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Starkweather Beer Company

 When I moved back to Madison to attend law school in 1987, we moved to a crappy little apartment near the banks of Starkweather Creek on the unfashionable east side.  Today, the east side is booming, and one of the newer brewpubs is called Starkweather Beer Company. It was Saint Pat's Day.  While Guinness is a decent light-bodied stout, I opted for Starkweather's dry Irish Stout, named "Jamestown Jackdaw." Coming in at 5.9 ABV, it had a malty chewable backbone.  It's a new favorite stout for me.  Julia had Late Winter Haze, a New England IPA that didn't have as much fruitiness as she likes in a hazy.  It was still well-executed. We walked down the street to the Harmony Bar, where Julia enjoyed a complete corn beef and cabbage dinner.  I opted for the Reuben sandwich.  Mine was washed down with an Edmund Fitzgerald porter from Great Lakes Brewing.  Julia enjoyed her Chaos Pattern IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing.  Both are great beers. Justin update:   After a long h

Puerto Vallarta: Hike to Las Animas, Part One

 From December 2021

We started our day by catching a bus in Zona Romantica at the corner of Calle Constitucion and Basilio Badillo in front of the OXXO convenience store.  The fare was ten pesos (about fifty cents), and the bus took us directly to the small town of Boca de Tomatlan about 30 minutes south of Puerto Vallarta.  There is no worrying about which stop to get off, because it's the last stop on the line. 


 

While this is a popular hike, hiking isn't as popular an activity in Mexico.  There were no signs or information booths at the start.  From our research, we knew to head downhill until we reached the town's small marina.

 

Boca has several restaurants and hotels and is a very laid back alternative to Puerto Vallarta. Many small water taxis leave from the marina for tours and transportation.

We continued following the bay until we were in the jungle and found a small footbridge.  No other hikers were in the area, and we weren't certain of the trail.  I knew we were on a footpath, but was it the right footpath to our destination?

View after our bridge crossing

We became less certain of the trail at this point, passing closely in front of people's small homes and stairwells.  Once we made it to the other side of the bay, the trail became more obvious, and there were a couple of gringo signs to keep us on the right path and away from private property.

Around this point, we ran into three other hikers, moving slowly but steadily.  One was a retired expat who was guiding two visiting friends. He hikes this trail weekly and told us to stay to the right and continue following the waterline, and we would be fine.  It was good advice. Vegetation was thick but also beautiful.


The trail goes by a number of secluded and not-so-secluded beaches.  After an hour of hiking, we made it to our first secluded beach.  But we weren't the only ones there for long.  There were many other beaches ahead.  So we kept going after a short stop.

Water taxi arriving with a small group

 


 To be continued.

Comments

MFH said…
This makes dispersed camping look like chopped liver!
John said…
This was a two week beach vacation; the other is a sustainable lifestyle. But you make a good point. No place is idyllic in all ways. When on vacation, especially with Julia, I rarely take pictures of social problems or eyesores. We saw some of that in Puerto Vallarta--sometimes in weird and contrasting situations. That post may not have any photos, but you've given me some important topics to touch upon before eventually moving on to the next trip out west.

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