I drove to San Blas with Paty and her sister Loraina. Our first stop was in Punta Sayulita for breakfast. I wanted orange juice and they wanted Coke. This place didn't have either but that was not a problem. One of the workers took some cash and went up the street and found what we wanted. The Coke arrived quickly. My juice not so. Whenever you order orange juice here it always takes about 10 minutes to get as they are squeezing oranges for you!!! Delicious!!!
Here are my happy companions. Someone asked me if it was common to eat on the street and I said no but here we are again eating on the street!!! The bottles on the table are all hot sauce. They all range from hot to OMG who eats this???? I find they are best avoided even when ma amigas say, "Oh, have this one. It isn't hot at all!!!" Right!!!!!!! I get short of breath just remembering the last time I fell for that advise.
Next we stopped at this roadside stall to buy veggies and fruit to take to the family in San Blas. On the way back, we stopped again to take fruit and veggies to the family in Puerto Vallarta!!! The prices were unbelievably inexpensive. Paty filled two shopping bags for under $5 for both. When she was done she asked for her "poyilla". That is so spelt wrong!!! It is like asking for a gift because you have been such a good customer and sure enough we were all given a huge tangerine each. On the way back, we got tangerines and a coconut and honey ball that was amazingly wonderful. I love learning of these traditions and customs that Joe Tourist will never experience.
The big bananas are plantain. Then there are ordinary bananas and then there are the tiny ones. I bought a whole bunch of the little ones for less than $1. Very delicious!!
Loraina helped herself to a little banana and is here loving every bite. The white vegetable on the left is jicama. You peel it, slice it up, sprinkle it with lime juice and chili and eat it. It is actually very yummy.
I would love to have been able to buy one of these brooms and take it home. Ray likes brooms. These are made by the folks who own and run the stand.
Sweet Potato
Our next stop was Miramar for oysters. Here is lunch coming out of the ocean. A net bag hangs down from the rubber inner tube. The steel rod in their hands is used to whack the oysters off of the rocks. They then swim to the surface and deposit them in the bag. Each diver brings his catch ashore to be weighed and then he sits on a little rock and shucks his catch.
Voila!!! Lunch!!! I once asked Ray to try to find out on the internet at what point the oyster actually died before I ate it. I didn't like the answer so I'm not going to share it with you. Anyway, lunch was absolutely delicious!!! A dozen oysters which is actually 15 for $5.83. Heavenly even if they were.....................
I decided to stay at Hacienda Flamingos on my first visit back to San Blas. It is probably the best hotel in San Blas. I hadn't been there 10 minutes before my first guest arrived and within another 15 minutes two more had come!!! It was fantastic to visit and spend time with friends I hadn't seen in some cases for three years.
The hotel is a large square built in the early 1800s. The center is this gorgeous tropical garden with a fountain in the middle. The rooms are all accessed from the courtyard or by going upstairs to the second floor rooms. My room is straight ahead. I chose it because it had a bathtub, hammock on a private patio and access to the pool. In true Mexican style, when I got there there was no bathtub and they acted like they had never ever had one in the hotel but the web site clearly states it!!! This is Mexico.
When my second guests arrived, I was told that they could not sit on my private patio but had to sit in the inner court yard. You can imagine my reaction. That's not going to happen. The woman said she would have to call the manager to get permission for my guests to enter my room. A short while later she came and told me that my guests were given permission to stay for one hour!!! Can you imagine!!! This was all done in Spanish so Lucio was able to filter what my words were to make it acceptable to her ears. I understand the problem actually. In Mexico it would not be uncommon for someone to rent a room and then move 30 other people in. Well, that was so not going to happen in my room!!!! I don't think I know 30 people to invite in!!!
All of the rooms are furnished in antiques with great art on the walls. I had a huge picture of Freida over my bed. A sign that I was in the right room.
This is the back of my room with the private patio and the hammock that I used once. I love these pig skin chairs that are so popular in Mexico.
The pool was great and a friend and I enjoyed a wonderful swim together. There are actually squirts of water that come out of the two pipes coming out of the orange structure but thankfully they were turned off.
