Bucerías

The hotel we stayed at was in the city of Bucerías, which is situated along the Bahía de Banderas. Bucerías has a population of about 16,000 people, so it's a bit quieter than Puerto Vallarta. On our first day there, it was cloudy with a little bit of rain. I decided to leave the camera in the hotel room (rookie mistake, I know), since I didn't think there would be a good sunset that night. We got a few drinks from the bar and walked to the beach, only to see a great sunset start to develop. There wasn't enough time to run back to the room to get the camera, so I relied on the cell phone to get a few pictures and videos...





I chastised myself for not getting a picture with my big camera, and vowed to be better prepared the next day.

I did have the camera with me to get a picture of the other visitors at the hotel. There was a large population of iguanas that seemed to have free rein of the place, who could be seen climbing the trees, walking on the sidewalks, and also eating flowers off of the landscaping.



That night we returned to the beach, this time with the big camera. And wow, another great sunset began to form. But just as the sky began to turn into shades of deep red and orange, the internal glass of the lens began to fog up. Apparently I didn't do a good job acclimating the lens after going from the air conditioned room to the humid air of the beach. It was completely fogged, and since it was inside the lens, I coudn't clean it. So again, it was time to rely on the cell phone camera. At least it does a pretty good job.



We headed into Bucerías the next day to have a look around. We went by the town square, which had a few vendors lined up selling souvenirs like stuffed animals and blankets. On the edge of the square is the Parroquia Nuestra Senora de la Paz.







Walking down the street we passed this guy on the side of a building...



Along with this happy looking toilet...



We also walked by this hotel, which had a cool old wooden door.



We ate dinner at a place right on the ocean - Karen's Place. I ordered the marinated flank steak with chimichurri sauce, which was amazing. I would fly down to Bucerías in a heartbeat just to have that meal again. And best of all, I was able to walk from the table right to the beach at sunset. The sunset wasn't as colorful this time, but at least I had the camera and it didn't fog up! It only took three tries!

Puerto Vallarta

To celebrate our anniversary, my wife and I recently took a quick visit south of the border to Mexico. We stayed at a place near the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, which sits along the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific Ocean, in the state of Jalisco. And one day we headed into town to have a little look around. Puerto Vallarta has a population of about 220,000 people, and is known for its cobblestone streets, beaches, dining and art.



The center of Puerto Vallarta is dominated by the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (or the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe), a massive church that was built in 1940.





The church is topped by a crown. The current one was added in 2009 to replace one that was damaged by an earlier earthquake.



The church sits by the town square, which had this colorfully-decorated gazebo.



We had been wanting to visit Puerto Vallarta after seeing it on the most recent season of The Amazing Race.



We then walked along The Malecón, a 12-block long promenade along the waterfront. It is home to bars, restaurants, shops and lots of sculptures. 

And one last shot from The Malecón, after we got lunch and spent a few pesos on some souvenirs.