Guaymas, Puerta Vallarta,
San Miguel de Allende, Puerto Escondido, & Uruapan
4/29/2011
Guaymas
Bob & I had a very good flight we
made it in around 3 hours. Had a 20-knot tailwind saw ground speeds of 190+
knots. Smooth except for a few spots. Bruce & Tobey arrived here about 1.5 hours
later. Caught a cab to San Carlos & went to the best western It was full so we
went across the street to the Questa Real about 15 $ more per night but right on
the beach. Had a nice long late lunch waiting for our other friends Vince &
Diane. Don't know where we will end up tomorrow? Maybe San Miguel de Allende?
Guess now we will go see what's up at the bar & dinning area. I see Vince &
Diane have arrived and are sitting out side on the patio. More tomorrow.
4/30/2011
Puerta Vallarta
Bob and I had a good flight to
Puerta Vallarta. We flew 9500 ft in mostly clear sky. It was hazy upon landing
there and Bruce and Tobey, Vince and Diane arrived as well. After checking in we
all took a cab to the Casa Dona Suana hotel. We had stayed there before and
liked it for its adult-only, quiet status and swimming pool on the roof. It
turned out to be about $73. per night. We also had access to the two other Los
Arcos hotels that were associated including restaurant/bar, swimming pool,
beach, gym, and anything else they provided. Most of the crowd wanted to eat
later than Bob & I so we found a nice seafood restaurant and had fish tacos.
After we finished dinner we ran into the rest of the crowd. They wanted to eat
Italian food so we joined them and had a few beers. A good time was had by all.
After dinner we all took a stroll on the malicon. It was very crowed with people
on vacation & none or very few from the U.S. It was fun to walk with the very
tranquil crown of vacationers, get in some people watching as well as watching
the fire works, people dancing, people doing tricks and other acts all very
entertaining. Following our after dinner ice cream we went back to the hotel and
prepared to get up early and depart for San Miguel de Allende.
5/1/2011
San Miguel De Allende
I had always wanted
to land at the dirt strip at San Miguel. So Bob and I got the co-ordinates off
Google earth and took off to find the strip. It was a short flight about 2.5
hrs. After a little hunting we finally found the strip. On landing I dumped the
flaps to get the wheels on the ground so I could break and stop without going
into the bumpy over run area. We were greeted by the military & their dogs. They
search our bags and then were very friendly. We took our bags & walked the short
distance to the road. Just as we got there a bus stopped and we got on. We asked
if the bus was going to San Miguel and he said, “ eventually”. We had a good
scenic ride all around the country picking up many people. After one transfer we
finally ended up right in front of our hotel Real de Minas.
We had E-Mailed Darrell & Warren that we would be
coming there that afternoon. Bob & I checked in and took a long walk all around
town checking out restaurants, Stores, Language schools and other things of
interest. After arriving back at the hotel we finally ran into Darrell sitting
in the lobby. We sat and talked for a while and decided to take a tour the next
morning on a bus like trolley car. After the rushed breakfast we hurried to the
town square and finally found the trolley for our tour. It was really fun and we
got to see a lot of things that we would have not seen walking around. I will
have to come back and bring Joan. After the tour we decided to stay the night
and leave for Puerto Escondido tomorrow.
After breakfast we packed up our bags and took a cab to
the airport & departed for Puerto Escondido (after dog search again)
5/3/2005
Puerto Escondido
Bob & I left San Miguel this
morning & got here about 1:00pm local time. Mostly smooth except for mountain
turbulence a few time. Wx was very hazy close to the beach almost IFR but not.
After landing and search by military, the check through the system was very
pleasant. After the incident 2 years ago here the comandante asked if it was my
first time here and I said yes. We took a taxi to the beach area, which was very
nice. Temps around 95 a little warm. We'll have to get used to it. After
checking into our hotel Santa Fe we took a walk down the malicon and ran into
Darrell & Warren in a café and talked for a while. Back at the hotel there are
two swimming pools. I went swimming in the smaller pool – it’s a good place.
Bruce, Tobey, Vince, & Diane left for Oaxaca today. Darrel & Warren are still
here.
The next morning after breakfast Bob & I took a
long walk down the beach to the north and into town. It was a long and hot walk.
We walked all over town talking to people and asking directions to the market
place. After about an hour we finally arrived there and were not disappointed.
