A Penless Day

Well, actually the day wasn't quite penless, but sometimes a certain theme seems to run through a day as though it has a life of its own. The day started out with breakfast at Bob's Place. If you like your eggs benedict with no Canadian bacon but then, when you complain about it, getting two strips of regular bacon on the side, this is the place for you. The chorizo omelette had no discernable chorizo but was so heavily laden with jalapeno peppers that I broke a sweat after my friend gave me two bites to try. Anyway, on the way back from breakfast I stopped to use an internet cafe and my wife and friends continued back to our place. My wife stopped to chat with someone and my friends went up to change into their bathing suits to hang out by the beach. They were going to leave a note but discovered that neither of them had a pen. As a result one of them left a note in lipstick for me. And that is how it started.

Later we headed to the north side of town and just where the bridge on Vallarta begins to cross the river but still on the south side of town we ducked into:

307) Hotel Molino de Aqua Bar

This is a nice little bar tucked into the courtyard and pool area of the Hotel Molino. On the way to the bar you pass by two very large iron cages, one holding a somewhat subdued parrot and the other one holding some kind of a monkey (el mono). The bar is a square brick affair with a tan tile top. Two sides of the bar are for drinking, although there are only two stools. One side holds the liquor supply and the other side is the service area with the doorway to get into the thing. Around the top edge of the bar is a border of tiles with floral patterns. The top of the bar is covered by a peaked red-tile roof.

There is an adjacent outdoor eating area with palms and other trees giving it a lush tropical feel. The trees also insulate it from the nearby busy street so it is quite quiet and peaceful. The pool has a little waterfall and tucked beside it is a jacuzzi. There were a bunch of little kids frolicking about and having a grand old time. Right by the bar is a large clock on an ornamental post to remind you of the time. Seems a bit out of place in this setting. There were also a number of statues, wooden and stone, placed about the place.

I had a Pacifico and we crossed the bridge that we came to.

308) Bebo Tero

Before we got across the bridge we stopped to price some souvenir pens. They wanted 10 pesos (about 90 cents) but I convinced my friend to bargain them down. They wouldn't budge so we moved on without buying any. The saga of the pen, part two.

Bebo Tero is right on the Malecon up a narrow staircase behind a narrow door. I must have passed this place a couple of times and never spotted it. Luckily my friend has a trained eye (that and the fact that there was a guy standing outside encouraging us to go in). Up the staircase was a fairly large place with a somewhat bizzare decor. There were many paintings done in the style of Fernando Botero. If you are unfamiliar with his works, suffice it to say that his paintings are almost cartoonish depictions of very fat people. The paintings here were quite up to his quality but were very amusing. Everyone from Fidel Castro to Sylvestor Stallone's Rambo was represented. As you first come up the stairs there is a large, what looked to be paper mache, fat, scantily clad (draped in white gauze) woman with one breast exposed sitting on a park bench. A good photo opportunity if you wanted to sit down next to her. Also one of those things where you can stick your head through holes and have your pictures taken. This one had a fat Adam and Eve.

The bar itself was a small green cement thing with a wooden top. I don't expect it gets much use because the view is really great from almost every place but the bar. A narrow balcony has a great view of the bay and you can look over to Nuevo Vallarta where it looks like a major city is springing up. There is a small stage for live music and behind it was a large sun with the head of a masked Mexican wrestler in the center. There are lots of colorfully painted wooden tables and chairs and stools about the place. The walls are an interestingly patterned blue and there are bright green and red arches separate the two large areas of the place and there is one over the balconey as well.

I had a blended margarita.

309) Garbo's

After a nice dinner at El Dorado's on the beach (see an earlier post) we hit this martini bar. It was here I realized, that for the first time ever, I had forgotten my notecards and pen at home. Obviously, nobody else had a pen either. I ended up borrowing a pen from the hostess to take notes.

Garbo's is just up from the Kit Kat Club and has a somewhat similar ambience. It is a fancy Manhatatan type of place. The bar has a heavy dark marble top and a light cream-colored front. There were little candles on the bar and on the few tables in the place. There were lucite shelves on the wall behind the bar and a mosaic tile shelf below them to store the liquor. Nicely cushioned bar stools. There was a riser in the back with a black lacquered grand piano. Again, we were too early for entertainment. Overall the place had an art-deco feel to it. Hanging over the bar were lights with light-tan mottled plastic shades. There were two large sprays of bright-red "lobster claw" flowers. It is a fairly small, dark place. The backs of the bartenders tee shirt, as well as the tee shirts worn by some of the regular customer's, is that famous line "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?" This was said to W.C. Fields by Mae West in the movie "My Little Chickadee." What not too many people know is that Mae West wrote the script for that movie.

I had a nicely made (read that as strong) gin and tonic.

310) Sama

This place is right next to The Palm, where I saw "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," and we hit the story of the pen, phase three. Nobody here had a pen that I could borrow for long enough to take my notes. As a result my wife and my buddy's wife had to search out a place that was still open that sold them. Luckily they found one and I now have a very nice, compact, Puerto Vallarta souvenier pen. They wouldn't tell me how much it cost. Enough with the pen now.

This bar is very small, maybe 20 feet by 20 feet, and has a very small outdoor seating area. The small bar had a black plastic top and a white front. The top had an overhang to it and held flashing lights. There were large, think 5 foot, plastic champagne flutes both inside and on the outside seating area that were made to look like the held brightly colored beverages. The outside seating area is really no more than a couple of tables and stools on the sidewalk. The barstools were bright red, plastic bucket-seat affairs that were really quite comfortable. There were multi-colored lights with cone-shaped plastic shades hanging above the bar.

There was a white couch against one wall with a large black-wood framed mirror above it.On the opposite wall were clocks set to Paris, Los Angeles, New York, and Puerto Vallarta time, in case you really needed to know what time it was in those places. There were classic MTV videos playing on the television and the sound system was really cranked up.

I had a banana martini and after my wife tasted it she and my buddies wife decided to keep it so I had to order another one for myself.

311) Dewayn's

This bar is on the street where I live, Ampas, right on the corner of Pilitas. It used to be the Papi Chulo Oasis until a few years ago. It is only a couple of blocks away from my place. It was very dark, lit primarily by candles and a few dim light-bulbs. The bar was a nice, massive, mosaic tile affair with a stone edging. The mosaic had inlaid glass bead palm-trees. Kind of New Orleans meets Mexico. The whole place had a very Mexican decor with Mexican blankets draping the dark-red walls. A lot of those Mexican doilies hung from the ceiling. There were Mexican cowboy hats hanging behind the bar and the bartender was wearing one himself. There were a couple of tables with chairs but not much else except a small stage. Behind the stage were yellow hard-hats hanging on the wall somehow evoking "The Village People."

I had a Pacifico and off home my buddy and I did toddle, or wives having left us after Santo's. Probably worn out from shopping for pens.

Not a bad day at all as I hit 311 for the year and only have 689 left to visit.

Another One Bar Day

Friends of mine arrived a little after noon today. They quickly settled in and I had frozen margaritas waiting for them. We drank them down and headed to:

306) Bob´s Place

My buddy´s nickname is Bob (kind of like ¨Her name was McGill, she called herself Lil, but everyone knew her as Nancy¨). It is a bit of a long story because his name is not Robert. Anyway, I digress.

Bob´s Place is on Aquiles Serdan, the last street before the river on the south side of town. It is up about half a block from the bay. The top of the bar is blue tile and the bar itself is brick. There are eight wooden bar-chairs with tourquise cushions. Behind the bar is fiberglass replica of a 230 pound blue marlin that was caught by a 14 year-old boy. Bob, the real Bob and owner of the place, was here and explained all of this to us. If you go on a catch-and-release fishing boat they take a picture of the fish, estimate the weight, and then release the fish. Then, using the picture of the fish as a guide you can pay to have a fiberglass replica ¨made.¨ I always suspect, though, that someone looks at the picture and then hollers out ¨Bin 14,¨ and someone hauls down one of the replicas of a blue marlin in the 200 to 250 pound weight range. But then I am a cynic.

To the left of the bar was a poster depicting pictures of all kinds of billed fish. Made it easy to identify the one behind the bar. Behind the bar there were a few pictures of people and the fish they caught. There was a picture of the father of the 14 year-old boy, but none of the boy himself, for some reason. There was also light wooden shelving behind the bar backed by a mirror. The shelving held their liquor supply. On either side of the blue marlin were carriage lamps with light blue glass. White Chrismas lights were twinkling above the fish. The floor of the bar was gray-patterned tile and the walls were light blue. There is a stairway leading up to apartments above the place. Inquire at the car-rental place next door for rates.

A small outdoor eating area is in front of the place and it is covered by a multi-colored awning strung with multi-colored Christmas lights. A nice courtyard is in the back surrounded by a wall and covered by green-corogated fiberglass. A large stained-glass hangs in the back with doves and sailboats. Fans with lights hang overhead. A sparrow was pecking for crumbs on the floor to complete the naturalistic setting.

I had a decent frozen margarita and we all headed home.

Upon arriving home we passed a party going on next door and stopped in and drank more than, perhaps, we should have. We then went to a Mariachi concert and by the time that was over we decided to call it a night. My friends were up very early this morning to catch their flight and were pooped.

Well, 306 down and 694 to go. Was hoping to hit 350 bars before leaving Mexico but don´t think I will make it. Revised schedule is 350 before the end of the month. Still well ahead of schedule though.

Not Much Of A Friday

A slow day today. There is going to be a pot-luck party down at the pool tonight so I spent most of the day buying groceries and making deviled eggs. I pride myself on my deviled eggs even though I only came in second in a deviled egg making contest once. But that is another story altogether.

305) Internet Bar and Cafe

This is kind of sad in that the only bar I am hitting today is the place that I am sitting in writing this. However, The place does have a bar with stools that is separated by a partition from the area where the PCs are located and I did sit at the bar and drink my beer before coming here to write this. It is on Madero, up about a block from the beach and right next to the Hotel Gaviota Vallarta. Across the street is a little place called Los Lobos that bills itself as a nightclub. I will have to make a point of stopping in there one evening.

