An Iguana, an Elephant Seal, and a Pelican Walked into a Bar… Run, the Bartender Screamed!

December 1, 2025November 29, 2025 / Curt Mekemson / 24 Comments

Today marks the beginning of a new/old series for us. It’s old in the sense that we have done a similar series in the past, but not for a long time. We are going to select a specific subject for each post. Today, for example, is on iguanas. Our next post will be on elephant seals, and the time after on pelicans. We chose these three to kick off the series because we find them wonderfully weird. They also represent reptiles, mammals and birds.

Given that we have 100,000 (plus or minus) photos in our photo library that we’ve gathered over 25 years of wandering the world, there will be no lack of subjects for future posts. We will, of course, continue to do posts on our ongoing adventures as they take place. As always, photos appearing on our blogs have been taken by either Peggy or me unless otherwise noted.

I am also going to do a new series titled Ut-Oh, which is how I pronounced uh-oh as a child. But more on that in the next few weeks.

Let’s imagine for a second that you look through a peephole in your door and see this eye staring back at you. I don’t know about you, but my reaction would be to follow the bartender’s advice and “Run!” Or at least bar the door with anything available! “Oh, Peggy, could you lend a shoulder here…” I’ve named the photo *The Eye of the Iguana* in honor of the classic 1964 movie, *The Night of the Iguana*, starring Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr. Like Burton’s iguana, ours was hanging out in Puerto Vallarta. As the peep hole scenario suggests, it wanted in. He wasn’t pounding on our door, however…

It was scratching loudly on our frosted window. Other than big and possibly scary, we didn’t have a clue what it was. I opened our door just far enough so I could see out— and close it immediately necessary. Just in case, you know.

Here’s what I saw: a huge male iguana. But what did it want? Had it come by demanding arugula? I took a photo from another angle and found the answer.

it was staring at its image. I don’t think he was thinking, “My, what an handsome guy you are.” It was more like “Who are you and what are you doing in my territory. Get out now!” He was obviously trying to get at his competition. Peggy came out and sat on our doorstep to watch him. “Hey, Curt,” she asked, “what if we leave our door open? Do you think he will come in?” That’s Peggy, for you. Okay…

“Hola, amigo. ¿Estás abrigando a un invasor?” (Hello friend. Are you harboring an invader?) I’d say it took him about three minutes to poke his head through the door and look around…..

And a few seconds to invite himself in. Check out those claws! No wonder his scratching was so loud. That’s his tail coming along behind. Like his smaller cousins (normal size lizards), he can detach it if something grabs it thinking about dinner, like a very large snake or puma.

He did a thorough search, pausing to look around. We kept our feet up off the floor.

And then sat down, as if he wanted to chat with us about where the other iguana went. Like was there a reason we had closed our bedroom door? Grin. Actually, the answer was yes. Can you imagine this fellow sleeping under your bed? Talk about childhood nightmares!

He truly was a handsome fellow. He wandered around for about 20 minutes and then, satisfied that he was still the biggest iguana in the neighborhood, went back outside.

These large representatives of the reptile class are herbivores and relatively peaceful. People even keep them as pets. It’s said that they enjoy being petted and eating arugula.

Two of their prominent characteristics are dewlaps and spines. Dewlaps are the large flap of skin hanging down from their chins. They are used for thermoregulation, communication, and courtship, i.e. gaining or losing heat, scaring off competition or predators, and attracting females— the larger the dewlap, the greater the attraction. Size matters. Females also have dewlaps, but they are smaller.

A couple of other interesting facts: One, they are great swimmers. They often jump from trees into water when a predator is after them. Two, they can jump from great heights without harm, up to 50 feet. It isn’t always a jump, however. When the temperature drops to 50° F or below, their bodies ‘freeze’ up and they come cashing down. Every once in a while when Florida suffers from a cold spell, headlines warn, “Watch out for falling iguanas.” They aren’t kidding.

