Okay, we admit it, we have been slacking. A week ago we took a spectacular road trip into the interior of Mexico with Dave from Free Spirit and have yet to blog about it! Maybe we are still speechless….

So our friend Dave from Free Spirit had rented a car and we were fortunate enough to be invited along on a road trip! Actually it went like this, “Hey Dave, we have time to play, are you interested?”  And Dave enthusiastically responded, “Absolutely! I have the car for one more day, where do you want to go?” We responded, “Inland, anywhere you have not been or would like to revisit”!  Dave immediately suggested San Sebastian, a 16^th century mining town in the hills.  Great idea!

I would be very remiss if I did not inform you that we first stopped at the Pemex to get gas, where I used the restroom.  I am kind of on a mission to grade the Mexican restrooms, because often they can hardly be called that! Anyway, Pemex scored a 4.5 out of 5! Chevron take notice!  Clean, well-stocked, toilet seats (optional in Mexico), soap AND paper towels!  Nice start to the day!

Ends up we are driving into the country on the same road our errant bus trip from the prior day took us!  Only this time we also passed the prison and continued on past Ixtapa. We stopped for a lovely breakfast in an area that reminded all of us of the Sierra Foothills. Horse country.  In fact horses were roaming freely on the side of the road!

Part of our road trip included a stop at an artisanal tequila maker. It was a small,l family operation who were very proud of their product and it showed. It appeared that they farmed about 5-10 acres of blue agave. Their main tour guide had run into town for a moment so his cousins attempted a tequila tasting/tour with their broken English and our limited Spanish.  It was delightful and we felt like we got the whole story right before the real guide returned.  In addition to the tequila this farm also made Raicilla –the moonshine of Mexico – made only in the state of Jalisco. Yes, it tasted like white lightning – and this was the good stuff.  Apparently many locals make their own versions using recycled coke bottles for bottling!

Tequilla tasting room

Tasting with "Free Spirit" Dave

The tequilla still

The still

This is the place up the street from the artisinal tequilla place. These guys were selling their tequilla out of empty Coca-Cola bottles.

San Sebastian is a beautiful cobble-stoned town that could have been plucked from Italy and placed in Mexico.  With happy people, a beautiful town square, peaceful church… you get the picture! This alone would have made the trip worthwhile, but the real fun was just beginning.

Bob and Dave at San Sebastian

Doggie "guarding" his house

A fairly typical grocery store. This one was in San Sebastian.

The Church in San Sebastian

We should have known what to expect given the stories about remote caverns that Dave has found when wandering aimlessly in the Mexican countryside. But it was worth it.

We decided that we would drive up into the hills to the abandoned silver mine. Bob and I had both just finished reading James Michener’s Mexico (highly recommend this book) which takes place in Mexico around a silver mine. This was like a book come to life. Part way up the hill the trip changed to just getting to the very top of the hill, forget the mine, and over to the next valley. Mind you, we are in a rental car on VERY rough roads. I really thought we were going to bottom out.  I was in the back seat and Bob and Dave in the front.  Every time we hit a big bump Bob went, “Whooh” and tried to think light.  I can’t imagine what the bottom of this car looked like when Dave turned it in.  I decided that just in case we broke down up there, away from civilization where no one knew where we were, I would refrain from finishing my last half bottle of water and save my “Cliff Bar” for emergency rations.  I even was mentally divvying up the clean laundry in the trunk that we had picked up as we left La Cruz to use for blankets!

This might give you some idea of the road we were on.

Thankfully it was just a precaution. Our journey was indescribably beautiful.  We were probably 6000 feet into the Sierra Madres.  Wild cows/bulls were on the side of the road, unperturbed by our presence.  I am pretty certain they had not seen a car in many months. I say this because there were no tire tracks on the road.  Not even near the mud puddles that Dave so expertly sped through, while Bob closed his eyes!  We even saw signs for a jaguar conservation program.  Bob and Dave assured me that they were keeping their eyes peeled!  The was another bizarre sign for an animal that was a cross between an anteater and a small cat – who knows,but we didn’t see one.

The trip up and over the ridge, yes we made it to the top! – was spectacular.  The temperature must have dropped 15 degrees due to the altitude.   It was everything we had hoped to see with wonderful company! Thanks for driving Dave!

The view was worth it. The town we were in, is in the background

But to top it off, we stopped at the Mega to shop (hard to do from a boat so always appreciate a ride to the store) AND then Dave treated us to Gordo’s Tacos in Bucerias. I know that we have bragged about the tacos in Mexico many times, but I think this beats all. “ Al Pastor” – lamb off of the spit, 10 pesos each,  all of the usual salsas and a pineapple salsa too!  Yummy. As we attempted to communicate with the waitress her son- about 12 years old and daughter –about 13, helped translate.  When I explained that we gringos needed people to slow down when they speak the daughter v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y explained it to her mother.  Hysterical!  Perfect end to a fabulous day.

