Dia Cinco en Puerto Vallarta (part 2)

Day 5 continued...

So yes, sorry about the flash back in part one to our check in experience. It was worthy of making a two part entry don't you think?

Now dressed for the day and riding the elevator up to the 2nd floor thoughts wander onto the need for breakfast.

Chef Kori? Are you here?

Of course she is with a menu of Huevos Rancheros gourmet style and a pitcher of freshly blended mango and pineapple smoothie. Yummy!

Now this next part isn't usually on the activity list for the normal day of guests at Villa Balboa. Typically you'd be lounging by the pool, having massages, or getting ready for your wedding, or supermodel photo shoot or what have you... But we decided to go to market with Chef Kori.

She said she likes it when folks want to get out and see some real Mexico...Not that Villa Balboa isn't real, though we took turns pinching each other the entire time, its just that's not were average Mexican stay, not how they live, and Chef Kori, who is originally from California, was happy to be our guide to the city. We all piled into her Dodge Ram extended cab pick-up truck and off we went to market.

As we toured through the streets Kori told us stories about her life in Puerto Vallarta and how fabulous it is to live there and have the opportunity to work as a chef for some very cool people in some very cool places. Her only complaint was the local police, whom she said, "Want to take my big truck!"

The open air market was roughly the shape of a square with a courtyard in the middle and vendors wrapping around the inside and out. We first walked by fish vendors offering the morning's catch on ice. There was red snapper, mahi mahi, crabs, huge shrimp, octopus, and more. We would be back! Don't want to buy fish first, keep it on ice until the last minute.

In another corner of the market was the produce area where we found bins and bags of the usual fruit and veg suspects and many more, including the most fragrant fruit I have ever smelled. I don't remember the name but it was small and yellow with a pear like outer consistency and a scent so strong and so sharply sweet that it reminded me of smelling a starburst candy. So we had to get some! Along with some star fruit, Mexican plums, limes, a few types of squash, cilantro, several more things I cannot remember and cactus. When in Rome.

We bounced from shop to shop picking out the best items here and there, peeking at the fresh local food, a few oddities and watched a tortilla mill and bake machine in action. It was really really cool, but not for the faint hearted as there are butchers doing their dirty work live during your tour and sometimes you don't want to know the cow before you enjoy the fillet.

Back our Puerto Vallarta Villa life!

While I shot photos for a bit my companions enjoyed a dip in the pool and lounging in the sun. Kori made a fresh batch of margi's and fixed us a very light smoked mahi-mahi dish served on tostadas. It was really incredible.

Later in the afternoon Christian, set us up with a wine tasting featuring Mexican and South American fine wines. (Villa Balboa receives a wholesale discount with a wine distributor making a tasting that we would have easily paid $500 for, a modest $150. We tasted 4 different wines, and had 2 bottles of each kind, so that we could choose our favorite to have with dinner.

Presentation was superb, and Christian was a lovely and knowledgeable host.

The wine we chose for dinner was a Chardonnay from a boutique family owned winery in Baja, if I am remembering correctly... It was splendid sharing this moment with friends in a setting like this.

Thank you Christian! And thank you Kori for everything today! We finished dinner, the most amazing chili rellenos, enjoyed a mango Flan for dessert that was so jaw droopingly good it was hard to get our mouths to chew and finished our wine as the sun set of the edge of a golden sparkling sea.

Yeah...whatever you are imagining right now, reality was much better. You'll have to come stay to find out just how much.