The bar has a wooden top and a tile front with a large brown, tan, and green diamond pattern. There is a pelican lamp sitting on one end of the bar. There are a lot of pictures of old Mexico behind the bar and, of course, a few of our friend Zapata. Two televisions playing Mexican music videos. I am begining to like them more and more all the time. There is also one of those pictures of a waterfall where it looks like the water is actually flowing down the mountain. There is a fairly large mirror behind the bar with a ceramic elephant head attached to the top. Three shelves of liquor finish off the decor.

Not much point in writing about the rest of the place, it is just an internet cafe with large windows facing the street and large windows in the back looking out on the next door hotel´s swimming pool. The blinds were pulled though so I had to sneak a peek to see this.

I had a Pacifico at the bar and then slid over here to post this.

Creeping along ever so slowly today with 305 down and 695 left to go. Hopefully I can gain a bit more ground next week when my friends show up. The problem will be prying my buddy out of a bar after only one drink. I know how hard it is for me to leave sometimes, and I am a man with a mission!

100 Bars In Puerto Vallata

I hit my 100th bar since arriving in Puerto Vallarta today. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Getting a bit harder to find them though, but I have spotted a few to visit in the future.

302) 2 For 1

Yes, that actually is the name of the bar as well as it's drink philosophy. I am not a big fan of this concept because sometimes you really do want to stop in for just one, like today. I still have to pay the "2 for 1" price of 35 pesos for two beers even though I only drank one.

The grand opening of this bar, located in the Mall Vallarta at the end of the Malecon and up one block, is tomorrow. They were still putting the finishing touches on the place. It used to be a different bar but they changed owners and are doing a major remodeling job. It is a second story bar and you get to it by taking an escalator from the street. This is the only escalator I have ever seen in Puerto Vallarta. Let's see how it holds up. Can't do any worse than the escalators in the subways in New York that hardly ever run.

The bar area itself sits off to the right of the second floor of the street-level mall. It looks like it is being completely remodeled because it was being worked on and there were no shops open. The bar itself is light wood with a brick front. There were half a dozen wooden bar-chairs. Behind the bar were two wooden cabinets with wrought-iron hinges. Behind and above the bar was an unfinished shelf divided into five compartments. There was a television in each of the end compartments and mirrors at the back of the other three. It wasn't set up yet so there were no bottles on display. There is a DJ booth in one corner with windows on either side that look out on the malecon and the bay. From the music being played it looks like it will have either a disco or techno flavor to it.

There is a wrap-around balcony with large glass windows and French doors. The color scheme is light-orange (top) and dark-orange (bottom) painted plaster walls with a dark green band separating the two colors. The ceiling above the bar and the area immediately behind the bar-chairs is lower than the ceiling in the rest of the place and is painted a sea-green and has recessed spot-lighting. The rest of the place has a much higher ceiling with those beehive lights and ceiling fans. The floor is large marble squares seperated by stones inlaid in cement. Lots of small round wooden-topped tables sitting on metal poles with high wooden chairs.

I was talking to the bartender about the overnight destruction of a park about a block away to make room for a parking garage. He said it was too bad but there were so many cars in Puerto Vallarta now and so many people driving in from the surrounding areas to work there that something had to be done. He said that many people, including tourists, think of Puerto Vallarta as still being a Mexican town when in reality, when you consider the greater Puerto Vallarta area, it now has a population of over half-a-million people. Something that I had never really thought about. There will probably be more escalators in the future.

I had a Pacifico and headed back to my side of the river.

303) La Escondida Sports Bar

Back over on the south-side of the river at 210 Jacarandas, was this nice little place. It had a very nice light-wood parquette topped bar with a dark wooden front. There were 6 dark-wood bar-chairs with dark-blue cushions. There was a nice brick arch over the bar hung with white Christmas lights. Narrow shelves behind the bar held an ample liquor selection. There were triangular, wood-framed mirrors behind the bar as well and several sports pennants. Also some flowers and a few pictures of what I assumed to be regular customers. There were several floral arrangements about the place and they were all real flowers. All in all this was a very pleasant bar with a friendly bartender named Mary.

The floor was gray tile and there was a bunch of little tables with bright yellow tablecloths with white table cloths set diagonally on top. The top table cloths were covered with bright sport-oriented patterns. The chairs had blue cushions. The whole place had brick walls with large windows on the side of the place opposite the bar. The wall with the door had a large window as well with a bright orange-glass arch. There were a lot of sports pennants hanging about the place. The overhead lights had large transparent yellow globes and there were a few overhead fans. There was a jukebox in the back and three televisions. The only one that was on was covering Clinton's surgery, endlessly. Jeez, it wasn't serious, he lived, he will recover. Enough already. There was a sports schedule posted so it appears that they do cover games when they are televised.

I talked with a guy there who had been coming down for 22 years. He said it was largely a local's bar but there were a lot of people like him who stayed in the surrounding hotels and made this their home away from home. He also told me that the reason there are now, all of a sudden, so many more cars in Puerto Vallarta is that just three years ago the dealers began selling cars on time. Prior to that you had to pay cash to get one. Once people could finance their purchase sales exploded. Hence, no park and a parking garage.

I had a Pacifico (12 pesos vs. the 35 'two for one price I just left' and headed out.

304) Machis Bar B. Q.

Over on Cardenas on the corner of Naranjo (Spanish for 'orange,' but don't expect more) was my 100th bar in Mexico. This is an upstairs restaurant/bar. The bar itself is black laquer set on a brick base with wooden bar-chairs that had red cushions. Above the bar was a big, cone-shaped rattan lamp as well as several small wooden planes hanging from the ceiling. The planes were more like toys than models.

There were brick walls and a narrow wrap-around balcony with tables and chairs. The balcony was covered by a red awnings. The rest of the place had tables with chairs with either the same red cushions as the bar-chairs or bright multi-colored cusions. The three tables against one wall had brick cushioned benches instead of chairs. The roof was a beamed A-frame with a red tiles. There was a brightly colored unbrella and a green golf-bag with clubs hanging from the ceiling as well. In the back was an old Singer sewing-machine. There were white lace curtains hanging from the windows and a nice cool breeze blowing through. BB King was playing on the sound system. The owner or cook came in with a load of corned-beef getting ready for St. Paticks Day when, I was assured, they would have both green beer and green tequila.

A guy drinking at the bar had just moved down to Puerto Vallarta and his girl-friend will be tending bar at The Sandbar. I haven't been to the Sandbar yet (it is right nextdoor to Sweeny's) because they are just building the bar into this place. It is supposed to be open in about a week. He said he was looking for a job as a bartender and I told him the last place I was at had a sign up saying they were looking for one. The bartender here wrote him a note of introduction so he was going to check it out. Good-luck to him. The bartender, when she found out about my quest, also recommended that I try La Gloria yel Infierno. She said I would find it to be an interesting place. I can hardly wait. They also have a guest bartender day here where an amatuer like me could try his hand. She said they didn't do it during the busy season, now, though because it got to be too stressful for everyone concerned. Darn.

An update. I checked out La Gloria yel Infierno and found out it was a bar that I had been into and couldn´t find the name. I have gone back and updated my post to reflect the name and how I found it.

I had a Pacifico (12 pesos here as well) and headed home. I am just giving you the prices on these last couple of places to show that the two beers that I paid for at the last two places cost less, in total, than that generous 2 for 1 offer.

Not a bad day, spent quite awhile in each place because they were so friendly and I was in a chatty mood. 304 down (100 in Puerto Vallarta, Whee!!) and 696 to go.

Small World

I only went to one bar today. Went shopping in the morning and then headed out with the wife and another couple to a town called Ixtapa to eat at a restaurant that had no bar, sigh. Nothing really close to the place either so after getting home I just called it a day.

301) Espresso Pub

This is a pizza place on the corner of Vallarta and Carranza, right across the street from Torito's. There was a large, light-tan cement bar with a marble-patterned tile top. It had light-tan wood trim and metal bar-rails. There were 7 wooden bar-stools. There were light wood cabinets and shelving behind the bar and a nice selection of liquors and wine. There were three televisions, one tuned to ESPN and two tuned to Fashion TV. The floor was tan cement painted a light blue. The paint is worn off to the extent I first thought there was sawdust on the floor. There is a smaller area, down a step, in front of the coal-burning pizza oven that has the traditional reddish-orange tile.

There were about a dozen wooden tables with green table-cloths and wooden chairs. There were also a few picnic-tables and benches. Pictures of city-scapes were on the wall including one of the 1940 New York skyline. There were also a few large French liquor posters; Martini and Rossi, Asti Cinzano, and Porto Ramos Pinto.

I was wearing an old Minnesota Timberwolves sweatshirt and the bartender, an older fellow, asked me if I lived in Minnesota. I told him I grew up there but now lived in Brooklyn. He started to ask me where in Brooklyn and from his questions it soon became obvious that he was from there. It then turned out that he had moved from Brooklyn to Minneapolis. He also went to Boston University for a year and I had spent two years in Boston. We chatted for a bit. He had been coming to Puerto Vallarta on vacation every year for 30 years and finally moved down here 5 years ago. I have only been coming down every year for about 15 years so I guess I have a few to go before moving here. It is amazing the number of people who come down here for a vacation and then come back year after year. I haven't seen that to such an extent any other place I have visited.

I had a Pacifico and headed home lugging the groceries my wife had bought at the municipal market.

Again, not much progress, but 301 down and 699 left to go.

A Pleasant Tuesday

The weather is clearing so it was a nice day for a walk. I took a stroll across a bridge to the north side of town and walked along Morelos, a street up a block or two from the malecon and a bit further down than I had walked before.

298) La Casa del Tequila

At first I thought this might just be a place that sold tequila. When you first walk in there is a tequila tasting area and they say they have 350 kinds of tequila for sale. It looked like it. They have a lot of tequilas that you just don´t find in the stores and, interestingly, do not have the ones you do find. They focus more on the more unusual and more expensive types. I only sampled one, it was very good, before walking through that area to my real goal.

