Mike caught in a big wave fishing at the rocks at Villa Estrella.

Mike went out fishing with Ruben, the best fishing guide around, (he is from San Blas) and he said the experience was fantastic. Mike first tried his luck with one of the locals with the “Pangas” down on the beach in Platanitos but all they did was drive him to the Bajo and let him sit there for 3 hours even though not one fish was biting, he was very disappointed when he came back.

The next time, Mike decided to try his luck with a different fishermen. Ismael our manager at Punta el Custodio, recommend Ruben. Ruben picked Mike up on time, had sandwiches, water, sunscreen, cushions for the little panga, even a sail to provide some shade. Ruben has 40 years of guiding experience and was using a GPS to track the fish. First he caught a couple of Dorado and then suddenly a little bell was ringing and Ruben raced over to the pole and hooked the fish really hard (Mike is telling me the story as I didn’t go…I get sea sick) and handed Mike over the pole. It took Mike 45 minutes to wheel in the fish (I guess its called “Bella” in Spanish? At least that’s what Ruben was yelling…bella bella and pointed to the ocean while the bell was ringing).

Mike posing with his trophy from his Mexico sailfish fishing excursion.

He said the sight was amazing…the sailfish was jumping out of the water and was fighting really hard. Ruben and his “helper” got the fish into the boat and wanted to clean and filet it but Mike didn’t have a camera so he said he has to take the full fish home to get a photo. Then Heimar and Vincente (I am sure I butchered their name) cleaned the fish and filetted it – very NICE! I had asked Heimar to divide the fish between all the employees of Punta El Custodio but I am not sure that happened…when I asked Ismael and Cynthia if they got fish they said no…fortunately we had some more and gave it to Ismael…Rosa also got some and Mike gave her all the Travails he caught on the rock down from villa Estrella.

Mike said they had to go out 4 miles out…kind of a little bit left of Villa Estrella at the point. I’ve attached a couple more photos. If you take a look at the very last photo and look really close you can see Mike caught in a big wave leaning at the rocks and the pole sticking out (grey hair…you can see his head in the middle of the photo in a dark spot and white shirt if you look really close)…he loved fishing off the rock to the right down from your Villa. He was in heaven!

Mike and Dunja showing what the best Mexico fishing trips are all about.

Ruben said in November and December is the time to catch big fish, they were fortunate that they caught such a big fish this time of the year. Mike said Ruben was just amazing and how much knowledge he had about the area, a true fisherman who’s pride is measured by how many (big) fish his clients catch (not like the Panga guys from Platanitos, they really didn’t care if Mike would catch a fish or not).

Mike and I want to say Thank YOU for renting us out your villa and thank you Ismael for catering to all our special requests. Mike was very happy about his burger and the BBQ couldn’t have come to a more perfect time to BBQ the sailfish he caught that day (I have attached you a couple of photos). We BBQ’d all the way out under the big fig tree to ensure no flames or ashes would get close to your beautiful palapa roof.

Your place is beautiful and we loved everything Rosa cooked for us, your personnel is fantastic, everybody is so friendly and accommodating. Thank you both for allowing us to stay in your beautiful villa and making our vacation so very special. We hope we will have an opportunity to come back soon.

Written By Dunja, Villa Estrella Guest, May 2010.

Platanitos is a quaint beach village just a short walk from Villa Estrella and is a perfect place to pass a lazy day at the beach while immersing yourself in local Mexico culture.

The place was full of happy Mexican families, grandparents, kids and babies. We found a table at the edge facing the beach, simple plastic table, feet in the sand, watching the kids play in the waves, teenagers playing soccer on the beach, vendors selling inexpensive jewellery, banana bread, a wonderful ice cream cart, and a bunch of strolling mariachis with very old beat-up looking instruments. We were the only “white folks” on the whole beach. This place is the real thing. There are several restaurants like Ruiz’s all lined up tightly beside each other, and each restaurant has its own blaring juke box, pumping out that typically Mexican variety of songs, of love and heartbreak. It wouldn’t be Mexico without a bit of chaotic noise.

In a few minutes Pepe, Ana, Tania their daughter, and her brand new husband Zithi showed up, we ordered a bucket of iced beers, some shrimp empanadas and waited for the fish to arrive. Lovely people, warm hearted, loving, we are best of friends, communicating only in Spanish. I would get so good in Spanish if I had to do this every day. Of course, within minutes the ladies had snagged the wandering jewelery vendor, who proceeded to lay out all his wares on the table. This took a good half hour of sifting through a few hundred items and trying everything on. This is my kind of shopping, the goods are cheap, I don’t have to go to a store, no standing around with tired feet, and best if all, I can sit in comfort on the beach with my friends and a beer.

