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[T_R_Oglodyte]

Cathedral at the zocalo in Tepic Nayarit Mexico

One of my favorite highlights from our first trip to Puerto Vallarta was a day trip that we took to Tepic. Looking at your pics, I wish we had taken time to go into the government building. I did post this photo of the zocalo and la Catedral de la Purísima Concepción de María from that trip some distance upthread:

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Waimea Canyon from the Canyon Trail near Waipo'o Falls:

 

[John Cummings]

Steve,

The pictures of the ceiling were not taken at the government building(s) traditionally located in the zocalo. It was taken at one of the government buildings on the main street downtown. Unfortunately I don't remember which building it was.

We rented a taxi and driver for all day ( 12 hours ). We went in a loop from the Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta up to Tepic and then back down along the coast. I have a lot more pictures of Tepic and the rest of Nayarit.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Steve,

The pictures of the ceiling were not taken at the government building(s) traditionally located in the zocalo. It was taken at one of the government buildings on the main street downtown. Unfortunately I don't remember which building it was.

We rented a taxi and driver for all day ( 12 hours ). We went in a loop from the Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta up to Tepic and then back down along the coast. I have a lot more pictures of Tepic and the rest of Nayarit.

I believe I know the building to which you are referring. If it's the same one I'm thinking of it's several blocks from the Zocalo and is a relatively modern and nondescript building that houses the Nayarit legislature and other principal state offices. I don't recall any government buildings at all that fronted on the zocalo.

We visited on a Saturday, which was quite interesting because that is market day. So there were throngs of people in the markets around the zocalo. Also many Huichol had booths set up in the zocalo. We bought some crafts from the Huichol while we were there. The prices weren't much less than the prices that the stores in Puerto Vallarta had posted for the items, but I'm sure the Huichol artists had to be making quite a bit more on our purchases than on the items that wind up in the galleries.

We very much enjoyed getting out of the tourist areas in PV and into more "normal" areas. It was also interesting to see the extent of large scale production agriculture in Nayarit. There were times when I could almost imagine I was in parts of the US, with the sizes of the farms, the crops being grown, and the modern and efficient farm equipment. In fact, I've seen many agricultural areas in the US that weren't nearly as modern and capitalized as the areas around Tepic and Compostela. I also felt perfectly safe walking around the neighborhoods near the zocalo in Tepic; much safer than in many areas around the Zona Romantica, p. ej.

 

[John Cummings]

I believe I know the building to which you are referring. If it's the same one I'm thinking of it's several blocks from the Zocalo and is a relatively modern and nondescript building that houses the Nayarit legislature and other principal state offices. I don't recall any government buildings at all that fronted on the zocalo.

We visited on a Saturday, which was quite interesting because that is market day. So there were throngs of people in the markets around the zocalo. Also many Huichol had booths set up in the zocalo. We bought some crafts from the Huichol while we were there. The prices weren't much less than the prices that the stores in Puerto Vallarta had posted for the items, but I'm sure the Huichol artists had to be making quite a bit more on our purchases than on the items that wind up in the galleries.

We very much enjoyed getting out of the tourist areas in PV and into more "normal" areas. It was also interesting to see the extent of large scale production agriculture in Nayarit. There were times when I could almost imagine I was in parts of the US, with the sizes of the farms, the crops being grown, and the modern and efficient farm equipment. In fact, I've seen many agricultural areas in the US that weren't nearly as modern and capitalized as the areas around Tepic and Compostela. I also felt perfectly safe walking around the neighborhoods near the zocalo in Tepic; much safer than in many areas around the Zona Romantica, p. ej.

The building was not very modern and was located directly across the street from a large public underground parking lot on the main street. I don't recall any specific govenment buildings at the zocalo. However, I assumed there was as the techinical definition of a zocalo is that it has a government building ( typically the Palacio Municipal ) and a cathedral around the plaza.

We toured the whole city of Tepic. What impressed us was that it was not at all Americanized like so many of the Mexican cities such as Puerto Vallarta and it was very clean. We were also impressed by all the agriculture in Nayarit. We were NOT impressed with the coastal areas such as San Blas, etc. on our drive back.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

We toured the whole city of Tepic. What impressed us was that it was not at all Americanized like so many of the Mexican cities such as Puerto Vallarta and it was very clean.

