Instead of taking a 3-hour Mexican bus ride to San Blas for the night, Chris and I decided to join our upstairs neighbor, Luis Tellez, on a tour. He drove us through the mountains on Mascota Highway, which extended from Vallarta to Guadelajara. The one-lane road twisted and turned through the valley passing CATTLE EGRETS gathered around the cattle and TURKEY VULTURES and a COMMON BLACK HAWK (life bird) soaring in kettles above us.
TEQUILA DISTILLERY
We stopped at Parador San Sebastian, a small ranch that distilled tequila. Did you know that the Middle East was the first to use distillation? Thank you wikipedia. We walked through a small, charming adobe building that contained equipment to make tequila. We sipped mandarin tequila out of plastic cups, noted the beautiful agave plants (used for tequila), and hopped back into the jeep. A few minutes later, I saw a MEXICAN CROW (life bird)!
A “REAL” HACIENDA
Fifteen minutes later we arrived at Hacienda del Jalisco, which was a mining ranch built centuries ago. The main house was bright white with crimson trim and contained a museum of small artifacts including old documents, several interesting insects, and a boar skull. Apparently, the key feature to a “real” hacienda is the thick walls. We strolled into the courtyard where we saw two female dogs nibble the ticks off of a small male dog. The walls were lined with poinsettias and other plants that I was unable to identify correctly (I’m working on it!). The courtyard lead into an area with several deep trenches from the days when the ranch still function. BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS and BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS foraged together in a small foraging flock.
Beautiful flower with bugs in the garden
CAFÉ DE ALTURA
This was my favorite part of the day. We entered a small shade-grown coffee plantation filled with avocado, a citrus relative, coffee, AND BIRDS. The first bird I saw was a WHITE-THOATED ROBIN (life bird), which I squealed with delight. I looked past the robin and saw a FAN-TAILED WARBLER (life bird) foraging on a dead log near the ground. The warbler wagged its tail as it hopped around looking for insects. As I turned a corner of the trail, I saw the silhouette of flycatcher… a TUFTED FLYCATCHER (life bird)!!!!! He perched boldly on a small branch, occasionally darting off to catch a snack. I couldn’t believe it…
Other birds included: B-W warbler and B-G gnatcatcher
We sampled a honey-coated coffee bean and a sugar-coated nut, tipped the owners, and continued on our journey. We would have bought coffee, but we didn’t bring enough pesos. A note of advice: if you want to experience real Mexico, BRING ENOUGH PESOS! There are no ATMs nor does anyone take credit cards and I guarantee you will find something special to purchase.
SAN SEBASTIAN
We arrived in San Sebastian proper, built in the 16th century, shortly after and stopped for a bite to eat at Los Arrayanes. This was a charming eatery near the eastern part of town. We were the only customers and decided to sit on the terrace. Roses were centered on the white table cloth. Flowers lined the garden and two parrots squawked in their cage. San Sebastian is situated about 2000 km above sea level, and it was chilly. The waiter gave us each a navy blue, fleece blanket, which helped tremendously.
We drank agua fresca containing fresh squeezed oranges, seeds still floating at the top of the pitcher. After a delicious platter of chile rellano, enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos, and tosadas, we walked briefly around the town’s center admiring the architecture. The sun had set.
Our night ended back at the flat on Guadalupe Sanchez with a refreshing can of modelo.
Sarah! I just saw a nuthatch in the Maple tree in the front yard. Looked like he/she was finding something to eat in the bark. Frozen bugs?
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