We picked up our rental vehicle in Puerto Vallarta and headed out of town. We didn't plan to go too far the first day, just a few hours drive to San Sebastian del Oeste, one of the Pueblos Magicos. San Sebastian is obviously close enough to P.V. to get bus tours so there were quite a few tourists around during the day. But few of them stayed overnight, so it was quiet in the evening. Except "quiet" isn't the right word because there was a festival going on which meant lots of bells and fireworks from the church. We stayed at Hotel Mansion Real, a nicely renovated 300 year old house with just 8 rooms. It was right by the church and the main square, which was good until the church bells and fireworks started at 5am the next morning!
We arrived mid-afternoon and wandered around town. We found a small organic coffee farm (Cafetalera La Quinta) just on the edge of town.
And a bit further, Villa Nogal (6 rooms) with beautiful gardens and a great view from their restaurant patio. (Hacienda Matel, across the road, also looked very fancy.)
We decided to have a glass of wine and enjoy the view. Turkey vultures were soaring by. They are graceful fliers even if not the most attractive close up. Even an interesting presentation of the bill.
Along the same road, we passed Jardin Nebulosa (misty garden?), a fancy bar and restaurant. We stopped for coffee mostly so I could take photographs in the garden. They had orchids and bromeliads and heliconia and more. Even some coffee trees/bushes in the back.
And yes, obviously aimed at tourists. But at least it wasn't Senor Frogs. And they'd put a lot of effort into the garden atmosphere which I appreciated. They had their own farm and served a lot of unique dishes with local ingredients. (We came back for supper.)
Back at our hotel, a beautiful wall display of glass bowls:
The next morning as we were leaving, I found a large (about 3 inches long) bright green katydid on the side of the car. It was missing one back leg, but otherwise seemed in good shape. Nicely camouflaged to look like a leaf, but that didn't work so well on a white car.
See all 20 photos in this batch
We arrived mid-afternoon and wandered around town. We found a small organic coffee farm (Cafetalera La Quinta) just on the edge of town.
And a bit further, Villa Nogal (6 rooms) with beautiful gardens and a great view from their restaurant patio. (Hacienda Matel, across the road, also looked very fancy.)
We decided to have a glass of wine and enjoy the view. Turkey vultures were soaring by. They are graceful fliers even if not the most attractive close up. Even an interesting presentation of the bill.
Along the same road, we passed Jardin Nebulosa (misty garden?), a fancy bar and restaurant. We stopped for coffee mostly so I could take photographs in the garden. They had orchids and bromeliads and heliconia and more. Even some coffee trees/bushes in the back.
And yes, obviously aimed at tourists. But at least it wasn't Senor Frogs. And they'd put a lot of effort into the garden atmosphere which I appreciated. They had their own farm and served a lot of unique dishes with local ingredients. (We came back for supper.)
Back at our hotel, a beautiful wall display of glass bowls:
The next morning as we were leaving, I found a large (about 3 inches long) bright green katydid on the side of the car. It was missing one back leg, but otherwise seemed in good shape. Nicely camouflaged to look like a leaf, but that didn't work so well on a white car.
See all 20 photos in this batch
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