It had everything for sale. There was a food court, meat market, fish market,
(where we bought smoked fish) and all sorts of other tiendas. It was a fun place
to shop around. On the way back we got lost and went back the long way. It was
not bad though because we discovered new things, places, & people that we hadn’t
seen on the way up there, That afternoon Darrell, Warren, Bob & I took a cab
back to the market place & bought some pollo asada (barbequed chicken) from a
to-go place and took it to a sidewalk café to sit down and order (chelas fria)
cold beer. A good time was had by all. After that we took a cab back to the
hotel and planned for the flight to Uruapan tomorrow.
5/5/2011
Uruapan
We lost our Internet
yesterday. So here we all are in Uruapan Michoacán. Had a hassle over the price
of the hotel Holiday Inn and waited for the manager to return. Darrell took a
cab to town to look at other hotels. It is very nice.
We had a good flight over
here, 2 hours en route at 10500. Good visibility until the last few miles then
lots of haze almost IFR. We landed at the airport and while we were parking the
military was loading onto a caravan with all their balaclava masks on. We talked
with 2 other Mexican pilots and they said they were making a drug bust. The next
day we took two taxis to all the local parks and areas of interest. I think the
first park was the best due to waterfalls and all kinds of fountains that had no
pumps, but gravity fed and some shot into the air 10 to 15 feet. We also went to
a very big waterfall that was close by. Darrell & Bob rode horses to the bottom
and Bob & I + the two taxi drivers walked down and back up the 400+ steps to the
very impressive waterfall. On the way back we stopped at a Pollo Asada place for
lunch & beer. Another good time!!!!!!!!!!!!
After a long day Bob & I went
into town to look around. It was a much better place to be than out where we
were at the Holiday Inn. Not much around there. Back at the Holiday Inn Bob & I
tried to find a Mariscos restaurant (sea food) and after a long look in a bad
looking neighborhood we found what looked like one. We weren’t very hungry so we
decided to have a seafood cocktail. The shrimp was OK the conch was OK but the
octopus was not OK as it was raw and slimy – sorry, that is the best description
I can think of. Bob & I both decided that was the worse seafood cocktail that we
had ever had.
5/7/2011
The next morning after
breakfast Bob & I changed hotels and moved downtown to the Mi Solar hotel where
Darrell and Warren were staying. After checking in, I decided to buy a new
camera because I lost mine. I found a camera shop right in the downtown square
they really had some good cameras with better prices than the U.S. so I bought
one. We all decided to take one cab out to some of the lakes that surrounded the
town and visit some old towns on the way there. The cab driver did not speak any
English so I got to be the translator and that was fun. It was really small for
the four of us but we made it work. The old towns were great, off the beaten
path, and no tourists, well no U.S. citizens anyway. The lake was OK kind of old
and run down in an artsy-craftsy way. We got some good pictures and had a good
lunch here.
That evening everyone (Bruce,
Tobey, Vince, Diane) were there in Uruapan so we went to a fancy place for
dinner near the downtown area. I think we all had a good time.
5/8/2011
Guaymas
The next morning I woke up
sick vomiting and diarrhea. I went down to breakfast and tried to eat something
because it was included with the hotel. Bad mistake - up it all came and I felt
better. We decided to fly to Guaymas I could sleep in the airplane and Bob could
fly the airplane. I took a big plastic bag just in case and good thing because I
used it more than once.
After programming the GPS’s I
took off and Bob flew the airplane while I slept mostly. Bob did a real good job
piloting the airplane. We arrived in Guaymas 5 and ½ hours later. I was really
dehydrated. I went into the bathroom and cleaned up and then checked in with
Customs. I was weak and couldn’t do much so the people checking us in helped a
lot. We went right to the Best Western Hotel in San Carlos and I went to bed. I
got up at dinnertime and went with bob while he ate but I couldn’t and I didn’t
stay long. I went back to the room took a shower and went to bed for the night.
5/9/2011
Calexico, Oxnard
I was feeling much better by
morning. We took a cab to the airport and departed for Calexico. I was feeling
so good I ate a little food for the first time in 2 days. We departed Calexico
and headed home to Oxnard, which seemed like a short trip about 2 hours. We had
30 plus knots of headwinds.
Except for the part where I got
sick the trip was really great and Bob & I had a good time and would go again.
Maybe we needed a little more planning?
