After a two-year hiatus, I finally play my return engagement at Buzzos.

Saturday, February 12, 2022

BUZZOS (pronounced Boo Zoes). Bucerias has a handful of stable, mainstay establishments that seem to survive year after year in the same building. These include some nice restaurants and a few bars. As I stated earlier, some places stick around, but they move to different locations, while many are merely one-year wonders.

The bars and restaurants that line the beach are especially notorious for lasting only one season. Not Buzzos. Buzzos Mariscos (seafood) & Bar on Playa Bucerias is one of those iconic beach bars that have remained anchored to the same spot for as long as I’ve been aware. Jeff has played there for several years. Whenever I come down, I like joining Jeff for a session at Buzzos. It feels like home.

Today was my return engagement. I was more nervous about it than I thought was possible. I needn’t be. Even though Jeff and I have only played one gig together in two years, it went off pretty well, with only a few hiccups. Many tunes went exceedingly well. It felt good. It felt right.

From Jeff picking me up at 12:45 pm to set up, to being dropped off after packing up at 7 pm, the day was completed. It was a near-perfect day.

Buzzos Mariscos and Bar logo. So, mariscos means “seafood”. Buzzos really doesn’t specialize in seafood. They serve the usual tacos, quesadillas, burritos, etc. I am sure that they serve up a couple of seafood items, but I think that being on the beach, they thought that they’d better put mariscos in their name.

Happy to be back.

All the music gear in the background is junk that Buzzos has collected over time. Jeff said that he has never seen it used. It just sits there.

The whole back wall of Buzzos is open to the ocean breeze.

Dave, the owner.

The infamous tequila barrel. The last time I played at Buzzos, we set up right next to the barrel. Dave, the owner, gave us shot glasses and we could dip into the barrel at will. And dip we did. With the stage moved to the front wall, we don’t have the same access. That is probably for the best.

The view from the stage.

Jeff’s friends and acquaintances came out to enjoy the show, the drinks, and the ocean breeze.

Buzzos beach tables.

Every year that we’ve come to Bucerias, this guy prances up and down the beach with his horses, selling rides to tourists.

Buzzos’ hard working kitchen.

While Wanda was waiting for us to set up, she walked around town and settled on a guacamole salad and margarita at Ocean’s Bar. The guacamole is ringed with tomato slices.

Super Bowl Sunday, February 13, 2022

Until we went out to La 20 Sports Bar to watch the Super Bowl around 5 pm, we lazed around the house catching up on bills, housekeeping chores, etc.

Bucerias is split into two worlds. The glitzier, vibrant touristy section is on the ocean side of Hwy 200, the main artery running through town. The other side of Hwy 200 is, for the most part, the grittier side, the side where the locals live, shop, and eat. La 20 Sports Bar is one of those back street clubs on the grittier side, but barely. It is just two or three doors away from Hwy 200.

Bucerias doesn’t have a lot of sports bars, so La 20 Sports Bar was going to be a popular place with Americans this evening. I was surprised with how many Canadians showed up at the La 20.

The downstairs was packed by the time we arrived at 5 pm. The upstairs was opened up and it had plenty of room. We parked ourselves upstairs. Jeff had talked up the food at La 20, so we ordered grilled shrimp quesadillas and a side of guacamole and chips. The quesadillas were delicious. We are getting hooked on grilled shrimp “anything”. The guacamole was a mountain of green divinity.

This was the first time that the Mexican Telemundo network broadcast the Super Bowl live. So, downstairs, all the flatscreens were set on the American broadcast - in English, of course. Upstairs, we got the Spanish Telemundo version. Both ran together, so we got Spanglish. Neither the English nor the Spanish broadcasts got the Super Bowl commercials. Instead, we got a plug for some soccer league that is expanding in Mexico, and the Pam and Tommy TV series on Hulu during every single commercial break. Since I wasn’t all that invested in the game, as I wasn’t rooting for either team, none of that goofiness bothered me. It only added to the Mexican charm.

Jeff, Teri, and two of the Road Trip band-members, Amy and DJ Doty, arrived in time for the halftime show. Going with old-geezer rap stars was controversial. If they wanted to appeal more to the youth, they might have dug up some more contemporary rappers. Still, I appreciated the dancing and the production on the whole. I did get a notification on my iPhone from LeBron James stating that he loved the show. I didn’t know I was in so tight with LeBron to get a personal notification. He must have heard of my celebrity status after opening up for Road Trip at Jax Bar.

Amy and DJ left after the 3rd quarter. Jeff decided to watch the rest of the game at home. He invited us over. So, we finished the game in English on a giant flatscreen sitting in the comfort of a plush sofa nursing a Pacifico. Overall, the game was entertaining and the company was fun. Still, no commercials. I’ll have to YouTube those later.

La 20 Sports Bar. At 5 pm, the downstairs was filled up.

We went upstairs where there was more room, however, the game was broadcast in Spanish upstairs.

Supper.

Jeff and Teri downstairs at La 20.

La 20 Sports Bar, usually a laid-back bar located away from the tourist section, is never this crowed. They had a great night. I hope it can cash in on the momentum from the Super Bowl.

Dentist Monday, February 14, 2022

Wanda started Valentine's Day in a dentist chair. For her, it was finishing up. She got all but one of her temporary crowns and a bridge replaced with her permanent teeth - just one more to go. They look great and she reports that they feel like originals. She gets her last one, her permanent implant on February 27. That’s it for her.

Since the dentist office is so close to Walmart, we usually pick up a couple of items. With so many trips to the dentist, we only need a few Walmart items each trip, making it easy to lug home.

About the only other thing that we accomplished was to pay the rent. Our landlady, Letty, has handed that job off to Alejandra, the lady in charge of Terralta 3, the gated community we are staying in. Terralta, as I previously mentioned, was built in three phases. Each phase is a subdivision with its own gated entry. Alejandra had a rental agreement and a receipt ready for us. We paid $2200 for 63 days or $35/day. I think that is a good price for a modern 3 bedroom home in a nice subdivision.

Tomorrow, my last day before my dental odyssey commences, we are planning an ambitious day of hiking and swimming in the jungle south of Puerto Vallarta. I am excited.

Walmart sells Italika branded ATVs and motorbikes at their Mezcales location near Dentoamerica. With a name like Italika, you’d think that it is an Italian manufacturer. It is 100% homegrown Mexican.

I love the the tortilla machine at Walmart. These ladies got a kick out of my fascination.

Like all bakeries in Mexico, using a large pizza pan and a pair of tongs, you pick out your items and go to the counter for them to bag and price. Most Mexican baked goods are not that great. Walmart is typical. So far, only La Comer has top-notch baked goods. Although, once Teri bought a spectacular birthday cake at a shop along Hwy 200.

The following are a few more random Bucerias photos as we walked the streets.

Not all restaurants are strictly up to code, however, this one serves the freshest chicken tacos in Bucerias (lol).

Dave and Wanda

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