Fri. Mar. 28 - Just too good not to include this

Fri. Mar. 28 - Goodbye

Rob and Sue arrived in Bucerias Mexico on Jan. 30, 2014 and they leave tomorrow with Betty, Saturday March 29.  They had wonderful warm summer weather the entire time.  Rob and Sue loved staying in the Ana Ruth's hotel treehouse.  The yellow-crowned night herons were there this morning to say good-bye with their mating dance.  Rob, Sue, and Betty plan to return next winter and stay in the Ana Ruth's hotel once again.   Milla hasn't revealed her plans for next season yet, and Kathy and Bill still aren't certain where they will be.



Kathy and Bill invited everyone over to their abode for a final "leftovers" meal.  There was swimming, great food, and iguanas.

a very large iguana in the tree above Jack's pool

Mimi is Jack's favourite Mexican dog.

Robert and Jack after one last swim

This is the guy who wrote all the blogs.

until next time ...

Thurs. Mar. 27 - The lifeguard

Today was great because ...

1.  Jack becomes the head lifeguard at the Bucerias Homefinders' swimming pool.

Jack saves these 2 senior ladies in more ways than you will ever know.

Jack swims the length of the pool.

The iguana in the tree above the pool cheers Jack on.

Next year, Jack wants to learn to surf sail...

Or maybe become a sailor.

Kathy and Bill are still on the hunt for a house to rent somewhere in Banderas Bay area.  Francisco was kind enough to take them to a house near La Cruz (not far from Bucerias).  It was almost perfect for them.  

What do you think?

4 bedrooms

a cat

primavera trees

art everywhere

a backyard pool (Can you id Bill, Kathy, and the guard?)

and ....

Sue likes the beach club pool which goes with the house.

Before you decide whether the Hickey's should rent this or not, keep in mind that it also has 4 large bedrooms (all with en suites), large modern marble kitchen with formal dining room, outdoor party area, and jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom surrounded by windows overlooking the Pacific.  The beach is miles and miles of long powder white sand and crystal clear waters.  There are no vendors on this beach.  The property is very secure and quiet.  The price per month is very very reasonable.  It is 8 km to La Cruz and another 8 to Bucerias where Jack's school is located.  

To vote, just add your comment to the bottom of this page.

The Beach Boys - Surfer Girl ('64)

Wed. Mar. 26 - Surfer Girl part 2

Sue swims 80 lengths of a 25 meter pool each day back home in Cambridge Ontario at the local YMCA.  She was raised beside a community swimming pool and has been a great swimmer since she was very young.  She taught fitness at the YMCA for over 20 years and has great balance.  Her core muscles are the best!  Today was her first time on a surf board.

Rob heads out!

An accident about to happen ...

Robert had a great deal of difficulty with that surf board.  He also has been a swimmer his entire life but today, there was no way he was going to do anything on that board other than lie on it.  He blames his lack of balance and strength on the delicious carrot cakes and the wonderful rich meals he has been eating for 2 months.  Before he came to Mexico, he was "wheat free", and now he is 10 lbs heavier.

Wed. Mar. 26 - Surfer Girl part 1

Sayulita is about 15 min. north of Bucerias on highway 200.   Bill and Kathy took their gringo posse up to Sayulita this morning for the last adventure of the holiday.

Known for its consistent river mouth surf break, roving surfers "discovered" Sayulita in the late 1960s with the construction of Mexican Highway 200. Today, Sayulita is a prosperous growing village of approximately 4,000 residents. Hailed as a popular off-the-beaten-path travel destination, Sayulita offers a variety of activities such as horseback riding, hiking, jungle canopy tours, snorkeling and fishing. Still a mecca for beginner surfers of all ages such as Sue and Robert, the quaint town attracts upscale tourists such as the Hickeys and the other posse members of Milla, Cheryl, Betty and biker Bob. 

Kathy and Bill talk with a couple of their posse members at a secluded little beach in Sayulita.  Look for the cemetary and you will be there.

Kathy talks about the land crabs on the rocks.

(DO NOT EAT THE LAND CRABS! They are highly toxic. Every dog in San Pancho knows all about it -- a terrible case of vomiting for hours after eating. The one predator they have that seem to be able to tolerate them is the skunks. If they were edible, believe me we wouldn't be talking about them here because the MExicans would eat them. Here in San Pancfho from early June till mid October they are everywhere (mostly at night) but they don't want anything to do with you. They will get in the house if you don't seal it up -- just sweep them out.