A huge one fell out of a tree and landed about a foot away from our two-year-old daughter Tasha when she was sleeping outside in Panama. Needless to say, she was quickly moved.

We also found this much smaller green iguana running around in our yard gobbling down plants. There are some 35 different species of iguanas. Check out the tongue.

A closer look. The now missing plant is being swallowed. Is the iguana licking its chops? Yum.

There is a small, narrow island, La Isla del Rio Cuale, on the Cuale River that runs through the heart of Puerto Vallarta where iguanas like to hang out. Open air restaurants along the river provide a front row seat for watching them and the birds. Peggy and I always try to grab a seat right next to the river.

My grandson, Ethan, grabbed our camera and took this photo when he was 9. The iguana was on the ground checking us out.

Our grandsons Ethan and Cody having fun with the art in Puerto Vallarta, 2013.

Another iguana climbing down a tree. Their long claws are what enable them to climb. The also use them to slow their falls when jumping down, which can lead to injured toes like this guy displays on his right foot.

I’ll close with this youngster who was looking down at us from the roof.

Next up: Elephant seals. We found this big guy at Point Reyes National Seashore, California.

Imagination Plus Peyote… The Huichol of Puerto Vallarta

January 4, 2019January 4, 2019 / Curt Mekemson / 18 Comments

The shaman is a central figure in the Huichol culture. Capable of traveling between worlds with the aid of peyote, he brings important messages back to the members of his tribe.

Since Peggy and I first came to Puerto Vallarta years ago I have been fascinated with Huichol art and the Huichol people. Living in the Sierra Madre Mountains of the Occidental range, they have been able to combine their belief in numerous gods with art that is highly popular among tourists. For example, it’s unlikely that many Huichol have ever seen a moose, but when Peggy and I were going through shops along the Malecon, we came across this beauty featured below.

The moose is for the tourists, the designs found on the moose’s antlers and body reflect the Huichol gods. (This artwork was crammed in among hundreds of pieces so I used Photoshop to white out everything except the piece.)

A moose that Peggy and I found in Alaska.

The design on the right side of the Huichol antler is peyote, which is central to the Huichol religion. Each year, the members of the tribe undertake a 300 mile journey (usually on foot) to their sacred homeland to gather a year’s supply of the potent drug. The gatherer is expected to take a bite of the first plant he or she encounters. Maybe as a result, one of them saw a moose like the one I featured above. (grin)

Another example of an animal unlikely to be encountered by the Huichol. It looks a lot like the fellow I encountered at Busch Gardens.

The Huichol are quite familiar with the iguana…

One of the iguanas we photographed in Puerto Vallarta..

I am just as glad we didn’t encounter a jaguar. They still roam the mountains surrounding Puerto Vallarta.

The horse continues to be an important form of transportation for the Huichol, but with the coming of roads, trucks are becoming more common.

Cattle are raised by the Huichol. Here they have covered a skull with their beadwork.

Not quite sure what this animal is, I thought it was more dog-like than cat-like.

I am thinking a bit of acid-rock here, although peyote would probably work.

String paintings reflecting the gods are also quite popular among the Huichol.

And a blue painting to wrap up today’s post.

NEXT POST: I’ll be back to featuring rock sculptures found on the PCT in Mokelumne Wilderness.

There Be Monsters Out There… Puerto Vallarta’s Malecon

December 17, 2018December 15, 2018 / Curt Mekemson / 21 Comments

No doubt about it, monsters lurk along Puerto Vallarta’s Malecon. But they tend to be fun and weird rather than scary.

A walk down the Malecon is a walk down memory lane for Peggy and me. No trip to Puerto Vallarta would be complete without one, or two, or three. The ocean with its waves, and beach and sealife— like pelicans performing their insane dives— the attractive city backed up against the hills, and the art. Especially the art!

My next three posts will feature the work of the various artists starting today with the Roundabout of the Sea, a creative work by Alejandro Colunga from Guadalajara. It combines weird and fun at the same time. My kind of art. These photos have been taken on different trips at various times of the day.

