Yesterday we made the long trek home from Guadalajara to Seattle. Luckily we made it back in time for the big SeaHawks game. GO HAWKS! Though the hawks having made the Super Bowl may change our plans when we get back to Mexico since we will have to be somewhere to watch the game rather than being…
Blog posts : "2013 South to Mexico"
Guachimontones
This morning we decided we needed to go see the Guachimontones ruins near the city of Tehuchitlan, about a 1 hour drive from Guadalajara. We hired a taxi for the afternoon to take us there and back for $75 US dollars, plus when we got there we hired a guide that spoke English for $15.
The ruins a…
An evening in Tlaquepaque
After the zoo we headed into the heart of Tlaquepaque. We first stopped at a restaurant that had a live mariachi band and had some margaritas.
Then we ventured out across town.
And around the central square for some shopping:
The food stands were amazing in the evening. This li…
We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo, how about you, you, you?
We decided this morning was Zoo day. We headed off in a taxi across town. When we arrived at the Zoo we were faced with this sign:
Hmmm. Well, we know we need the basic zoo access. And we want to see the aquarium. But what the heck is Sky Zoo? And Safari could be good. But what is it? W…
Back in Civilization means nothing but frustration
We took the bus early from Guanajuato to Guadalajara. We arrived at our hotel, Quinta Don Jose Boutique Hotel in Tlaquepaque a suburb of Guadalajara. We scored this amazing room right by the pool. As Melissa is writing this blog she is sitting in the lounge chairs that are visible in the pictur…
A visit to the mine
Guanajuato was originally founded based on many productive mines in the area. From across the valley we had seen the huge structure and wondered what it was.
Turns out it was part of the Reyes mine - one of the largest and most productive silver mines. The mine is still in use today. So w…
Revital takes us to San Miguel
This morning we got up early and took the bus to San Miguel de Allande. Its about an hour bus ride from Guanajuato. Roughly speaking, Guadalajara is about the size of the greater Seattle area, Guanajuato is about the size of downtown Seattle, and San Miguel would be Bellevue.
We immediately se…
Guanajuato - WOW
Guanajuato is a beautiful city. Having been all over the world, we can say its one of the most beautiful we've ever been in. Ranking only second to Santorini. We would rank it above Barcelona and Paris for sheer beauty. When we got up this morning we walked the historical district.
A long trek inland
We spent the day on the bus going from Barra De Navidad to Guadalajara and then onto Guanajuato. All in all a 12 hour trek. The tourist busses here are pretty sweet though. Big cushy recliner chairs, individual TVs, and WiFi. So it wasn't too horrible getting here. The landscape is not as barre…
A Day at the Beach
After getting ready for our big inland trip, we decided to spend the day at the beach. We headed into a restaurant we had found a few days ago (thanks Trip Advisor!) called Marlena's. They had this great tuna and white bean salad and a shrimp stuffed avocado that was great!
When we were her…
Property Rights in Mexico
So we had reported sometime back about the TIP fiasco here in Mexico. A TIP is a Temporary Import Permit. Cost us about $50 to get ours. Its a document that lets you import your boat into Mexico without paying customs duties. Essentially you promise not to sell your boat here in Mexico - that yo…
Court Date Set with Expedia
So the Expedia saga that began a few weeks ago continues. Melissa is determined to get some benefit out of the $750 in credits Expedia had promised but didn’t deliver. Her last blog posting got some attention from someone at corporate, and they emailed to let her know they are very sorry for the e…
WAY TO GO Wells Fargo
When we got to Mexico a couple of months ago, we started thinking about how best to protect our credit cards. We've had problems in years past with the credit card number getting swiped. We decided to (1) apply for an additional credit card we would use as a "throw away" card. In other words, we …
Hey look! That's us!
On our way here to Navidad, we passed a couple of other boats that were traveling together going in the opposite direction. Dave put our boat between the two other boats. And he heard the people on the other boats over the radio exchanging plans. "Get the water balloons and cannons ready!" Later…
the French Bakery
We awoke this morning, made our coffee and tuned into our first morning radio net here in Barra de Navidad. Mostly the usual stuff - the weather, who's just come in to the bay, who's leaving, etc. But there were several comments about the "French Bakery" and somebody or other who needed baguettes.…
Stupid fish
Today we made our way from Chamela to Barra de Navidad. Another quiet day of sailing. We put out the meat hook again hoping for a Mahi Mahi. Alas it was another three of those blecky skip jacks which Melissa set loose. That’s on top of the three skip jacks we caught two days ago. Those things a…
When was the last time I wore socks?
We figured we would hang here at Chamela for the day. An internet access point indicates there is a hotel somewhere here with internet and a pool. Sounds perfect. So we load up all the computers, camera, cell phones, and kindles into dry bags and off we go. We are away from the boat when it dawn…
Oh look another whale
We awoke to discover one of our two flopper stoppers is missing. Dang it! They are bulky and are hence going to be hard to carry down a replacement set from Seattle. Not clear whether Dave didn’t tie the knot tight enough and they are on the bottom of the bay, or if maybe they were stolen in the …
Best Sailing Yet
We pulled out of Paradise Village early in the morning. It was a nice ride to Ipala. The last couple of hours the wind picked up and Dave was able to sail “wing on wing” with the engine off and made better than 7 knots. And without any big waves. He says it’s the best sail we’ve ever done on Aps…
One person can spoil paradise
When we pulled into Paradise Village Marina yesterday on New Year's Day, the main marina office was closed for the holiday. This wasn't surprising, but the fiasco with trying to get a slip assigned and no one answering on the radio was a bit of a shock for a marina that purports itself to be "world…