Don't stomp on them either -- or you will have a very unpleasant odor to deal with. Just live and let live.) 

Betty isn't sure and Cheryl is at peace.

Robert is dreaming of the snow in Ontario.

Biker Bob is a babe magnet!

Tues. Mar. 25 - Francisco

Francisco

husband

father

family man

charismatic

hotel owner

farmer

orchid lover

caregiver

soccer player

artist

friendly

construction worker

generous

ecologist

chauffeur

happy

son-in-law

helpful

agreeable

handsome

diplomat

shrewd

kind

charming

businessman

faithful

hard worker

fair

rock hound

determined

popular

neighbourly

multi-tasker

chef

trustworthy

observant

Catholic

intelligent

socialist

sometimes disorganized

proud Mexican

Francisco sits with friends and chats about everyday things.

Mildred and Brian are long time customers and friends of Francisco.

Francisco invited Sue and Milla into his home to show them how he really lives.

Francisco stops to have lunch with his wife even though his day is very busy.

Francisco's neighbour included him in this drawing of the famous, "parota tree" next to his hotel, Ana Ruth's.

Francisco's mother-in-law grows beautiful orchids.

Francisco hosts a going home party for 2 of his faithful tenants.

Francisco supports local business people in every way he can.

Bernie works in the Los Pericos restaurant in Francisco's hotel.  He is related to Francisco.

Francisco and his wife's family live in old town Puerto Vallarta close to the beach.

Francisco loves nature and owns some jungle property north of Bucerias.

Mon. Mar. 24 - Happy Anniversary

As the Mexican sun greets this wonderful day, Bill and Kathy are about to celebrate their  thirtieth (30th) wedding anniversary (pearls).  They were married in Los Vegas in 1984.  Kathy's niece, Nicki, was born on their anniversary, so Bill and Kathy send her a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish and, Kathy and Bill's dog, Gracie (pug), was also born on this day, seven years ago.  A BIG shout out "Happy Birthday" to Gracie as well.
              
                     Today, in Bucerias Mexico, they had a very relaxing and special day. 

The day started off as usual by getting Jack off to school for nine a.m.   Kathy walked on the beach with Sue, Robert and Milla, while Bill took his motor bike to Mega (large grocery store just a couple of kms south of Bucerias), to pick up a few things for dinner.  Bill and Kathy rondezvoused at Karen's restaurant on the beach for a great breakfast by the ocean (one of their favourite morning haunts).  They then took a little ride on the motor bike to stop by Sue and Robert's treehouse at Ana Ruth's hotel,

in order to plan the evening's special event.  Sue and Robert were happy to trade abodes for the very unique anniversary night.  

The arrangement was that Robert and Sue would come to Kathy and Bill's apartment in the middle of the afternoon and take Jack swimming in their pool, while Kathy and Bill packed their bags and prepared to switch accommodations for the evening.  Kathy and Bill had prepared Jack for this special sleepover weeks ago and he was excited.  There would be a special meal for him with stories and lots of fun.

Bill and Kathy went t directly to the beautiful penthouse (treehouse) at the top of Ana Ruth's hotel, by the ocean around 4 p.m.. They relaxed, watching the boats, and listening to the waves.  At 6:30 p.m., they headed out for a wonderful dinner at "Mezzogiorgno on the beach" Italian restaurant across the street on Banderas Bay. (Bill had prearranged this special dinner weeks ago, at one of the most elegant eateries in Bucerias.)

crackles doing their mating dance in the parota tree and wishing Kathie and Bill a happy anniversary

 

After dinner, they returned to the treehouse for a romantic evening, sipping champagne and eating all of Sue and Robert's Reid chocolates ( well Kathy did).   As most know, this apartment is pretty much outdoors, so Kathy and Bill slept well to the soothing sounds of the ocean waves and woke to anther beautiful day. 

 

Thank you to Sue and Robert for making their thirtieth anniversary very special . The pearl earrings will be arriving soon.

Mon. Mar. 24 - Mexican Vanilla

Rob and Sue wanted to buy Mexican vanilla since it is suppose to be the best in the world.  They began to research vanilla before they made their purchase this week.  They are returning back to cold Canada this Saturday.  

Lots of good info. on vanilla is

at this site ...

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla

Here is just a little info. to wet your taste buds ...

