farewell breakfast

Posted on April 28th, 2006 by cliff1976

Here’s where we had breakfast yesterday; we’re doing the same thing tomorrow morning early. Look how much Aaron and Rachel enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere! The staff at la casa de los hotcakes was great: we walked in 30 minutes before they closed and they still took very good care of us even after we hung around long afterwards. So, that’s what we’ve got planned for the farewell breakfast.

This entry was tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment

came back from diving with…

Posted on April 28th, 2006 by cliff1976

…some new guayaberas!

STA70272 STA70275 STA70276
STA70273 STA70278 STA70277

So, after an interesting dive day, we stopped at the market next to the cruise ship terminal and I haggled pretty effectively on some new shirts.

Diving pictures and stuff will have to wait until after the film camera pictures are developed (sorry…watch this space).

Tagged , | --> This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment

dive! dive! dive!

Posted on April 27th, 2006 by cliff1976

After our expedition into the Sierra Madres two days ago, we decided to rest up and chill out yesterday — except for our scuba lesson in preparation for today’s diving trip. I assume we’ll be taking a path similar to what’s depicted in the image below. After the dive itself, we’ll have the rest of the day to do things like snorkel and kayak around las Islas Marietas.

The only bummer is getting up so early and having to take a taxi to the departure point in order to make sure of being there on time.

marietas

Tagged | --> This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged . Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments

Margarita’s

Posted on April 26th, 2006 by Cliff and Sarah
The Joint

2829 Southwest Blvd.
Kansas City, MO

phone: +1 816.931.4849
http://www.margaritaskansascity.com/

Cliff

Can’t go wrong with the famous ‘rita dip. I wish I could make that here at home. Of course, then I might never leave the house. Watch out for the annoying song on their website (last I checked).

Sarah

I always love me some Margarita’s. I am of the opinion that this is the best tex-mex (i.e., tons of cheese on everything) you’re going to find in Kansas City. The salsa here is the best in town, the portions are HUGE (seriously, order a take-out box with the meal) and the service is incredibly fast. And, they have Mr. Pibb in the fountain. Mmmmmmmmm!!

This entry was posted in reviews and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment

oh man, the Sierra Madres Occidentales rocked

Posted on April 25th, 2006 by cliff1976

Check ‘em out:

Valle de Banderas — this is the oldest town in the area.

puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_004 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_003 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_002 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_001 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_006

We stopped in at Doña Maria’s masa y frutas pitstop. We had excecllent homemade tacos made of stuff grown by Doña Maria. Our awesome guide Manuel showed us how boiled corn is turned into masa using volcanic rocks and the weight of your body and a scrapey, twisting action.

puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_014 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_013 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_012 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_011 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_010

Scenes from our truck and truckstop barbecue:

puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_019 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_018 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_017 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_016 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_015 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_008 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_007 puerto_vallarta_2006_sierra_madres_009

Tagged , | --> This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments

Trying out the new camera, getting ready for the jungle

Posted on April 24th, 2006 by cliff1976

Today’s the big day — our trip into the jungles of the Sierra Madres.

I also bought a new camera yesterday from Wal*Mart (ick) because my previous one crapped out on me (it had always been a little flaky — I think it was a Medion B-Ware that they tried to sell as new). sierra madre expedition day at dawn I appear to have paid about double what this camera is selling for on places like Amazon or even at Sears, but I needed it right now and I’m hoping it won’t disappoint me. Here’s a shot from daybreak this morning.

Tagged , | --> This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment

the Malge and Rach are here; adios a los padres

Posted on April 23rd, 2006 by cliff1976

My parents left today, leaving us with the keys to the kingdom and paradise awaits us. Today was a nice stroll down to the marina where Kim at Charter Dreams set us up with a Sierra Madre Adventure on Monday. I’m sure lots of neat pictures will result from that — be sure to check back. It’s an eight-hour trip for $75 USD; sounds like everything we could want is included.

Tagged | --> This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged . Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments

¡buenos dí­as de México!

Posted on April 20th, 2006 by cliff1976

Esperamos todavía al Malge y su novia Rachel, quien llegan mañana por la tarde, pero entretanto podéis ver mis fotos del tiempo hasta ahora.

Hemos nadado todos los días despues de llegar anteayer. Me quema el sol un poquito, pero (todavía) no es peligroso. Sarah tiene las pecas muy fuertes, pero no me permite sacar fotos de ella. Quizás mañana.

puerto_vallarta_2006_006 puerto_vallarta_2006_005 puerto_vallarta_2006_004 puerto_vallarta_2006_003 puerto_vallarta_2006_002 puerto_vallarta_2006_001 puerto_vallarta_2006_011 puerto_vallarta_2006_010 puerto_vallarta_2006_009 puerto_vallarta_2006_008 puerto_vallarta_2006_007

This entry was tagged . Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment

Majahuitas Restaurant & Rincon Bohemio

Posted on April 20th, 2006 by Cliff and Sarah
The Joint

Basilio Badillo #331
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco 48380
Mexico

Cliff

Had the daily special, and it sure was. $150 MXN for a big filet of Mahi-Mahi in a garlic-and-oil sauce with soup or salad and a choice of dessert and coffee afterward. We were the only table there. The best part, other than the food, was our host. Very pleasant and helpful. We’d love to go back to them; maybe even later this week.

Sarah

This place was pretty outstanding. There was a prix fixe menu for $150 MX. We all had the Aztec chicken soup, which was lovely with crunchy strips of fried tortilla and bits of fresh avocado. I had the other entree option, a chicken parmesan. I didn’t have the highest of hopes for this, but it was the non-fish alternative and I was rewarded for it. The chicken was very lightly breaded, the marinara-flavored sauce was pleasantly salsa-y in texture and instead of the shell of melty cheese I expect with this dish, there were crumbles of fresh Mexican farmers’ cheese. The dessert was the most wonderful creme brulee I’ve ever tasted. As Cliff mentioned, the host was very charming and answered all questions with a smile. $150 MX was a bargain.

This entry was posted in reviews and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment

orthonith…orlonithogi…uh…yeah, the Birds

Posted on April 15th, 2006 by cliff1976

Last night our KC pals Brian and Mikey treated us three-fold: we got a night out on the town at a local theaterYes, these are all male actors., a nifty zester/grater to save our knuckles from the ravages of our old-fashioned knuckle-buster, grater and a fantastic creamy, yummy dessert called Coeur a la Crème (or something equally fru-fru). Sadly, I didn’t have my camera with me, so I was unable to snap a photo of it, but it looked really nice. I think we’re going to have to buy a heart-shaped mold and buy a lot of cream cheese after returning to Regensburg. But it looked as good as it tasted, which was simply heavenly. Think of a cloud with raspberries and a raspberry sauce and you’ll be close. I expect the recipe will be available soon in our recipes section.

Thanks guys, for a great time, great dessert, and great…uh, grater.

Tagged , , | --> This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment