Surf, Sun, and a little town called Bucerias

Peter on the jungle trail.

It all started with talk of a great open market and health food store, which is something I sorely wanted to find. Bucerias, is a fairly long bus ride north toward La Cruz. Rumor has it that a health food store is located on the funky side of the river and many grains and flours are available there, as well as spices. I took a day trip early in the morning with my friend, Peter, who lives on a boat and is an advent surfer. We made a deal that I would take shots of his surf day to post on his Blog and he would show me around the town. The bus ride to Peter's surf spot was past the town and up in the mountains where we exited the bus and hiked down a jungle trail that opened out onto a secret locals beach. The surf was way up and better then Little Dume in Malibu. See for yourself! You can check out Peter's blog at:

http://destination8degreesn.blogspot.com/2011/02/lets-go-surfing.html

Peter is headed to Ecuador early March to follow the surf. 

 

Trinidad on the bus with us, sharing a seat with Peters Surf board

Me on the jungle trail to the beach.

Peter catching a big one.

Trinidad had a great time and barked at every surfer who ventured into the sea.

Peter enjoying a Pacifico

After the beach we headed back to town for lunch and Peter took me to the health food store which proved to be not all i had hoped for. Other cruisers have informed me Wall-mart has a Gringo section where I can buy whole wheat flour and also there is a farmers market on Wednesday in old town that has some healthy grains. I will be checking that out.

The place we went for lunch had no name and was a real local eatery. The waiter gave us free shots of tequila for desert! 

Peter had the seafood special which had octopus, shrimp, squid, and veggies, all in a bullion topped with fresh avocado. It was pretty good.



The selection of hot sauce.

Very local.

I opted for the daily fresh catch prepared in garlic. It was delicious.

 

A Fish on a Dish is that what you Wish?



It's better to quit while your ahead?

Once you find it, the vegetable market and fish market of Puerto Vallarta is fabulous. After going there twice, it was still hard to find. Ask the bus driver and he will nod yes never telling you when to exit the bus. Last time I walked 10 blocks back and 8 blocks up to get there. I have hence established markers to find my way, as there are few street signs in PV. There is also a great tortilla factory in the same area as the markets. If you are in PV take the bus toward old town and exit before the pier at San Salvadore street. Walk 6 or 7 blocks up San Salvadore to Perdu Street and there you will find the markets.



Grouper waiting to be fillet

Tomorrow we have a dinner party and shrimp on the BBQ sounds like the ticekt. Paid $160.00 Pecos for 1.5 kilos of medium really fresh shrimp. (That's about $14.00 US) The vegetables were awesome and fresh off the farm.




Shrimp in abundance, all shapes and sizes

The shrimp were prepared as follows: shelled, and placed in the following marinade:
1.5 cups olive oil, 10-15 smaill limes squeezed dry of their tangy juice, 1/3 cup chopped celantro, 2 diced jalapenos, 4 large garlic cloves diced, 2 tablespoons cumin ground, 3 tablespoons chili powder. Wisk the lime juice with spices. You can use a food processor to chop the celantro, garlic and jalapenos together. Add to the lime huice and spices, then wisk in the oil. Add salt to taste. The jalapenos will soak in, so go easy as the first tastes do not reveal the heat. Marinate for 2 hours. Remember to soak your wooden scewers in water for a few hours before loading them with the marinated shrimp, so the wood does not burn up on the BBQ. Scewer shrimp with fresh pinapple chuncks (fresh works best) and red peppers. The peppers should soak in the marinade as well. BBQ the scewers until the shrimp are pink. Baste the shrimp frequently with the remaining marinade. This same marinade goes on the corn, which is roasted, cut off the cob and added to the salad. The marinade is used for the dressing, as all salad ingredients get tossed in it. Yummm.

Spicy shrimp and roasted corn salad
2 cucumbers scored and cubed, 4 tomatoes cubed, 1 large red onion diced, 1 can black beans rinsed and drained, 4 ears of sweet corn marinaded in the above listed marinade, roasted on the BBQ, cooled and cut off the cob and added to the salad. 2 jalapenos diced, 10 leaves of romane lettuce cut small and added to the salad. We use very little lettuce in this salad. Toss the salad with the marinade/dressing and let stand in the fridge for 1 hour to absorb all the flavors. Top the salad with the grilled shrimp and add a few blue corn chips stuck on top of the salad for visual effect. Serve and get rave reviews!

