bucerias – The Grape Escape

The mobility of having our house on wheels has granted us the opportunities to take off for months at a time. We would not have had enough savings to travel extensively and run a household too. Plus the stress and responsibility of home repairs, maintenance and upkeep was not attractive to us. But Canadian winter in a 120 square foot box is not an option. Now, as we avoid US travel, we have turned to pet and housesitting until January. Our wanderlust then transforms our lives in the pursuit of numerous international destinations that inspire and intrigue us. It’s a great example of working with the tools one has to pursue the aspirations for travel we have had for most of our married life together. Autumn 2025 saw us housesit for a month in Victoria for some good friends that were busy pursuing their wanderlust in NZ for a month. This was a great time for us to explore new trails and time with many other good friends who live there. We know we missed a few folks along the way but time wasn’t in our favour on that point. Soon after our Victoria housesit we took up responsibilities in Qualicum Beach cat-sitting a purrrrfectly beautiful black and white short hair cat for 6 weeks which gave us time with family and friends who live around central Vancouver Island.

The temperatures of the Pacific Northwest, while mild compared to all points north and east of there, bring a cloudy gloomy darkness that can feel depressing to many. A walk or hike in the beckoning outdoors accentuates the shift in mindset needed to focus on the beauty and importance of our local verdant rain forests and offsets the rainy winter blues.

So does a flight to Puerto Vallarta!!

We landed in PV on Jan 8, in the comfortable residence of my (Deb) relatives who are avid golfers and live on a luxury course for half the year. Not being golfers we got acquainted with Puerto Vallarta and the resort beach that accompanies the golf course.

We Ubered to PV and walked the old town, the Malecón and the Zona Romántica. Following our rules of eating at busy places we found some delicious seafood tacos at Mariscos El Güero a few blocks from the mouth of the Rio Cuale and the flea market that follows the river under the trees.

On “days off” from their sport we hopped in the car and found crocodiles on the way to a favourite palapa restaurant near the airport. George’s on Boca de Tomates-incidentally the street name translates to mouth of tomatoes😍. We walked through the cocina, sat in the shade of the palapa and we sipped icy cold drinks and ate their famous Mariscos Molcajete with our feet in the sand. Tender marinated octopus, scallops, prawns, tuna, avocado and sauce are served in a mortar “molcajete” part of a mortar and pestle. This teased us towards the dozen oysters that arrived right afterwards. We can vouch that we did not suffer a norovirus reaction that we had heard about with other oyster loving but wary connoisseurs!

Another “day off” we drove up the Cuale River valley to Raicilla restaurant along the river. Two young restauranteurs who worked in the PV hotel scene as concierges purchased and fixed up the building, built a new cocina and offer delicious local fresh foods on the bank of the river. We wish them lots of luck.

After a week of sponging off our loved ones we moved into a small casita on the Mexican side of the highway in Bucerias.

Then it got really social!! Day one we met up with my sisters friend , Jeanette, and she drove us up the Ameco river into the mountains to where the road became a cement throughway with three inches of water at a dam-like weir where the locals will swim.

Down another cobblestone road we came to a hot spring.

Along the way we stopped for pork and tongue tacos (forgot a picture) at a street side stand. And a bar with prawns in a fresh coconut with the tender coconut as part of the dish.

While driving we saw a woman pulling steaming hot tamales out of a huge pot. We screeched to a stop and bought two stuffed with masa and chicken “pollo” pronounced poyo and two pork. After eating all day, those went in the freezer in the casita until it was worked into a dinner later.

We set off with Deb’s relatives, Pat and Barry, on a beautiful morning intent on seeing the Puebla Magico town of Sayulita. It’s a very quaint beachside surfing village that has been preserved for it’s cozy historical charm. We walked the beach and took in the warm winter sun along with hundreds of other tourists and locals that savour the “off the beaten track” quality of the this place. Our guides (Barry and Pat) knew of some unique refreshment locations a little out of town so after a great walk along the beach we headed for some libations and sustenance. About a 1/2 hour out of Sayulita we arrived at a hopping little restaurant/ bar called El Barracuda de Punta Mita. Punta Mita is a swishy point of land with very high end accommodations and residences that invitations by members only allows for visits. El Barracuda is another two or three Km’s down the rustic access road. The cold beer a shade of the palapa was a welcome reward but we tired of the pumping DJ creating a party vibe that at any other time wood have been welcome but there was one spot that fit our plans much nicer so we chugged, paid and drove in the direction of return. Margaritas on the Hill was just the right vibe to finish a great day sightseeing. They are noted for their namesake Margaritas so we indulged in a round (“when in Rome”… right?) and a delicious platter of nachos. As the sun set we devoured it all and eventually headed back to our Bucerias accom.

Our Bucerias casita was a 12-14 minute walk to the warm ocean so we frequented the beach for a swim before dinner. One day walking the beach we met up with one of my stepbrothers and his family who were at a fancy timeshare type of resort. We arranged to meet for an excellent seafood meal at El Brujo. Stuffed again!!

The main highways are flanked by access roadways that have passenger vans and busses that we used to get out of Bucerias. We bussed in to PV a couple of times including once to meet one of my (Deb) cousins who was there for the first time. They were at a swishy all inclusive that charged way too much to let the likes of us visit so we sprung them out of their comfy prison and walked the Malecón and found some tacos, enchiladas and Pollo Mole!!

Another day we bussed up the coast to La Peñita de Jaltemba a Mexican bedroom community to the resort town of Rincon de Guayabitos. Our friends Sue and John were scoping out the area as they have wintered in Parker, Arizona for years, but are changing it to “elbows up” this year.

Coincidentally, another friend and colleague of ours, Gord, also retired and spends his winters about 2 blocks from where Sue and John were staying. After chips and salsa with Sue we were on to margaritas with Gord. He took us to a little restaurant for a delicious bowl of inexpensive posole soup and we were off to get our bus back.