The Chirps of Geckos are Paradise

There is really nothing so symbolic of heaven to me as the clucking of a gecko. You hear them from outside on the balcony or maybe hidden somewhere in your room. The crowing of roosters nearby, when it wakes you up in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning is not quite as pleasant, though.

We had yet another sudden change of plans when our friends David and Priscilla came to Mismaloya (just north of Puerto Vallarta and where Night of the Iguana was filmed, close to where Predator was filmed), along with their two sons, their friends John and Lauren, and John and Lauren's matching-age daughters. David's mom has a great house above Playa Mismaloya, so we got a great place to stay, a beautiful view, a pool, to learn a new card game, and excellent company.

With them we enjoyed great food and delicious margaritas care of the caretaker Victor. We also went, ostensibly for the kids, on a pirate boat tour. The boat was supposedly modeled after the Santa Maria, and included a pirate-outfitted crew of which our group garnered two "personal pirates." It was their job to escort us to and serve us breakfast and lunch, bring us drinks (from the open bar, though we all waited until after water activities to drink), pose for pictures with the kids, and generally take care of us. The boat ride included about an hour and a half ride out and again back, with the destination of Playa Majahuites. The way there included a play put on by the pirates, with swordfighting, intrigue, etc. It did go on, but was cute. There were also games both on the way there and back. Peter and I hid from some of them on the back deck on the way back. Peter and I chose to snorkel before heading to the beach, and saw a few cool fish, but it was not exactly a goldmine. The beach was great -- they set out chairs and umbrellas and had the bartender set up there. By the time I went back for our third round, he knew we would want Palomas (tequila with grapefruit soda) and was mixing them by the time I arrived. Meanwhile the kids were entertained with a treasure hunt, banana boat (ok, Peter and I went on a ride also), and sea kayaking, and our more athletic friends joined the volleyball game. It's not the kind of thing I normally do when I travel, but I was impressed at the attention and care, and the well-oiled machine (tight ship?) they had developed.

After saying goodbye at the airport on Thursday, we took the bus from across the street up to Sayulita, where we are now. Sayulita seems to be the hip new place to go outside of Puerto Vallarta. It has a surfing beach with a bit of swimming opportunity on the sides, though the storms two weeks ago left the water rocky and the drop-offs steep. The town is interesting. It has boutique-y stores and restaurants next to mom-and-pop grocers and street tacos. Last night I discovered the woman who sells cake slices on the main plaza. I have already warned Peter that I will need to return for another slice of her flan tonight. Much of the town is full of foreign visitors and some expats. Aging hippies and young surfers seem to be the main expat residents, while others looking for beach but slightly off the beaten track (like us) make up the visitors. The beach has a lot of beginning surfers, which I find inspiring and welcoming. Not that I'm going to try it, but today I chatted with a couple and their friend who were taking turns paddle surfing for the first time (picture someone standing on a surf board with a paddle, not riding the waves, but just heading over them out pas the breakers), and we all agreed it was a friendly beach for beginners.
We were not sure what we were going to do next. Yelapa seemed like a good option (which Anne and Joshua and I visited 3 years ago, right afte I met Peter, and which Peter had visited for a day), but it turns out the places to stay are a little expensive for us. Our friend Erika has just been in Chacala, which is north of here, and so we looked into that a bit more. There, an organization called Techos de Mexico, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, has helped families build extra rooms or apartments onto their houses for tourists to use. They are reasonably priced and help support the families.
Oh, I almost forgot: Iguanas! The closest either of us has been to seeing wild iguanas was in Zihuatanejo where a restaurant put out food to attract them. While we were on the pirate beach, we saw our first truly wild iguana: huge and black, and sunning on a rock until we got closer, when it ran and hid. And, of course, we didn't have our camera. However, this morning, after reading a hint online, I guided us to a restaurant for breakfast that backs onto an iguana preserve where, not only did we see a whole ton of iguanas, we saw a major life event: iguanas mating. At first, peter thought the large one was attacking the smaller one. In a sense, I guess he was, but after seeing them not move much once he clobbered (what we realized must be) her, and that he had let go of his bite on her neck and they were just lying there, we decided it must be a different story. Indeed, without going into much more detail and realizing that this already will be TMI, I can say that within days I went from seeing my first wild iguana, to seeing my first iguana's private parts. Yes, we have pictures of the lovely couple, no we don't have pics of that last part.

Thanks to my high school chum, Audrey, who was here about a year ago, we have good recommendations of where to go and what to eat. Last night we checked out her favorite restaurant, Chile Relleno Feliz -- a place we would have never stumbled upon ourselves. It is essentially in a family's front yard, where they have also built and outdoor kitchen. My Chile Relleno was delicious, and I think Peter enjoyed his shrim and steak quesadillas too.

The whales are in town. Humpbacks and their calves can be seen on boating trips that sometimes also include snorkeling and fishing. We were interested but ran into the barrier that you really need a group to go. Having decided to head to Chacala, we plan to try to make it happen once we are there, where we think it will cost less. I have never been whale watching and am pretty excited and hopeful to see them. Plus, I would like another snorkel fix before heading back to my land-locked city of choice.

It's sunset now and all the birds are gathering in the trees to mark their territory with song. Another neat part of the tropics.