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Around the marina, daily life

Life continued as usual for us aboard Aeeshah. Morning walks around the marina/resort area,

boat chores and improvements, grocery shopping, physiotherapy for me and so forth. 

During our walks there is usually lots to see around the resort and when……

Hurricane Prisilla came visiting off the coast there was the incredibly high tide and huge seas to watch. 

The sea was about 3 foot higher than usual and the seas rolled right up to the top of the beach. The waves were gigantic!

I went to see my knee replacement doctor, Dr. Rosa, for the last time. He was very pleased with my recovery and called it a completely successful, recovery!

And so 9 weeks after surgery I walked out 100% complete. I had my last physiotherapy and said farewell.

A croc called Pedro

One evening we wondered what all the excitement along the docks could be about….low and behold the marina was being visited by Pedro the Crocodile.

He is apparently about 20 years old and roams the shoreline and rivers around the area of about 30 miles. Pedro is an impressive size!

We became neighbors to a mega yacht and all of her toys and extras. She dwarfed Aeeshah.

I was busy making new shade covers for Aeeshah, which after a while gets tiresome. So…..

We decided it was time for another day out, This time we chose to go on a trip/tour to San Sebastián.

San Sebastián tour

San Sebastián near Puerto Vallarta refers to San Sebastián del Oeste, It is colonial mining town in the mountains, known for its historical charm, buildings and organic coffee. San Sebastián was to be a glimpse into  the colonial-era, with various plazas and haciendas.

We chose to go with a tour as it was quite a drive away. We met up with the tour van, drove to a few other resorts and found there were 8 of us altogether. Finally we were on the road to San Sebastian. The mountain scenery was lovely as usual and again there were the orange flowers everywhere.

Hacienda Don Lalin

Our first stop was a Tequila factory, the Hacienda Don Lalin which was a famous family tequila business.

We enjoyed the surround views of the blue agave plant inhabited the fields. The fields were numerous and a few of us found the contrasting colours to be lovely.

Next it was down to the “factory”. 1st we were told of the process of how when the plants are mature after 10 – 12 years, they are stripped of the “leaves” and are know as pina’s (pineapples).

Following comes the whole mulitday process of baking the pints, to the separation and then the distillation followed by the fermentation to further distillation.

At the end was the sampling of various tequilas. I chose just to dip my finger into the tequilas and let John have the slug. He ended up having about 10 shots!

I did drink the last sample as it was made with almonds and was milky, its taste was like eggnog, which I love!

Opals and Jewelry

We stopped at a family’s opal business, well actually it was a jewelry business that specialized in opals. The jewelry was very nice, but nobody was interested, actually we were all starving. So the next stop for lunch was very welcomed. 

The restaurant was on the outskirts of San Sebastian and was authentic Mexican cuisine. We were served various dishes which were all delicious.

I particularity like the chicken in mole sauce, which came last so I never got a photo of it.

Plaza Revolucion Mexicana

From lunch we arrived in San Sebastián’s main square. The town is nestled in the Sierra Madre mountains, approximately 1,400 meters (4,500 ft) above sea level. The temperature there was much cooler than in Puerto Vallarta.

We were told that the town was founded in the early 1600s as a mining town, it was a major center for silver, gold, and lead mining. In the distance we could see the top of a mountain which used to be the town’s main mine and source of the silver.

John and I set off from the  Plaza Revolucion Mexicana, the town square and followed the lane around to the church. 

The church, the Iglesia de San Sebastian Martir was as old as the town, very quaint and Spanish colonial. The interior was very elegant.

Following the lanes we continued around the outer ways, passing the market area, followed by a traditional weavers where wonderful blankets and hangings were woven.

Back up and around we found the monument to the miners and in the background behind the statue was the mountain with the mine.

 

Leaving this area of San Sebastián our wanders took us past other small cafes, hotels and homes. It was incredibly quiet, we guessed this was due to it being the down season, or maybe afternoon siestas.

The streets were all cobbled, some of the cobbles were quite remarkable stones. 

Around and back down to the town square where we met up with our group.

Cafe de Altura

We were off in the van again, soon stopping at Cafe de Altura, La Quinta, a 100% organic coffee farm, which was on the outskirts of San Sebastian.

We all enjoyed looking around and the owner helping us answered any questions. Again, this was an incredibly old building.

The process of drying the coffee beans was explained to us. The equipment was there for us to look at, but they were not processing that afternoon.

The garden behind had coffee bushes, plus many types of fruit trees growing plus some beautiful orchids. 

Progress Bridge and Cempassuchil

Last stop was from a viewpoint next to a bridge which crossed a canyon, the Progress Bridge. This bridge was over a canyon and the viewpoint gave us a good view of the mountains.

Once again there were the orange flowers, just all over the roadside, on the mountain side. I asked the guide about these orange blooms with seemed to be everywhere. I wanted to know what they were and if they bloomed all year round. 

He told me they were known as “cempasuchil” in Spanish. Translated it means Marigold, and is also known as  Aztec Marigold or Mexican Marigold. . Sure enough, they were tiny marigolds by the thousands everywhere.

He said they are used for their Day of the Dead celebrations and have a strong cultural significance as the “flower of the dead”. This flower represents the fragility of life. It is also believed that the smell of Marigolds help lead their departed ones to their altars and to back to us.(I was going to see the significance of the Marigold during the Day of the Dead celebrations.)

It was a lovely day out for us away from Paradise marina and Aeeshah.

“People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder.”   — Salma Hayek