Although we didn't tour Tepic (or Nayarit, for that matter) as extensively as did you, from what I saw I would agree. With one exception - close to the zocalo is a modern department store. We went inside, and my wife commented that with the exception of the language on the signs, she could easily have been in the Macy's store at Bellevue Square, the most upscale large shopping mall in the Seattle area. They had almost identical merchandise displayed and arranged in almost exactly the same ways. Shoes, accessories, cosmetics, clothing, home furnishings, ...

Overall the store was probably about one-half the size of the Macy's here - more similar to the square footage that I've typically seen occupied by a J.C. Penney store in big city suburban US shopping mall. Translating pesos to dollars, the prices were only about 20% less than in our neck of the woods here in Seattle. And the place had lots shoppers that Saturday morning in April, the Saturday after Easter.

Other than language, the only thing different from the US was the presence of an armed guard at each entrance to the store. The guards were also quite alert and attentive all times we noticed, and looked closely at each person entering the store. During the ten or fifteen minutes we were inside the store I did see a guard intercept a couple of people who were entering the store and refuse them admittance.

******

One travel item I have set aside for the future is to spend more time in the portions of Nayarit around Tepic and in the areas of Jalisco north of Guadalajara.

I also want to do a visit to the Copper Canyon, and I've noticed that II has nightly inventory at a hotel that is located at one of the train stations in the upper reaches of the Copper Canyon area

 

[John Cummings]

Although we didn't tour Tepic (or Nayarit, for that matter) as extensively as did you, from what I saw I would agree. With one exception - close to the zocalo is a modern department store. We went inside, and my wife commented that with the exception of the language on the signs, she could easily have been in the Macy's store at Bellevue Square, the most upscale large shopping mall in the Seattle area. They had almost identical merchandise displayed and arranged in almost exactly the same ways. Shoes, accessories, cosmetics, clothing, home furnishings, ...

Overall the store was probably about one-half the size of the Macy's here - more similar to the square footage that I've typically seen occupied by a J.C. Penney store in big city suburban US shopping mall. Translating pesos to dollars, the prices were only about 20% less than in our neck of the woods here in Seattle. And the place had lots shoppers that Saturday morning in April, the Saturday after Easter.

Other than language, the only thing different from the US was the presence of an armed guard at each entrance to the store. The guards were also quite alert and attentive all times we noticed, and looked closely at each person entering the store. During the ten or fifteen minutes we were inside the store I did see a guard intercept a couple of people who were entering the store and refuse them admittance.

Steve,

Mexico has had department stores like Macy's for years and years. Dorian's for example is a Mexican department store chain that is much like Macy's. It is located in almost all cities in Mexico and has been around for many many years. Mexico has also had giant supermarkets like the US for many years. What I didn't see in Tepic was McDonald's, Burger King, Walmart, etc. that are now common in many Mexican cities. Prices are generally not cheap in Mexico anymore.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

What I didn't see in Tepic was McDonald's, Burger King, Walmart, etc. that are now common in many Mexican cities.

Yep - adds to the attractiveness of the towns, doesn't it. The presence of Señor Frog's or Squid Roe (or McD, BK, etc) certainly doesn't make a city more attractive to us.

I certainly don't need to tell you that when you go to a place like Tepic, where there aren't a lot of tourists, people react to you differently. When people realized we were just a couple of norteamericanos visiting their city, they were invariably gracious and helpful. The Huichol vendor we spoke with - who spoke English better than I speak Spanish, let alone Huichol - was quite fascinated that people from the US were wandering the zocalo and was very interested in asking us questions about who we were and why we were there.

I've bookmarked this page for future reference: Wandering through Nayarit

Incidentally, the City offices do front on the zocalo, al otro lado de la catedral.

When we were there I saw a pretty noticeable plume of smoke coming up in the area between the zocalo and cerro de la cruz. Being an air pollution guy, I wanted to check it out. It was a restaurant - Polla Bella. But judging from the size of the stack, they must also be serving chicken to more than restaurant at this site.

