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

Villa Estrella's gardens are lush, tropical and meticulously maintained, giving the whole community a dream-like atmosphere.

We woke to exquisite sunshine and blue ocean, clean clear air with crystal clear views of the beach all the way to Punta Mita in one direction, and North to San Blas. A perfect day on the Riviera Nayarit. The dinner party with the young folks at Casa Colibri last night was fun, they cooked up a blizzard of pasta. The dinner was followed by the Mexican train domino tournament, washed down with slightly excessive quantities of vino. Felix the cat trotted back home with us to Villa Estrella and is snuggled up tight by my side on the couch to keep warm.

Jaime, the Punta el Custodio handyman, finally got the new pool heater gas valve in to the Villa from Mexico City. Having a warm pool to float in every night is one of the MAJOR pleasures down here at the villa and we’ve been without it for a week (it even caused minor marital crisis). So it’s finally fixed. We are pouring fortunes of propane gas into the heater to get it cozy for tonight’s marine pleasures under the full moon, looking down at the ocean surf crashing below from our private, negative-edge pool. We love hanging out in the little cliff-side pool for hours, watching shooting stars, identifying the constellations, finding the north star. Tonight the moon is pretty much full and will illuminate the crashing surf below. When we’re not star gazing, the pool is also perfect for aquacise, and working off Rosa’s cooking (not to mention all the margaritas). We marvel at the wonder that is Mexico and at the magic of Villa Estrella and its stunning setting, surrounded by ocean, and nature.

This is an example of one of the many Mexican Tapestries that decorate Villa Estrella.

Rosa is sewing something for Jackie in the kitchen, I think it’s a cotton blouse. Soft jazz is filling the palapa, the sun is shining beautifully, the ocean is a stunning blue, the palm trees are swaying gracefully in the breeze. I hear the waves gently surging on the rocks below. I smell something good cooking from the kitchen – Rosa is cooking Comida (lunch). I’m looking forward to my nap in the hammock afterward, but for now it’s after 12 and time for my first icy Corona of the day.

You should see the lovely new hanging lamps we picked up for the villa on our trip to Guadalajara last week. We bought huge spherical basket lamps that are now hanging from the high palapa, plus some beautiful stars  that are now hanging over the tequila bar in front of the kitchen. The lamps were so huge we barely were able to squeeze them into the Suburban for the 4 hour trip back home. This type of decorating is so Mexican – using big bold elements, high spaces, fabulous dramatic environments. We like to give our renters an amazing villa experience with beautiful Mexican art, Mexico pottery, Mexican ceramics, colors and design.

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

San Blas is a historic spanish naval port with that makes an interesting day trip from Villa Estrella.

The road winds through the charming village of El Llano where fruit stand vendors try to sell you Jaca fruit products. Slow down at the town square and take in the charming cookie cutter facade of the old church. I recommend the Jaca fruit ice. You will also notice that the Noni fruit grows here and they will sell you those products too.

Right after El Llano the road offers two choices; Turn right and you can go all the way to Tepic, Guadaljara and even Mexico City. Future posts will detail some really interesting trips to those Cities. 20 minutes down that road you will also come to el Cora, site of a gorgeous waterfall you can hike to”..but that’s another story, today we are taking the LEFT turn and continuing toward San Blas.

Our next favorite stop on the road to San Blas is about another 10 minutes up the road as you enter the community of Las Cocos. There on the left is a clunky looking building called the Casa Mana, its a hotel. Doesn’t look like much, park your car, walk through the breezeway and Ta Daaa……

There is a lovely pool, restaurant,palm trees and beach. Pull up a chair at a table under the palm tree and have yourself some icy coronas and a plate of tasties from the menu. Food is good, atmosphere is cheerful, bright and fun. Come back on a Saturday night for “pizza night”. The pizza is great and often there is live entertainment, including sometimes Mexican Folk dancing.

In our next instalment, we will continue our trip to San Blas…with stops for Banana Bread, the longest surfing wave, and crocodiles. Have patience, eventually we will get to San Blas, a historic Spanish Naval Port from the 1775.