We paid $111 US for this room, and the A/C doens't work. Pat is cooling off in front of the stocked refrigerator. Of course, you pay for anything you use. Pat found out today that her mom is not feeling well again, so she will be flying out of Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday. We'll leave here Wednesday morning, drive back to La Penita, get her stuff and take her to the airport in Puerto Vallarta for a late afternoon flight home. It's a bummer, but she feels like she needs to be there.

We walked by two full blocks of electronics stores, all with a unit of large speakers and amps. People really enjoy loud music in Mexico. These guys are experts for home or car systems. Just one of many shops.

This is on the side of Saint John do Dios Church. There are two ropes, one for ringing each bell. The new rope is for the big bell! This is modern technology!

The grilled onions found in most of the booths are delicious. I settle for a bowl of Pasole tonight, saving for some serious food tomorrow. Well, I threw in a few tacos too, but they don't count.

Inside the Zona do Comeda.

We passed several nice boot stores. Drool, Drool. These were all around $50 US Dollars.

You've never seen a food court like this. Dozens of booths, selling all kinds of food.

They are thaking the surface off this building and doikng something else to it. Huge project. Reminded me of Crazy Horse in South Dakota!

This is the bell that was ringing, preparing for an evening service.

The bell ringer at the Church of Saint John in one of the Plazas.

The corner of the Plaze do Mariachis. They stroll the Square daily, different groups, playing their music. There are several (like a LOT) of stores nearby that sell western style and the traditional clothing the musicians wear. Exotic boots around 50 bucks for the best. If I didn't have 9 pair at home already that I don't wear anymore, I'd be picking out another pair tomorrow!

Another Hard Rock Cafe. This one in Guadalajara.

This is our hotel in Guadalajara. Second in population only to Mexico City, this is a city of over 4 million people in the metro area. It's huge and busy, but it's kind of nice to see pavement and big stores again.

The town of Tequila has several processing plants for the different brands. We bought a 5 litre jar of some of the "good stuff". Preston bought a 5 litre barrel, but we don't know the quality of what was put in it .

They sold many different brands, prices, and quality.

Barrels from tiny up these 20 litre size were everywhere.

Acres and acres of Blue Aguve cactus. This is what Tequila is all about !

This is the only round structure in the whole area, maybe of all the sites in several states. It has an altar in the center. The crosses were built into this structure before the birth of Christ, so they have some Pagan meaning.

This lady was making our tortillas in the Kitchen of "Rosy's" Truck stop. We had ham and eggs, and some wonderful sauce, and all the tortillas we could eat...cost?......Less than a dollar total for all four of us. This is far away from tourist areas. The ladies couldn't speak a word of English, but we didn't have any problems commnicating.

We got there earyl, the crowd didn't show up until around 5 PM.

A picture of the arena. they had the bull fight ring sectioned off for the bull riding, clown entertainment, etc. This was early before the action started. It's ended up packed, with lots of colorful vendors selling everything from food to toys to flowers. Of course they sold tons of beer. Guys and Gals carried it around in 5 gallon buckets with ice, and sold it might fast.

This is the Altar inside the round structure, the one that is very unusual.

The ruins covered a lot of area. This was one of the ceremonial structures. There were 3 different places that had altars for sacrificing things...

Some artifacts in a ruins we visited today, on the way to Guadalajara.

A police bike. It's a Yamaha, don't know the size, maybe a 550. I had a route 66 once that was a 250, the engine looked about the same.

This trailer carried the dancing horse that was sort of the star of the Rodeo we attended. This is an old bull fighting ring.

Busses for the bands. They were VERY loud, and played non-stop, even through the bull riding and everything that went on.

Ladies with their dog, 3 chickens had just walked out of the house as we went by. They are enjoying a leisurly Sunday afternoon.

My first hamburger in over a month! Last one was at an AM/PM arco in California. This one was very tasty!

We were going through Los Varas on the way to a musical rodeo, and spotted this horse leaning against the wall. Funnny!

Sunday morning in Rincon de Guayabitos.

Although we're not Catholics, and don't understand Spanish that well, we decided to attend this church last Sunday. It was a nice service.

This lady was in the Plaza by the church we attended on Sunday.