 

[John Cummings]

Yep - add to the attraction, doesn't it. Incidentally, the City offices do front on the zocalo, al otro lado de la catedral.

When we were there I saw a pretty noticeable plume of smoke coming up in the area between the zocalo and cerro de la cruz. Being an air pollution guy, I wanted to check it out. It was a restaurant - Polla Bella. But judging from the size of the stack, they must also be serving chicken to more than restaurant at this site.

That is a neat picture. Not to be picky but it is Pollo Bello not Polla Bella. Pollo is masculine.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Not to be picky but it is Pollo Bello not Polla Bella. Pollo is masculine.

¡que obvio! Muchas gracias.

And as you noted in your earlier comments, the city is so neat and clean. Notice that there is little trash or litter on the streets and sidewalks in the photo. Similar neighborhoods in US cities are filthy compared with Tepic.

And that wasn't true just of Tepic. The other towns in that area that we went through - Xalisco and Compostela - were far neater and cleaner than similar areas in the US.

 

[John Cummings]

And as you noted in your earlier comments, the city is so neat and clean. Notice that there is little trash or litter on the streets and sidewalks in the photo. Similar neighborhoods in US cities are filthy compared with Tepic.

And that wasn't true just of Tepic. The other towns in that area that we went through - Xalisco and Compostela - were just as clean.

I would not go as far as to say that US cities are filthy. San Diego is very clean and there are other US cities that are pretty clean. It is very clean where I live.

You would have changed your opinion if you went down the coast of Nayarit. Many of the towns were pretty dirty.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I would not go as far as to say that US cities are filthy. San Diego is very clean and there are other US cities that are pretty clean. It is very clean where I live.

You would have changed your opinion if you went down the coast of Nayarit. Many of the towns were pretty dirty.

You're right - I should have restricted it to some US cities. I was really thinking of areas such as the Yakima Valley in eastern Washington, which would be an agricultural area similar to the area around Tepic.

I also tried to restrict my comments to the upland locations, but I don't think I conveyed limitation well. I totally agree with you about the coastal towns.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Waimea Canyon from the top of Waipo'o Falls

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Kalalau Valley

At the Pu'u o Kila lookout (at the end of the paved road) the viewpoint was totally overcast, with no sign of any breaks in the clouds any time soon. So we decided to head back down. As we were driving past the other lookout, I figured we may as well pull in and see if the visibility was any better.

It was pretty cloudy at that lookout as well, but every now and then there would be some brief patches of sunshine. I caught this picture with the sunlight briefly catching the waterfall on the other side of the valley and the kukui trees following the streambed.

In this photo I tried to convey some of the dream-like atmosphere the valley takes on at those times. I applied an infra-red film effect to the photo, with no grain, a bit of flare, and moderate strength. I then placed a full color version of the photo on top of the infrared layer, but reduced the opacity of the layer greatly so that only a small amount of the color comes through.

I think the end result does a good job of capturing the atmosphere when the Kalalau is in one of its misty moods.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Na Pali

There are the cliffs adjacent Polihale.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Na Pali Cliffs - Alternate interpretation

A different view and darkroom interpretation of the cliffs. This is a four-layer tinted black and white (red filter) photo.

I believe this is the area near the 'Awa'awapuhi and Nualolo valleys. The dark area next to the spot in the lower left corner where the waves are crashing is one of the Na Pali sea caves - this one is the dry sea cave that arches over a beach and you can see a waterfall dropping to the beach on the other side of the cave.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Waimea Town

 

[John Cummings]

You're right - I should have restricted it to some US cities. I was really thinking of areas such as the Yakima Valley in eastern Washington, which would be an agricultural area similar to the area around Tepic.

I also tried to restrict my comments to the upland locations, but I don't think I conveyed limitation well. I totally agree with you about the coastal towns.