Next thing you know, the wandering weathered looking thin older man with the beatup guitar turns out to be an old friend of Pepe and Ana from Ixtapa down the road. Apparently he writes a lot of his own songs as well. We are in for a treat as he serenades us in a lovely voice and excellent guitar playing for a good 20 minutes. He sang a special song that he wrote himself, dedicated to Jackie and me, entitled “Tequila y Rum”

The succulent tender fish arrives, a huge feast, the entire fish laid open on a huge tray, grilled a golden brown with wonderful aromas. It comes with a bunch of plastic forks, some little plates, rice and tortillas. Everyone digs in, finger licking, lip smacking good. I’ve never had better fish than this. Of course the pretty waitress keeps bringing us more cold ones.

Next thing we signal the lady on the beach operating the ice cream cart, apparently she is known to Pepe and Ana as well. It seems her family are highly regarded ice cream makers from Zacualpan. I have the limon, others have fresa, or coco, lovely ices in nice crunchy cones, 6 ice creams for 50 pesos, not a bad deal.

After lunch we all piled into Zithi’s pickup, the men in the open rear truck bed, Mexican style, and we bump our way back up the hill back to Villa Estrella, me holding on for dear life. We made coffee, sat and talked, as the sun dropped ever lower in the sky. As the orange ball came close to sea, we wandered out to the point under the big fig tree, the nightly sunset ceremony has become a wonderful tradition, a time when day slips into night, accompanied by a spectacular orange glow of sky. We toast the end of the day as the final glimmer of sun slips under the waves.

The romantic lights under the palapa gradually come on, one by one; conversations grow deeper, easy laughter, wine flows. Eventually, after large lunches, endless talking, kissed by sun and breeze, cool wine, fatigue sets in, time to break up the party and head home, hugs and goodbyes all around. The villa returns to magical silence. Surrounded by the black night, the chirping of crickets, the soft surge of waves on the rocks below. We sink into the comfort of cushions and lounges, nap a bit, read a bit, cherishing the peace and silence.

Just another day in paradise.

The wandering vendors were all over us like a feeding frenzy of mapaches (Mexican raccoons), for the first while we could hardly enjoy our cervezas. There is always the horde of jewellery venders with open attaché cases of silver stuff. Once guy claimed that his one particular bracelet would cure arthritis, and this was a well know fact that everyone in Mexico knew about. Some pretty girl in native dress, apparently from Chiapas, sold us a cute little colourful hand made purse that will be nice for our grand daughter. After about the 20th vendor we put on our stone face and tried to ignore them (with limited success)

Once again, there was this neat old guy with the beat up guitar that had a harmonica taped to the top of it. He was missing quite a few teeth. I always fall for these charming old timers and ask them to sing a few songs. His name was Simon, his voice was great, he danced while he played, his tunes were joyful and he sang us 3 lovely songs for 100 pesos.

A day trip to Bucerias isn't complete until you have visited the many vendors where all sorts of hand-crafted treasures are sold.

So, no trip anywhere is complete without…you guessed it….shopping….naturally, and in no time at all, in a back street of Bucerias where I could hardly squeeze in with my lumbering Suburban, we found a store with stuff we just HAD to have; these fine hand woven tapestries from Oaxaca, hand woven by the family that ran the store. They showed us how they make their own dyes; browns from nut shells, and purples from some powdered insect. If you added lime juice to the purple powder insect, you got orange dye. There was pictures of papa grinding the nuts, pictures of mama cording the wool. To make a long story short we are now proud owners of a tapestry full of colorful fish, and a hand woven bedspread of blues and oranges for the king size bed.

After that a short wander down a street lined both sides with hundreds of little vendors stands, each one trying to con you into buying something, all kinds of silly trinkets and souvenirs that will gather dust back home. Well we decided to quickly pickup some Christmas items for the folks back home. We zeroed in on these cute little Mexican tequila shot glasses, hand blown, each one a little different from the other. We got four blue ones for one person, four red ones for another, then four more yellow ones, not sure if we got the green ones as well. By the time we got done it was already 3 o’clock. Now there is still a 2 hour drive to get back, and we wanted to be back at Villa Estrella before the sun goes down. Missing the nightly sunset ceremony is not something to be taken lightly. You never know when you might miss that ultimate sunset experience; the elusive “green flash” (that’s the subject of another story).

