A San Sebastian Sunset

We enjoyed visiting San Sebastián del Oeste at the beginning of our trip and it made sense to split up the drive from Tapalpa again on our way back to Puerto Vallarta. We decided to splurge a bit and stay at the hotel with the restaurant that had the great view down the valley. 

It was a bit cloudy and hazy so we weren't expecting too much. 

And soon the clouds came closer and closer until we were completely enveloped in them.

And a short time after that, with our heads buried in our books, we suddenly looked up and saw this!

It just kept getting more impressive as the evening wore on.

This was the very lovely room that we splurged on. We had breakfast at the little table, again looking out over the valley.

Puerto Vallarta to Tapalpa

While our "Mexico 2020" trip is about escaping some of the cold Saskatchewan winter (let's be honest, right!!), it's also about getting to do a couple of our favourite sports -- paragliding and scuba diving. Our clothing for the trip could easily fit into a couple carry-ons but when you add in the gear it looks like we're staying all year!

By the time we got to our hotel in "Old Town" and settled in, it was almost supper time. We wandered the malecon (a must-do according to all the "what to do in Puerto Vallarta" articles) and found Teresa Bistro and Bar just a block away. Wednesday nights a trio plays excellent jazz music and the open patio on the 4th floor of the building was right up our alley.

We spent just two nights in PV, mainly to get a brief feel for what it was like and to figure out phone sim cards. We also managed a run along the malecon each morning and lots of other walking. We enjoyed the colourful murals, especially those at the Cultural Centre, the many unique statues along the malecon, and flowers, butterflies and iguanas as highlighted in Andrew's post.

The intricate top of this church steeple caught my eye. 

And the contrast between the old church steeples and the new communications tower beyond. 

We then rented an SUV and headed out of the city. Our first stop was San Sebastián del Oeste where we visited a coffee plantation and roastery, enjoyed a drink with a view down the valley, and had supper at Jardin Nebulosa where the food and drinks are very local (they were picking plants out of the garden to make our meal) and very unique.

There was a festival of some sort going on that included a band, parade, church bells and fireworks. However, it also included church bells and fireworks at 0500 in the morning!!

Travelling from San Sebastián to Tapalpa involved a great variety of terrain from flat farm/grassland to winding mountainous roads. And a variety of road conditions to match. We discovered that the best way to slow traffic in towns is to build cobblestone streets and cobblestone speed bumps. Thank goodness we rented an SUV!

After arriving in Tapalpa, we located our accommodation (I only had to back down one long alley where we took a wrong turn) and found a coffee shop with a lovely courtyard.

We'll stop here for at least a few days, hoping to do some paragliding.