Laguna Santa Maria

On one of our recent jaunts, we headed off to La Laguna de Santa María del Oro.

Laguna Santa María is a big, blue, unspoiled crater lake that’s tucked into an ancient volcanic caldera about 45 minutes south of Tepic and about a two hour drive from here.  The lake is surrounded by steep forested hills and mountains that rise about 300m above the lake.   

For people who live in Tepic or Guadalajara, this area provides a welcome escape from the cities.  And for those who vacation in busy Puerto Vallarta or Nuevo Vallarta, a day trip and/or an overnight stay at Laguna Santa María would be a pleasant change from the much visited beaches and huge tourist complexes.

After driving through the town of del Santa María Oro,

and before descending to the lake, there is a parking area where new visitors stop to marvel at the spectacular view of the beautiful lake below.  Here you are greeted by a few Huichol natives who travel from their remote villages in the mountain valleys to sell their handicrafts.

On the long narrow road down to the lake, we passed many trees that I call daffodil trees.  These trees were in full bloom and sported many brightly coloured yellow flowers. 

There are a couple of resorts at Laguna Santa María and many palapa restaurants along the shore.

An older, rustic resort and camp ground called Koala Nature Resort offers accommodation for about $50.00 per night.

And then there is the Santa María Resort which is owned by Tau Resorts.   Tau recently purchased the Santa María Resort from its previous owners and have done a spectacular job of renovating the buildings. 

Tau is also in the process of building a resort in Nuevo Vallarta and is planning a spectacular new multi-million dollar resort at Punta Raza, near us.

More and more prosperous Mexicans are enjoying the outdoors and want to spend time in nature but don’t want to give up their comforts of home.   The Santa Maria Resort has all the upscale amenities of a fine resort destination, and its extraordinary ambiance creates an oasis of rustic luxury amongst breathtaking natural beauty.   

Tau is also offering residential lots, near the resort, for those who want to build their dream home on or near the edge of the lake.

The rustic charm of Santa Maria’s lodge rooms and cottages remind me of some of the rustic, upscale resorts on the West Coast of Vancouver Island such as Long Beach Lodge or Middle Beach Lodge.   These pictures don't truly show just how beautiful the resort really is.

The extensive gardens of native and imported tropical plants at Santa Maria have matured beautifully over the years.  The resort now has one of the most lush and colourful landscapes I’ve seen anywhere in Mexico.  

A large infinity pool and gourmet restaurant hug the shoreline and offer spectacular views of the lake.

Because there are only nine lodge rooms and ten cottages, a quiet relaxing atmosphere is pretty well guaranteed.

Newly Finished Doors

 Recently we had several of the exterior doors around Casa Qué Sera refinished.

After eight years the front doors, and several doors along the walkway, had become damaged in many places by the constant light and heat from the sun.

Once again we lived in a state of disruption and mess for a couple of weeks while the doors were being sanded and restained, but the new finish on all the doors really looks great.

Our old doors look brand new again.

The Road to Punta Raza

Recently we took a drive along the new dirt road that’s been pushed through to Punta Raza.

Punta Raza is a gorgeous section of beach about ten minutes south of Guayabitos. This entire beach and many others, on either side of Guayabitos, have recently been purchased by the Mexican government.

The government has grandiose plans to build many large resorts, high-end hotels, and condos that will all come under the umbrella of Riviera Nayarit, an area that spans for miles on either side of us.

The new road to Punta Raza passes through farmers’ fields just this side of a little town called El Monteon.

Before we reached the beach, I got out and took a picture of a very large snake that was lying in the dust in the middle of the road. I sure wouldn’t want to come across this creature while walking my goats from one grazing spot to another.

We also came upon a flock of beautiful birds that were fishing in a shallow stream at the side of the road.

As you near the beach at Punta Raza, there are many spots where the views down over the fields are breathtaking.

And the end of the road, you are greeted with this magnificent sight.

 

You can really see why the Government is aggressively promoting the beaches along the state of Nayarit as the next big luxury resort destination in Mexico.

2007 - 2011

I was just looking back over my blogs and just before Christmas 2007, I wrote a blog titled “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth”, but I didn’t get them that year and it would be more than a year after my first surgery before I would finally get some teeth.