I thought I might have difficulty finding a room in San Blas last week as the famous bird festival was on but it seems that the festival is not as reknowned as it once was internationally. Every night there was entertainment in the square. I went on Thursday night and what a delightful show awaited me!!! It was a dance show, mostly tradiitonal folk dancing done by a group of developmentally handicapped young people. Many of them had Downe's Syndrome. Well, I wish you all could have been there to experience the excellent show that lasted for over an hour and to see the reaction of the audience. The audience enthusiasm and support are what so impressed me. The dancers were really good. There was the bossy chick who kept telling everyone what to do. There was the shy one who just wanted to go home. There was the charmer who just played up to the audience. The crowd cheered, yelled, took picture after picture. Every time the crowd went crazy the dancers all beamed with pride. It was a very touching performance. I was so glad to have witnessed it.
Friday morning I was off to the market for breakfast but it was so crowded I ended up at a restaurant on the square. There were a lot of visitors to the town from her sister town and it was some kind of long weekend celebration.
Just as I entered the market this colourful balloon man was leaving.
So many people in town remembered me and came to shake my hand and welcome me back. It was quite touching. I wanted to have a torta here but there were no stools available.
I love this shot. These military guys came and stood in front of my table as I was eating breakfast. Maybe they thought I needed protection. They are both ready to shoot. Look carefully. That is a really big gun!!!!!!!
As I sat there I was asking myself why do I love San Blas and don't like Bucerias. I looked around. I was the only caucasian in sight. In Bucerias on the street and in the restaurants, there are no Mexican people. San Blas is Mexico!!! The true Mexico not the tourista Mexico!!! That is the difference.
All around the stage beside where I was sitting were all of these wreaths. Each one had a name on it and one by one an announcement was made, a couple of people came forward, took the wreath about 20 feet and put it around this monument you can see below. After the first six, with another 56 to go, I decided I had had enough. The navy and all the schools from the area had been standing in the sun for almost two hours waiting for this show to get going. I have no idea of how much longer they stayed. No whining, no complaining, no bathroom breaks, no icy cold drinks. Just standing in the hot sun and waiting. Mexicans have to be the most patient people in the world!!! God Bless Them!!!!
This is the over crowded Borego Beach of San Blas. I had to suffer through another lunch and day at the beach because I wanted to buy two hammocks from the beach vendors. I only got one so I will have to go back again in February and hopefully in March!!!
This wonderful taxi driver drove me all over San Blas on Friday delivering stuff that I had brought for people from art supplies to vitamins. At one point he asked me if I was a missionary? I didn't see any bibles in my bags. I said no it was Christmas in San Blas today.
I had received an email at home in Canada about this young man who had received vitamins from me for 3 years and to let me know that he was out and needed more. It seems that he was quite cross eyed when he first started taking the vitamins and after 3 years he is almost cured. Well, I heard this from more than one source but really, I hardly think so!!!!!! I checked on the other 30 something kids and it seems they did very well compared to other kids their age. It looks like I am going to do the vitamins again. I'll be selling you those scarves for $10 each and looking for donations!!!!
People who live in San Blas had told me that nothing had changed in town but I saw a lot of changes. One huge change is that as you come into town the whole street has been decorated in white and like a rust coloured paint. It is very clean and striking to see. Most of the locals hate it. They love every building to be a different colour. I was impressed. See the cow head on Billy Bob's Bar? I met some friends here for happy hour but sadly didn't get to visit with Billy Bob himself.
This is the inside of Billy Bob's Bar. In the back room is a pathetic alligator that has been there for years and if someone gave me a gun I would........................................
The drive from San Blas to Puerto Vallarta is very beautiful. The country is very green this winter. I have been told it is because they have had so much rain this winter. I would enjoy a rainy day. This blue sky and sunshine and heat and oh my you just don't want this info do you???
On the way home Paty and I stopped at Lo de Marcos for lunch. This is the beach looking south and below is the beach looking north. Lovely quiet little town. Lots of RVs in tiny little parks and spaces. No me gusta!!!
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