Whaling…Modern day excitement

Puerto Vallarta, Jal., MX, Banderas Bay – Dolores has been wanting to take her neighborhood niño’s out into Banderas Bay to see the Humpback Whales. The Bay of Banderas has been important as a breeding and calving ground for the humpback whale north pacific population and the Humpback has been described as the most playful and majestic of all whales. During the winter months, Humpback Whales migrate to Banderas Bay to mate, calve, and play in our mild tropic waters. A local acquaintance’s son owns a well equipped 28 foot boat and soon negotiations were concluded to do a 3 hour whale watching trip in the south bay near Los Arcos and Mismaloya.

The niño’s had already gotten clearance from their respective families to join us on the excursion, and were instructed on what to bring for the trip – sunscreen, hats, towels, etc. Dolores had purchased water, chips/papas, and then made 11 peanut and jelly sandwiches that morning. We were scheduled to meet the boat and skipper at 9:50 AM at the Los Muertos Beach Pier. The skipper said his modus operandi was to arrive approximately one hour early.
Setting the alarm for early rising, we meet our niño’s and fellow whale “hunters” out in front of our condo at 9:15 AM. They were all eager to proceed, and were loaded with their goodies all concealed in various sized backpacks. They had all that Dolores had requested along with the inevitable cell phone (to be able to stay in touch with civilization). The pier is only 6 blocks away; however, due to other needs we loaded the car and parked it on Fca. Rodriguez, the street that leads to the pier, thereby, contributing to our early arrival of approximately 30 minutes. This allowed us to enjoy watching all the early morning activities along the Malecon and the fishing off the pier for the next hour – yes, our skipper had been delayed at the Marina due to the fact that the gas- barge attendant had overslept – Ah, Mexico.

Quickly loading ourselves and provisions into the beautifully maintained panga, we commenced the journey south to what we hoped would be a successful “hunt.” The morning couldn’t have been more perfect for the event. Dolores had made certain that lifejackets were available for all; however, the sky was bright blue and cloudless, the water was calm, the temperature approximately 78 degrees F and an hour later we noticed no one was wearing any jackets. Everyone had grabbed a favorite spot in the panga as we slowly proceeded south, enjoying the panorama of the Puerto Vallarta skyline, El Púlpito (the rock formation at the end of Playa de los Muertos that’s shaped like a pulpit), the beaches of Playa Los Amapas, Playa Conchas Chinas, and the Sierra Madre mountains as they marched down to meet the waters of the bay.

Arriving near the underwater park at Los Arcos (Las Peñas), located a short distance offshore from Mismaloya Beach we had our first sighting of a humpback whale, a rare sighting of a mama with her baby, both frolicking on the surface near the rock formations. We were able to watch for several moments after which mama and baby seemed to disappear. Also we motored pass a sea turtle, and got a glimpse of one manta ray. Suddenly many gulls descended on us to snatch at the potato chips the niño’s were consuming, several of the gulls brazen enough to grab the chips from many quickly outstretched hands.

The rock formations are very interesting up close. Each had local names, El Angel so named because there has not been any boating accidents when traversing its large tunnel, El Diablo, named after a lightning strike carved a figure that approximated the shape (with imagination) of the devil, El Tortuga because its profile looks like a sea turtle, etc. With the gulls escorting us we proceeded between the rock formations south towards the village of Boca de Tomatlan, a small town (10 miles south of Puerto Vallarta) located at the mouth of the Rio Tomatlan. It has an enticing beach and is sheltered by a narrow cove. In the past year they’ve built a new dock so that water taxis, panga’s, small boats of every type can depart/arrive from the north (PV) and depart south to Las Animas beach, and on to the coastal villages of Yelapa and Quimixto carrying passengers, foodstuffs, animals, and building materials.

Turning back at this point, Dolores handed out the P-B sandwiches which were consumed enthusiastically, by the adults, then we began the return to Puerto Vallarta, once again passing landmarks such as Chee Chee’s a large convention style facility once owned by Big Al Cardena (who passed away last year) and is now for sale by the Cardena’s family heirs, Le Kliffs restaurant (with reportedly the world’s biggest palapa, and Mismaloya Beach where “The Night of the Iguana” was filmed along with several other movies. As we arrived back to the Los Arcos rocks we commented on the large number of boats that had arrived after our earlier visit to scuba dive and snorkel. Then, just north of the Los Arcos rocks, a large humpback whale rolled in front of us. Immediately behind us mama and baby humpback appeared. Now the family was complete – mama papa, and baby. Several times they swam in circles around us, and then as if to complete a choreographed greeting, a small school of porpoises joined in. Talk about an excited crew of niño’s and adults. Approximately an hour later we disembarked at the Los Muertos Beach Pier and headed for the car. Half of the niño’s wanted to walk home while the others continued with us to the car. On arrival the “walking” group was waiting for the key to

our garage with silly grins and guffaw’s. Go figure!

*Note: Credit for the breaching whale picture: Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaengliae) Breaching Banderas Bay, January 2009 - Copyright © 2009 T.K. May

The Quinceaños

A few weeks ago we were told by our neighbor that we would be receiving an invitation to their daughters Quinceaños to be held the day after Christmas. Having heard of the Quinceaños; but knowing very little we began researching the internet and asking neighbors what it was all about. Little did I know that this was a major event in the life of a young girl?

The Quinceaños, or Quince años ("fifteen years" in English), in Latin America culture, is a coming of age ceremony held on a girl's (the Quinceañera) fifteenth birthday, comparable to a Sweet Sixteen celebration in the United States. Like many other coming-of-age ceremonies, the Quinceaños is associated with the Quinceañera "becoming a lady".

