A Small Tsunami and the Town of La Penita

In our last blog we promised some other photos of the family that looks after the hotel we stayed in Guayabitos.

Here is the ever working dad and the oldest girl who was in a bit of a snit this AM when we went back to Guayabitos to take some photos.
And the second oldest child with her cousin who also is the maid in the hotel.

And finally the mom with her 3 month old baby. And about that time our camera battery died and we had no replacment with us so these are the only three photos that we got.

We have mentioned collectivos in our writings and this is what they are. There are hundreds of them, travelling from small town to small town along this coast and into the mountains. They cost between 50 cents and $1.00, depending on distance and mostly they are full. The are used equally by gringos and locals.

A few days ago we moved from Guayabitos, just a few minutes up the coast to another small town called La Penita. It is the supply and service center for all the small towns around but is not a tourist area at all.

It has a few hotels with kitchens and the following photo is the entrance of the one we are staying in.

And one of its always very busy sidewalks as people from all over, both gringos and locals, come to purchase thier staples. It seems to be much cheaper than the beach towns.

This pretty boulavard gets busier in the evening when the sun goes down and is situated on the main thourfare coming into La Penita.

Thursday, the day we arrived, is market day in this town and on the day the town is hopping with people from all over.

There is everything the tourist or local could want or need, including these beautiful beach wraps.

Fruit and veggies abound and a very good price they are.

Nancy admired the little baby and immediatly the mother handed her over. She was such a proud mom of her 19 day old baby.

We did not arrive at the market until they were shutting down and what a job that is. That huge pile of paper has to be wrapped around an equal amount of breakables.

A photo showing why this beach is not a beach area.

But what it is is a fishing beach, not for tourists but for locals to make a living. This catch was red snapper that is served in restaurants whole and fried and one fish per person. It is quite priocy and it has bones which Nancy and I try to stay away from when we travel.

Just some fishermen and their boats.

Again, the catch was red snapper but a different group of fishermen.

Pelicans like their breakfast treat of fish guts and were hanging around waiting for them to be thrown away.

A fishing family.

We are sure our title got you a bit excited and now we will tell you about our tsunami. As you all know there was a huge earthquake in Chile yesterday and here in the morning there were tsunami warnings and red flags were flying on the beach meaning danger. There was great discussion on the street as to how much danger we were in but with Nancy's encouragment we were not going to wait and see so we went back to Guayabitos and took a taxi up to a lookout at fancy hotel/restaurant to wait and see.

Here is the beach at Guayabitos from our vantage point and not everybody has headed the warnings.

It is hard to tell by the next two photos but there was definately some tsunami activity on our beach. The tide would come way in and then in 10 minutes it would go way out and the sea was not normal according to the locals but no big wave appeared. We hung out for a couple of hours with great visits with others who were there for the same reason. Actually quite an enjoyable day.

In the afternoon there was a funeral and in Mexico a funeral has a parade of mourners along with a band.

Here is one of three truck loads of flowers that were part of the funeral procession.

Tomorrow we are travelling again, this time our last stop before we come home in April and it is back to Tlaqupaque, the same place we stayed before previously.

Sayulita, Guayabitos and Chacala

We left Buserias and found our way for three days in Sayulita, about 30 km and 1 hour of bus travel, up the coast. The tourists here, and there are many, seem to be much younger than the other places we have stayed.

This warm and beautiful photo is the entrance to our home for the next three days.

And just across the street and up 1/2 block was our favorite cappuccino place, or Ron's favorite cappuccino place.

And once again, the central park in Sayulita which is not really busy until the sun goes down

Sayulita is famous for its surf and as a result there are many rental places and surf schools. This place does both.

And for the next two photos you can see the surfers at their finest. There were many with heads bobbing all over the sea and only a few would catch the right wave.

We did a day trip to Chacala another 60 km up the coast as we had heard good and wonderful things about this beach. Fine and wonderful it was and we would have liked to have stayed for a day or two but besides one hotel that was livable and two small stores, that is all there was. The lady that ran the hotel got under our skin with the many rules and regulations she had about her place so our stay there was for only an hour instead of a couple of days.

This cute little guy entertained us for part of the time we were on the beach in Chacala.

