Sunrise, Sunset, and Fishing in Yelapa

Laura Domela — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 20:15:44 +0000

Yesterday after breakfast in our casa, we walked into the village and caught the 9:30am water taxi into Puerto Vallarta. Not because we wanted to go to Puerto Vallarta…but because we needed a bit more cash. There are no ATMs in Yelapa, so if you come to visit, make sure to get enough pesos to last the entire length of your stay.

Sunrise from Casa Pericos, looking toward the village

We walked around Puerto Vallarta for an hour or so, found the hotel we’ll be staying in for two nights before we come back to Portland, got some cash, and hopped on the 11:30am water taxi back to Yelapa. We relaxed a bit in the afternoon, and Kevin took the Mavic off right from our room to get a few drone shots of our fantastic location.

The water looks SO green when the sun shines on it!

Later in the evening we wandered back into the village to have dinner at Pollo Bollo. This place is a favorite among locals and it did not disappoint. We ordered one plate of BBQ chicken, one plate of arrachera (marinated and grilled beef…can be hangar steak, flank steak…) that came with sides of arroz y frijoles y ensalada.

Sunset from our casa after dinner

We packed up our bag last night for today’s fishing excursion, and tested our alarm sounds to make sure we had the most annoying one that could be heard over the sound of the surf below. It worked!!

Sunrise in Yelapa

So early it was almost still dark!

Our charter boat (Ixa from Garcia Charters…obviously highly recommended…we’re going out with them again in the same week!)) picked us up once again on Playa Isabel and off we went to try to catch some fish! (And by fish, we mean more ceviche.)

We headed south this time, looking for red snapper, but after a few hours of trolling up and down the coast we were still empty-hooked. Luckily, it was beautiful out and we were in good company and Juan Carlos humored us and we were able to practice a LOT of Spanish while we were waiting for the fish that never materialized.

Rocky coastline

Jonas driving the boat!

We noticed a lot of bird action and splashing around a little further out than we were, so we went to check it out.

Seagills, frigates, pelicans…everyone was here!

Most of the splashing came from a ZILLION dolphins (delfínes en espanol)!

Delfínes!

Mas delfínes!

Muchos delfínes!

Kevin and Jonas were still casting lines out, and Kevin got a bite on his…whatever he had was strong! We caught a glimpse of it before it took off with a bunch of line…a Jack Crevalle (in Spanish they call this fish “Toro” — the bull). This is not a good fish to eat, but it’s a REALLY fun fish to catch. It’s a super duper fighter and makes for a great workout just getting it to the boat.

Kevin got it aboard, we took the obligatory photos, and then let it to back in to chase or be chased by dolphins.

So…no ceviche today, but we had a great time regardless. We had a wonderful boat ride down the coast, saw a ton of dolphins and even a mama and baby humpback just south of Yelapa a little way…we even saw the baby whale breach a few times…very cool! Maybe we’ll see the very same whales (las ballenas) in Alaska this summer!

Tonight we’ll probably walk into the village for dinner (because, no fish). Todo bueno.

We’re in Yelapa!

Laura Domela — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 23:05:05 +0000

Sunshine! Palm trees! Tacos! Iguanas! We’re pretty happy to be hanging out in Yelapa, Mexico for 10 days or so. We left Portland super early yesterday to catch a 6am flight to Puerto Vallarta (with a plane change in Oakland) y llegamos al Aeropuerto de Puerto Vallarta a los tres y media…oops, been practicing my Spanish. Our flight arrived at 3:30pm and after a quick breeze through Customs, we caught a taxi to the Los Muertos pier where we then caught a water taxi to Yelapa.

