LOS JARDINES DE BOTANICOS

Since most of my posting are about problems I encounter living in Mexico, I thought I would write something on a lighter note.  The Botanical Gardens are one of the many good things about living in Vallarta.   I wrote about them a couple of times before a few years ago (but most of you will not remember anyway).  Also it was the first time I went there right after some heavy rains.

Friends of mine from San Diego were in town and they came up with the idea.  I was delighted especially since I love showing it off to new people.  The bus leaves from the corner of my block.  It leaves about every 30 minutes and the cost is only twenty pesos (about $1.50).  It takes a little over a half hour on the road along the coast.  Out of the bus window you get wonderful views of the Pacific Coast.  We pass Mismaloya and several other hotels and mansions along the coast.   Then cuts inland at Boca, and climbs into the mountains.  The property was purchased about seven or eight years ago, by an American who raised the money through donations.  It is quite beautiful and covers hundreds of acres.  The cost to enter has gone from 45 pesos to 60 pesos (everything is going up here).

There are many trails taking you though the jungle of palms, ferns and orchids.  The trails can be treacherous and I would advise wearing tennis shoes.  There are several small streams that lead into a river at the bottom of the valley.  Oddly many of the blooming plants I remembered where not in bloom, but the greenery is gorgeous.  One in particular was the jade vine, which has a flower that does not look natural for it is an iridescent  blue green.   The river can be viewed from the restaurant.  The climb down is difficult, and the trip back up out of the canyon is grueling.

 The restaurant sits atop a hill with a view over the vast gardens.  It is quite lovely and the food is good too.  They have added some bird feeders of fresh fruit and many beautiful birds greedily fought for the food.  My camera had a hard time catching a shot of them.  Every time I opened the camera the birds flew away (camera shy, I guess).  There were blue birds and lots of black ones with brilliant yellow wings (orioles, maybe)   I was also disappointed in the new Orchid Conservatory.  It has been under construction for four years and although the structure is lovely, but the plan display of orchids is pitiful.  Hopefully they are not through with it.  There were many more orchids in a display where you could buy them.

Like most things in Mexico it does have it's down side.  Having been there before I knew to coat myself with mosquito repellent.  I used a cream first then followed with a spray and wore a long sleeve shirt and tennis shoes with calf length socks.  Alas, it did not work.  We all think that the bites occurred while we waited half an hour at the bus stop.  You could see them buzzing around.  I was not prepared for what I discovered when I got home.  My legs with covered with more than twenty bites. The long sleeve shirt protected my arms, so they bit my knuckles.   One even bit my ankle right through the sock.  Still it is a worth while trip that I would recommend, but take along a better bug spray.

was very sparse.  Many they are not through with it yet (I hope so)

EL RATO REGRESSA (THE RAT RETURNS)

In my posting on The Rat in the Dryer, I stated that it was the first rat I had seen (dead or alive) anywhere in Puerto Vallarta.  The rat in my dryer was of course quite dead having gone through the vent fan in my dryer.  Well now I have seen a live one.  

As I also stated it is amazing since we live surrounded by a jungle and there is garbage on every other corner.  This is the most disgusting thing about living here.  Yes, all trash is supposed to be in plastic bags, but not everyone does.  Plus, animals will chew at it and the homeless rip the bags open to get to the aluminum cans to sell them.  Much smaller cities have dumpsters, but not here.  I am sure some how the mayor makes money off of the collection.  We used to have garbage collection every evening, but recently our Brilliant Mayor decided (as a cost cutting measure) to eliminate Sunday pick up.  Maybe he thinks that tourists will find garbage rotting for two days in the hot sun is "charming".  This is the same "brilliant" mayor who tripled the port fees.  Cruise ships that used to spend two days here, now only spend eight hours.  Think of the loss of income from all the passengers.  I could go on for pages, but this posting is about Rats (pun intended)

For months after the experience with the chewed up rat in my dryer, I approached it very carefully and banged on the sides before starting it.  Eventually I forgot about it.  Then one day I pulled the bag of laundry soap off the shelf and was about to pull out a big scoop, when I noticed rat turds in it.  I looked up at the shelf and found it too had rat turds all over it.  After banging very hard on the dryer, I put out four of those sticky traps for mice.  The last time all they caught were a few geckos.  A gecko is a small lizard with suction cup feet that walk all over our walls and ceilings.  They are cute little things, but they also poop everywhere.

This time I placed pieces of raw bacon in the center of four sticky  traps.  For a few days nothing (not even a gecko).  Then I noticed that two of the traps were gone, and the bacon was missing from the other two traps.  I can't see how the rat could have carried them off, but maybe a cat or other animal or more likely a bird.  My deck always have black birds on and around it.  At any point the traps were gone, so I knew I had to come up with something else.  Before I had a chance to figure it out, I was going up to the deck and at the top of the stairs was a large black rat.  I screamed, he scurried off.  He was not only twice the size, of the dead one, and the black coat gave him an even more menacing look.   I immediately started keeping the door to the deck shut.

I finally found a place that sold better mouse traps.  They are not the ones we are used to with the spring trap on the little wood board.  These were cages with trap doors.  They could easily hold any small animal.  Well, I loaded the spring trap with lots of bacon and left it between the washer and the dryer.  I had already cleaned off all the other rat turds from the shelf and around my laundry.  At first I wondered how he could have reached the shelf, then noticed the hole in the wall for the plumbing from the water tank on my neighbors patio.  The hole is right above the shelf and there is a huge tree that overhangs their patio.  The rat could have dropped off the tree then crawled through the wall. 

Every day I checked the trap, but nothing !  I also check for other rat turds, but no more have appeared.  Maybe I scared him more than he scared me.  He could not have reached the shelf or the hole in the wall, but there is a rain gutter at the end of my deck that extends to my neighbor.  I have no idea where he actually came from or where he went, but very happy he is gone.  I also thought what would I do, if he got stuck in the trap.  He would still be alive.  I guess I could just keep him as a pet until he starved to death.  But so far I have not been faced with that dilemma.  Stay tuned !  The trap is still set with bait.

p.s   The photo of the bell tower has nothing to do with this story, I just thought it was a prettier picture than the one of the rat trap.


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