Take this octopus, for example. It hangs up in the air on a high pedestal and stares down at passing folks.

And finally at night with out iPhone (having lost my camera).

Each of the pieces in the Roundabout is designed as a chair to allow people walking along the Malecon a chance to sit down and rest, or, more likely, have their photos taken.

Picture yourself leaning back here. (grin) Other chairs can be seen in the background. I call this piece Miss Golden Orbs. (Not sure how the artist would relate to the names I have created.)

Here is chair connected to Senior Long Snout. He is also featured at the top of the post.

Bugle Nose’s chair with the Bay of Bandaras in the background.

Couldn’t come up with a name for this fellow…

Finally, leaving the Roundabout wouldn’t be right without noticing the interesting feet these characters have.

NEXT POST: We continue our walk down the Malecon.

The Day of the Dead Ladies of Puerto Vallarta

December 12, 2018December 11, 2018 / Curt Mekemson / 32 Comments

As I went through my photos for today’s post, I noticed that almost all of the human size sculptures were women. I wonder why?

The Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos, is a seriously fun holiday in Puerto Vallarta and throughout Mexico where the dearly departed are celebrated with hopes that the celebration will help them on their journey. People dress up in dead-people skeleton costumes, altars are established, and special foods are prepared. Gaily decorated skulls and skeletons are everywhere. Peggy and I have yet to be in Mexico when the event takes place (which is at the end of October/beginning of November), but the skulls and skeletons are still around, lots of them.

The skulls seem to represent both sexes equally, although this one seems to have a feminine cast to it. The gold teeth made me think of the dentist’s chair, a place I am all too familiar with. Ouch!

Of the life-size sculptures, I photographed, I could only find one man. This led me to speculate, naturally, as to why. I don’t think there is a reason particular to the holiday. About an equal number of men and women die, right. So is it that the girls dress up prettier, or that their eyes are more beautiful, or is it some other attribute, like the colorful bosom of the top photo.

Obviously, clothing is important, and you can do so much more with hats!

And certainly this woman with her red flowers and curls is well-dressed.

The hat and the boas lit up the lady from an earlier year. But what’s with the dead roses?

And here. Same girl dressed up differently it would seem.

Remember the Red Hat Ladies. How about a long necked Red Hat Lady?

This gal had something to say. But I am not sure you would want to hear it.

Here was my only large guy sculpture. I had to go back in time to find it.

Smaller sculptures are found in the shops, often representing Huichol art.

Another example but probably not Huichol art since it is lacking in Huichol symbolism. (More on this in a later post.)

Peggy and I were walking down one of Puerto Vallarta’s road and came on this lady walking her dog.

And then there was this tile of a man out walking his dog— a dog that has a mission on its mind. Humor is an important part of the Day of the Dead.

And a lady on a dish. Once again, the hat is an important item of clothing.

And are creatively decorated, with clouds, for example.

You could have your kitchen decorated with Day of the Dead tiles. Maybe even peace symbols.

I conclude my Day of the Dead collection with this fellow. Just possibly, he had imbibed a little too much Huichol peyote!

NEXT POST: I am back on the PCT making my way between Carson Pass and Sonora Pass.

The Corsica Galeria de Art, the Galerie des Artistes, and the Cafe des Artistes… Puerto Vallarta

December 10, 2018 / Curt Mekemson / 27 Comments

The Puerto Vallarta Art scene is extensive ranging from public art to private galleries and extensive crafts. I found this delightful sculpture at the Corsica Galeria de Art. This fellow looked like he was commenting on my failure to check on whether the Cafe des Artistes was open for lunch.