This means that I had my first surgery, which entailed taking bone from my hip and inserting it into the bones of my mouth and sinuses, in 2007 and it’s now 2011.  That's a long time!

In the meantime I had several more bouts of surgery.  The last surgery was about a week ago to remove the implant that’s given me trouble continually since it was first put in. I knew that removing the implant from the surrounding bone wouldn’t be a picnic, but it had to be done.

The last couple of days I’ve had a very painful mouth.  I’m sure that everything will eventually heal up and I’ll finally stop hurting, but for now I’m not having a lot of fun.  Bone surgery just plain hurts and I’m really tired of hurting!  

My bottom lip is numb, my gums & mouth in the affected area have been shredded, I have stitches everywhere and I feel like I have a giant toothache deep inside the bone.

Today I’m sad, tired, angry and feeling sorry for myself and just need to vent.

So there, I just vented.

Hopefully now I will feel a whole lot better.

I’m sure tomorrow will be a brighter day!

My Deadly Pencil Plants

My friend, Carla, has a potted Pencil Plant in her home back in Canada, but it isn't quite as tall or nearly as bushy as the plants I have growing out in my desert garden.

Pencil plants are sometimes grown as large house plants that can reach ceiling height when given a couple of years in a good size container. Plants usually have a narrowly upright form with branch tips that begin to droop as the plants gain size.


The unusual and exotic Pencil Plant is very easy to grow as long as it receives sufficient light. The plant is a mass of pencil thick shiny green stems which jut from the thicker main stems at every conceivable angle.


One of the common names for this Pencil Plant is Milkbush, a well deserved name. Like all members of the Euphorbia family, Milkbush produces the familiar white latex when the stem is cut, but I’ve never seen any other plants, from this family, produce the copious amounts of sap that Milkbush produces.


When I first began transplanting Pencil Plants from a neighbour’s yard to mine, I got splashed with sap in several places on my hands and arms.  Before long these areas got red and began to sting so I quickly washed away the sap.


Last year when our gardener, Carlos, was doing some trimming a bit of the plant’s sap get into his eyes.  We immediately rinsed his eyes with huge amounts of water, but he was in a great deal of pain for hours.


Symptoms of an adverse reaction can begin within an hour of exposure, starting with burning of the eyes, numbing of the lips, shortness of breath and an extreme case of the fidgets.   But a quick visit to the emergency room and a shot of antihistamine and recovery is almost instantaneous.


The poison found in pencil plants can create a classic case of anaphylactic shock, the same kind of problem people allergic to peanuts, soy products or dairy products experience.



To the majority of people, pencil plants present no serious risk, but I now treat the plant with a great deal of respect and I recommend that my friend, Carla, does the same.  In very rare cases sap from this plant can be deadly.  

Tlaquepaque

On our recent trip to Guadalajara, we stayed at a B & B in the lovely town of Tlaquepaque which is about 20 minutes from the centre of Guadalajara.

Years ago the village of Tlaquepaque was where Guadalajara's upper crust built their summer homes, places where they could escape the congestion of what was then considered to be a very busy city.

Today, Tlaquepaque seems like a natural extension of the city of Guadalajara and, although no longer a place where the locals go for a quick getaway, it is still a beautiful and relatively tranquil place to explore.

A number of old summer homes have been converted into shops which house a wide variety of crafts, from throughout Mexico, and restaurants that serve fine international cuisine.

The main street is closed to all but pedestrian traffic and is a good place to begin your visit. Here you will find silver from Taxco, rugs from Oaxaca, copper from Michoacan, hand blown glass, hand painted tiles, huichol clothing from Nayarit and pottery from the states of Guanajuato and Jalisco.

When lunch time rolls around, you will find a variety of outdoor and beautiful interior patio restaurants to choose from.

 

And if you just want a break, you can wander over to El Parian. It was bult in 1878 and is really a block square cantina that offers snacks, meals, cold drinks and mariachi music.










For just a few pesos you can have some of Jalisco’s finest mariachi musicians play and sing for you. Tlaquepaque claims to be the original home of the mariachis.