On the way home through the mountains between Bucerias and Sayulita we pass the pueblito of San Ignacio, blink and you miss it. There were a couple of rustic rickety fruit stands, and right beside one of them, lo and behold; they were selling these nice rustic hand woven rattan type basket-weave lamps which are perfect for the architecture of Villa Estrella. I have to tell you, Villa Estrella has a palalapa roof, which is basically like living inside a huge woven palm frond basket, so these were just the lights to go with the look. There was no one there to sell them to us, until we noticed that the simple sleepy dusty house behind the stand, had a man and woman siesta-ing in two hammocks in the yard beside the rusty derelict truck, so we had to wake them up to get service. We tried to bargain for a lower price but he wouldn’t budge, we got the lamps for half the price of anywhere else.

Back on the road again, the rest of the trip pretty uneventful, jungles, and valleys, and fields, and farms, distant mountains and scruffy charming villages. Another stop at one of those cute fruit stands for the best little bunch of bananas anywhere, and then back home just in time for sunset.

The plan for tonight is crank up the pool heater and have a toasty hour daydreaming under the black velvet starry sky, with the ocean surging below, looking out across the sea at the twinkling lights of pangas night-fishing, and then much further beyond, the lights of San Blas in the distance. It’s in the pool that all the weighty issues of the day are rehashed; as in; where shall we hang the new tapestry?

Another day in paradise!

One of the most popular activities planned for guests at Villa Estrella is a trip to the El Cora Waterfall.

The falls are about a 30 minute drive from Villa Estrella, driving north along the coast road toward San Blas and then taking the inland fork toward Tepic for another 15 minutes until the village of El Cora.

The lush forest was like something out of a movie. Our guide explained that we were going to walk down a gully to the waterfall and informed us about the area and the habitat we were to visit. We parked and then debarked for our short hike down to the waterfall.

The first thing to hit us was the view; such a magnificent landscape awaited us. It was a warm day, but there was a nice breeze that kept us energized and ready to take in the trek. The walk down was a nice stroll, not too steep, but also worthy of the term, ‘hike’. As we strolled, we took in the amazing vegetation and sounds of the birds in the trees (all the while thinking, I hope this was worth the drive). I was very soon eating my words (or thoughts) as we came to the impressive El Cora Waterfall.

The falls were not massive, but extremely picturesque and set a wonderful canvas of contrasting greens of the trees against the grey-blue of the water. I’m happy we remembered our swim gear (as I’m prone to forget important items on big trips). The water was so refreshing after the road trip up and the subsequent walk. We knew many people had been here before but the setting was so intimate and romantic that everyone has a chance to make it their own. I could definitely see someone proposing here (although they’d have to make sure to hold onto the ring as the waterfall basin is fairly deep).

After an hour or so swimming in the falls, we dried off on the side of the pool for a while and then made the trek back to the car. The way up is usually harder than the way down, but we couldn’t stop talking about how spectacular the experience at the falls had been and before we knew it, we were back at the car. The same was true for the car ride as the majority of the drive was spent on discussing how the waterfalls were above and beyond what we had expected.

After arriving back at Villa Estrella, it was time for more of Rosa’s wonderful cooking and then a Del Sol and a dip in the infinity pool. A wonderful end to a phenomenal day!

Written By Carl A., Villa Estrella Guest, January 2010

We love the beautiful historic area of Tlaquepaque, which is almost an independent town within Guadalajara. It is rich with colonial buildings, historic atmosphere and absolutely full of wonderful life. If you hang around the main square area on any evening it’s always abuzz with wonderful people, vendors, music, food and fun.

This is a beautiful picture of the pool and atmosphere at Quinta Don Jose Boutique Hotel. For more information visit www.quintadonjose.com

We stayed at a different hotel this time called the Quinta Don Jose Boutique Hotel. We loved it. This hotel is right in the center of Tlaquepaque, one block from the main square where the 2 gorgeous cathedrals are, and one block from the Mariachi square (for more inspiration, read the post about The Mariachis in Tlaquepaque). We got the last unit which was actually a little one bedroom suite, right across the road, nicely appointed and comfortable for only $85. It was like having your own apartment right in the town and an added bonus is that they have free telephone to USA and Canada.

Quinta Don Jose have a great 2-for-one happy hour with fabulous margaritas, which hit the spot after the 4 hour drive from Villa Estrella. We met up with our friend Ollie and his gang, who happened to be staying there as well and had a great time. Our villa renters who only know Puerto Vallarta are amazed to find how close Guadaljara really is, and what a genuine Mexican experience this city is. Puerto Vallarta is an overpriced tourist town, whereas Guadaljara and Tlaquepaque are a genuine experience in Mexican urban life and history.