Peggy and I were in search of a good place to take her sister Jane and brother-in-law Jim to lunch when they joined us in Puerto Vallarta. Both are quite talented cooks, a fact we have benefited from many times. Since we had fond memories of the Cafe des Artistes, it was at the top of our list. Unfortunately, as we discovered when we arrived, it was closed for lunch. (Whoops.) There was no danger of starving to death, however. Restaurants are rarely farther than a block away in downtown PV. More to the point, we found a couple of top art galleries located right next door: The Corsica Galeria de Art and the Galerie des Artistes. I remembered both from earlier visits. Both galleries welcomed us and told me to take all of the photos I wanted. They were quite open to my blogging about them. Publicity is publicity, right. I’ll start with the art I found at the Corsica Galeria de Art .

These Mexican Chihuahuas caught my attention immediately.

I was reminded of these two cuties we found on Puerto Vallarta’s Isla Cuale a few years ago. It appears that the light brown fellow was getting an earful! Maybe he forgot to take the garbage out. Obviously, he cares. Grin. (Actually, he was about to get his ear bitten. Teach him.)

The gallery featured several other colorful dogs in three dimension. I’m thinking boxer, here.

This one reminded me of a cocker spaniel from my youth.

The obvious companion to the sculpture I opened the post with. The shadow seemed a little sinister to me, like an evil twin sister. And what’s with the sort of scorpion, sort of cat, sort of person on her hand?

This was one of Peggy’s favorites in the way the eyes, mouth, teeth and tongue stood out, becoming almost real in comparison to the rest of the painting.

Peggy also was drawn to this hat with its many feathers. I found it almost surrealistic in its intensity.

Are you a person who finds clowns scary? The little girl with her balloon didn’t. The triple chins suggest a bit too much fast food!

I liked the colorful bull although the eyes suggest it could have been a member of the devil’s herd in “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” (One of my favorite songs when I was growing up.)

Remember Senior Fish Head from my post on the Furniture Mart. This fellow seems to have a similar problem with fish on the brain.

I’ll close my section on the Corsica with this sculpture. I found it quite unique. You can learn more about the gallery and its artists by visiting its website: Corsica Galeria de Art

The Galerie des Artistes was immediately down the hill from the Corsica and had a decidedly different feel to it.

I felt that this fellow could have been found hanging out in the woods of ancient Greece.

One artist used hot air balloons to connect his paintings. Here the balloon is offering cherries to the bear. Knowing what I know about bears, it is about to gobble them down.

This giraffe is either coming out of or morphed into a city, giving a new meaning to the term skyscraper.

Alligator with companions on a unicycle? I’ll bet the artist has some very creative dreams. What would Freud say…

Mixed medium skull. I’m starting to think Day of the Dead. (Next post)

I am not sure whether cat woman is facing forward or backward, but she was colorful. Note the extra pair of arms. I blew this photo up and found bears, owls and rabbits staring back at me. But as you know, I have an active imagination and I am pretty sure that the artist was okay with me seeing whatever I wanted to see.

More eyes staring at me. Is that a come-hither pose? Or is it Blake Shelton saying ‘choose me’ on Voice..

And finally, i was quite taken with this collage of floral images. I couldn’t find a website for Galerie des Artistes but apparently the gallery is on Facebook.

That’s it for the galleries, but it is not the end of the story. Peggy and I weren’t finished with our desire to revisit the Cafe des Artistes. So we made reservations and went there for our 28th Anniversary dinner. The ambience was superb, the waiters great, and the food delicious. Each year, Puerto Vallarta has a celebration featuring world-famous chefs and we ended up with one of the top chefs from Mexico City. It was a close to a perfect evening. We had to rely on our iPhone for photos. I had previously left my camera behind in a taxi and we weren’t able to recover it. The phone didn’t do well with capturing colors in the dim light, however, so I have rendered these photos in black and white.

We were greeted with a free drink. Cheers!

A free hors d’ouvre arrived at our table next. There were also rose petals scattered on the tablecloth. .

I had short ribs in a delicious mole sauce and Peggy had an out of this world duck leg that melted in her mouth.

