Going over the menu for first night La Manzanilla

LA MANZANILLA, Jalisco, Mexico - Time is growing short, and already I am thinking about the first evening when Adm. Fox and I will arrive back in La Manzanilla, in December.

There will, of course, be the requisite walk along the beach to see sunset over the ocean, preceded by a sojourn about town with stops to see various amigos and check to see what is new - and what's gone.

And, of course, the most likely destination for dinner will be Palapa Joes restaurant.

LINK: Palapa Joes

Palapa Joes patrons watching the Obama inauguration last year

That first night back in town should also be a reunion with our amiga Laura from Canada (who will be teaching English in Arroyo Seco this spring) and friends from Hector, New York, Tina and Eric Hazlitt.

Laura arrives the same day as we do - Eric and Tina will be arrive a few days earlier and will likely have already discovered all the great places to eat, drink, and play.

What would be the ideal menu for me at Palapa Joes?

No need to ask.


Meatloaf supreme

Going through the photos from last season in Mexico

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - In preparation for our return to Mexico in December, the Admiral and I are going through our photos, sorting and deleting to make room for the next batch, sure to fill up the hard drives of the computers.

We ran across the scenes below.

You can almost smell the salt and feel the heat off the sand.

How many days until we leave?


At Playa Chica, the good surf beach


Surf's up at Playa Chica


Playa Grande - more houses, but safer swimming

Countdown grows short before return to Tenacatita Bay

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - The days are getting shorter here and the time really short before Adm. Fox and I will return to La Manzanilla and Arroyo Seco to resume real life.

Real life: Swimming, surfing, hiking on the beach, drinking Cuba Libres at Palapa Joes, breakfasts at Cafe Risa, riding the quad and motorcycle in Arroyo Seco, playing music for the Arroyo Seco kids and, and, and...

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The Bugle just learned that Cafe Risa is reopening for the season Sunday, Nov. 1. But will they deliver to Sacramento?)

Somewhere in all the things noted above, there might even be some news posted on this site this season. Too early to say for sure.

It all depends on those Cuba Libres. Too strong, no news. Too weak, no news. In-between, maybe news. Like Fox News (not!), we strive to be fair and balanced. And balancing can be damn tricky when Cuba Libres are involved.

One new development out on the Tenacatita ocean shore this season will be the opening of a small RV parking area on property owned by amigos Doug and Lynn from Canada.

They are already on their way down from the Great White North and will be doing landscaping in the next month or so.

Their mini-RV park is located on the ocean, about a quarter mile from the Aquarium and the all those great seafood joints on the bay.

Oh, add rollo de mar at Fiesta Mexicana to that list of real things above.

In the meantime, here is a photo of a sailboat that washed up on shore last May on the La Manzanilla Beach.

The Tencatita Bay Bugle photography spot news team was there to record it, fair and barely balancing at the time.


Boat washing up on shore at La Manzanilla


Sailboat's last cruise

Getting ready for another season of fiestas and rodeos

LA MANZANILLA, Jalisco, Mexico - As the countdown continues until we head back to Mexico, the calendar also is getting filled up with various dates of the fiestas, rodeos, religious holidays, state holidays and a whole series of other days that seem geared toward, well, fun.

Last year, living in La Manzanilla, it seemed like there was something going on all the time. Sometimes 24 hours a day.

And if the fiesta in La Manzanilla that weekend (or entire week) wasn't enough fun, well, all you had to do was drive a half-hour to nearby Rebalsito or Melaque or Barra de Navidad or Cihuatlan or ? and a party was happening.

The photos below are from the rodeo in La Manzanilla last winter.

What a happening that was.


Admiral takes pix of the rodeo parade


Horses in the parade


Making parade music

More photos from Arroyo Seco, Tenacatita and La Manzanilla

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - In going through files this week, a treasure trove of photos has surfaced.

One shows some surfer-dudes getting ready to hit the water in Arroyo Seco. That photo is truly historic as it was taken only a few days after we decided to buy the downtown Arroyo Seco lot for a combination conference center, safari camp and cantina. And the surfer dudes - who were hungry, thirsty and looking for lodging - validated our idea of what we wanted to build (and are building) in the village.

More on how it's developing will be posted in future blogs, or in the Captain's Blog. (The link is on the right of this posting.)

Another photo is of some swimmers at the beach at Boca de Iguanas, getting ready to brave an undertow that is supposed to be fierce.

The third shot was taken while a team of professional photographers was taking wedding photos on the beach at Tenacatita.

Talk about bringing back memories...


Surfer dudes with the Admiral Fox and son Dylan Fox (cowboy hat)


Watch out for that famous Boca undertow!


Taking wedding photos at Tenacatita Beach