Back From Puerto Vallarta

When we arrived back from our Easter Break in Puerto Vallarta there was no time to post or upload pictures. So...sorry for the delay but you know how it goes! We did have a wonderful time and became more familiar with the beautiful city of Puerto Vallarta. Our favorite Italian restaurant located on the Malecon, La Dolce Vita, did not disappoint. While strolling along the boardwalk we found Xaime's art displayed near the Naval Museum.

This is Xaime with me.........

Two of his smaller pieces now reside in my craft room!

The city of Puerto Vallarta has so many delights to see...from the interesting statues and sand sculptures along the boardwalk...

..to colorful displays in town to tempt shoppers....

We had an especially nice view from our room at the Grand Mayan.

Now I am back to a normal level of activity at home after teaching five days last week. "Normal" is three days of teaching, housework and knitting. On the knitting front, I have finished the latest installment from my Rockin' Sock Club - Slip Jig. It was really fun to knit and the colorway was beautiful!! Thanks Tina and Carrie. You can check it out on my Ravelry project page, if you have a mind to. There are actually five projects on the needles right now...some of them will be done (in theory) in time to go to Alaska with me in mid-May.

Puerto Vallarta Peregrinaciones

Before we left the Puerto Vallarta area, we ventured into town to check out the malacon (boardwalk), shops and local restaurants. As luck would have it, during the first twelve days of December there is a custom in many Mexican towns for the faithful to process to the cathedral. The custom is called Peregrinacion. The main street is closed to traffic for the evening as groups make their way to the church.

Because the street was closed to cars, it was easier to take photographs ...there were so many memories to capture.

Pictured above is one of the local chalk artists working around the plaza and the cathedral.

Who knew there would be a fork in the road?

After the processions were over, we walked to the Malecon and found an Italian restaurant with an upstairs view, La Dolce Vita. From this vantage point - more photos.

Remember, this is a knitting blog...just had to get these last few photos from our trip out of my system. I ripped out what I started of the Darkside Cowl during the plane rides. It lacked the stitch definition I had hoped for. The redo is quite satisfactory and was accomplished in a day.

Puerto Vallarta/Nuevo Vallarta

We took a brief but enjoyable trip to the states of Nayarit and Jalisco, Mexico last week. Our timeshare, Grand Mayan, is located just north of Puerto Vallarta (which is in Jalisco) in Nuevo Vallarta (state of Nayarit). You think you are confused??? But locals in NV use the PV time. It certainly made it less confusing when preparing for our departing flight, as the airport is located in Jalisco. Thank goodness we were actually early for our flight home because it took FOREVER to check in. Someone needs to do some serious reorganization of that airport!! Everything else about the trip was great - with that one, small annoyance.

Here is a shot of Greg chasing me down the "Lazy River" or "Rio Lento" at our resort...

Yes, that is the famous chainsaw scar above his knee.

We took two "side trips" during our vacation. The first, last Wednesday, was to the town of Tequila. Guess what the main industry is....that is right. Tequila! We toured the Jose Cuervo factory. Cuervo means raven, thus the bird pictured in the family crest on the website.

I couldn't take any shots inside the building to show the beautiful barrels and copper distillers as it was prohibited. The town is also where one of my favorite hot sauces, Cholula, is produced. On Thursday we ventured out again - this time our destination was San Blas. Over 50 years ago I spent two weeks there with my parents and a friend of the family who lived in the small port town. I had fond memories and was relieved that things were much the same...

Above is the old church in town and below is the new one.

Then, outside of town is the original one... it was burned many years ago. Residents point out figures that they say some can see. In this photo is the face of a woman. Do you see it?I was intrigued by the vendors in the marketplace on the plaza. The masks were colorful....
But the highlight of the day was the "jungle" trip through the swamp just outside town. There were many birds and reptiles (herons, hawks, iguanas, turtles)...but my favorite was the crocodile. There were many!

This week will be filled with work at Skein and some serious knitting which I will take pictures of to post both here and on Ravelry.