We couldn’t believe it when our dessert arrived on a large mirror platter complete with Happy Anniversary in chocolate surrounded by small dollops of raspberry sauce. A candle lit things up and a large spun sugar heart provided the backdrop! And no, I wasn’t a two-fisted drinker. We had moved Peggy’s glass of wine for the photo. Needless to say, the waiters were well-tipped!

NEXT POST: It’s time for the Day of the Dead. We missed it by a few days, but there were plenty of sculptures and crafts around to remind us of the event. Get ready for some bone-rattling fun.

The Chalk Art and Murals of Puerto Vallarta 2018

December 6, 2018December 5, 2018 / Curt Mekemson / 20 Comments

Chalk art from the 2018 Madonnari Festival in Puerto Vallarta featuring a shaman and his spirit animal.

Half the fun of travel is coming upon the unexpected. Peggy and I were walking across Puerto Vallarta’s main square when we came across a number of people creating chalk art. We had happened upon the annual Madonnari Art Festival that the town shares with its sister city of Santa Barbara, California. Category competition ranged from children to adults. Here are a few of the highlights.

This was the young woman who was working on the shaman featured above.

Young people were working under colorful umbrellas to finish their work.

A pregnant woman provided quite a contrast.

Not sure you would want this guy around your baby!

I liked the colorful flowers this young woman wore.

A close up. Peggy and I visited the area a few days later to take more photos. Time was beginning to impact the chalk art, reflecting its impermanence.

Another artist worked on his masterpiece. I admired the young boy’s look of surprise or wonder..

And finally, never trust a smiling shark.

Mural art shares a lot with chalk art, both in terms of its limited time frame and spontaneity. Peggy and I revisited a number of the murals we had seen in past visits to Puerto Vallarta plus discovered some new ones.

I decided it would be fun to render the mural in black and white. I liked the results. I believe the symbolism represents Huichol art, which I will be doing a post on.

An interesting decoration for a woman’s restroom. Just how bad do you have to go to face up to a devil fish and devils?

Senior Iguana plays a banjo while an excited frog jumps out of the lake.

We found a couple of black and white murals.

This one reminded me of the popular books where you fill in the colors.

Shaman woman rising out of a lake, possibly working a little magic on you.

I’ll conclude today with this native woman who is holding a fawn.

NEXT POST: I head south on the PCT from Carson Pass, which is named after the explorer Kit Carson, who happened to be caught in a snow storm starving on his first trip across the pass. He reported that dog and dried peas made a tasty treat. I don’t know if I would trust the word of a starving man, however.

A Wonderful, Whacky Pelican… Puerto Vallarta

December 4, 2018December 3, 2018 / Curt Mekemson / 27 Comments

I’ve spent a lot of time watching and photographing pelicans. Their committee-put-together look makes them a favorite of mine. But I have never seen one do this. It delighted me. I think it was trying to scare up a fish. The majority of brown pelicans make their living by diving from the air for dinner. This fellow may have been a bit young and small for the big time.

The Rio Cuale sits in the heart of Puerto Vallarta. It’s a delightful place with a long island in the middle (Isla Cuale) that includes good restaurants, fun shops, and some very interesting art. The island got its start in the 1960s as an airstrip for rich Hollywood types such as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and John Huston.

My favorite thing about the Rio Cuale, however, is the rich wildlife it supports including a variety of water birds and giant iguanas. Bird life includes pelicans, cormorants, herons, egrets and more. On my recent visit I was particularly taken by the young fellow featured above and a snowy egret.

Here is the young brown pelican behaving more or less like I am used to seeing brown pelicans behave.

I am not sure what the youngster is up to here. Scratching an itch? Spreading oil?

Its action here is clear. It’s preening. The pelican and other water fowl have an oil gland near their tail that they use for oiling their body to make feathers more waterproof.

Here it is again, apparently trying to scare up another fish.

And a final shot of our young friend. We speculated that maybe it was a little young for the normal brown pelican approach to fishing.

A few hundred feet away, brown pelicans were fishing in the more traditional way.