I am very familiar with the Yakima valley. I spent a lot of time when I was young at my aunt and uncles large farm by Ellensburg WA. I also had some good friends that lived in Toppenish WA that I visited from time to time when I lived in the Portland OR area.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Dundee Hills, Oregon

This is the heart of the Yamhill County Pinot Noir country. This photo was taken at the Winderlea Winery.

 

[Passepartout]

That Oregon wine country (centered on Yamhill, McMinnville area) is a true treasure in the rough. Becoming 'discovered', yet still with unpretentious pockets. We were there a couple of Portland Rose Festivals ago- participating in float decoration- then took a few days in a wonderful B&B outside Newburg. Like dumbkopfs, we flew there and had a rental car, so our 'carry home' capacity was limited. Won't make that mistake again.

Jim Ricks

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

That Oregon wine country (centered on Yamhill, McMinnville area) is a true treasure in the rough. Becoming 'discovered', yet still with unpretentious pockets. We were there a couple of Portland Rose Festivals ago- participating in float decoration- then took a few days in a wonderful B&B outside Newburg. Like dumbkopfs, we flew there and had a rental car, so our 'carry home' capacity was limited. Won't make that mistake again.

Jim Ricks

Jim - we had just left the Torii Mor winery. Winderlea was our next stop, and the only reason we stopped there was because the people at Torii Mor suggested it, commenting that the winemasters at both operations worked collaboratively with each other.

Understand that I am not that much of a wine connoisseur; I can generally tell the difference between a $5 bottle of wine and $15 bottle of wine. I can also tell when that $15 bottle of wine isn't any better than the $5 bottle, and when a $5 bottle is a great buy. But much above that price point and the differences are almost invariably lost on me. Yes I can detect differences in flavor, but to me they are just differences and not anything that makes one wine any significant amount more enjoyable.

While we were at Torii Mor their flight of wines for tasting including a variety of Pinots in a range of prices. My reactions as we went through the flight were pretty typical. They were all clearly an increment better than what we typically wind up with when we splurge on a $15 bottle, but in terms of overall enjoyment there really wasn't much difference for me among. There was one Pinot Noir that we tasted, however, that did stand out to me and caused me to remark to my wife that it was absolutely delightful; one of the most appealing wines I've ever tasted. We looked at the price and at $45 per bottle it certainly wasn't $45 worth of wonderful. But we did get a couple of bottles of $20 wine at Torii Mor that we enjoyed very much and that were clearly a cut above the stuff we get when we do our $15 bottle splurges. DD and SIL, who are more particular about wines than we are, also loved and while it was above their price point they agreed it was exceptional and opted to buy a bottle.

So I wander through woot.com one day last week and lo and behold wine.woot.com happens to featuring that very wine at 2 bottles for $45!!! Made for an easy woot. We stick it away and save it for special occasions, such as when we have family together at Christmas.

*****

Incidentally the wines at Winderlea were significantly more expensive than at Torii Mor and to my palate weren't nearly as enjoyable as the Torii Mor samples. I guess the Winderlea wines were the example of where my palate can only rarely discern why that wine is so spectacular compared with a decent $10 to $15 bottle.

Perhaps the folks at Torii Mor recommended Winderlea because they knew their product would stand up well in comparison.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Old Koloa Mill

 

[KristinB]

Wow, I've been away from this thread for too long (I always say that, don't I)... I continue to be blown away by the talent and creativity of the folks on these boards. I also keep finding new places I want to visit, darn it!

Since I'm so bad about doing the pic a day thing, I'm going to post my latest as a series. Here are some images from my latest trip, to Ogunquit, Maine...

Nobska Light, York:

My husband Kenny enjoying a sail on the Silver Lining, out of Perkins Cove:

View from the Ogunquit Museum of American Art:

View along the Marginal Way, Ogunquit:

Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth:

 

[caribbeansun]

Morraine Lake near Lake Louise, Alberta, early morning

http://www.license2chill.com/Images/post-dawn_morraine_lake_vertical_web.jpg

 

[Karen G]

Moraine Lake near Lake Louise, Alberta, early morning

Cool picture. The street I live on is Moraine Dr. so it's nice to see where
that name came from.

Kristin, Steve, and the others--your shots are great. Thanks for posting.