The salad had a photo but without Berkely, the dinner plate did not get a photo. The Blog will improve on food photos when Berleley returns March 16, as our illustrious 1st mate and photogaher.  


One of three contiguious markets.

Margarita Pizza, made all from scratch and served on deck.

 The pizza was a hit and this time I got it 110% perfection. Secret is to roll the crust thin, (I pick the crust up and streach it with my hands like the guys in the Italian parlors) brush the crust with olive oil, and make dents in the bottom of the crust with your knuckles. Let stand 10 minutes before adding the ingredients. This one had thin saucing with tomato basil sauce which I found in a jar at Walmart here in PV. It was a good brand with only 3 gram sugar, otherwise, all PV has is Prego! UGH!  layer fresh basil leaves on top of the sauce, top with fresh tomato slices, thin slices of mozzella cheese from costco or Trader Joes, the kind spiced with oilve oil and herbs. Grate some fresh parmesan over the top, very lightly and sprinkle with fresh chopped galric. (alot) My receipe for pizza dough is in a earlier post. Look forward to pizza when we are anchored on some island paradise with nothing but the ocean all around. Now to practise my bread making skills.



Mexico has these wonderful little juicy limes and you can not live without the hand squeezer.



The local art work at the market was not bad either.



Close-up of the delicious beauty.

For he's a jolly good fellow. Happy Birthday Ron



What a day! We took the dingy and motored over to La Cruz for the day. La Cruz has a beautiful Marina nessled in a funky little town, but amazingly enough there is great live music at Pylios and Anna Banana's. (Previous pictures were posted) Daz stayed for the seminar on crossing the Pacific, but Ron and I bailed out to keep from falling asleep. The eyes began to close at the part where everyone opted for matching teashirts with our names on them. Ron wants to steer clear of the mass crossing, as these folks have small boats and some will inevitably get into trouble. If you are closest to the problem you are obligated to help them out, get the picture? 

There was beer, there was tequila, good food and "the cake".



A good time was had by all


After lunch we wandered through the village to Anna Banana's and bumped into Captain Debbie. We met a great couple from Wisconsin who had just come from the airport to La Cruz and were in search of a place to watch the super bowl. Love those cheese heads and really hope the Packers win.



Ron and Captain Debbie. We made her wear the B-Day hat.



The CAKE!

Carrot Cake, Ron's favorite.

The cake had 1/2 cup date sugar to sweeten it and the fresh carrots and pinapple did the rest. The frosting was lite cream cheese sweetened with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and I added Rum and fresh orange zest, along with a touch of vanilla and cinnamon.

The gang at Anna Banana's sang a rousing happy birthday to Ron, in Spanish and then the tequila flowed like water. We were a bit tippsey but then, we were celabrating!



The sunset was awesome over the bay as we returned from our day of fun.



Iguana andJungle Cooking

What a handsome guy.

Never saw Night of the Iguana, until here in Puerto Vallarta where it was filmed. John Huston film, brilliant; young Richard Burton and Ava Gardner, very saucy, highly recommend this film. And! Still to this day, young shirtless, Mexican boy's follow you around playing the maracas!

This kitchen in the jungle had it all. 

Avocado, mini limes, cilantro, fresh tuna, tomato, jalapenos, fresh garlic,and Tequila.....What shall we make? Turned out to be Fresh Martguerita's and Chevcie. Cholada was the name on the gate and the hike up is not for the weak. For $10.00 a night you can sleep in the open jungle in tents or in the bed swing room overlooking Yelapa bay.The kitchen was awesome and the company excellent. We drank Chilean red wine after the Margaritas and feasted on the Cheviche.

Perfect Margarita

This was quite possibly the best margarita I have ever tasted.

Captain Daz joined me on Yelapa in time to enjoy this jungle retreat. Afterward we went to the Oasis bar and listened to Gabrielle play and sing like a songbird.  Jason accompanied her on the flute and clarinet. The talent in this little corner of the universe is amazing.  It turns out Ron knows Jason!  It's a small Yelapa world. (Really love this place)

Now thats a fish!