The trip from our Puerto Vallarta Villa Rental to Guadalajara is also a wonderful adventure. Its an easy drive on great roads. The scenery and landscape are as beautiful as anywhere in the world. The small towns along the way include the town ofTequila, the center of the tequila distilling industry, that is set in a gorgeous tapestry of teal blue agave plantations.

Our whale watching excursion was the highlight of the trip and a life-long memory that seem to be part of daily life here at Villa Estrella.

Today we went whale watching. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Earlier this week we talked to Ismael who helped to set up the whole trip. We set out early morning (but not at an ungodly hour…we’re still on vacation after all). We went down to the water to load into the boat. We packed a backpack full of snacks and brought a little cooler full of drinks. As we set out on another gorgeous, sunny, Pacific morning, we could tell it would be a special day.

We passed some large fishing boats on the way out and our guide, fluent in English, gave us a commentary on fishing and the ecosystem that surrounded us. It didn’t take long at all for the excitement to begin; off to the left side of the boat, a pod of dolphins emerged from the water. In what seemed like hours but was probably minutes, we watched as they rose and sank, rose and sank in a primal, choreographed game.

Continuing on our trip, after having sufficiently taken in the dolphin display, we set out to find whales. I felt like a man on a mission – Captain Ahabish but without wanting to hurt anything. A quick note about our guide, he was awesome. His knowledge of the sea life and the history of the area was bar none. He was the best tour guide we’ve ever had. Back to the whale watching…. About a half hour after finding the dolphin pod, we saw some action in the distance. It was a mother and her calf. We approached with caution and kept a safe distance, but we were able to see so much detail on the animals. Humpback whales are such large, misshapen mammals  yet so graceful in the water. We cut the motor and just listened as they surfaced and then submerged.

Their blowholes and the waves were the only sounds for about forty minutes. Then, they dove deep and that was the last we saw of the mother and her baby. Not long after the first whale encounter, we saw another whale on the horizon. By the time we caught up, we realized that this was an enormous whale. The guide, in all his wisdom, was amazed as he had never seen anything like it. You see, normally, the humpbacks would breach for a while and then dive deep for a long time, but this whale gave us a 2 hour show. The only reason we left was because we would run out of gas to get home. The display was amazing. The whale would go under for 10 minutes or so then explode out of the water in a dazzling show. At some points, he breached so close to the boat, we could see the barnacles on him (at least I think it was a him). He would slap his fins and roll. I’ve never had an experience like it. As we left him, still playing on the horizon, we waved ‘Bye’ and thanked our guide profusely.

Our whale watching excursion was the  highlight of the trip and a life-long memory that seem to be part of daily life here at Villa Estrella. What a wonderful, magical place.

Written By Carl A., Villa Estrella Guest, January 2010

Horseback riding is one of the many exciting activities that can be organized for you during your stay at Villa Estrella.

We awoke to Rosa’s breakfast as everything is coordinated at Villa Estrella, only to be told moments later our horses were ready for us and waiting on the beach. As we made our way down to the beach taking in the flourishing flowers around us, we were taken across the estuary by boat, only to see our beautiful horses awaiting us. We were greeted by our friendly guide who helped us with the horses. I was impressed with how healthy and well looked after all the horses were.

As we began our ride, it was like out of a movie…we were the only ones on the 18km long sandy beach with the ocean waves crashing on our right and gorgeous palm trees for as far as you could see on our left. It was a scene out of a movie! We continued our ride along the beach, taking the horses and frolicking in the ocean waves when our guide stopped and cracked a coconut open for us to have a drink.

We then cut through the palm trees and the guide led us down in behind the estuary where we hit a ravine of water allowing the horses to cool off a bit. As we rode back to Villa Estrella though the palm trees, we came across the crocodile sanctuary and were able to stop and have a break while looking at all the baby crocodiles! As we continued our ride through Turtle Bay we took in all the beautiful scenery and were very impressed at how well trained the horses were and well looked after! As our ride came to an end we galloped the horses down the beach one last time.

Written by Sarah E., Villa Estrella Guest, January 2010.

Going to Tlaquepaque to see the Mariachis and submerge ourselves in Mexican culture is a favorite activity when visiting Villa Estrella.

On occasion we will travel to Guadalajara to do some shopping. The trip takes only a short amount of time and it gives us and opportunity to explore other areas in the Jalisco province of Mexico. One of our favorite places we have discovered is a city called Tlaquepaque, which is just east of Guadalajara. Instead of making the drive home the same day we will often spend the night in this charming town to take in the authentic Mexican atmosphere.