I caught this orgy of Pelican fishing in Puerto Vallarta in 2016. The insane dive on the right is one of the things I love about pelicans.

I must say that this snowy egret on the Rio Cuale provided a great photo-op as well.

Here’s the snowy egret in a more traditional pose.

The River Cafe is a short way up the Isla Cuale from where we found the pelican and the snowy egret. We like it for its tasty, well-presented food. But we also like it because you can almost always find iguanas hanging out in the trees and on the ground next to the river. This year we spotted a very green one…

It was so green, it almost disappeared among the leaves. The large flap of skin hanging down from the iguana’s chin is called a dewlap. No self-respecting Iguana would be without one. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

We’ve had numerous encounters with iguanas over the years in Puerto Vallarta. But none matched the time when one came to visit us in our villa. I did a post on our welcome visitor, but just for fun, I decided to put up a few photos on him again.

It all started out with a stranger staring in our window at us. Naturally we had to see who had come to visit.

Outside, we found this large iguana staring at his reflection in the window. There were two possibilities: One he had found the love of his life. Or, two, he had discovered a large rival impinging on his territory. Iguanas can be quite territorial.

On closer inspection, our visitor appeared to be quite handsome. I imagine he was a heart throb.

His claws appeared a bit on the scary side. I, for one, wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.

I looked him in the eye, wondering what a lady iguana would see in him. I call this photo The Eye of the Iguana after the Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr movie “The Night of the Iguana.” The movie, directed by John Huston, was filmed in Puerto Vallarta giving the then small fishing village a kickstart to becoming a mega-tourist attraction.

Of course we had to invite Senior Iguana in for a visit. His tail is still outside. He was a big fellow.

He wandered around looking for his love/rival and then finally settled down on the floor like a dog. I couldn’t help but think he would make a great burglar deterrent! After a while, he stood up, checked our villa one more time and then wandered back outside. Next post I will feature a chalk art festival and several murals in Puerto Vallarta. After that, it’s hitting the PCT again, hiking south from Carson Pass.

Weird Things— and Unique Furniture… The Furniture Mart Of Puerto Vallarta

November 28, 2018 / Curt Mekemson / 37 Comments

I promised some weird things I found at the Furniture Mart in Puerto Vallarta. I think this guy qualifies. Maybe his weirdness goes along with having fake, orangish hair. (grin)

Peggy and I have now returned from our trip to Puerto Vallarta. It’s always a good source for blog material. Today, I am going to wrap up our visit to the Furniture Mart, which was right across the street from our hotel. Later I will have several more blogs on PV’s burgeoning art scene as well as get back to a couple of my favorite animals: pelicans and iguanas. I was amused by both the weird things and unique furniture at the Mart. Enjoy. (Note: Some of these photos came from an earlier visit in 2015.)

Do you think that the Furniture Mart could have hung more things on its walls? And do you find the bony fish as amusing as I did?

Speaking of fish, I suspect these gave this guy a horrendous headache. I’m pretty sure there is a myth here, but I don’t know it.

Here’s a front view of the fellow I introduced at the top of the post. He’s still scary.

Not so scary, but still not someone you would want to meet on a dark night. Check out the eyes. The teeth remind me of piranha that Peggy and I caught on the Amazon River— and ate.

I found these masks more intriguing than frightening. The blood shot eyes suggest a long night of partying.

I think that this is a Mayan warrior. There were several life-size sculptures like this scattered throughout the store. Is he holding a monkey or a baby?

Senior Metal Head had wild hair and a wiry mustache.

But his eyebrows and beard were no match for Senior Rope Hair.

As one might imagine, you can find a lot of furniture in a Furniture Mart. This 20 foot table cut from a single log is an example. It appears that the two frogs were impressed.

I decided that a large mirror would serve for a selfie. I look appropriately small.

How about carved wild horses for a table and chairs?

This table was made by cutting through roots of a large tree root. It will be covered with a glass top, I assume.

This table featured a colorful, carved ocean scene.