(From Ann)

I know it’s been a while since we posted anything and we apologize. We are really enjoying being at anchor in La Cruz and find the night life (live music, great food and fun people) very enjoyable, so we aren’t getting back to Charisma in time to post a blog.

Ann and Stephanie from Camanoe enjoying the Margheritas at Huanacaxtle Cafe

Bob, Ann, Stephanie and Dave at Huanacaxtle Cafe

The music at Huanacaxtle

In addition to enjoying the town of La Cruz we have been taking some day trips into other towns. Our first great adventure was joining our friends, Stephanie and Dave from Camanoe for a day trip into Puerto Vallarta which is “just an hour bus ride” away. The bus system in Mexico has much to be admired. We have been told that the buses are privately owned. You look at the windshield where they have written destinations in shoe polish (my guess) to determine which bus you want. They list towns as well as locations like Costco, Airport, etc. Your bus driver will confirm locations when asked as you get on. The most we have spent on a bus ride is 26 pesos for the two of us (about $2.00). Very affordable.

The buses stop when someone on a corner waves them down. They stop often and don’t really wait for the doors to close or people to sit before moving on. We arrived at the bus station in Puerto Vallarta and quickly found the town square full of merchants with handcrafted goods. We wandered around negotiating and purchasing some fun Mexican crafts. The market was at the base of a beautiful church, always a must stop, and right near a local quesadilla stand. While one woman took our order another woman made tortillas the size of a large frying pan. As the tortillas cooked the guy grilled the asada, chorizo and onions. Each meal was made individually and included an assortment of salsas for us to put on them. Bob chose the hottest one and found that his lips were numb from the heat! Great meal!

Yum. Best quesadillas ever

Onward down the malecon (walk-way along the waterfront) we marched, often being enticed into the tequila tasting shops. There are many unique statues along the malecon that we enjoyed being silly around. Additionally local artists had created very intricate sand sculptures along the beach. Each artist puts out a box for tips if you enjoyed it enough to take pictures. It is an incredible amount of work for tips.

On the Malecon (Boardwalk) at Puerto Vallarta

Just one of the arts/crafts areas to shop through. So colorful!

Also among the stores along the malecon we found Huichol Indian art. When we were in San Blas we purchased a beautiful piece of Huichol art made from pressing yarn into beeswax that has been spread onto a board (the best way to describe its look is “embroidery”) and so were interested in seeing more. We saw some really impressive pieces but came away really pleased with our find. And not to be missed in the PV was the church of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (the patron saint of Mexico) that has a bell tower topped with a lacy crown that is a replica of the crown worn by Empress Carlota, wife of Maximillan who ruled Mexico in the 19th Century. A stop inside this church and a trip across one of the swaying suspension bridges (made much more difficult with stampeding friends) and we were ready to find our bus home.

We immediately found a bus with Wal-Mart on its window and jumped aboard (actually, it said “Wal Mar”, but we’re not going to pick nits). We had been told that
you needed to take a bus to Wal-mart and then switch to a La Cruz bus from there.
Shortly we realized that it was 5:15 and rush hour.  The bus driver just kept
letting more people on, squishing everyone down the aisle. At one point the
front door did not close due to people standing on the steps and hanging
outside. As we arrived at the “first” Wal-mart Dave made sure to go ask the
driver if we were also going to the “otra” Wal-mart (the one closer to La Cruz)
and was twice assured that we were.

The bus continued to stop and let off a few and pick up many more.  At one point the bus took a right turn we just weren’t expecting – our first hint of confusion.  We chalked it up to a safer drop off point and stayed on.  About 45 minutes later
and deep into the small town of Ixtapa, Nayarit (not the Ixtapa near Zihuatenejo) the bus came to a complete stop with only ourselves and two locals remaining aboard.  As the locals got off they could tell we were not where we expected to be.  With their translations help we were informed that the driver had been mistaken when he told us we would be going to the “otra” Wal-mart.  We think he meant thawe would return to the first Wal-mart.  Oops. He was chagrined, we were laughing.  His fellow bus drivers, also waiting at this barren street corner, told us he was “loco” and gave our driver a hard time. We ended up waiting at the “bus stop” (end of his line) in a dusty little town with no sidewalks, no street lights, just happy people, for twenty minutes
until he was scheduled to head back to —Puerto Vallarta!!! Fortunately
because of the help of the last passengers our driver stopped part way back to
PV and indicated we should get off and cross the street to catch a different
bus.

Our driver. Click the photo to see how they organize the change.

The "bus stop" Hmmm, we were definitely not where we thought we were going.

The buses on this particular line. In reality they are all different...

So the “just an hour to Puerto Vallarta” return bus ride ended up getting us back to La Cruz at about 8 pm – just in time to try “Tacos in the Backyard”, another local  taco
stand. And again we were treated to incredible homemade tacos, more than we
should have eaten, and beers for $10 a couple.

The taco place. This is Pedro. A nice guy. You buy your cerveza across the street at a little tienda then he"ll open it at your table.

It’s always an adventure in Mexico!  We love it here.