It's called the Blessing of the Fleet and it culminates a week long celebration in Bucerias, a formerly small fishing village north of PV.We take the bus to Mega, a huge warehouse style store in Bucerias where we meet tall Bob and Donna, who have driven in from their RV park further north to spend the day enjoying the festivities with us.The schedule said 11:00. At 11 the pangas would start their ramming of the beach. Why? It's somehow gotten lost in the ...

Puerto Vallarta's Malecon is all of that, but even still, I keep finding myself there because it's so darn pretty. The shops, the sidewalk kitchens, the tour guides--it's a hawker's paradise. I love the sweet ocean breezes, the outrageous colors, the costumed dancers--it's a different experience every time we're there.

Mexico has 32 states, 19 of which have travel advisories from our state department. Of the 4 states we've traveled through from Nogales to Puerto Vallarta, all have serious advisories--every one. Ones where they say defer non-essential travel and secondary roads can be especially dangerous. What?We've driven through without mishap. Mostly. They're talking about rural roads though in remote areas, where we were along the coast. I think.Actually, I don...

What can we do tomorrow? we asked ourselves. Sick of wandering old town, we took the advice of a shopper we met and grabbed a bus to the little surfer town of Sayulita.Funny thing is, last night Bob and Donna emailed us to plan a plan for going to the butterfly sanctuary next month. Since were heading to Sayulita anyway and since that's only 8 km from where they have their camper parked, it was a no brainer.It was even funnier that with all the unknowns of tr...

They're not street kids. They're just kids in the neighborhood --maybe being raised by grandparents, maybe sometimes missing a meal or two, always hungry and adorably cute. Heidi, the lady we're renting a room from, feeds them, teaches them to say please and thank you, takes them shopping on their birthdays, entertains them with stories and good advice and generally shows them someone cares.I'm moved by their stories.  "He has a rough life", she...