Behind the tasting area was a very nice and quite ornate wood and metal bar. I thought it was a genuine antique but after talking to the bartender I found out it was only ten-years old. It was, however, made with old planking from barns and doors so it had that antique look about it. The top of the bar had four wood planks about three feet long, one foot wide, and half an inch think affixed to it. The planks were framed in iron bands about one and a half inches wide with large rivets about every three inches. Although the iron looked old and rusted I found out it had been painted with a special paint to make it look that way. The front of the bar was a pounded metal separated into panels with the same type of bands described above. In the center of each panel (except for two where it looked like they had been removed) were brass looking emblems with an agave plant and the name of the bar inscribed. The back of the bar was equally ornate but all wood. There were mirrors and glass shelves that held an impressive liquor selection, mostly tequilas. The bar stools had backs and real leather seats. The bar-rail looked to be twisted wrought iron and was held in place by wide iron bands with ornate curls on each end. The wall behind the bar was painted to look like storage racks of, what I presumed to be, tequila barrels.

There was also a large, bright eating area with several tables. Not too large with overhead fans and those behive lights. I asked a couple who were leaving how the food was and they said it was very good. I saw the little kitchen and the Mexican lady making the tortillas looked like the real deal.

I had a margarita on the rocks and it was one of the best I have ever had.

299) La Casa del Habano

At the end of the block, across the street and up a bit on Aldama, was this interesting place. At least interesting for here in Puerto Vallarta. When I first walked in I thought it was just a place to buy cigars, but the sign out front did say bar. They sell nothing but Cuban cigars and have a very large, walk-in, humidified temperature-controlled room to store them in. A very impressive selection too.

Walking though this area you enter a very nicely appointed smoking room with a small, three stool bar. The bar has a black and red marble top and sits off to one side of the smoking room. Given the number of comfortable chairs and sofas available the bartender thought it was a bit strange that I chose to sit at the bar, but rules are rules.

There were a couple of televisons that were turned off and a lot of books and magazines available for reading while you enjoyed a good cigar and a drink. The pictures on the walls were mostly cigar related and cigar advertisements. There was a large poster of Che Guevera enjoying a cigar. He seems to be second only to Zapata in popularity down here. On one wall was a nice stained glass hanging of people harvesting tobacco and to the left of the bar was a black stained glass hanging with the words ¨Habanas unicos desedes 1492.¨

I spent my time at the bar smoking a small cigar, having my drink, and chatting with the bartender. She was born in Puerto Vallarta and has lived here all her life, 32 years. We chatted about the changes we have seen and she told me about some small towns that I might want to visit. She was somewhat surprised that I had been to several of them already. While I was there a fellow, Wayne, stopped by. He was from Niagra, Canada. This was his first time in Puerto Vallarta and he was going to be here for four weeks. We chatted a bit as well.

I had a Cuba libre.

300) Etc. la Cantina

Back on Morelos and down a block or two from La Casa del Tequila, was this large, but not touristy, bar. The bar itself was a fairly large wooden three-sided affair with a tan marble-patterned linoleum top. There were beer cases and a few kegs being stored there along with the obligatory beer cooler. The bar-stools were plain wooden affairs. The bar rail was seemed to be a large iron tube. The most notable decorative touch were a number of old saddles mounted on the high up on the white plaster walls. There was a bit of orange paint to brighten the place up a bit.

Although this was on a busy street, the back-side of the bar was cool. You could just hear a touch of the traffic through the doors and windows that looked out on the street.

There were a lot of wooden tables and chairs and, from the menu on the wall, it looked like you could order Mexican bar food: Alitas, Burritos, Nachos, Carnes F., Papas F., Camarons, and Cacahauates. I am not sure what half of that stuff actually is, and I wasn´t hungry enough to find out.

There wasn´t anyone in the place but me and the bartender and he didn´t seem to speak English. Maybe the place livens up at night, it was only a little after 3:00 P.M. The bartender was watching a soccer game on television, Chelsea vs. Barcelona. He didn´t seem too pleased when Chelsea scored to increase their lead to 4 to 2 (I subsequently saw on the news that this was also the final score).

I had a Pacifico and headed home.

Not a real milestone like 250, but round numbers are always nice, so with 300 down I now have 700 left to go.

Dreary Monday

Man, the weather here has been really unusual this year. Unusual in that it has been heavily overcast and even a bit drizzly a lot. And that is very unusual for this time of year. Yesterday was no exception. Hopefully this will blow over pretty soon.

No glory yesteday. Picked up the Vallarta Tribune and there was no picture. Wasn't too surprised. When they took the pictures on Friday and said it would be in the Monday edition I didn't think that would give them enough time. It is a weekly publication and their stories are always about a week or more out of date. We shall see what happens next week.

The wife and I took a bus to the hotel zone and hit a few bars though, so the day wasn't a complete wash. Hey, we still have the sand and the sea.

295) Referee's Sports Bar

This place is on the main bus-route to the hotels from out of town, next to the Mega supermarket. The name of the avenue is Boulevard Francisco Medina Ascencio. There was a good-sized 3 sided reddish-brown formica-topped bar with a maroon vinyl arm-rest. Several brown wooden stools with brown-padded vinly seats made for a comfortable place to park oneself for the first beer of the day. There was a big area behind the bar filled with shelves, beer-cases, a large sink, and a couple of large coolers for beer. There were three televisons high on the wall behind the bar. Two were showing sports and the one with the volume turned on was showing Mexican videos. There was a decent looking pool table by the entrance.

There was a fairly large interior with nice looking tables and chairs. The tables by the windows had little padded booth-like seating. The was lots of sports memorabilia hanging about, mostly posters and pennants. The overhang above the bar had faux stained-glass team logos. My wife told me that the woman's bathroom, or banos damas, had many pictures of well-buffed, mostly naked men. Suddenly I had the urge to pee. No luck though, just pictures of scantily clad women in the banos caballeros. The picture of Madonna was a real stunner though.

I had a Negra Modelo

296) Citrus

Down the road a bit and back into Plaza Villas Vallarta was this relatively new, and new-looking place. It had a primarily salmon and white color scheme. The bar had a black marble top and a black cinder-block front to it. There were half a dozen black bar-stools with backs and salmon cushions. The back of the bar was also black cinder-block with light tan shelves holding a large selection of liquors. The lights above the bar were coverd by large, rectangular, fabric-coverd shades, one on top of the other. A lucky bamboo-shoot in a citrus-yellow vase sat at one end of the bar.

The back and side walls of the place was lined with tables and chair that matched the bar-stools except for the front-half of the back wall closest to the the glass entrance. That had salmon settees. The floor was vinyl made to look like light wood, but not doing a very good job. The outdoor area had the same type of tables and chairs as inside except for a couple of larger lounge chairs off to one side. The outdoor area was covered by a large salmon covered awning. There were overhead fans with lights.

I had a gin and tonic.

297) Le Petit

This place had at least three versions of the name on various signs and cards. Aside from the one above it was also referred to as Le Petite and Le Petite France. Take your pick. It too was on Boulevard Francisco Medina Ascensio, next to the Fiesta Americana hotel. There was a large life-like mannequin at the door to greet you. It had a large dark-wood bar with a real brass rail. It also had both tall and short barstools for which my wife, fairly short, was grateful. There was an octagon liquor cabinet in the middle with a fairly large metal sculpture meant to evoke the Eiffel Tower. Above the bar was a similar shaped wooden structure supported by brass poles. This held the overhead lights and was fronted by stained-glass patterns.

There were large and small paintings and posters by Henri de Toulouse-Latrek and fewer by other artists on the walls. There were a couple of victrolas on display and other knick-knacks as well. There was also an antique cabinet displaying antique silverware. This place had real dark-wood plank floors and a dark wood-beamed ceiling with lots of track lighting that might make it interesting at night. The dining area looked out over a well-manicured garden. The combination of a colonial French looking restaurant and the somewhat tropical looking graden evoked images of what Indo-China might have been like.

I had a Pernod on the rocks at the bar and then we had a late lunch, early dinner (it was 2:30 P.M.). Food was fantastic and I highly recommend the place if you are ever in town. We then caught a bus back to our part of time and I picked up a bottle of coffee liquor and made after-dinner coffees.

Three more bite the dust and 703 left to go.

Sunday Stroll

It was kind of a gloomy day, not really beach weather. I was growing a bit restless so I decided to take the bus to the far side of town and just stroll around to see what I could see. The area I chose was around the public sports park where there are a few soccer fields, a baseball diamond, a running track, etc. You may recall that I have already visited a couple of other bars right across the street from this park, but I decided to wander a bit further afield. There weren't a lot of bars and the first place I found by hearing the click of billiard balls.

293) Centro Butanero Caballo Ballo

The only word in the name that I know is 'caballo' that means either horse or rider, depending upon its useage. All there was was the sign above a little doorway that opened directly onto a flight of cement stairs. I found the doorway and saw the sign because I had heard the click of billiard balls and was tracking it down. There was a Corona sign in the stairwell so I took a chance and went upstairs. The doorway was located on Rio Danubio (the street, not the river) just down the street from Brasillio.

There was, indeed, a bar there. It was a long old wooden bar with six wooden bar stools or chairs (they had backs). There wasn't a brass rail but there was a small brick protrusion that you could rest your foot upon if you chose to stand. The plave had a red-tile floor, the standard variety you see everywhere, and a jukebox playing Mexican melodies. There was a billiard table and a couple of older guys playing three-cushion, although not very well, from what I could tell. They were drinking and having a happy time though, keeping an eye on a soccer game that was playing on the one televison set. To the side of the billiard table was a large wooden cue holder with a broken mirror. Looked like the kind of place where a mirror might get broken. There were a couple of pictures of a Mexican rodeo on the wall, one mounted on either side of the pool cue holder. Maybe that is where the place got its name. There were seven white plastic tables covered with red and white checked tablecloths with the Corona logo on them. The white plastic chairs also had the Corona logo.

I had a Pacifico.

