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.