Up the Creek

With both temperature and humidity hovering about 90, activity has been limited.  Any outdoor work or exercise (other than swimming) pretty much has to be done between 7 and 10 in the morning.  Even then, staying hydrated takes some effort.  I did manage a paddle up the creek about 1.3 miles in my slow and inefficient "glass bottom" kayak.  But since I stopped and stalked wildlife along the way, speed wasn't important.  While most of what I saw and photographed I had seen before, I did get my first image of a Mexican grackle chick.  Ugly.  I've taken a few more portraits of my local acquaintances, and the photo set-up I put together works as I'd hoped.  On the boat work front, I'm making slow but steady progress on refreshing the brightwork Cetol, and I made the improvement on the stern anchor roller that was needed.

My route up the creek was 1.3 miles

each way.

The creek is still pretty wild, despite all the development.

Lots of bird life, hundreds of iguanas and the occasional

crocodile.  The jungle quickly reclaims any land that

isn't maintained.

To get decent photos I had to slowly move right into

the mangroves near the target, minimize movement

and make no noise.

Social flycatcher

Yellow-crowned night heron

Yellow-crowned heron chick in the nest

Mexican or great-tailed grackle.  The ones that poach

food around the hotel and pool are used to being near

people.  The wild ones in the creek, especially when

protecting a nest, not so much.

Grackle chick in the nest.  Ugly, and the

mohawk coif doesn't help.

Hundreds of iguanas can be seen in the trees warming

up in the morning sun.

Over time, the iguanas adapt to the encroaching civilization.

I found at least 30 of them hanging out on the lawn of

a condo development on the creek.

The birds adapt too.  Social flycatcher on a sailboat's

lifeline.

Looking up at the underside of a gecko through the

forward hatch.

Light rain falling at sunrise as a thunderstorm

clears.

A rainbow appeared as the storm cleared.

Finished renewing the Cetol on the starboard side woodwork.

Carlos, one the marina security guards.

A real caballero (gentleman).

Francisco, a panga captain.  Always

has a smile and a joke.

Israel, he does bottom cleaning and other

boat work at the marina.  A good man, he 

just became an abuelo (grandfather).

Places, People and Projects

I got my bike back into riding condition this week and rode the six miles into Bucerias for the first time since last year.  Turned out both the bike and I were a bit rusty and had a few kinks.  Only fell once, though.  Still had a good time and found another good restaurant on the beach.  The next day I worked the top half of my body and paddled quite a way back into the estuary.  I tried mounting my little Olympus Tough camera on the bike helmet and taking videos, but it didn't work.  I had no idea where the camera was actually pointed other than it wasn't  where I was looking.  At least I didn't have to pay for film!  I was more successful in pursuing my intention of taking portraits of some of the local people.  I had a particular image style in mind and was able to achieve pretty much what I was after in my initial attempt.  If it continues to work, it will develop into a series and perhaps more.

Places

Biking into Bucerias.  You will see the route starts as a

beautiful bike path and gradually degrades into a 

treacherous sandy dirt road.  It was there I took

my spill.  But no harm done.

I stopped along the way to take a picture of this large

mushroom growing in the grass on the median of

the bike path.

  

The Flamboyant Trees are now in bloom.

This one marks the outskirts of Bucerias.

I assume they got the name "Flamboyant" because 

they are covered with bright red blossoms in the summer 

and/or because the seed pods are gigantic: 

about 2 feet long!

Some ex-pats I met on the bike path

turned me on to Karen's Place. 

It had real lox and bagel and was

right on the beach.  You can see

the handlebars of my bike leaning

against the table.

Karen's had a good sense of humor, too.

This was taken from the kayak.  It's the dock for the

Fajita Republic restaurant.  I know a couple of

cruisers who have gotten hurt on this dock trying to

 get back into their dinghy after one too many margaritas.

Sometimes it's pretty hard to see the birds.  I spotted

this one skulking slowly by while I was staking out 

a flycatcher nest.  Don't see it?  Look below.

Camouflage really works well.

People

This is Francisco.  I got to know him

because he yelled "Hey, Capitano!"

every time I walked by.  We are now 

becoming friends.  He was my

portraiture test case.  I'm reasonably

happy with it.  Shows his personality,

and the tonality after some post work 

is about right.

The detail is good, but will be better if I can shoot

where there is more light.

I had the idea of using an all-white version

of one of these display signs as a portable

backdrop for the portraits.  I went to a local

sign shop and ordered one (in Spanish).

It should be ready tomorrow.  I also bought

a slightly better small tripod and a camp

stool for the subject to sit on.

Projects

Next on the boat work list: refurbishing the Cetol on the

starboard rub rail.  Fenders rubbing it under pressure

really damage the finish.  First step was removing

the stainless steel rub strake.

Next, spot sanding.

Finally, after touching up spots with Cetol Marine, 

overall fine sanding, two coats of Cetol Gloss

and replacing the rub strake.