294) Nuevo Maracaibo Bar

It turned out that I wasn't too far from a fairly large walled cemetery. I walked around it but didn't find anymore bars so I walked straight down the street from the entrance. Mexican cemeteries are really interesting affairs and if I wasn't on a mission I might have spent some time looking around in it. They have many ornate tombstones and such, usually brightly decorated with flowers. Many of them have framed pictures or portraits of the deceased. They are usually very well maintained.

Anyway, I digress. Down Belice, the street, and just about at the intersection to San Salvador was this lively little place. It had a small wooden bar with blue-wash walls. There was a pool table and the place was fairly crowded. There were two white brick decorative arches along one of the walls with paintings of Puerto Vallarta on the wall underneath them. The rest of the decor consisted primarily of posters of scantily clad women and cars. Kind of what you would expect to see in a garage. There were a couple of pictures of Marilyn Monroe as well. There was kind of a darker room of to one side with a few tables and chairs and several people were in there drinking but I didn't pop my head in to check it out. There were plenty of people in the main room where I was and a couple came over to ask me where I was from, where I was staying, how I liked Puerto Vallarta, etc. Seemed like a friendly enough crowd that probably didn't see to many tourists in the place. Definitly a local hangout, looked like everyone in the place pretty much knew each other.

I had a Pacifico and ate some of the tasty spiced peanuts in the bowl on the bar.

I couldn't see too much more in the area so I decided to simply take the long walk home. It was getting really cloudy and I actually thought it might rain, although that would be most unusual for this time of year.

Knocked off 2 more on a day I thought would be a day-off so I now have 706 left to go.

Another Slow Saturday

Didn't do any bar-hopping today. Went out for breakfast and then my buddy did some last-minute shopping before he leaves tomorrow. Kind of an overcast, drizzly day. Most unusual for this time of year. We went out for dinner and did stop for one cocktail on the way.

292) Kit Kat Club

This is a New York style martini bar on Pulpito, not far from my place. It has a small, marble-like bar with four modernistic metal backed stools with rattan seats. There is a black-light under the bar overhang. The wall behind the bar is painted tangerine and their is a large round mirror mounted on it. Two nubians holding up lamps are on the shelf behind the bar. There is a small Red-Bull refrigerator there too that looks a bit out-of-place. The wall to the left of the bar is painted the same color of tangerine as behind the bar and there are five of the same round mirrors mounted on it. The rest of the walls are painted white. The floor is light tan and dark tan linoleum. The large darker squares are set off by slightly raised, and quite sharp, metal dividers. A buddy of mine fell off a chair here a few years back and took off a major patch of skin on the tip of one of his fingers. Lot's of blood and subsequent pain. We got no sympathy from our spouses, just lots of grief.

There are large glass sliding doors that separate the interior from a small outside seating area. There are nice marble topped chairs about the place with comfortable white-fabric covered chairs. Parchement cone shades sit atop the lamps on the tables. The chairs on the outside area are more like backed cushions.

I had a Lime Drop martini (vodka, lime, sugar served in a sugar rimmed martini glass) and my buddy had a Dreamsickle (vodka, orange-juice, cream).

We finished these up and went to dinner and ended up stuffing ourselves to the point where nobody felt like going anywhere for an after dinner drink. No common sense.

I will probably take tomorrow off. It is Sunday and my buddy is leaving so we probably won't be doing much. I plan on being back at it again on Monday though. One more notch on the bottle and 708 left to go.

Slow Day

Today was a bit of a slow day. We went to the production of Manhattan Music at the Santa Barbara Theater last night. I had talked to the owner earlier about my thousand-bar quest. After the performance he had me get up on the stage and introduced me to the audience. Their was a photographer from the Vallarta Tribue and he took a few pictures. Supposedly one or more of them will be in next week´s edition of the paper. We shall see, and I will keep you posted.

291) Que?Pasa

This place is right upstairs to the Santa Barbara Theater so I popped in for a quick drink before the performance. It had a gray marble bar and a red tile floor. The place was pretty crowded and it was open-mic night. The guy singing was pretty good. There were a lot of Christmas tree lights strewn about and those lite-from-within tin star things hanging from the ceiling. This place used to be owned by the same people that own the Santa Barbara Theater and they used to have a weekly bingo game that was quite fun. Sadly, they have been discontinued.

I had a gin and tonic and headed back for the show.

After the show we just headed home. Not much progress, as I said, but nibbling away and now 709 left to go.

A Busy Day

Had a bit of a double header today. I went out in the afternoon by myself and hit four places and then, after drinks at the pool at sunset, made the rounds with my buddy.

282) Los 3 Delfines

This, place, at the end of M.M. Diequez on the south side of town, was just opening up at a bit after 3:00 P.M. A fairly large courtyard in front where tables were being set up. The bar itself is inside and is a light pink and gray marble looking tile affair. There was a squawking parrot in a cage sitting on one end of the bar. He didn't have a drink so I assume he wasn't a customer. The walls were blue painted plaster and there were a lot of green horseshoes over an open window looking out on a small courtyard in the back. There were three, mostly empty, shelves behind the bar. There was a small plaster statue of a dolphin on each shelf and a statue of three dolphins on the end of the bar opposite the parrot. There was some metal wall hangings of flowers, butterflies, and flowers. Also three ceramic toucans. There were a bunch of somewhat sad-looking plants in pots and in a cement planter along one wall.

I had a Pacifico.

283) Asadero's

This was a pretty big place on Badillo with the bar in the back. The bar was brick with a brown cement top. Colorful plastic glasses hanging on a rack above the bar. My drink came in a yellow one. The bar had a green cement floor. There were two shelves and mirrors behind the bar. These shelves were much better stocked than the last place. A large electric coffee urn that was set too high kept the smell of somewhat burnt coffee wafting over me. That, coupled with the smell from their wood-burning cooking stoves made this a fairly aromatic place.

The walls of the interior dining area were brick up to about waist-level and then woven bamboo. The roof/ceiling was red tile. There were a few interesting paintings on the wall. Somewhat primative but very colorful. One was of a mariachi band and the other was of a bullfight. There is an outside dining area in the front that might be pleasant later in the evening when it is cooler.

I had a large, refreshing, frozen margarita that had a bit of a bite to it.

284) Freddy's Toucan Sports Bar.

Down the street a bit was this kind of a surprise find. It used to be pretty much of a pancake place up until just a few weeks ago. They took over the corner space and put in a bar, a nice dark-wood bar with padded stools. There are also light wood tables and chairs around the windows on two sides. It usually doesn't open until 8:00 P.M. and then stays open until 6:00 A.M. There was someone in the back and he graciously served me a beer. There were three televisions that I could see but only one was on. It was Mexican ESPN and it was showing horse-races.

Eric, the bartender, asked where I was from and when I said I was originally from Minnesota he said his boyfriend was a big Minnesota Viking fan. We discussed football for a bit, sharing our frustrations with the Vikings and my new team, the Jets.

I had a Negra Modelo

285) Santa Barbara Theater

There is a nice marble-topped bar in the front of the small theater area that is used to serve drinks during performances. It is located on Olas Altos. There was a rehearsal going on for a future production so there were about ten small children on the stage singing. I don't know if the place was really open for business but the owner, Ed, served me beer and had one with me. Tomorrow night my wife and buddy and I are going to a performance of Manhattan Nights, The Music of New York. I have gone to performances here in past years and they are always a lot of fun.

I had a Pacifico and headed home for a sunset drink at the pool.

Later, after the sun had set, by buddy and I headed out. He wanted to hit the Blue Whale first because he hadn't been there yet this visit. He had a couple of shots of tequila and I had a beer. The place was much busier this time of the evening than during my last visit, lot's of hooting and hollering. Always a fun place in an interesting way. I don't think I would like to hang around until closing time though.

286) Chavas

This place is located three blocks south and 1/2 block to the right if you are walking from the flea-market. Not that that is of much help unless you know where the flea-market is. It is on the corner of Insurgentes and Cardenas, not far from the Blue Whale. It is a second-floor bar, up a narrow staircase. There is a good sized wooden bar and the sound of buses reverberates through the place until the jukebox begins to play, at which point your heart, head, and everything else begins to reverberate to the beat. When the music mercifully started my buddy popped in 5 pesos and we played another couple of tunes. Hey, when in Mexcio. There were a few pictures of soccer teams on the walls and some tables on the very small open balcony that looked out on two, very busy, streets. This is another bar where you are unlikely to find many tourists because it is somewhat easy to miss. There is a very large sailfish mounted on the wall and two televisons. The one that was on was showing a soccer game.

I had a Tradicional tequila.

287) Frida un Bar

This place is also on Cardenas and is "Un bar Alternativo amistoso." That means, basically, that is is a gay bar. This one caters to an older crowd and, in New York at least, would be known as a "wrinkle parlour." Aside from the being gay part my buddy and I fit right in. A fairly friendly crowd, but nobody offered to buy us a drink. I must be losing my charm. Just about every square inch of this place was covered of pictures or plaster masks of Frida, the Mexican artist famous for both her artwork and her one big eybrow.

I had a Pacifico.

288) Chaves

This place was across the street, I think, and was a pretty typical Mexican bar. There was a large wooden wagon-wheel heading from the ceiling. There was a large pinata hanging from the ceiling as well. The bar was wood-topped cement and had cushioned wooden stools. There was a Mexican cowboy movie playing on the television and the walls were covered with pictures, mostly of Marilyn Monroe. The bartender's father had been a bullfighter so there were a couple of pictures of him as well. Sadly, the place was up for sale so who knows what will be there next year.

My friend was waxing poetic so he wrote this about the place:

"I wondered into this bar. I carried with me a heavy load. A typical Mexican restaurant/bar. A large picture of a parrot adorned one of the walls. Toilet paper was almost late in arriving. But enough of my temporary difficulties. We, my friend and I, were the only ones, almost the only ones in the place. There was also a young Mexican who could have been Al Pacino, although a tattered version. It had that smell, that smell of a typical Mexican bar. I had a margarita. It was fine."

I also had a margarita.

289) Aquy Sp.