The Quince años ceremony came from French culture during the later part of the 1800s. In Mexico this period is comparable to the Victorian era in Anglo-speaking countries. The Mexican president, Porfirio Diaz, brought this celebration to Mexican culture due to his admiration of French culture. Quince años celebrated in the United States reflect the family's economic and social status, as do the society debutant celebrations in the States. The ceremony has become a means of preserving their culture as Latinos become more Americanized. Quince años are, today, a unique feature of Latino culture.

The invitation, beautiful and formally framed, was delivered a couple weeks later and included two tickets for the formal reception to be held at the Sheridan Hotel complex. We were invited both to the religious church ceremony and the reception. What an honor and thrill.

The celebrations religious portion is significance for Spanish-speaking Roman Catholics. It begins with a religious ceremony in which the Quinceañera affirms her faith. The people gathered at the church were stunned by her presence as she made her entrance, beautifully gowned, and preceded to her place in front of the altar. A local Mariachi group provided all the music during the ceremony. It is customary for the Quinceañera to receive gifts that are religious in nature, such as a cross or medal, a Bible, rosary, or scepter. The presentation of these gifts by her Padrinos and/or her family members, along with their blessing by the priest, often forms a part of the ceremony.

After the conclusion of the Roman Catholic religious ceremony, the reception was held at the Sheridan in a beautifully appointed banquet hall that could hold over 300 persons. The decor of this reception resembled that of a wedding. We arrived shortly after the church ceremonies, considerably ahead of most guests. We were immediately seated at our assigned table and served our choice of beverage, while we watched the other quests that began arriving over the course of the next hour and one-half.

The Quinceañera's court is typically composed of her padrinos (godparents) and the Chambelan, a young man who is her companion and date for the evening. In our case there were five young men sharing this role each wearing a white dinner jacket. The Chambelan typically has the first dance with the Quinceañera, a traditional ballroom "waltz". The Chambelan initiates the waltz by requesting a dance, to classical music, with the Quinceañera. This was followed by dances with her father, and then her godfather. After that the young lady and her white tuxedoed entourage entertained the guests by performing several well choreographed dances.

Following these initial presentation dances, the guests join the dance floor as well. Godparents play a significant role in the preparations for the Quinceaños, often handling arrangements for the party, church and celebration. The event is the culmination of the godparents' responsibility to oversee the religious upbringing of their goddaughter. Otherwise, it is customary for the Quinceañera’s parents to arrange the celebration.

We joined with approximately three hundred friends and family members. All were dressed in the best finery, many of the niño’s had on tuxedos. We enjoyed drinks and refreschas, a wonderful meal, then talked and danced until 5:00 AM to live music – not us but our friends told us about the lateness, even though we heard a few as they arrived safely home.

We continue to be thrilled and amazed by all the wonderful customs of our adopted country.

Closeout of the First Decade of 2000 Era…

The final days of the decade since Christmas of 2009 have been filled with friends, acquaintances, special celebrations, and parties for every reason. One special event was our first Quinceaños which I plan to delineate in my next Blog. While the peacefulness of the first day of 2010 is wonderful, Dolores is heading out to the marketplace to buy groceries for the next EOC cooking class this coming Tuesday. Additionally she has invited the local Niño’s in for hotdogs and the year’s first swim at 6:30 P.M.so tranquility is as always a short term happening. Also New Years day day was the return to the states of the owners of the condo above us – Rick and Tita. It’s been great to have them here and it’s always a sad feeling to see others needing go to back to the realities of everyday demands and pressures and depart from our piece of paradise. In other words – “mejor que nosotros”…LOL!

We were taken out to dinner to a new (to us) restaurant named “No Way Jose.” Discovered by our friends who live in the nearby Molina de Aqua condo complex, this marvelous establishment is just two short blocks from their place at 5 de Febrero #260 (at the corner of 5 de Febrero and Ignacio L. Vallarta). Lucky for us reservations had been made - the place was jamming. A table had been setup curbside more as a determent to cars from parking directly in front, so to cut the waiting time short, Julie, one of the owners, offered it to us. With the waiters bringing out the chairs and cushions within minutes we were seated and the drinks were flowing. Everyone ordered something different and from the conversations and expressions on all faces all the dinners were wonderfully prepared and presented. The cool breezes that flowed around us were in contrast to comments from other guests to the fact that we were so fortunate since the lack of cooling, due to the hi-density of people inside, was uncomfortable. The evening was topped by Alfredo “José’s” (the other owner) spectacular presentation of Spanish Coffee. Even the store immediately to the west turned off their lights to highlight the flaming presentation – and I didn’t bring the camera. Oh well, absolutely another trip!

For New Years Eve, we were invited by friends, Tony-Grace, to join them for dinner with others and enjoy the many firework celebrations that occur in Puerto Vallarta. We had drinks and dinner then enjoyed viewing approximately 12 major celebrations held by the local municipalities, resorts, and major hotels. It was a warm, pleasant evening, crystal clear weather, and a small breeze that kept us cool. Near midnight the bay had filled with boats of every size that came to watch the firework displays. This evening the waters were calm – not like last year when one boat actually sank (no injuries). The displays were spectacular and some of our young people saluted them back with some small hand-rockets.

After the displays and bidding farewells to our hosts for the wonderful dinner, drinks, and conversations we returned via the “back roads” to our condo. Our street was full of celebrants including all of our niño’s and the partying went on into the wee hours.

Que tengan un Año Nuevo lleno de alegria!