SATURDAY FARMER'S MARKET

Just three years ago, a group got together and decided to open a Farmer's Market in the courtyard of the elementary school.  For years, the Senior Center had their own Farmer's Market on Saturdays further south toward Los Muertos Beach.  Not sure who came up with the idea that the South Side needed two such Saturday Markets, but it was an instant success.

There was a food court inside the school where you could buy all sorts of food, including a nice selection of meats.  In the center was a row of tables where people ate.  Most people bought food to take home.  One block of Pino Suarez by the school was closed down so that stalls could be set up along the sidewalks and in the middle of the street.  Mexicans have no problems closing streets for special events, no matter what the consequences were to traffic.  Since most cross streets are one way, the closure of one block and cause all sorts of havoc, but the Mexicans don't care.

The next year, the stalls began spreading down B. Bidillos.  Now in its third year they no longer use the school courtyard and all stalls have been moved along the wide sidewalks of B. Badillos.  No need to close off a street (maybe someone did complain).  The food court moved to Nacho Daddies (one of the many popular restaurants along "Puerto Vallarta's Restaurant Row"  The stalls now extend for at least four blocks along B. Badillo.

There is everything there.  Lots of hand crafts (glass blowing, basket weaving, jewelery, etc)  That is where my beaded Huichol Indian iguana came from.  You can get a massage or have your fortune read.  My friend Natasha has the most popular bread stand.  The line can be a block long to buy her wonderful homemade breads (She is the one in the yellow T shirt).  Natasha is also the one who began to decorate one wall of the school with a mosaic of bits of tile, glass, mirror, with a few tiles from sponsors.  Some idiot school teacher complained and said that the permit had been "purchased!"  Well, YES!  that is the way things get done here.  It is quite attractive (much better than graffiti) but the school teacher that it was "too gay, and not a good influence on the children"  I have no idea what she was looking at.  The wall stays!

You can buy organic vegetables or all kinds of homemade food, from honey to dips, to cheeses.  There are several stands that sell herbs as well.  The best and freshest flowers can be purchased there, as well as some small plants.  There is always a band playing at one end adding to the festive holiday spirit of it.    It has become a wonderful asset to our little community.  Unfortunately for those of us who live here, it only runs from November through April.

If you  ever visit Puerto Vallarta, the Saturday Farmer's Market is a "must see".

PUNTA DE MITA

My friend Richard told me about his day trips to Punta de Mita at least a year ago.  I was interested in going, but then I heard about the Marieta Islands just off the coast.  Maybe I could have found my own way there by bus, but I was delighted when Richard said he would go there with me.

We caught the first bus a little after 10:00am.  We changed buses near Nayarit.  If you are lucky you may get a bus with cushion seats for the second half.  It is still a harrowing two hour trip.  Some of the seats were broken and it is still a very bumpy ride.  Plus as you go leave Bucerios and head through the hills to Punta de Mita, it is a very winding curing road.  As the driver races down the road you are thrown from one end of the bus to the other.  Punta de Mita is a little finger of land that points out into the Pacific at the north end of our bay.

Finally we arrived at what appeared to be the end of the road.  If there is a real town there, I missed it.  At the bus stop is an OXXO, but as you walk down to the beach, there really are almost no other businesses.  All along the beach are restaurants and hotels.  I was shocked to hear that some of the most expensive property around is located up there.  The Four Seasons and Ritz Hotel are two of the most expensive hotels in Mexico. Along the way, I noticed a lot of gated residential areas.  Richard said that a lot in one of those exclusive areas can cost one milion dollars (U.S.)  Still I was surprised at the cost of food and drinks in this out of the way strip of sand.  Maybe it was just the place were we stopped as they had deck chairs and umbrellas spread out on the sand where you can sit and order food or drink.

At one end of the beach there were some boats.  Most were fishing boats, but it looked like one was a water taxi.  You can just barely make out the islands beyond the boats.  Very few people spoke English (which still amazes me for a resort area that obviously caters  mainly to tourists).  I did find out that you could rent a boat to take you to the islands and back for 1,400 pesos.  That seemed like an enormous about of money, then I found out that the boat held 8 people and the cost depended on how many people got on the boat.  They had no schedule.  The boats left when ever they thought they had enough for a paying fare.

The Marieta Islands are an ecological preserve (Sounds very UN-Mexican doesn't it!)  Therefore there is nothing on the island and you cannot stay on your own there . No fishing or collecting of shells (let alone sea life) are allowed.   The boat trip is about two hours including the trip to and from the island, so you only have a short while to snorkel, or explore the caves along the coast.  My friends wanted to stay on the beach, so I did not make the trip this time.

My friend Elvis fell in love with snorkeling while we were in Cancun, so I decided to come back with him and see the islands at a later date.  I also checked out some of the hotels.  Some are pretty raunchy but I found a really nice one at the other end of the beach.  It is right against a break water that protects a whole bunch of fishing and pleasure cruise boats.  I was fascinated by all the birds and especially the large pelicans.  We wound up spending the entire day there.  I dreaded the two hour bus ride home, which was even worse that the ride over there.  It was 8:00 before I got to my apartment.

It was a pleasant day, very peaceful and quiet.  No boom boxes or d.j's and the hawkers on the beach selling stuff weren't pushy like they are here.  A little Michael Jackson like kid played the drums while his father tooted on a horn.  We even had some jugglers  and a girl doing dances with hula hoops.  I was glad I went, but it will be a long time before I make that two hour bus ride again.  Elvis said the water is too cold right now for scuba diving anyway.