I may have to check the name. This is what the bartender wrote on my card and I forgot to double-check it when I left. There were 3 televisions and a pool-table upon which a young couple looked to be about to consumate their relationship. The bar was brick with a red tile top. The barstools were iron with iron backs but the seats were wooden. There were sparkly tin stars hanging from the ceiling. The bar had a nice brick arch back to it with mirrors and glass shelves holding the liquor.

I had a Pacifico.

290) High

This place, on Cardenas, was just starting to open up. It's hours of operation are from 11:00 P.M to 9:00 A.M. I can only describe this as Starwars meets Mexico. It had a ceramic tiled bar with barstools that looked like they came from the Mad Hatter's tea party in the Alice In Wonderland animated film. There were a couple of large, velvet covered swings and I can only wonder at the use they might be put to when the place starts cranking. There were several plush sofas strewn about and cone shaped lamp shades that matched the colors of the bulbs (yellow, blue, and orange) hanging above the bar. There was one room that had a glass brick wall with some kind of lighting that made it feel like you were sitting inside a lava-lamp. There were also black-lights hanging overhead so everybody's teeth really shined. There was another back room with 2 pool-tables. They actually had velvet ropes out front with a couple of bouncers to control what, I guess, will be a big crowd later in the evening. This place would be weird if it was in New York and was totally incongrous with anything I have ever seen in Mexico. I has been open for 10 months so let's see if it is a sign of things to come.

I had a margarita and we staggered on home.

A pretty good day, all in all. Tomorrow I may try to hit a few places after the theatre, but will give it a rest during the afternoon. Creeping ever onward, with 290 down only 710 left to go.

Marina and More

Today I decided to take a trip out to the marina here in town. It is a bit of a bus ride, but not all that far. Lot's of boats, as you would expect, and more bars than I could reasonably hit in one day. I will be back again at least once and probably twice.

274) Brando's

The bar is pretty much right on the water. It has a pastel ceramic front and a light wooden top. The bar has a palapa top to it and the supports are wrapped with Christmas lights, although they weren't turned on at this time of day. There is a red tile floor and it is open all around. There are a couple of televisions, but they were turned off as well. There are two blue-felt covered pool tables off to one side. A great view of the sailboats and yachts in the harbor. The bar had comfortable blue cushioned wrought-iron stools. Although I only had a beer, my wife and friend had non-alcoholic drinks, a lemonade and a clamatoe concoction of some kind. The bartender was like a chef, tasting here concoctions and then adjusting the ingredients as she saw fit. A real pleasure to watch.

I had a Pacifico, and the bartender did not taste it.

275) El Fogon

This place had their bar set well back from the water. It also had nice wrought-iron barstools with soft cushions. Needless to say, the comfort of the barstools gets to be a matter of concern at times. The back area where the bar is located had a tan tile floor and the walls were orange and yellow painted plaster. The much larger front area had a red tile floor. This area is open air with a white plaster ceiling covering half of it and a bright orange awning covering the rest. There is a lady griling tacos on a small grill in the front and after finishing my beer I joined my wife and friend to have a few. Quite good.

In the back by the bar was a table with a little fish-bowl containing a small turtle. The small son of the proprietor explained that it was his pet but I didn't quite catch its name.

I had a Pacifico.

276) Port Hole

A blue ceramic tile-front par with a black and silver faux granite top. Tan linoleum with pastel flecks covered the bar. The walls were painted blue with clouds on one of them and white smears on the others. Maybe the artist grew weary of his work. Blue glass fronting bare bulbs above kitchen type cabinets were behind the bar. There was a bit of a flamingo theme to the place, from the one peaking through the port hole on the sign, to the plastic flamingos in front, and down to flamingo glasses and stir-sticks. This was a very friendly little place being run by two Canadian women. They also sold ice-cream. The cooking channel was on and the patrons as well as the help, and us, seemed to take great interest in the shows. My friend was particularly interested in the segment about how to cook steak.

I had a healthy gin and tonic and my friend had a shot of tequila that was definetly poured with a heavy hand.

277) Las Palomas Doradas

This was a really nice place with a very nice wooden bar and a glass and wood liquor cabinet. Mirrored pillars and nice paintings of Mexican scenery and village life on the walls. There was a wooden buddha sitting on the bar that has an Indonesian rather than Chinese look to it. A shelf above the bar held Mexican crockery and some Mayan type statues. The place had very nice tables and chairs. The tables were covered with white tablecloths and then had smaller white tablecloths on top of those. Elegant place-settings completed the look. There were sprigs of coleus on each table and a large potted ficus near the back wall. There was also an very ornately framed mirror on one wall.

I had a refreshing frozen margarita.

278) Fajita Banana

My last stop in the marina, at least for today, was this sports bar. It had a fair amount of sports memorabilia about the place and several televisions. Mexican music videos were on the one behind the bar, a Mexican soap opera was on the one in the back, and various sports shows, primarily soccer, were on the rest. There were behive type of light fixtures, fairly common in Mexico, above the bar with yellow bulbs. We got to stare at a purple and yellow Camel cigarette sign behind the bar with the cautionary "FUMAR ES CAUSA DE CANCER" warning. The bar it said was made of some cement/plastic like surface with a bamboo front.

I had a chilled Tradicional tequila.

279) Esmeralda

On the way home we kind of took the wrong bus. It would have gotten us back to where we wanted to go, but in a round-about way. When it took a left off the main road back we got off. It stopped right across the street from the bullfight ring and in front of a little, up a narrow staircase, bar. Today was the day of the weekly bullfight, but it appeals mostly to tourists. The caliber of the bullfighters are probably the equivalent to a very minor league baseball team. The top fighters fight in larger cities with some of the best in Mexico city. I have never been to a bull fight here. The bar is open air on three sides and overlooks both the bullfight ring and the busy road that our bus was originally on. It also afforded a nice view of three of the four cruise ships that were in port. The place has a fairly new pool table. Just a two stool wooden bar in the back but lots of tables about the place. After finishing my beer at the bar I sat and joined the others who were served a plate of cucumber slices with their drinks. Once, a few years back, my wife locked herself in the bathroom here and couldn't get out without assistance. We don't talk about that much anymore.

I had a Pacifico.

280) Maguelito's

We walked across the street and caught the "right" bus back into town. On the way back to our place from the bus stop we passed this fairly nice place. It is also known as the Treehouse because it is a two story affair built kind of around a large tree. It is pretty much right across the street from Steve's. It has a dark wood bar fronted by bamboo. The stools are also nicely padded. The back of the place has wooden plank floors and the front has mexican tiles. There was some interesting artwork on the walls that looked to be made out of a combination of leather and rope. The walls were bright red and there were shelves with old books and other assorted stuff on the walls. There was a dart board on one wall but, given its proximity to the bar and tables, I am not sure if it is used very often. There is a nice waterfall in the entrance and you cross over a little wooden bridge to enter.

I had a Don Julio reposada and we all headed home for sunset at the pool.

281) Boca Bento

We went here for dinner but I had a drink at the bar before joining my companions. This is a fairly new place. Last year it was the 180 and it had a swimming pool that customers could use and live music a couple of days a week. The pool has been covered and there is now a roof over what was an open-to-the-air area. The bar was a very nice wavy wooden topped affair with a light cement front. There was a very nice wrap-around mural that is somewhat hard to describe. Not exactly abstract, but not realistic either. Bright colors, people smoking cigars, some of which looked like calypso drums, wine bottles, etc. It had a bit of a Cuban look to it and was painted in 2004 by someone named Maciaf (if I read the name right). Their beer and martini glasses were kept chilled in a refrigerator behind the bar.

Although a bit off of the mission statement, the food was delicious and I will, in all liklihood, be returning.

I had a gin and tonic and that was the end of my trek for the day.

Not a bad day at all and down to 719 left to go.

A Rocky Day At The Palm

Today was a not the most productive of days, but that was somewhat anticipated. In fact, I didn't even go out for a drink until 11:00 P.M.

273) The Palm

This place was mentioned before when I wrote about Reggies, across the street. It is primarily a gay bar and they were having a live performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It wasn't bad considering they did it with a cast of just seven in a fairly cramped area with no real stage, just a small area in front of a screen where they usually show music videos. The music was all lip-synched, which was a good thing I would guess. Giving the nature of The Palm, this version was even campier than the film.

The whole place is fairly dark and the bar itself is in a relatively narrow raised area to the right of the larger seating area where the performance took place. The bar is dark wood with kind of intricate "woven" wood stools. The lower area has numerous tables and chairs in the same pattern of the bar-stools. There are also a row of stools back against the rise to the bar. I sat there for awhile but not only were the uncomfortable, I kept getting in the way of the performers and they ran about.

I had a gin and tonic at the bar and then another at a table while I watched Rocky and the crew. Quite entertaining.

My progress is hardly worth noting, but a bar is a bar. Just 727 left to go.

Bus To Bucerias

Today we decided to take a trip to the neighboring town of Bucerias, not to far across the Rio Ameca, in the neighboring state of Nayarit. This used to be a bit more of an adventure when there was just a gravel road connecting the two cities. Since they put up a huge resort at the north-end of the bay though they have built a fairly major highway that goes all the way out there and connects many of the the towns inbetween as well. Now it is a fairly short bus trip that only requires one change of buses. The local bus to the Sam's Club costs 4 pesos and then you switch to another bus that takes you to Bucerias for another 10 pesos. Bucerias, even though there is building going on in the surrounding areas, is still a pretty small town compared to Puerto Vallarta.

There are a series of restaurants along the beach in Bucerias that all have a somewhat similar configuration; a relatively plain large room at street level, an elevated balcony overlooking the bay, and steps leading down to tables on the beach. Many of these do not, however, have an actual bar and these I avoided.

267) La Palapa de Yemaya

This, the first I visited, had a bar with an orangish stained top and a rough yellow front. It had three very small shelves behind the bar that held a very limited selection of liquors. A Pepsi-machine looking refrigerator and a Sol cerveza cooler was also behind the bar and held the beer and sodas. The interior was pretty rustic with a faded red-painted cement floor, white plaster walls with blue trim, and orange and yellow arches. A few steps down and the beach and tables. A few steps up and the balcony overlooking the bay.