And this is the beach. It was more than likely the prettiest beach we have ever seen, here in Mexico. And we saw it.

Back in Sayulita, Nancy is having a chat with a couple from Wisconson.

We have moved again, another 30 km up the coast to Guayabitos and this first photo is the street corner from the balcony of our bungalow (a room which includes a kitchen).

And from the roof of our hotel, the church which is on the central park.

Only 24 years old, with 3 little children, this beauty is our house mom and she has taken us under her wing as if we were her children. Most interesting as she is young enough to be our grand daughter. Her children are just as cute and we will catch some photos before we leave.

Our room is the middle balcony, on the top floor. All the rooms on the top floor are brand new, only started occupancy last week and curtains only hung today. The plates and cups still have the stickers on them.

There are other, much fancier and much more expensive places to stay in this town and the next three photos show some of them. All of them are right on the beach and we are two blocks away.

Whatever type of seafood you would like, all can be had, cooked and on a stick.

The tide is out so it makes for easy walking. The beach here is lovely also but much busier than Chacala.

Pelicans, waiting for anything to be dropped but mostly they hang out where the fishermen are cleaning their catch for the day.

This couple informed us that they were newly married and she trusts him enough to allow him to cover her with sand. That is true love.

The main and not so busy street of Guayabitos.

We are enjoying the coast more than we thought we might but so far have not been tempted to buy swim suits or lay on the beach or go in the water. Travel on this coast is much costlier than other parts of Mexico but Nancy is helping with our budget by cooking all our meals, as all lour hotels except the first one have had kitchens. She says it is kind of like camping. We have mainly been eating seafood and we have become experts in peeling shrimp. We buy large, raw headless shrimp and 1kg costs $10.00 Canadian. It lasts us for two or three meals. And we love them. Second in line is Dorado (Mahi Mahi), about the same cost.

We are hear for a couple more days, then just a short trip of 10km up the coast to La Penita. La Penita is not a tourist town but a Mexican town and it is the central town of all the small towns around here.

Bucerias and Punta Mita

Our trip to Bucerias was quick and mostly uneventful. It was a two bus journey, the first part very easy as the bus was not crowded and we could easily manage our luggage on and off the bus. The second was not quite so easy as it got very crowded by the time we got to Bucerias, and we were sort of jammed back in one corner of the bus. Luckily many people got off at the same place we wanted to get off so we did not have to knock people over trying to get off the bus with our packs.

It was a short walk to our accomodations, Casa Tranquila, complete with a kitchen that we have been using regularly as we find the restaurants here very high priced. Even more so than Puerto Vallarta.

Our room was ready when we arrived and the following two photos show what greeted us. The first is the balcony that is our computor room and kitchen table. The second is the lobby that doubles as a communal area where many sit and visit or hang out on line in conjunction with the coffee shop that is next door and associated with the hotel.

The second day we were here we took a short trip to Punta de Mita, a surf spot on this coast. The developers thought that it would be just a continuation of Puerto Vallarta and built huge hotels and restaurants but when we were there it was almost deserted. We think the guessed wrong.

The next four pictures show some of what has been built in Punta de Mita

But there are a few surfers along with a couple of surf schools. Punta Mita does not look like any other surfing meca we have been too. It is too up scale and more than likely expensive, we think to attract the surfing crowd

We are back in Bucerias and this photo is of a great little fish store. The shrimp were great and Nancy knows so well how to make them even better.

And on the street. many shops like this selling oysters and clams.

Valentines day is coming soon.

And not too far from the fish market was this fruit and veggie market.

We think every one of our blogs has a photo of the central park and here is the one from Bucerias.

This particular day we were walking around the center just when morning school let out. The next photo shows a typical means of school transportation and the next shows typical snacks for after school.

This is our beach at Bucerias.

And Nancy is trying to get sandy on said beach. I did not try such a foolish activity.

A street side restaurant that serves might good food. We had lunch there yesterday.

There is not a central market in this town but each Sunday there is a market that is very busy and much for sale.

Tomorrow we are going to Sayulita for 3 days and this is the bus stop where we will catch our bus. There is a huge bump in the road right there and the bus has to slow down to get over it so a perfect place to catch a bus. Just flag him down and he stops or we hope he will.

Will blog again in another week.