Puerto Vallarta Chamber Orchestra Concert

On Monday evening I decided to attend the annual Holiday Concert at the American School put on by the Puerto Vallarta Chamber Orchestra and Chorale.   Conducted by Donald Bieghler who many years of experience in conducting and teach music made the group come together for these events.  I have been looking for my classical symphonic 'fix' for a while now and took the opportunity to experience this group of volunteer musicians who perform only a couple of times per year in the area.   Made up of older full time and part time mostly expats they are from all walks of life but I think their common interest in playing classical music makes the group of about 30 musicians come together for these concerts at only 100 pesos per person.
The music ranged from classical holiday pieces by Bach to the usual classic American holiday songs such as "Deck the Halls", "O Holy Night", and "White Christmas".  The Chorale joined in a various songs and there were even a couple solos sung by their members.   A special treat was a medley of German Christmas songs sung by Kathy Overly and accompanied by a pair of recorders.
The show was entertaining mostly played by very talented musicians.  Sometimes the horn section was a little weak, but was quickly covered up by the rest of the group.   I would have loved to hear more classical music, but I understand that it was a holiday concert and all bases need to be covered.   I look forward to hearing them again in the Spring Concert!

Playa Tehuanmixtle

Another drive today south of Puerto Vallarta to the lovely town of El Tuito and beyond to the beaches of Cabo Corrientes had me going to the small fishing village of Tehuanmixtle.  Tehuanmixtle is located around the corner about 1 mile from Mayto Beach by keeping straight on the El Tuito to Mayto road and turning right down the steep road into the fishing village.   What makes this little village unique is that there are about 4 different restaurants to choose from and we decided to go to Cande's Place as the owner Candelano made a point of welcoming me to his village that he has been a part of for over 50 years!  He told us that his mother has been living here and had another restaurant down the beach a bit for over 120 years!
We were looking for some whole fresh Huachchinango (Red Snapper) and that is what we got!  Since the size of the fish were larger the server suggested we share one and I am glad we did!  That 2.2 kilo fish was huge and plenty for 3!  It was accompanied by pablano chile rice, salad, tortillas, and salsa.   It was wonderful and perfectly cooked with garlic and butter it just fell off the bone and we could not stop eating it!  After the wonderful lunch we moved over the beach side of the village and enjoyed some warming sun rays as it was a bit cool in the shade of the restaurant.
The village is very small on the steep down road and just provides a place to rest, enjoy lunch, and see some different views of the Cabo Corrientes area with miles and miles of beaches in the distant.  Tehuanmixtle is unique in that it is positioned in a very rocky area and has only a small beach, unlike Mayto and the other beaches around the area.
Located about 2 hours south of Puerto Vallarta this area is connected via a dirt road that is about 22 miles away from El Tuito.  The road continues to be improved and paved, but there is still plenty of dirt along the way.  The first 6.2 miles are paved, then dirt until a small town for 1 mile of paved, then back to dirt until you are about 4.5 miles away from Mayto, the road becomes paved again.   So plan on driving at least 1/2 the way on a dirt road that winds itself up and around the hills but steadily downhill to sea level.  El Tuito is at about 2000 feet of elevation, so you have to head back down to sea level.
Any good vehicle can make the drive, but take your time and do not rush.  There are some other small villages along the way and most have a place to stop and get a cold beverage.
It is easily a day trip but you have 4 hours total of driving back and forth.  Get out of PV and enjoy the other parts of Mexico, it is well worth the drive!

Car Legalization Part IV

LICENSE PLATES IN HAND!! We have finally come to the last chapter of my legalization process for my car here in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.   I did not receive the promised phone call  from Jalisco motor vehicle department, so after 2 weeks I returned and my paperwork was complete.  So now everything was ready for the next step which involved going to the Marina on an upcoming Wednesday for another VIN verification by the State of Jalisco.  It would be scheduled in about 10-14 days as these inspections are only completed on Wednesdays.  My date was given to me to report November 16, however, I already knew I was not going to be in town that day so I immediately asked for the following week.  No, that could not be changed now, only upon my return after the missed appointment date.
Back in town on November 17, so on November 18 went back and rescheduled the VIN verification appointment for November 30th at 8am.   After another 12 day wait, I reported at my scheduled time and I was about 15th in line as the line kept getting longer and longer.  I estimate that 90 people were told to report at the same time!  Now I am wondering how this is all going to happen with a day?
Of course the government officials do not show up till 830am and they begin the process of taking our prepared paper envelopes and asked where we had parked.  Most people like myself parked in the closest and free space, but no, we had to park around the corner in the Marina parking lot and pay.   So everyone moved their vehicles to the proper location.
After about 45 minutes everyone was told to go their vehicles and open the hoods and wait for the inspector to show up.  Within 15 minutes he did and verified the VIN by looking at the dashboard VIN and the one under the hood.  Close the hood and report back to the outdoor canopy area to receive your signed report.   Another 45 minutes later we are gathered together and told to pickup our envelopes and signed VIN verification report in the order that we were in line, so 15th was not too deep on the wait list.  We were also told we had 15 days to get the plates and do not rush over the Jalisco municipal building today to get your plates as it will take a long time.  Hooray!  I did not want to spend the rest of the day doing that as it was the end of the month, payday, and I knew it was be a long long wait!
Returned yesterday after the weekend and went back to the window I thought I needed to go back, but no I should just go to the cashier line.   After a short wait and about 30 minutes of typing info, going to back office twice to get approvals, I was done!!  Of course I had to pay some tax based upon the value of the car plus the license plates fee for a total of 6200 pesos.  I was not prepared to pay that much more, so luckily my debit card was acceptable; paid the fee and was handed the plates.  The plates also came with a registration card, registration sticker, and license plate sticker.  All of the stickers now means I have 4 different stickers on the car; federal import sticker, emissions sticker, registration sticker, and license plate number sticker that have to all go inside the car in various locations.
All told the process was expensive and not for the faint of heart, but I persevered and got it done after about 6 months of working the Mexican government system.  They did not beat me!!  The total cost including transportation costs to the border and all the fees federal and state would have to exceed  $2500 USD.  Below is a photo to prove to you I have them!!!!