Christmas in Nuevo Vallarta and Las Animas

Not surprisingly, I spent the Christmas holiday eating, drinking and socializing with friends old and new.  On Friday I went with Tod, Donna, Mike and Lisa to Titi's in Jarretaderas for dinner after drinks on Circadian.  On Sunday, Steve had a old bandmate visiting with his son and daughter and invited me to join them for the big brunch at El Tigre.  Terrific all you can eat and drink buffet in a beautiful setting, including violin serenade, all for 349 pesos (about $18).  We had such a good time that I ended up giving them a little tour of downtown, including a ride on the local buses.  We capped a full day with dinner at the Rio Café.
Somehow I was able to get up the next morning in time to make it to Cadenza for a Christmas cruise to Las Animas.  Las Animas is a small village on the south side of Banderas Bay.  It's not well known by outsiders, but the Vallarta Yacht Club has been bringing donated toys to the local children for several years.  Cruisers know it for it's lovely beach, good restaurants, and of course Norma, the famous "pie lady."
Once I recovered from all the excess, I started in again on getting Circadian ready for sea.  Hopefully I'll make it out soon after the first of the year, perhaps buddy-boating with Jay and Terri on Cadenza.

Friday:  Friends on Circadian for cocktails before going to

dinner at Titi's in Jarretaderas.  L to R:  Donna, Wags, Tod,

Mike and Lisa.

At Titi's: Tod, Donna, Mike, Lisa

 Sunday Brunch at El Tigre

  

Patio table with a great view

L to R:  Patricia, Steve, Lucy, Ray and Trey

 

We spent four hours trying to empty these

and never succeeded.

Fresh handmade tortillas for tacos made to order

Omelets or eggs any style made to order

Sushi made to order

Sample plate

More sashimi!

Desserts (ice cream sundae station not shown)

Walking it off in old town:  me, Ray, Lucy and a local.

Trey, Lucy, Steve and Ray in front of the Puerto Vallarta

sign on the malecon

 

Some pretty young kids performing for tips on the 

malecon at the bridge over the Rio Cuale

At the arches looking across the bay toward hotel row

  

Lucy wanted to see the church  of Nuestra

Senora de Guadelupe

Dinner at the River Café:  Steve, Lucy, Ray, me, Trey

 

Lucy wanted to try elotes  (corn with a variety of toppings).

Finally found street vendors at Walmart and the bus stop.

I joined Jay, Terri and some other folks from Vallarta 

Yacht Club for a short cruise to Las Animas on 

Christmas Day.

It took a bit of doing to secure their boat Cadenza

to a mooring, but we did it.

Pangas lead you to the mooring, hand you a loop of line,

and bring you to the dock.

It was a busy day, so the pangas wasted no time!

Fresh oysters 

Nice spot!

Ready for lunch on the beach

More folks from the yacht club

Jay likes his michelada!

Coconut shrimp:  everything local and fresh

Fish zarandeado

The freshly-caught fish is marinated is a homemade

marinade, then grilled on a wood fire.

Yum!

Norma is the famous "pie lady" who makes

pies and brings them to the village restaurants

for sale by the slice or whole pie.  

The perfect dessert!

 Santa arrives bringing the kids toys that

have been donated by cruisers.

Francisco (local celebrity iguana)

On the dock to see us off

Headinng back on Cadenza at sunset

Local celebrity on Circadian:  a small gecko

Dock bum waiting for a handout

Local pelican gang harassing fishermen in hopes of a handout.

Casting the net

Checking anchor and running lights in preparation for

departure soon after the new year arrives.

Another sunrise from the boat

Brightwork maintenance

I helped Jay fix a vexing freshwater leak

on Cadenza.  Opened up the valve and

put in o-rings.  Not the proper parts,

but they worked.

La Cruz and Puerto Vallarta

Got reunited with several friends this week, some of whom I hadn't seen since last year in La Paz.  Did a bit of sight-seeing as well.  Even had a bit of fun.  No boat projects worth mentioning (for once).

I had just finished posting last week's blog and was ready

to relax a bit when I heard a live trumpet right outside the

boat.  It was my friend and neighbor Steve, summoning

me to the newly resurrected cruisers' BBQ.  It turned into

a surprisingly busy night:  helped a big yacht tie up, went 

to the BBQ, watched part of a mini cirque du soleil show

in the amphitheater, and skipped the post-race party at

the Vallarta Yacht Club.

At the BBQ: friends old and new

Some real rain blew through over the weekend, giving me

a good excuse to work on my indolence.

On Monday afternoon I headed off to La Cruz to have dinner

with friends Bob and Maureen.  It takes two "combis" or

a combi and a bus to get therre.  Here a bunch of combis are

jammed up at the "parada" (bus stop) at the Walmart in Bucerias.

The little vans jam up to 18 people in them and rush around 

the area picking up people and dropping them off.  Depending

on the driver, it can be a wild ride.  But at 12 pesos (about 60 cents)

it's hard to beat!

(L to R), Bob, Donna, Todd, Mike, Lisa and Maureen on Paradisea, Bob

and Maureen's Island Packet.  I hadn't seen Todd and Donna or Mike

and Lisa since last year, so it was a very nice surprise.

Sunset that evening in the La Cruz marina.

I spent the night on Paradisea, and the next morning Bob, Maureen

and I walked around the marina to the weekly public market.

This is the dock in front of the fish market tor use by the

fishing pangas.

The La Cruz market is definitely the prettiest one around.

These two boys were captivated by this swarthy fellow's music.

Or maybe it was the look.

Local color

The Mexican market version of a food court.  Full of people

and much better food than the mall.

The music this time was good old American rock'n roll.

The only thing I bought (besides lunch) was this Huichol

yarn painting.

Back in Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday, I took some photos

of wall murals between shopping errands.

Imagine my surprise when I poked my head out of the 

companionway in the morning (before coffee!) and 

found myself nose-to-nose with one of the biggest

iguanas I've ever seen.

Don't know which of us jumped the highest, but ultimately

he was more scared than I was, and made a quick retreat.

Unlike Iggy, he didn't care to pose for a photo.  He wouldn't smile

and quickly escaped by jumping overboard.