La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Mexico

La Cruz, MX

As promised, here is the first entry of the revised blog. You’re going to notice a lot of significant changes.
– Each entry will cover a city, island, series of events or completely subjective period of time that I will use to tell you a more cohesive story all at once instead of single videos posted daily.
– Each entry will contain my notes integrated with videos and pictures as I begin to weave our disjointed adventures into a story, explain and give context to the videos and provide amusing commentary from time to time.
– Our new production schedule will be Mondays and Thursdays. Since the posts are going to have a lot more content, they will often be broken into two parts. I am covering a lot of stuff here!
Please continue to comment on the entries. The only way I know what you want to hear and see is by you telling me what you like and don’t like. Thanks for reading and watching!

Without further adieu, let me welcome you to the Banderas Bay…

…and you thought what Tiffany and I are doing is weird. Welcome to Sayulita, Mexico. Think of it as Santa Cruz, if Santa Cruz ever got to a temperature above completely frigid. To give you and idea of how far south we have managed to get ourselves, we are far enough towards the tropics for Tiffany to consider picking up water sports that are actually IN the water.

(Notice, Greg didn’t put any half naked videos of himself on this blog… No, just of me… ~ Tiffany)

It should be noted that I never saw Tiffany get in the water in the Bay Area…ever. We have sailed down to the Banderas bay, a large bay about half way down Mexico best known for its largest city: Puerto Vallarta. However, to say the Banderas Bay is PV would be like saying the Bay Area is San Francisco. (Ok, it would be like saying that to someone from San Jose, like me.) I spend most of my time well away from the big city and primarily in the outskirt cities of Sayulita and La Cruz. Sayulita is based around surfers and La Cruz is one of two major cruiser towns in the area.

La Cruz was our first real opportunity to stop, catch our breath and actually experience something of what it is like to live in Mexico. Needless to say, a lot goes on around here that has nothing to do with boats, sails, lines or waves. The first thing that struck me was not the difference between the poor and the rich in Mexico, what was so interesting was how very close both worlds exist next to one another.

Upon reflection, I have to say that Mexico is not unique in this particular regard. In my home town there was often no more than a freeway that separated a higher income area from a lower income district. Perhaps the extremes of wealth are more pronounced in Mexico but the theme is the same.

We also lived in the area for a few weeks and started really sampling the local food. This next video amazes me. I mean, I’m sure you’ve heard of and possibly even personally eaten “street tacos” but these people are way ahead of the power curve on the production and distribution of this fine culinary delicacy. I suppose relaxed health code laws can be helpful to some people and really, how often do you see a giant wheel of pork on a spit being roasted on the street? It is a sight that demands both reverence and a little personal introspection.

And where does all this pork and beef and assorted taco stuffing’s come from? Well from what I would like to think of as the “ultimate playing with your food experience”…

…which is naturally located in the dead center of downtown in the main city of the area. You know, right next to freaking Macys!?
I regret to report that my schedule and the bull fights never seemed to match up and know that a seed has been planted, a spark lit in my soul. I can only pray that little spark can meet some opportunity. I might look good in those bullfighter pants.

Continuing with our theme of foods south of the border, I encountered an interesting gastronomical dilemma and found myself shirking from the task. I ask, presented with the same dining opportunity, what would you do?

However, know that Mexico is not just questionable fish products, bullfights, street tacos and guys hiking around the countryside on 4 foot stilts. No my friends, not by a long shot. You see, Mexico has joined the community of nations in embracing the modern era and as always, it is to the little children we all look to bridge the gaps of language and culture that keep our peoples apart.

I do believe “Halo” is most assuredly guaranteed a place in the international lexicon.

-Greg