I had a decent blended margarita.

268) El Pescador

A dark-wood bar with two carved killer-whales decoration the front of the left side. It had a pool-table and a jukebox. The cement floor was unpainted and the ceiling was corrugated fiberglass. While I was having my drink a guy riding his horse passed by and the horse took a major dump in front of the place. The owner hollered at the guy who then got off his horse and cleaned up the mess. I reflected upon the fact that the horse that the mounted-police ride in New York City can pretty much crap anywhere they want and nobody cleans it up but in Mexico they have a bit more class. Particularly if the horse craps right in front of a restaurant. There was also an old parrot in a large wrought-iron cage that starting sqwuaking like made when a bunch of chattering schoolgirls passed by. There were a lot of little pinatas hanging from the ceiling and a nice balcony overlooking the bay.

I had a Pacifico.

269) Capri

A very small service-type of bar but it did have two stools. The bar had an orange cement front and a white-tile top. A nice view of the bay though, even from the bathroom if I stood on my toes. A half-dozen steps led down to tables on the beach and the main-room was extended out a bit for a kind of balcony. There was a red-painted cement floor and white walls. There were several white plastic tables and plastic chairs with a Pepsi logo on the back. The tables did have bright red and green checkered tablecloths. The whole place had a high palapa top.

I had a Pacifico.

270) Claudio's or Meson Bay

There was a bit of confusion about the name of this place. Multiple signs in front and a menu that said one thing and a card that said something else. I thought the ambiguity added to the charm so I didn't bother to clarify it. It had a cement-block bar with a dark wood top. There was a brick floor in the front and a sand floor in the back. A high palapa top with some large pinatas hanging from it. There were baskets of colorful artificial flowers hanging from the side of the bar facing the bay. The barstools were palm-tree stumps and not at all comfortable. Pretty much open air all around. There was a large Green Bay Packers banner and a smaller Minnesota Vikings banner hanging next to each other on the wall.

I had a margarita.

271) Mary's

We caught the bus and headed back to Puerto Vallarta. The bus stopped close to Mesa del CoCo (see an earlier post) and I wanted to show it to my friend. It appeared to be closed but very close to it was this similar local's bar. It had a nice wooden bar, a pool-table, 10 small wooden tables with green and white checkered tablecloths and wooden chairs. There was a jukebox and a large picture of Zapata hanging on the wall. The place had a pinkish-red cement floor and white walls. There were bare green lightbulbs in wall fixtures. There wasn't anyone in the place except for us and the two Mexican women running the place. Oh yeah, that Chinese woman was there too.

I had a Pacifico.

272) Mogambo

Walking home along the malecon I passed by this place, next to Zoo, which hadn't been open on my previous excursions. It must have just been opening up when we got there because it was empty. It is a nice, deep, dark place although it does have windows overlooking the bay. A wood and mirrored front to a black, marble-like, formica top and a nice brass rail. It was backed by very nice liquor cabinets that were lit from within. The barstools were plush fake leopardskin and swiveled. There was a fairly large raised dance floor behind the barstools and separated by a railing. Small tables with chairs lined the wall to the other side of the dancefloor. Above them on the wall were two large mirrors. One had a Led Zeppelin logo and the other had a Rolling Stones logo. There were multiple levels to this place and upstairs was at least one pool-table and several sofas.

I had a Tradicional-Jose Cuervo reposada. It was kind of unusual in that although they served it in a traditional brandy glass, the tequila itself was kept chilled, right along with the Jaegermeister. Guess this is a slamming them down type of crowd.

Headed home for good after this with 728 more bars staring me in the face. But they shall not defeat me. Tomorrow will probably be a much slower paced day.

A Six-Inch Yard Of Tequila

A bright sunny day and we got off to a good start. While my friend showered my wife and I went to the pier where I tried out my Ron Popeil Pocket Fisherman. The locals using fishing-line wrapped around an empty plastic soda bottle were stunned by the level of technology I brought to the table. Of course they were catching fish while I was not.

260) La Palapa

Probably the classiest beach-front restaurant and bar in Puerto Vallarta. The hurricane that hit here a few years back did a lot of damage to these bars but they have all been rebuilt and are much fancier, and more expensive, than they were. And they were pretty nice then. The bar had a golden-tan ceramic front and a multi-hued marble top. Mirrors behind it let you see the beach even with your back towards it. There are nice acrylic shaded lamps over the bar, kind of tan with little dots. The barstools are plush and have backs to them. There is a nice little lounge behind the bar where you can sit and have a drink while listening to live music, when they have it. They have a state-of-the-art temperature controlled storage bin for the wines they serve by the glass.

I had a Modelo especial at the bar before we sat down for breakfast. It was 30 pesos for a beer which is a bit on the pricey side, but they served it in a nice frosted pilsner glass. De classe all the way.

261) La Margarita

Down the beach a bit is another place with tables and loungers out on the beach. Inside is a fairly large bar but only three stools. It looks like it is more of a service bar because the bring the drinks out to you if you are sitting on the beach, like most people would do, unless you are on a quest. The bar area itself is up a short flight of steps so you have a nice view overlooking the beach. Traditional Mexican tiles underfoot. The bar itself is brick with a dark wooden top. There was a very pleasant breeze. The decor itself was pretty sparse, most of the action, as I mentioned, taking place outside on the beach. A few ceramic dolphins and a ceramic seahorse adorning a peach-colored pillar and a poster of pink flowers on another wall. There were five dozen eggs in cartons over our left shoulder. Although we were advised that the tequila we ordered was too good for a lime, we were offered a bowl of lime-slices anyway. The scantily-clad Chinese woman at the end of the bar took some of ours and thrust them into the narrow neck of her beer bottle.

I had a generous pour Don Julio Reposado tequila in a large snifter.

262) Meson de Calderon

Over the bridge into the north-side of town this place is on a sidestreet right across from the flea-market. There was a piano player which was quite nice. The place had light-pink wals and a fishing-net canopy was hung over the bar. Garlands of brightly colored artificial flowers were draped behind the brick bar that had a light-tan formica top. There were pictures of old mexico, some move posters of Liz Taylor, John Wayne, and Marilyn Monroe. There was also a large autographed picture of Carlos Rondero and some picture, not posters, of bull-fights and bull-fighters. On the wall seperating the bathrooms from the rest of the place were serveral carved, realistic and somewhat spooky-looking, heads.

I had a el Jimador Reposado that they served in six-inch minatures of the yard-of-beer glasses that you sometimes see. The actually had two of those larger glasses (but I think only the half-yard variety) on the bar ready for action.

263) Hotel Rio

Next door and up a few steps was this wooden bar that had a nice, sturdy bar-rail. It had 5 stools with acrylic cushions. There was a large sailfish mounted on the ceiling for some reason. I guess to give you something to look at if you toppled backwards off of your barstool. This place had a piano, but no piano player. It was kind of austere with a grey tile floor and white-washed walls. It was very nice and sunny though. There was a ceramic replica of an old diver's helmet in a niche in the wall.

I had another shot of el Jimador Reposado.

264) Papi Chulo Bar

Things took an interesting turn here. Before I could order my first shot of tequila my buddy, sitting on the otherside of a small partition, managed to down two of them. This was kind of a local bar tucked into the flea-market. It looked like a lot of the customers were off-duty timeshare hustlers. The ones that get you to show up a a timeshare presentation with offers of money, discounts to festivals, etc. Nobody approached us, however, so I guess they were on break. We were pretty much surrounded by tee-shirts on display so you would kind of have to say this place had a distinctly unique ambience. A friendly bartender and a total lack of will-power on our part resulted in us drinking way more than we should have.

I had at least 5 shots of tequila and my friend had a few more than that.

265) River Cafe

We managed to make it over the wooden-slate and cable bridge to get to the island in the middle of the river and stopped by the River Cafe. You may recall I said I had eaten here with friends before but there were too many of us to sit at the bar. This time with just the three of us the number of bar-stools was perfect. This is a really nice looking place right on the river.

I had a shot of tequila but I don't remember what kind. My friend wrote it down but I can't read it. I wonder if the fact that we have now had at least 10 shots of tequila has anything to do with this?

266)Opium Garden

Still on the island but heading toward home we passed this place. It is fairly new, but I can't remember the name of the place that was here last year. This place has a nice modern, although somewhat austere, decor and the three of us were the only ones in there. It looked like they might just be setting up for the evening.

One last shot of tequila and it was time to go home, although we stopped to get hotdogs from the famous hotdog lady on the way.

All and all a very good day in some respects, not the least of which we were all still standing at the end of it. Just 734 left to go.

Slow Fan, Dim Lights

Not a great deal of progress today. A friend of mine arrived at about 2:00 P.M. and we had a few too many drinks at my place before heading out. The maintenance staffed fixed the ceitling fan in the master bedroom because it would only operate on high-speed, unlike the other two celiling fans that have a working three-way switch. Their solution was to hook it up to a dimmer switch. Great control over the speed of the fan but the three overhead lights in the fixture are also controlled by the same switch. Faster the fan, brighter the light. Kind of interesting, in a peculiar way.

258) Cafe Bohemio

A nice outdoor restaurant on Rodolfo Gomez that serves, in my opinion, some of the best shrimp dishes in town. Sadly the have only a small one-stool bar inside but hey, a bar with a stool is a bar. I felt a bit like Hunter S. Thompson, but without the suicidal impulses. Yellow walls, red face to the bar and a brown tile top.

I had a Corona

259) Apaches

Now this is a bar on Olas Altos, and pretty much nothing but a bar. Kind of a newer place, although it has been here several years, with a bit of a Manhattan flavor. They serve a great martini, based upon past experience. It is fairly small with a blue tile bar "nestled," as my friend said, against the side wall. It is owned by a Dutch gentleman who is also the bartender and whom we engaged in a friendly conversation. They pour their drinks with a heavy hand, so no complaints on that end.

I had a gin and tonic and we called it an early night because my friend had a long day of travel.

We shall see how much progress we make today, although it is a Sunday so it might be slow. Just 741 left to go.

