Second Week in Bucerias

—Blogpost written by Bob 

In this blogpost, we continue our 6-month winter excursion in Mexico.  We arrived by car in San Miguel de Allende (SMA) on October 15, traveling from near Annapolis, Maryland where we live on our sailboat.  We then traveled west by car to Bucerias.  This blogpost described our second week in Bucerias where we will be based for our last two months of this winter.

Monday, February 7

A Road Trip to Sayulita

We decided to take a short road trip to Sayultia today.  it took us 1-1/2 hours to go the 11 miles!  A bus had broke down along the 2-lane highway and blocked traffic coming from the south.As we got into Sayulita finally, we looked for a place to park our car and found one!  Since it was already late, we walked to El Break for lunch--it is located right on the beach and situated under a lot of palm trees for shade--a perfect spot for lunch.

Our perfect lunch spot was inundated
with vendors walking the beach.

This woman was selling necklaces while
others sold blankets, sunglasses,
carved wooden sculptures, etc.

Surfboards were available for
rent on the beach.

We purchased a very nice wooden bowl that was hand painted with beautiful Mexican colors.  I also bought a t-shirt from beach venders.  I also purchased eight oysters on the half shell from a beach vender but this could have been a big mistake.

People enjoying the beach in Sayulita.  
(This view was looking northward.)

Looking southward on the
beach in Sayulita.

The main pedestrian walkway
through Sayulita.

Many venders sold sunglasses to the
noticeably younger crowd in Sayulita.

One vender by the main square sold
coconuts in various forms.

Tuesday, February 8

We spent today relaxing inside our Bucerias apartment.  We had a leisurely breakfast and a fantastic lunch that Maggie made ("Perfect Chicken", corn-on-the-cob, and cucumber salad).

The local corn-on-the-cob was not nearly as good as back home on the East Coast--it was actually kind of tough (which was in contrast to all the other excellent Mexican veggies we've eaten).  We have mostly tried (Mexican) veggies in which we are familiar--we have seen a lot of (Mexican) veggies that are unfamiliar to us which we are anxious to try.  (We have tried nopales in a restaurant--these are prepared pads of the prickly pear cactus.)

A collection of conventional Mexican fruits
in our newly purchased wooden bowl.

We (including our cats) love this area of Mexico much more than San Miguel de Allende.

Wednesday, February 9

A Road Trip to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

The view from my morning shower--looking
directly outside onto the side porch
with no glass in the widow. (The
small bits of color hanging in the
sky are plastic clothes pins.)

La Cruz de Huanacaxtle is located a short distance north of Bucerias--we passed it on our way back from Sayulita on Monday.  Our decision to visit this area was the presence of fishing pangas in the marina nearby and the photo opportunity they may represent.  Because we got a late start, we decided to go directly to a restaurant in the area for lunch, La Ballena Blanco (translated to "the white whale").  (We generally pick our restaurants using TripAdvisor--not just the overall ratings but reading all the diners comments as well.  We also avoid restaurants having four dollar signs, $$$$, indicating that they are the most expensive.)

The interior of La Ballena Blanca where
we had a delicious lunch today.  (This 
turned out to be our favorite lunch
spot in the entire area!)

We had an absolutely delicious lunch at La Ballena Blanca!  Maggie selected the best--shrimp tacos!  After lunch we proceeded to the east end of the marina where the fishing pangas were located.

Three of the many pangas in
La Cruz de Huanacasxtle.

Susana - a panga
moored in the marina.

Sailing among the mountains.

A fisherman repairing his nets
in the shade of palm trees.

Cleaning fish in the fish market in
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.

We had booked a week-long getaway at a B-and-B in the mountains above Puerta Vallarta--we booked it while we we landlocked in San Miguel de Allende.  We considered cancelling it since where we are located currently is so nice.  (We will make our decision tomorrow morning.)

Thursday, February 10

This morning we decided to go out for breakfast to a local eatery, only a block away from our Bucerias apartment--it was called Shu-la-la.  The restaurant was very small, maybe 12 foot by 12 foot, including the cooking area and the bathroom.  There was barely enough seating room for eight people.  Outside, the traffic on the street was pretty heavy in the morning.

The owner and cook was accompanied by
his wife.  The only coffee that they
had was instant coffee and it 
wasn't even hot.  (The hot
cakes looked great!)

The total number of seats in the
dining area was about eight.
(Before we left all the
seats were filled.)

One has to admire the entrepreneurial spirit among the native Mexicans.  The owner (and cook) supports his family from the proceeds of this small (10 foot by 12 foot) restaurant serving only breakfast.

The sweetener provided by the restaurant--there
was no sugar but this was a strange way
to offer stevia.  (We didn't use this
sweetener because we were
not familiar with it.)

Over breakfast we decided to definitely cancel our upcoming week-long getaway in the jungle just outside Puerta Vallarta. (It seemed like a good idea at the time we made the booking but things have changed after moving to Bucerias.  We no longer feel like we need a getaway.)

The outdoor seating of a small bakery 
we stopped at for a latte and a
delicious cinnamon bun.
(This bakery was much
better adapted to
gringos!)

A beautiful white house with palm trees
was located near the bakery.

A small engine repair shop on the
sidewalk near our apartment.

Fruits and veggies in an outdoor
area of the corner store.

When we returned to our apartment I had to take a shower to get rid of the stickiness all over my arms from the cinnamon bun I had just consumed.

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We had a little bit of a scare in the afternoon when Lola (our oldest Maine Coon cat) walked through an open door, down the front stairs and went on a walkabout in the neighborhood.  We were able to successfully corral her and get her back inside the apartment before any damage was done.

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Until our next blogpost (probably on Sunday evening), stay healthy and safe!

Thanks for following our blog!