2012 Mexico - Melaque

So, we were all sitting around one day and Bob mentioned that a buddy of his said that you could rent a boat in Punta Perula and they'd take you out to some really good snorkling.  One thing led to another, and pretty soon Deb and Jacquie and Bob and I were in Bob's car headed for Punta Perula!     Another busy day on the beach at Punta Perula Punta Perula is a big hour north of Melaque, and about 2 hours south of Puerto Vallarta.  We were there last month with Kelly and Cheryl to visit our friends Rich and Evelyn, who have their 5th-wheeler pulled up beside a huge palapa right beside the beach.  Of course we had to stop off for beers and an extended chat, and then it was off to find The Boat Guy.  You may imagine that this would be easy, but in small-town Mexico often not so much.  First, we went to where all the boats were, but of course there was nobody around as the typical Mexican fisherman, when he is not actually in his boat on the water, is eat...

After our first 2 days here it was pretty apparent that we weren't going to even be able to skim the surface of this place in 3 days, so we extended our stay for another day in order to take a walking tour of the historical section.  But first, it's Shopping Day!  Wait a minute, wasn't that yesterday?  Cancel that thought, EVERY day in Guadalajara is Shopping Day!  Off we went on a shopping tour of Tonala and Tlaquepacque.  (That's "toe-naw-LAW and t-lacky-PACK-y").  These are nearby towns that have been eaten by Guadalajara and now form part of the city, but they are still cultural and artisan centres in their own right.   Tonala is definitely an experience, it's basically a sidewalk under-the-tarps market on the side of a very busy main thoroughfare, but all of the business places behind it are in on the action and the whole thing is I don't know how big.  Our tour bus was a double-decker so of course we rode in the open top which was very nice....