Puerto Vallarta, view from the Los Muertos pier

Bull ring on our way from the airport to the playa

Our taxi driver was, um, “colorful” I think is word. He drove FAST (but skilled), trying to get us to the pier in time for the 4:30pm water taxi. Along the way, we talked about chickens, and kids. He has three kids (each from a different “mama”). He told us that his first wife got cancer of her chi chi’s and then cut them off (which he did not like), but that now she is in the cielo (sky). And he also told us that his current wife has “chi chis grandes” but I’m not sure why he thought we wanted to know that about her. Goodness. He was a character, for sure.

Waiting for the water taxi on the Los Muertos pier

We did not make the 4:30pm public water taxi (last one of the day) so we bought a ticket for a 5pm taxi from a different company, which worked out fine.

This guy was hitching a ride on a local fishing boat

Wet ride from Puerto Vallarta to Yelapa

The ride to Yelapa by water taxi took about an hour, and was a bit wet in 2-3 foot wind waves. We saw a few humpbacks spout along the way, and met a cool gal from Portland who was also heading to Yelapa. (Since then, we’ve met a handful of other people, ALL from Portland, and unrelated…so it seems so far like people here are either from Yelapa, or Portland.)

The water taxi dropped us off at Playa Isabel (right on the beach) and we met Miguel who showed us to our awesome room at Casa Pericos (our and then we walked with Miguel into the village. He was heading home and said he’d show us a few spots along the way…where the markets, a few recommended restaurants, etc.

The path to town

We ate dinner at Los Abuelos, which was highly recommended and did not disappoint. We tried most of the seafood tacos: fish/pescado, shrimp/camarones, octopus/pulpo, y crab/jaiba, plus a couple of margaritas. Everything was fantastic, and we’ll definitely go back while we’re here (maybe more than once!). On the way home we stopped at this little market and picked up a few things (since we have a full kitchen at Casa Pericos).

Yelapa market

Back at our casa we opened a beer and sat watching the stars and listening to the waves a while before going to bed. The sound of the waves crashing right beneath our room is so lovely, and we slept like babies!

This morning we woke, did a little work, showered, and then walked back into the village for breakfast (since we’d forgotten to get coffee along with our eggs last night).

View from our “room”

Down at sea level below Casa Pericos

Nice wall texture in the village

We got breakfast (and cappuccinos!) at Cafe Eclipse. We ordered chilaquiles with eggs and an omelette and shared…both were great! After breakfast we wandered through town and just explored.

Love these mosaic stairs

La playa

View from breakfast at Cafe Eclipse

Horses on la playa with tricycle

View from the hilly part

Octopus mural

There are many horses and burros in town carrying supplies up and down the stone paths…mostly building materials from what I can tell.

Iguana mural

We walked past this cool Black vulture sitting on the rocks on our way back from the village

The traffic below our room looks mostly like this

The view from our room, looking left

The view from our room, looking right (toward the main village and la playa)

We heard this crazy sound coming from the path below us, loud even over the sound of the crashing waves, and I looked down to see a horse dragging about 20 pieces of rebar along the stone…sounded like a REALLY loud shopping cart (or ten!) on a cobblestone road. I wish I’d have gotten a better photo, but here it is:

On our second trip to the bigger market after breakfast today, we picked up some fresh shrimp, chorizo, tortillas, mangos, avocados, limes, cerveza, tequila, and some tomatoes, jalapeños, garlic, cilantro, and a poblano to make some salsa. I think we’ll cook dinner in tonight!

Our kitchen

I’m so glad we’re here for nine nights!

Tomorrow we’re meeting Luis Garcia down on the beach at 7am. He’s going to take us out to the Islas Marietas to snorkel and explore (check out some photos of this incredible place…can’t wait!) and then out for some fishing! Maybe we’ll get lucky and catch tomorrow’s dinner!

We’re LOVING Yelapa.

Right now we’re just relaxing, watching the boats come in and out, listening to the waves, and enjoying the ocean sounds and smells.

Water taxi disembarking in progress at Playa Isabel (shot from our room)

Casa Pericos – Riveted

Sunrise, Sunset, and Fishing in Yelapa

We’re in Yelapa!