Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Beautiful Day At Boca

Boca de Tomatlan, as some of you already know, is a little town just past Mismaloya - One man, three woman, a night like no other, Night Of The Iquana. Unlike Mismaloya which, with the building of a huge hotel, has changed dramatically over the last several years, Boca pretty much remains the sleepy little village it has always been.

Sure, there is a fairly substantial pier that went up last year, primarily to accomodate the large Zodiac-like boat that ferries day-trippers in from the cruise ships. But it isn't too intrusive and the day-trippers tend to stay to their far end of the beach.

To me, Boca is still the perfect little get-away just a fairly short bus ride (more on the buses in another post) from downtown Puerto Vallarta.

Sandy And Rico On The Bus


And my favorite restaurant in Boca is:

Boca del Mar


Not much of a restaurant, really. Just a little cook-shack and a grill outside with tables on the beach. But what more could you want?

This time there were ten of us who went out to spend a day on the beach.

The Whole Crowd


Oops, Wayne was hiding behind Marge in that shot.

And Here Is Wayne


We left our place in Puerto Vallarta at about 10:00 AM so we got out to Boca before the cook showed up for work. No problem, the bar was open and we were given free appetizers to start with.

Yum, Cucumbers And Sliced Cold Weiners


Hey, it wasn't too bad and went well with our beers. Marge, of course, once again, ordered something to match her outfit.

How Does She Do It?


We were again given our choice of a couple of very large snappers to choose from:

The Big One, Of Course


We were going to get a couple orders of their Mummy Shrimp and some other stuff but the waiter suggested we get the fish (a given) and then a couple of the mixed plates of shrimp for the table. He assured us it would be plenty and cheaper as well.

Again, the snapper was split open and then grilled with whatever delicious barbecue sauce they use.

The Grill Masters


Perfection


The Finished Product


It didn't take long for everyone to start digging in, either.

A Feast Fit For Royalty


The Mysterious Chinese Woman Happy As A Lark


After a leisurely meal our group split up with some going on a little nature hike and others (this would include me) content to stay behind and soak up some sun and suds.

The adventurous group took some of the obligatory nature shots.

River


Boat On River


Fearsome Wild Chicken


Killer Dogs


Dangerous River Crossing


All I can say is that I am glad I didn't subject myself to such an arduous adventure. Marcie was visibly shaken and, upon her return, had to calm her nerves with a complimentary shot of racillia.

Shaken, But Not Stirred


Hell, her recounting of the group's ordeal got me so nervous that I was forced to join her.

Misery, Er, Marcie Loves Company


Even the usually unflappable Paul needed some settling down.

Ah, Much Better Now


It was another lovely day and the locals were out in force enjoying themselves at some kind of a get-together.

Just Down The Beach


There weren't any cruise ships in port today so just one group came zipping over, presumably on a day-trip from one of the all-inclusive resorts out by the marina. And, of course, they all dutifully headed over to their end of the beach, well out of view and well back from the water. Go figure.

There is a good chance that I will be heading out to Boca again, if there is enough time. I know some people want to visit the botanical gardens, and that is kind of a day trip. The Mysterious Chinese Woman does volunteer work at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden so she is always interested in this kind of stuff. And a trip to Bucerias is likely as well.

So much to do and, what always seems like, so little time to do it in. Of course there are those days spent just laying on the beach or by the pool too. Life is tough.

2 comments:

Joe non Papa said...

Hi Barman-
Somebody made a reference to you and gave you a (sort of) compliment in the letter section of the following article in the Gothamist blog:
http://gothamist.com/2010/03/10/man_to_hit_365_bars_in_365_days.php#comments

Bar Man said...

Heh, except for that "old guy" part it was alright. But really, 365 bars in a year? What is the sport in that?