Christmas Cheer from the Other Side

In November/December 2010, we made a decision based on air fare prices to try the other side of Mexico.  That side had traditionally been much more expensive than flights to Cancun, but suddenly the tickets were cheap!  We flew into Puerta Vallarta the day before Thanksgiving and cabbed to Bucerias, just a short trip north of the airport.  A penthouse in Bucerias (yes, it was a penthouse) served as our base to explore the Puerto Vallarta area before we boarded the little panga to Yelapa.

One early December day we hired a driver (Gustavo) to take us to San Sebastian del Oeste, a Spanish colonial town high in the mountains of Jalisco which dates to 1605.  The buildings over the entire town are painted white with red tile roofs.  Definitely decked out for the holidays!

Look at the poinsettia shrub (tree!) growing wild in the San Sebastion cemetery!  Obviously, all green house plants derive from someplace in nature, but I was so shocked to see them in the mountains of Mexico!

This boy doesn't need a Santa hat with his bright green feathers and colorful markings.  While waiting on lunch in a beautiful courtyard in San Sebastian, a parrot perched on my hand.

Another day we bussed to Sayulita, a surfer dude beach village up the winding coastal road to the north of Bucerias.

 

Another poinsettia (noche buena) native to this area.

The second half of the trip was spent in the coastal village of Yelapa to the south of Puerto Vallarta.  Getting there requires an hour boat ride in a small panga water taxi.  Yelapa has no cars or roads in the village, and the town didn't get electricity until the year 2000.  We stayed in one of the famous palapas in Yelapa.  Above is a village door decked out with Christmas finery.

I loved these folding paper poinsettias!

Santa behind bars.

One of our favorite little restaurants in Yelapa, Tacos y Mas, decked out for the holidays.

 

Craig enjoying his festive pre-dinner Christmas beer -- Noche Buena!  I wonder if we can buy it in the U.S.?  I don't recall ever seeing it on Isla Mujeres.

A festive red, white, and green door in Sayulita.

Sayulita beach on a sunny December afternoon.

What a fun pre-Christmas trip!  I will say we didn't go for the water because the Pacific side just does not compare to the turquoise Caribe on the other side, but Jalisco and Nayarit are great areas in Mexico to explore.  It's on my return list for the future.