Our absolutely favorite thing to do in Tlaquepaque is to attend the Saturday night Mariachi show in the mariachi square inside the big square donut restaurant complex that occupies a whole city block beside the main town square. It starts at 9:30, so don’t get there too soon – grab a seat on one of the park benches, or settle into one of the many restaurants and enjoy the atmosphere.

The mariachis in Tlaquepaque set up on the big central gazebo bandstand. Pure classic Mexican mariachi music, 15 men dressed sharp in tight metal studded mariachi suits, sometimes with sombreros, fabulous trumpets, violins and guitars. And then the singers!!!! Beautiful women in sleek long traditional mariachi dresses with superb big sombreros and powerful voices that will curl your toes. The male singers also have incredibly powerful voices and huge sombreros. Imagine, if you can, a group of handsome men in classic Mexico attire brandishing pistols and singing their hearts out. The show goes on for a couple of hours. The action around the bandstand is about as good as the show itself. Watch families, children, pigeons, dogs, and street vendors – its all part of the show. Chances are you won’t see too many tourists attending the mariachis in Tlaquepaque. This is real Mexico and we love it. We make the pilgrimage every year and this is one of the exciting Mexico activities that can be planned when you stay at Villa Estrella.

It has long been a tradition to spend Saturday nights at Casa Manana for some of the best pizza, margaritas and entertainment around.

We take our sunset ceremonies seriously down here. Wear polarized sunglasses. Sometimes when conditions are just right, when the sky is clear and the ocean is blue, you can see the famous green flash. In the last microsecond as the top edge of the sun disappears into the sea there is an exquisite green flash – something about certain gases in the corona of the sun (too technical for me), but I digress. It’s amazing to see.

When going for pizza night at Casa Manana we like to go in larger groups of friends. We pull together a number of tables and sit by the charming terrace overlooking the beach. The service is good and friendly and the owners Lourdes and Reinhart are always available for a friendly chat. The margaritas at Casa Manana are generous, potent and tasty.

The open hearth pizza ovens are hot and ready, and the thin crust pizzas are excellent. There is a choice of about 6 types of pizzas and they are all good. Sometimes we like some contrast to the Mexican fare that we eat here on a daily basis as part of our meal plans. The nights spent at Casa Manana are always excellent times filled with laughter, good cheer and friendship.

Many times there is a show with singers, bands and dancers. My favorite was the SANIX folkdancers from Santiago Ixtlan. A beautiful group of about 30 lovely young people in fabulously colorful costumes dancing their hearts out for us. We loved them so much, we have engaged them to come back and dance at our mexico weddings hosted at Villa Estrella.

The drive back to Villa Estrella, our romantic Mexico Villa getaway, is leisurely. We usually return around 10 in the evening to finish off the day with a dreamy dip in our heated cliff-edge pool under the moon and stars (clothing, of course, is optional).

Our journey to San Blas takes us through Matanchen Bay that is a perfect Mexico beach for swimming and relaxing.

Head out from the parking lot and turn left toward San Blas, and….right away, on your right, screech to a halt….there’s an industrial warehouse, with a gate and guardhouse. Don’t be shy, go in there, tell them you want to buy some dried mangoes. A kilo bag of dried mango fruit is one of the most delicious snacks you can find anywhere. Buy a few bags. Maybe John is there, tell him that Jackie from Villa Estrella sent you. The stuff is just delicious and so good for you.

So while we are zipping down the road munching mangoes, we pass a mishmash of beach houses in varying states of quality, disrepair and completion. The landscape gets a little flat, and not quite so charming. Anyways, after some 30 minutes, you wind through some villages, and you suddenly come across a most incongruous thing (nothing incongruous should surprise you in Mexico) There ..all of a sudden is the biggest fanciest Corona beer distribution palace on your left. Bigger and fancier than your average Costco, painted brilliant white.

Turn left and drive a mile or less. There on your left is Matanchen Bay, a beautiful sandy crescent of soft sand beach free of surf, ringed by your classic Mexican Palapa outdoor restaurants. Soooo…if you didn’t stop at Casa Manana..you could stop here..barefoot in the sand..more icy beer..hope you brought your bathing suit, because the swimming is great. Matanchen bay is sheltered from the prevailing winds, and the waters are calm. Yachtsmen use Matanchen Bay as a safe overnight Anchorage. In the late 1700s The Spanish Navy had shipyards here and warehouses. From here the Spanish Navy equipped its vessels with the goods to support the spanish missions in California, as well as to conduct explorations all the way up the coast to Alaska.

Soooo….. with the comfort of cool beer, bare foot in the sand, try the pulpo,(octopus chopped and fried with garlic) I wouldn’t blame you if your happiness was complete for the day.

Stay tuned for the next installment…banana bread and crocodiles