Botanicals, Birds, Bucerias, Bubbles and Boat Work

The big event of the week was an all-day trek to the Jardin Botanico Vallarta.  It is several miles outside of Puerto Vallarta and the three bus rides took a total of two hours each way...but cost a total of only $3 (each way).  The drive along the mountains at the edge of Banderas Bay is quite spectacular, and goes past estates and hotels that make Malibu look humble.  Admission to the Garden is pretty expensive by Mexican standards:  $10.  But it's good for two days, which if you are energetic and into it, you will need in order to see more than just a sample.  The place is an ideal spot for birding as well as studying flowers and plants.  (Lots of good photos below.)
I also spent most of a day in Bucerias, looking for some alternate food choices.  While I didn't succeed, I did make another worthwhile discovery.  And of course, there is still the boat work....


The Botanical Garden

The entrance to the Botanical Garden where the bus stops

While there are paths around the central developed area,

many are unpaved and not handicapped friendly. 

The paths through the mountainous jungle areas are

sometimes steep, rocky and muddy.  The Garden covers

64 acres, so there can be a lot of walking.

The Bridge of Dreams

The onsite chapel makes the Garden a good

spot for weddings.

This is the restaurant whose deck has a spectacular

view of the mountains and river below.

It's pretty romantic, too.

My table for lunch

Lunch: a burrito and nopal (opuntia cactus).

The nopal was better than the burrito.  Delicate, 

lemony flavor.  Food was pricey by Mexican

standards, but the service was impeccable.

The waiters will bring you a little hummingbird

feeder to attract the local hummingbirds.  

If you are lucky and still, they will sometimes

feed out of your hand.  No luck when I was there;

they wouldn't even come to the railing.

The developed parts of the grounds are

lovely, with many beautiful and exotic

plants.  Many are labelled.  There are areas

for native plants, cacti, and plant sales.

There is also a gift shop, but I found

it very overpriced, even for tourists.

Some things are familiar, some not.

It's fun to see flowers growing outside

that you usually only see in florist shops.

Not surprisingly, the orchids grow pretty well!

If I'm interpreting the sign correcting,

this is in the orchid family!

Never seen this before, whatever it is!

Hanging lobster claw, from South America

See the bee?

Dragon fly on a water lily

Putting my best foot forward after a short

hike down to the Rio Los Horcones.

You are allowed to swim, but it was 

raining a bit, so I didn't.

Sometimes the beauty is in small things.

Bird on a wire:  a cinnamon humming bird

Cinnamon hummingbird on the restaurant railing

sticking out its tongue.   Not at me, of course!

Yup, cinnamon hummingbird.

Get ready, here comes the tongue!

The retracted tongue is flat, but becomes a tube when

it gets pushed out in a curve.  That creates a partial

vacuum that sucks in the nectar when the bird feeds. 

Even hummingbirds gotta scratch once in a while!

This a green jay, taking a peanut from the feeder.

Cacique

Female golden cheeked woodpecker.

Found only in this part of Mexico.

Male golden cheeked woodpecker.

Mexican yellow grosbeak

Bucerias

This is El Gordo's Restaurant on the beach in Bucerias.

(Please, no comments about the horse's ass.)

After finding a couple of other restaurants 

recommended on the Internet to be a bust,

I went back to El Gordo's again.

It's a beautiful spot.

The food is good and fairly priced.

No, I didn't order this huge plate that was

being shared by a family.  However,

I did enjoy my shrimp-stuffed avocado!

Bucerias beach at the end of the arroyo

The main street by the plaza.  

Even in town, the jungle never lets you forget who

really owns it.

Local indigenous people getting ready for a dance

performance unload their stuff from a big 

American SUV.

I came across this place while wandering around.

It's a bit like a smaller version of A Page in the Sun

in Puerto Vallarta, selling used English books

and offering credit for your books.

Their specialty!

Pretty good for 25 pesos (about $1.25)!

Nice place to sit and drink it, too.  Although

I was warned not to sit on the table on the

right.  It seems at this time of day, the big iguana

that lives in the tree above likes to perform

his afternoon constitutional from directly 

above that table.

Bathing in Bubbles

Recovering:  sitting naked in the jacuzzi at Palenque Spa,

sipping ice cold pineapple water and waiting for the

attendant to put an ice cold washcloth around my neck.

The spa area:  soft lighting, relaxing soft music, even

cinnamon aroma in the air.

Off one side are the steam room and the sauna.

Next to them hot showers with soap, shampoo and 

conditioner as well as a cold deluge shower.

Wet wash cloths kept cold by a chunk of ice.

Ice cold pineapple and lemon water, with champagne flutes.

Boat Work

I came back tired from my trip to the Botanic Garden

to discover the circuit breaker for the cabin lights had

died.  So, no lights until it was replaced.

Fortunately, I had a spare.  So my first project the

next morning was installing it.  Voila!

But, I knocked off a piece of trim in the process,

so now I have ANOTHER PROJECT!

Between thunderstorms I was able to get

three coats of Cetol on the starboard

cap rail.