Fairly Fast Friday

I got off to an early start and headed to the far north side of town. I didn't want to hit anything real close to where I stay because I have a friend coming in tomorrow and thought I would save a few of them for him. I walked past a few that were open and kept going well past the end of the malecon to start off my day.

251) Salsa Mexicana Bar

Mostly a restaurant on Avenue Mexico, across from the Pemex gas station. It is mostly a restaurant with a small green cement topped bar that looks out onto someone's back yards with clothes drying on the line. Yellow walls, a light orange ceiling and dark brown cement beams. Pictures of old Mexico on the walls with several of Zapata and the boys and at least one of Pancho Villa. There was a picture of Spud, the Bud Lite dog, on the wall, but no Bud Lite to be had. Same with the large plastic Miller bottle. There is a colorful white, red, and green awning out in front and lots of those Mexican doily things you see hanging from the ceiling.

I had a Negra Modelo

252) El Andariego

Across the street and a bit south of the Pemex gas station was this place that was just opening up. This was a very nice looking place with a curved wooden bar and six swiveling bar stools. There were several colorful murals ranging in subject matter from small, naked children frolicking in a pool under a couple of waterfalls to a surealistic scene of old Mexico combined with what looked like a Mexican version of some kind of ancient Roman debauchery. There were also a couple that were views overlooking Puerto Vallarta and the bay. There were at least three levels and with the white tablecloths and fancy place settings it looked like it would be a good place for dinner. There were nice soft-orange glass shaded lights hanging over the bar and large copper-cone shaded lamps hanging over the rest of the place. It had windows facing out on the busy street but the noise level is muted. As I headed out I noticed some tubes of stuff on a table and picked on up to see what they were. It turned out they were paints and the artist who, apparently was still working on the murals, was there and we chatted a bit.

I had a Corona and it was served in a nice frosty mug.

253) Jazon Criollo

Located on the corner of Avenue Mexico and Venezuela this place is across the street from a small park. It is a nice little restaurant with a small, six-stool green cement bar. The floor is light green and dark green tiles. The tablecloths are green and white checked and the tables and chairs are painted green. The awning in front is also green. The bar stools, however, are maroon. They must have run out of green. The sign above the bar says El Tiki Tiki Bar. I guess that is because it sits under a fake palapa overhang and has a papermache parrot hanging above it. There is a real parrot perched outside in front of the place though.

I had a Corona.

254) Pool Vallarta

Almost right next door is a fairly good sized pool-hall with nice carved wooden tables covered in blue felt. They have a nice carved wooden bar up front and their beer is half the price of thelast place, 12 pesos versus the 24 pesos I had just paid. The only drawback was that the beer-cooler was a bit too warm and there was an incessent, and quite irritating, high-pitched beep the whole time I was there.

I had a Corona (and it wasn't warm).

255) Mesa del Co Co

On Brasilia across from the Stadium Sports Park was this, what appeared to be, locals only bar. There were three small, very old, and authentic looking leopard skins on the wall, a pool-table, and an outside seating area in the back. There were, again, the requisite pictures of old Mexico on the walls along with a few Mexican movie posters. It had a bunch of round wooden tables with large leather-backed chairs and a nice little brick-fronted bar with a wooden top. There were a few locals in the place and two of them were drinking a pinkish drink out of those large margarita glasses that you see. They didn't look like the type of hombres that would be drinking fruit punch, but when the ordered another round I saw what it was. Beer and tomatoe juice with a squeeze of lime over ice. I have to admit to having drunk that very thing long ago and in a place far away.

I had a Corona

256) La Dolce Vita

I was planing on just heading home but by the time I got to this place on the Malecon I really had to take a whiz so I popped in. It is an Itallian restaurant that feature pizzas. They have a coal burning oven in the back that they use to make them and they are quite good. It is a multi-level place with red-checked tablecloths. There are pictures of movie posters on the walls, many of them from the movie that gives the place its name. I sat at the bar and had, unfortunately, a very bad margarita. There is no excues, in my mind, why a decent restaurant should use that sweetish yellow stuff that passes for margarita mix. Limes are plentiful and cheap here and even the dive bars use them in their margaritas. Bah.

I had a margarita.

257) Bar Oceana

I stopped in this one because I was curious how I had missed it during my previous pass along the malecon. It is right across the street from La Gruta. The only thing I can think of is that it was closed. It is an upstairs corner bar, open on two sides, with a great view of the bay. It was an exceptionally clear day so the view was quite good (not that it is ever bad). There is nothing fancy about this place, just a decent bar with white-washed walls, a cement-block ceiling with dark beams and Old Moon Rising on the jukebox. A good place to end the day relatively early in the afternoon.

I had a gin and tonic and headed home.

A pretty good day and down to 743 to go. We shall see how I do when my friend shows up. Perhaps a few more late nights, but we shall see.

Thirsty Thursday

I took a fairly long walk up the south-side of the river to a restaurant that I had been to in previous years. After walking up to the third-floor restaurant I discovered that they only had a fairly large service bar but no place to sit and have a drink. Bummer, because by now I worked up a powerful thirst. I strolled back a block or so off of the river and managed to find a few places closer to home.

248) Bar Del Puerto

On 276 Carranza, this place usually looks like it is closed. It was open to day though. It has a pool-table up front and about six or seven small plastic tables with plastic chairs. There is a small bar in the back with a few stools and a couple of locals having a drink. There is a large donkey-shaped pinata hanging from the ceiling and festoons of paper flower garlands hanging about. The walls have pictures of happy customers and an announcement of someone's 29th or 30th birthday party. The printed announcement said 30th but someone had crossed that out on all of them and written in 29th.

I had a Corona

249) Gilmar Restaurant and El Bar

On 418 Madero was a restaurant with a small, wood-topped bar with a red ceramic tile front and back. Four narrow shelves behind the bar held their rather meagre selection of liquor. The bar itself only had one stool, most of it taken up by a table and two chairs that were shoved up against it. This looks like it might have once been two very small places joined into one and the new owner decided to concentrate on the restaurant side of the business. It had a blue and light yellow tiled floor, bright yellow walls and a blue and white ceiling. The place had about 10 small tables with bright purple, maroon, and yellow tablecloths. A cheery place with three people eating what looked to be pretty good food. There were a few old fashioned hanging lamps, some artificial ferns, and a good-sized mirror on one wall with bright red artificial flowers surrounding it. There was a good-sized television with, what looked like, a Mexican soap opera.

I had a Negra Modela and it was served in a frosted mug. A very nice touch and one seldom seen. I think the Frankfurt was the only other place I got a chilled glass of any type for my beer.

250) Deportivo Los Maleajetes (I think)

Well, I hit the quarter-way mark more with a whimper than a bang. Also on Madero this is a large pool/billiard hall with a bar in the back. Had 4 or 5 billiard tables and 6 or 7 pool tables. There were 3 fooseball tables, but only one was positioned where you could use it. The other two were kind of shoved up against a wall. There was a fairly large fishing boat leaning up against one wall but I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be decorative or just being stored. Overhead fans and flourescent lights over the tables kind of rounded out the ambience. The walls were kind of an off-beige (probably once white), water-stained and mildewed. The bar had about 8 stools and there was a TV with some Mexican sports-channel. There were a couple of elderly locals playing pool at a table up-front. This place does get fairly crowded later at night and I noticed several pool-cue cases behind the bar so I guess some local hustlers, or hustler wannabes, show up as well.

I had a Pacifico and called it a day.

One quarter of the way through and 750 left to go.

Malecon Crawl

I headed back to the north side of town and picked up where I left off on the malecon the other day. I hit every bar that was open until I got to the end. There were a couple of places that don´t open until later in the evening so I will hit them another day.

242) Zoo

Most of the places along this stretch are newer, bigger places and this one is no exception. It is across from the malecon and has large windows offering a great view. This place tends to be jammed at night with people literally hanging out of the windows. It had a pretty decent crowd at 1:00 P.M. of what looked to be a lot of cruise ship people. I think the bars along here get a lot of them because they are the first big ones you hit on the way into town from where the ships dock.

This place has an animal motif, but more jungle than zoo. Wrap-around jungle murals with large sculptures of an elephant and a rhino charging out at you. There is a black panther in the back and a leopard above the door. The bar is a real nice tanish colored marble topped octogon with faded leopard-skin stools. It has fake elephant tusk lamps on the center service area and a nice glass or plastic wrap-around overhanging light. Tables and stools up front and large booths towards the back. Queen was on the sound system.

I had two Coronas because it was two for one, although they charge you about double the price for that one.

243) Club 69

A small marble bar with a brass rail but no stools. Carved mermaids on each end. This is a corner bar with large windows on both sides giving a very nice view of the malecon and the bay. You can see the cruise ships in the harbor. I see where the number of scheduled cruise ship arrivals is supposed to be 240 something this year up from 188 last year.

The place is kind of narrow but fairly deep with a DJ booth in the back room and 4 TVs behind it where, I would presume, they show music videos. Lots of little tables with chairs and stools and some plush sofas that were mostly in the back. Red stucco walls, blue hanging lights, and a friendly staff.

I had a gin and tonic.

244) Hard Rock Cafe

The newer, and better location. Better because being on the malecon they get a lot more foot traffic. They don´t take advantage of the view and from the back you cannot see outside. It is a great place to pop into to get out of the scenery.

They have a nice large bar and the place is packed with rock memorabilia. My favorites are the large number of posters from the 60s and 70s. They bring back a lot of what memory I have of that era.

I had a gin and tonic.

245) Paradise Burger

Kind of a cheesy name, but a decent enough place. Located on a corner, this is a second floor bar and restaurant with balconies on two sides that give a nice view of the malecon and the bay. Kind of a horseshoe shaped dark wood bar with about 14 stools. A raised stage in the corner for live music at night. Actually, all of the places except for Club 69 have small stages and have live music at night. There was a narrow ledge running around the place that displayed ceramic heads and other assorted knick-knacks, including some pink flamingos in the front. There was a nice ceramic hula dancer on the bar.