The Swim up bar in the pool at the Guayabitos. This was pretty early in the morning, they weren�t even open. Sign says Happy Hour 3 to 5. You swim up, drink up, fall off the stool, and drown.

We all enjoyed out breakfast here. The waitress was a blonde European, but spoke some English. The food was excellent, Preston and I each had a Mega Omelet, they were stuffed with ham, bacon, cheese, onions, and other vegetables. Served with all the trimmings, as usual. The coffee was some of the best we�ve had down here. We�ll go back to this place.

The Hotel rooms at the Guayabitos. They are about the same price as the bungalows, but are smaller. The bungalows are on the other end of the pool.

The entry to the Hotel Guayabios. We had breakfast here this morning. We have decided that if we come here again, instead of a house for a month, we could rent what they call a �bungalow� in here. A suite for 4, nice kitchen, balcony with chairs and table outside, service every day, very clean and nice, for about what we paid for our house for a month. It would be quieter sleeping, they have dancing, (even lessons) Spanish lessons, music and other entertainment everyday, and a great food service. It�s only 2 blocks from the beach. The pool is sparkling clean and nice. We�ve looked at a lot of places, this one appeals to us the most so far. We love our house, but once may be enough, unless it was going to be for a real extended time. With the house, you have all the little problems you have here�.water, utilities, etc. plus the sweeping, upkeep, fast growing shrubs and plants, etc. We�re glad to be here, but ����..ready for something different.

Pat�s fruitplate breakfast. Served with fresh squeezed orange juice and a good Mexican bakery heavy toast. Not your average �wonderbread�. Both our breakfasts, including drinks, totaled a little over $6. Not bad!

Pat and Karen washed the extremely dirty van this morning. Pat didn�t want to waste the left over water, so she decided to scrub some of the tiles on our patio. Now, she wants a pressure washer to do the job right. We have a maid coming in for 4 hours this Monday, I have no idea what she will do!

One of the cutest dogs we�ve seen. He was happy to be riding in the back of this pickup. One of the very few healthy looking animals down here.

This was a very large Marichi band. They were VERY good. The singers they had were professionals I think. I have a few minutes of them on tape too, hope it turns out good.

These people were European, didn�t understand the language they were speaking. The only light skinned people on the beach, except us. I think they were French, but Karen didn�t think so, and she�s usually right.

These guys were GREAT! They had the best of a 40 ouncer of Mescal, and were having a little trouble standing up. They came to pick and sing, and were doing a fine job. They were very friendly, and wanted to share. We thought maybe it was best to just take a picture and offer encouragement to have their good time. Reminded me of other times

This is some shoring in a new constructions project. They do things a lot different down here, but they �get er done� one way or another.

A nice house in Chacala. We were going to say this was another entrance to our Casa, but didn�t think you�d believe it anyway

We went back to Chacala for a seafood lunch. It was just excellent. We got there about 1:30, too early for the fire pits to be going. So, this was done in a skillet. Delicious! By the time we left the pits were going in several of the restaurants. We plan on an evening out here soon to eat huge shrimp and watch the sun go down over �pirates harbor�.

Out near the parking lot where you can start up the trail, we found this �Bano�. No door, but there was some paper hanging from a palm branch. No ceiling either, but in an emergency, it would do the job.

We found 3 crosses similar to this one, this being the largest and easiest to see. We even saw one that looked something like a swastika. Since these were supposedly carved before Christ, it kind of shoots down the idea of Christian Crosses. When the Spanish came and saw these in various places, they came up with the idea that Saint Mathew came here to Evangelize the natives that lived here. Thus the crosses. The legend didn�t fly, but the story is still told. Too much history to get into it all here. There are many ancient cultures that use the cross symbol. Usual to do with the center and 4 directions or powers.

Last picture of the zillion of so that I took of the rock carvings. This one was deep and easy to see. There were a lot more than I expected to see. Since it�s very hard to find and get here, there are very few people that know about this place. We were fortunate to have heard about it from the lady that rented us the house. Up until this year, the road has been impassable with anything but a large 4 wheel drive rig of some kind. It�s still bad, but we make it in.

The other sacrificial altar we saw. This was a different kind, but the same idea.