Ahi Tuna just caught.

 We took a day trip over to La Cruz to check out the marina and were pleasantly surprised to find out it is quite beautiful. There was an open fish market with many stalls offering the fresh catch and funny thing; I had spent the previous day in Puerto Vallarta shopping in the open market for kale, which was impossible to find. In La Cruz, we found a man selling his organic veggies, including beautiful young kale!  Really love this place. We bought 10 pounds of fresh Ahi, right off the fish, for $20.00! At Malibu seafood it would be $28.00 per pound.

Fillet expert.



Before the fillet


No fish story, here's the pix to prove it!



We made some sushmi out of some of this, very delicious.



Marina at La Cruz

 The marina was really nice and later we all enjoyed a great lunch at the yacht club. The sign said no dog's but Trinidad was so well behaved they made an exception. I had the shrimp and avacado ceviche, Ron had fish tacos, Daz had the octopus, and Diane got fried fish after asking the waiter to NOT fry the fish! Thats Mexico for you; order, but they just bring you what they want.



Lunch at the yacht club.



Just another happy day on the job.

So you think you can cook?

Yeah, so you think you can cook, well try your chops in this kitchen, where the gas goes out without reason, and the electricity can stop at any given moment, but the show must go on and what a show it is! Chef Susan is amazing and her Bahia Cafe is considered the cooking school of Yelapa. Other local restaurants put out some good authentic Mexican fare but the Bahia Cafe' is truly eclectic, with organic herbs from the garden, homemade breads, and a menu that would hold it's own anywhere in the known universe.    

 

Chef Suzanne in her herb garden with her lucky pig. Susan has had her little piggy ever since her days in France. The garden was delicious, and Susan even had my favorite grain, Quinoa, growing. 


 Cafe Bahia Sunday Brunch special; Eggs Benedict and omelet of spinach and jack cheese. Suisan gets up early to prepare the perfect Hollandaise. I did hear you Susan, swearing at the Sauce, ordering it  not to break, which it didn't!



Spinach Omelet with Susan's homemade bread. 





The Bread, manna from heaven.

 

 





The close up. Perfection.

The local staff is so well trained, they can produce the omelet without the chef's close watchful eyes. Chef Susan has mastered the art of empowering her staff to get it right everytime. Every good chef knows that this is the only way they will ever get a day off!  



I barley had time to snap the photo's as getting the food out is numero uno.

She's sooo cute!

The kitchen is imaculate, well organized, well equiped and the sea breeze mingles with the aromas that eminate from the open doorway. All village dogs are banned, but any mistakes are served up to those that stick around till closing time. The cafe serves breakfast and lunch only.



Before the Hollandaise



The best little kitchen on the sea.



On the way to the Bahia Cafe, pretty nice, hey?



Anna Rosa's place

Ron is off to the Four season's and I am here in my rented palapa in Yelapa, (love this place) life goes on as usual; kids come home from school, the village is at work, but this corner of the Yelapa bay is relatively quiet.The far north end is where all the main hotel and restaurants cluster together, the area is small but touristy none the same.

Anna Rosa

Anna Rosa hotel, is in fact, a woman named Anna Rosa. A local artist recommended Rosa's place, and you can see that for $40.00 a night the accommodations are lovely; plus, you hear the ocean all night.

Kitchen

Tonight is live music at the Oasis, expect photos and full reports of the food, as this chef' is off for a few day's,therefore, I will report on the food of Yelapa.
Cafe Bahia is just below my casa and the food is delicious and nutritious. I feasted on a breakfast burrito consisting of; seasoned baby red potatoes, black beans, scrambled eggs,salsa Verde and pico sauce. The order of guacamole, which they made fresh just for me, was perfection, as you could taste the avocado.

The hammock was divine

The music at the Oasis was unbelievably great. Female vocalist, female saxophone player, lead guitar, bass, and drums. Danced my self into a trance with the locals and then got invited afterward to the beautiful tree-house home of Chris and Anton, where we all jammed the night away. I forgot my flute but played my heart out on the maracas!