I had a Corona

246) Carlos O´Brien´s

This is Senor Frog´s sister bar and is furnished about the same. The only difference is that this one was fairly packed and everyone was hooting it up pretty good. A couple of Mexican break-dancers were putting on a show and were very good. Again, it looked like a big cruise ship crowd. You can tell by the colored wristbands that they all wear. It had a nice tin-topped bar and a large upstairs area.

I had a chlled Jaggermeister to keep with the theme of the place.

247) La Bodequita Del Medio

This was the last bar on the malecon, just about across from the fish market where you can buy fresh fish caught in the morning. The decor was white walls covered with graffiti and pictures of Cubans, none of which I recognized. The hanging lamps have shades that are covered with graffiti as well. There is a large upstairs area as well. They have a nice large, dark-wood bar. I met a couple of people from a cruise ship that were from Las Vegas so we chatted a bit. I have visited Las Vegas numerous times over the years so we talked about how much it has changed and is changing.

I had two rum and cokes because it was two for one. This place served them nicely, however. You got a big slug of rum over the ice-cubes in one glass and a big slug of rum with no ice in another. Then you got a bottle of coke. You can then mix you own, a double of you want or two singles. They will bring you more ice as you need it. A nice touch to the usual two-for-one affairs.

Finishing up my malecon crawl I took the local bus (4 pesos) back to the south side of town and headed home.

Tomorrow I will hit the quarter-way mark but for now I have 247 down and 753 left to go.

Another Slow Day

The friends that were here with me left yesterday so there was a lot of packing and saying good-bye. On top of that the wife is feeling poorly, a lot of flu-like something or another going around, so after they left I didn't much feel like going out and leaving her to suffer by herself. My feelings on that may change if she isn't better tonight, however.

241) El Pirata

This was the only bar I hit and it was kind of a wimp-out. It is located right across the street from our building, between us and the beach. It is primarily an outside eating area and the pirate ship shaped bar is primarily the service bar and small kitchen where they make tacos and hamburgers. There are, however, four or five bar-stools on the bay-side of the structure so I sat on one of them and had a beer. Any port in a storm. I had hoped to save this one for a rainy day but, seeing as how it hardly ever rains down here this time of year I used it up.

I had a Corona.

I hope to do better tomorrow, we shall see. Fewer distractions with my friends gone and the wife pretty much bed-ridden. Another friend coming in on Saturday, but he will be more of a partner-in-crime, I suspect.

Creeping ever closer to the, as yet, elusive quarter-way mark with 759 left to go.

Weak Start To The Week

A couple of buddies and I got off to an early start and headed to one of those canopy tours. It was really a lot of fun. After about a half-hour ride in the back of an open sided truck you reach your destination at a beutiful spot right by a nice little river. At least it is little this time of year, it gets much larger during the rainy season. The tour itself consists of climbing via pathways to launching platforms where you use pulleys to traverse gorges, forests, and the river on guidewires. There are 13 of these stations and the longest ride is about a quarter of a mile long. Great fun and I would highly recommend it. It is supposedly second best only to the canopy tour in Costa Rico.

239) Canopy Tour Bar

At the end of the tour you land, literally, at a little open air bar under a large palapa. It has a concrete floor, a few tables and chairs, a wood and rope railing, and a lovely view of the river. The top of the bar was a nice dark wood called parota. There were a half dozen leather padded barstools so it was a comfortable place to sit and have a drink well waiting for the trip back to town.

I had a couple of Pacificos

240) Pancho's Last Resort

Wandering a short ways was this place, also on the river and with great views. It had a green stone bar with wooden stools. There were a few tables for eating and they had neat metal chairs with ornate metal-work backs to them in the shape of cacti. Sitting on the bar were four terrariums. Three of them had large tarantulas and one had a very tiny snake. The manager of the place wondered over while I was having my drink and asked me if I liked spiders. He had taken the largest one, named Dr. Kervokian, out of its cage and had it in his hand. Spiders don't frighten me so he seemed a bit disappointed that I didn't jump when I saw it. The are native to the area and during mating season they wonder down from the mountains to the river and you can pick them up off of the highway. He said they live about 10 years in the wild and up to 15 years in captivity. Forget getting a cat, these are much easier to care for and just about as affectionate. Rounding out the menangerie, the guy that owns the Canopy Tour Bar came over with an eight-foot long Burmese Python named Monty draped around him.

I had a margarita and we caught the bus back to town.

Didn't do much in the afternoon except hang out and get ready for dinner. We went to a very nice place on the island called the River Cafe. It has a very large service-bar with three stools at one end so when I have a drink there I will certainly count it. There were five of us at dinner though so no room for us all. After dinner we went home for a gin and tonic and called it an early night. My friends are all leaving tomorrow so we may not be hitting many then either. Two of them have an 8:00 P.M. departure so I might hit a couple of them after they leave.

Closing in on a quarter of the way done, only 760 left to go.

A Good Sunday

I thought today might be rather slow, being Sunday and all, but it turned out to be not a bad day at all. I headed across the river to the north-side of town again and the first place that I stopped into was:

231) La Casa de los Omelets

The English translation for this is The Omelete House, but it sounds so much cooler in Spanish. It is actually a second story bar with a balcony on two sides. One side looks out on Calle Juarez and the malecon and bay, the other looks out on the "street" with the entrance, Calle Independencia. This street is actually a one-block long pedestrian walkway that ends at the entrance to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the large church in the center of town. The church tower is featured prominently in most postcards of Puerto Vallarta and in many of the paintings of the downtown area as well.

The bar itself is accessed by going up a winding wooden staircase. It is just a small bar with 4 stools. There are a couple of overhead fans to keep the place somewhat cool and a couple of blue globe lights on the wall. Hanging over the bar are three lamps with blue glass shades and two of the three lamps really had light-bulbs in them. The walls were white plaster with some exposed brick in patches.

I had a Corona.

232) La Gruta

This is another second story bar with an entrance on Calle Corona. You go up a winding cement staircase to get to this one. It is a fairly small place with a balcony on two sides, one of which overlooks the malecon and bay. It is right across the street from a sculpture named "The Ladder." The sculpture shows what could be a mother standing on the ground and two small children on the ladder looking out to sea, perhaps for their father who is out fishing. There is a rectangular bar with seating on three sides. The place has light yellow walls and a light blue ceiling and the tables have bright yellow and blue tablecloths. Soccer was on the television. Because the entrance is on the side-street one guy's job seems to be primarily to holler at the people passing below and offering "two for one beers, happy hour all day." This guy will also give you a discount on either a fishing trip or a day of golf if you agree to attend a timeshare presentation.

I had a Corona and did not get an offer of a second one for free.

233) Viejo Vallarta

Another bar on the second floor. These bars are older and are an interesting change from some of the larger, newer ones right on street level. I will be hitting some of those in a few days so you can read about them then. This place had a great view of the malecon and bay, as all of the bars on this stretch do, and is right across the street from a sculpture of a boy riding a seahorse. It is right by the old lighthouse and almost next-door to Mickey's No Name.

The bar had an ornate brick and stone front with a nice dark-wood top. The walls were finished in a dark-red wash with murals of the revolution and Zapata. There were a couple of old Jack Daniels posters on the wall by the pool table. On the beams of the ceiling were what I took to be revolutionary slogans in Spanish. There was a small raised stage so I assume this place could rock at night when the live music shows up. I felt strangely comfortable here.

I had a margarita.

234) Cantina de Vallarta

This place is on street level across from the malecon. It is also across the street and down a bit form Mickey's No Name. The place is plastered with old Mexican movie posters, old wrestling posters (I just love big men in tights and masks), bullfight posters and a lot of bull-fight programs. The ceiling is covered with large paintings of cards from some kind of game that I am unfamiliar with. The bartender said it was something like bingo, but he couldn't really explain it to me.

The place is kind of deep and narrow and the bar is all the way in the back. At the front are a couple of large windows looking out on the bay. In the front of the bar were a lot of those paper doily things hanging from the ceiling.

I had a margarita and, because it really was two for one here, I had a second as well.

235) La Gloria ye Infierno

I headed back across the river and not far from the Gigante supermarket is this small, cinder-block building on the corner of Constitucion and Francisco L. Mader. I looked all over but could not see a name and it didn't look like the kind of place I should be asking people. In fact, it didn't look like the kind of place I should be in. No overt hostility, but I certainly felt that I was somehow intruding.

An update. Although there is still no name visible the bartender at Machis Bar B. Q. (number 304) told me I should try a place called La Gloria ye Infierno on Constitucion. It turned out this was the place. I went in and showed the bartender the name the bartender had written down for me and he acknowledged that I was in the place. Mystery solved.

I had a Pacifico

236) Burros Bar

On the way back home I passed by this place and, ignoring the sign that says "Enter If You Dare," I entered. It is actually a pretty nice little place and has been around as long as I have been coming to Puerto Vallarta. The large papermache burro head that advertised the place has been removed though. It was kind of a classic photo-opportunity and I have many pictures of myself and friends standing by it.

The bar is a horseshoe shaped affair but most people choose to sit at the small tables right on the beach. The bar sits under a large palapa and there is not much in the way of decoration except for a few old license plates hanging on the wall of the small service bar.

I had a Corona.

At this point I headed home and got cleaned up for dinner. The place we ate didn't have a bar but I stopped at a couple on the way home with a buddy of mine.

237) La Pizza Nostra

This place, on Olas Altas has a few tables in front and a few more in the adjacent courtyard. It has pictures of the young Beatles and a young Elvis on the wall as well as a lot of photos of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Also a few Wizard of Oz posters and some covers of old pulp-fiction magazines. Two of the cover-stories that caught my eye were "The Flying Eyes" and "The Gods Hate Kansas." They sound like they would be good reads.

The bar is a small green cement affair and there is a pool table and a fooseball machine and not much else inside the place.

I had a Corona

238) Cafe Tizoc

Right next-door and in the same complex, I guess you would call it, is Cafe Tizoc. It is a small place with a small bar with a few stools. I honestly don't remember that much about it, but I suspect that is because there wasn't a great deal to distinquish it.

I had a Pacifico and headed home.