterfront - very pretty on a sunny morning - especially before all of the other touristas descended upon it for the midday stroll.

Been seeing some beautiful sunrises (and sunsets) from outside our back door.

The Malecon early on a Sunday morning. 

It really is a pleasant walk - goes for about a mile along the seafront in Viejo Vallarta, with lots of statuary and displays like this that make for good photo ops. It's not just the tourists that turn out on sunny weekends either. There were lots of Mexican families enjoying the day as well - including two that we saw with their young daughters out posing for pictures in formal gowns after church...apparently it was the day of their Quinceanero, or combination 15th birthday party and "coming out" celebration. 

Don't know the story behind it but this seems to be the symbol of Puerto Vallarta - at least it's the image that you see plastered all over the place. 

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, or the "Church of the Crown", is both a local landmark and the heart of Old Town in PV. 

Been out snorkeling a few times but without much luck until today when we found a pretty little hidden cove way off the beaten track where the water was actually clear enough to see something. Although the beaches are uniformly gorgeous, with lots of golden sand stretching for miles, there doesn't appear to be an offshore  reef  as is the case in Hawaii. There are Humpback whales here, however, come down from their feeding grounds in Alaska to give birth to the year's calves before heading back north in a few months. While I was out the other day there was one not far from me offshore. Every time I dove down or put my head underwater I heard a chorus of whalesong...so close a couple of times that I popped to the surface to have a look around, thinking that she must have been right next to me.

Been enjoying the car so much that we've extended it an extra couple of weeks, both to continue exploring and just to more thoroughly enjoy some of our earlier discoveries.

Puerto Vallarta

Looking back at our rental villa from the beach

Actually, we're staying in the little town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (500 points in scrabble, and extra credit if you can actually pronounce it) about 15 miles north of Puerto Vallarta...still on Bahia Banderas but away from the hustle of the big town. We're about 20 minutes from Sayulita, another sleepy but exceptionally pretty little Mexican hole in the wall. Been exploring by local bus and on foot for the past few days, and finally broke down and rented a car to add a little mobility to the adventure.

PV is the same latitude as Hawaii and I must say that the similarities are striking. Same beautiful, sunny, balmy weather, and what we've seen of the countryside could be Maui or the Big Island. Lots of swaying palms and, somewhat surprisingly, fields of pineapple. Maybe a little more humid but not bad. Besides, if it gets too warm we have the option of just jumping in the pool to cool off.

The flight down from Portland was uneventful, but the delay getting thru customs and immigration at the airport was a real pain. Seems that about 5 planes landed at once so the lines getting thru stretched to infinity and moved at a snails pace. Was nice to finally get thru and on our way.

Here are a few photos of the early explorations:

Looking out towards the beach from our back door - can just see PV off in the distance across the bay.

One early discovery was one of our neighbors - a big green Iguana sunning himself in a tree near the Marina.

The town of La Cruz is pretty tiny, but it does have a nice little plaza. On Sundays (and other times too I think) there's a little open-air farmer's market.

The Marina is about as big as the town and is popular with sailors both domestic and international. Just to the left of the photo is a local fish market where the locals bring their catch for sale every morning. Can get some very nice Mahi, Red Snapper (Huachinango), and other filets for grilling at a very reasonable price.

We bought some cheap snorkeling gear the other day and plan to explore some of the little beaches and villages up and down the coast during the next week or so. Will try to remember to bring the camera...

Christmas in Valdosta (and St. Augustine)

In mid December we flew down to Valdosta to spend Christmas with Jennah, Makenna, Shane and son Kevin. Mike was deployed and so was unable to join us. After a week enjoying the grand kids in Valdosta we all headed down to St. Augustine for a week in a beach house we first stayed in a couple of years ago. Made for a great family time, and Mike even got to join us most evenings thanks to the technical wizardry of Skype.

The weather cooperated all week in St Augustine - sunny all day and with a full moon at night that provided some mesmerizing views out the back door.

Jennah & Makenna relaxing.

Shane found a quiet nook where he could stretch out and play with his "computer". Must take after his Grandfather.

Since Kevin now lives in St Augustine he was a terrific tour guide to the city and the local holiday attractions, including this stop at the local Santa's Village.

The kids opened a few presents before we left Valdosta, but saved the rest for Christmas morning in the beach house.

Gotta love Skype. Here's Mike watching the kids opening presents on Christmas morning...live from a NATO base somewhere in Italy.

Makenna was a little waterbug all week, but when she crashed she did so impressively. One second she was reading a book to Grandpa on the sofa, then she leaned forward and rested her head on the armrest and was out like a light. The photo was too cute to pass up.

Nice shot of Jennah and Shane on the deck behind the beach house.

Kevin and Shane chilling on the sofa.

After the rain and cold winter temps of Vancouver a little Florida sun was a welcome change. Every morning brought beautiful sunrises like this one.

Jennah and Makenna in front of the tree.

Opening presents in Valdosta...before the drive down to St Augustine.

Nana and Grandpa got to visit Makenna's school for the Christmas party. 

Makenna posing in the back yard with her Christmas bell.

The two weeks with the family flew by, and before we knew it it was time to return to the rains and cold temperatures of Vancouver... even got about an inch of snow a couple of days after we returned. Thankfully our turnaround time was short before we headed back to PDX for our flight down to Puerto Vallarta....exchanging the 25 degrees of the Pacific Northwest for the 80 degrees of the Mexican Riviera.