1.  Vanilla is a flavor.

1. It is derived from the flat leaved Mexican vanilla orchid.
2. The name comes from the Spanish word, “vaina”, meaning little pod.
3. The Aztecs called the vanilla vine, “tlilxochitl”, or black flower.
4. Cortes introduced vanilla into Europe in 1520.
5. It was difficult to grow vanilla outside of Mexico because the symbiotic relationship between the Mexican Melipona bee and the vanilla plant was necessary for a very special pollination.
6. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered at the age of 12 that the plant could be hand-pollinated. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant.
7. The majority of the world's vanilla is the V. planifolia species, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia.
8. Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron, because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive.
9. The Totonac people, who inhabit the East Coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz, were the first to cultivate vanilla.
10. In the 1800’s, Madagascar was responsible for producing most of the vanilla, now it is Indonesia.
11. The price of vanilla fluctuated from 20US$ per kilogram to 500US$ for the last 30 years due to cyclones and the cartel.  Now it is at 40US$.
12. An estimated 95% of "vanilla" products now are artificially flavored with vanillin derived from lignin instead of vanilla fruits.[14]

Sun. Mar. 23 - It's all about the food

Kathy, Bill, Jack, Cheryl, Betty, and Milla, decided to celebrate the good times they are all having here in Mexico by experiencing an evening at the famous bar and and grill eatery in La Cruz called, "Ana Bananas".  They went for the '6 p.m. sitting' so they could experience the 'old time' rock and roll music.  Remember ... Jack loves to dance!

If you are seeking the thrill of a truly tropical experience, you can't do better than Ana Bananas. Owner Barry has created a welcoming nightspot that makes even the new in town feel at home. A wonderful venue for music and dancing, you can even take a turn on the pole set up for experienced and novice pole dancers. I am sure Betty might give that a try tonight.  

Back in boring Bucerias, Rob and Sue just woke to another beautiful sunrise, that reminded them of all the fresh food found in this area.  It is like mid summer back in Ontario Canada, when all the fruits and vegetables are beckoning your taste buds at the local farmers' markets.

Sue likes to serve Robert piping hot cinnamon oatmeal every morning to start the day off right.  She brews it slowly, adding fresh Thompson raisins, sweet strawberries, mini bananas, topped with coconut cream, maple syrup, and extra smooth yogurt.

Around 8 a.m., Rob and Sue set out for the Sunday market in Bucerias' dry riverbed.

 It is the perfect setting for a market, but we always wonder what the local vendors do in the rainy season, which is anytime between May and September. Sue's favourite fruit and vegetable man is easy to find.  He is located at the main market intersection.  All of his produce is fresh and delicious.  Today, they purchased fresh beets, beans, potatoes, cucumbers, papaya, bananas, grapefruit, romaine lettuce, mushrooms, jicama, and of course, avocados.  Robert even had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. If that doesn't help his cold, nothing will!

After they deposited all the food back in their treehouse, they decided to walk the beach and search for more treasures.  They noticed a beach vendor organizing his wares for the day in his wheel barrow.  This fellow, like many, walks the long sandy beach all day, trying to sell his barrow full of food.  This particular man was selling fresh pineapples and mangos on a stick.

Just around the corner was a grocery store called Betos.  This store is the place to shop if you're looking for something unusual.  Susan needed a litre of Almond milk and Beto had it.

We walked down the beautiful Lazaro Cardenas street heading back to Bucerias centro, when we decided to stop off at our favourite bakery called, "Sweet Things", to buy just one homemade ginger snap cookie.  We shared that, and boy, it was tasty.

Just before we heading back to our hotel, Ana Ruth's, we stopped at the local butcher shop to buy some  ground steak for tonight's meatloaf.  The butcher was cooking some sort of wild animal in large stainless pots on the street out front.  Did it smell ..... gooooood!!  But it looked a little too cholesterol rich for us.

Back at our hotel, we bumped into Francisco, the owner of our building.  He invited us to a cool and refreshing drink in the restaurant at the bottom of his hotel called, "Los Pericos".  Their food is the best in town - breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Well, Francisco had coffee; Sue had a mango shake; Rob had a fresh lemonade.  We enjoyed the drinks and conversation so much, 2 hours passed.  At one point, an iguana came by to check things out.

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading, practising guitar, potting wild orchids, and preparing our gourmet dinner.  

Treehouse dinner menu ...

• purple sweet summer beets

• moist and crunchy extra long green string beans

• baked extra lean ground steak marinated with a garlic mustard sauce and topped with fresh pimento olives

• Todd y Lolita's homemade carrot cake topped with whipped butter cheese icing

• ice cold mango juice in wine glasses

The evening meal ended with another spectacular presentation of delicious Mexican colours!