This cabinet, featuring a painted ocean scene, was also quite impressive.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Furniture Mart is a family affair. 85-year-old Grandpa makes these attractive glass lamp-shades.

I’ll conclude with an example of the lamp shades being used in a chandelier. My next post on PV will include pelicans and iguanas, but first it will be back to my hike down the PCT.

NEXT POST: A beautiful lake in Lassen National Park along the Pacific Crest Trail, plus Bone makes some new friends.

Furniture Mart or Zoo or??? … The Art of Puerto Vallarta

November 22, 2018November 21, 2018 / Curt Mekemson / 27 Comments

A friendly wolf licks Peggy’s face at the Furniture Mart in Puerto Vallarta.

Peggy and I have been coming to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a long time, long enough to see the lovely two and three story hotels along the north beach replaced by would-be sky scrapers that encroach on more and more beach.

We always stay at the Krystal Hotel, which is located along the main road between the airport and downtown. Years ago, we bought a time share here. It’s not something you do as an investment, regardless of how fast the sales people talk or whip out figures that you are not allowed to take away and study. In fact, there are much less expensive ways to see Mexico. Forget what we paid originally, the ever-increasing maintenance fees alone would easily cover an annual visit to PV, or anywhere else in Mexico.

But Peggy and I like the staff, our villa comes with a swimming pool, and we have fallen in love with Puerto Vallarta: its art, great dining, tropical sunsets, friendly people and amazing wildlife. There is even a taste of more traditional Mexico once you escape from the popular tourist areas.

I’ve blogged a fair amount about the town, more than I remember. I laughed a couple of days ago when I was doing Google research on PV’s public art, came across a promising heading, clicked on it, and landed on my blog.

I’ve even blogged about the furniture store directly across the road from the Krystal. And I am going to blog about it again— today. I can pretty much guarantee that it is unlike any furniture store you have ever seen. It all started as a failed restaurant. Peggy and I ate there once upon a time.The food was good but the customers were scarce.

The family scurried about,searching for some other way to make a living and decided to make furniture.They also decided to sell art decorations for the home, everything from cute little ceramic frogs to giant metal rhinos. Collecting unusual items became something of a passion.

There must be hundreds of ceramic frogs hanging out at the Furniture Mart. This one is a cutie, complete with eyelashes.

Contrast it with a full sized metal rhino!

The three, or four, or maybe five story structure feels like an Escher painting where you meet yourself coming and going. It is crammed full of art, wood carvings, pottery, strange statues, masks, and Mexican knick-knacks galore, as well as very unique furniture. There are thousands of items. The family of Carlos Paez Coronado describes their building as the Furniture Mart, the largest store of its type in Mexico, and a museum.

We visited this time with Peggy’s sister Jane and her husband Jim who were staying at our villa with us for a week. Jane loves ceramic plates and has dozens of them. We knew she would like the store. Senior Pepe greeted us and assured us that if we bought any item costing a few grand and weighing who knows how many pounds, he would personally deliver it to our doorsteps in Oregon or Sacramento. (Anyone need a 20-foot-long table?) He and his brother fill up a truck with purchased items and make an annual trip across the border. We disappointed Pepe on the mucho grande sale, but Jane almost bought enough plates to make up for it.

I have enough fun wandering through the Furniture Mart that I am going to do three posts on it: One on the wonderfully wild (and tame animals), one on the pottery, and one on the furniture and weird things. Today it is all about animals!

A ferocious jaguar stalking across the floor.

An eagle and a jaguar have a discussion about which is most ferocious.

Puerto Vallarta’s favorite lizard: The iguana. I’ll be doing a post on these big fellows.

I’ll conclude my exploration of the Furniture Mart today with this striking painting of a giraffe. Next up on the Mart will be ceramics ranging from pigs to plates.

It’s Turkey Day here in Puerto Vallarta, so Peggy and I will be heading out for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Several restaurants cater to the day. But I couldn’t find a turkey to represent the holiday…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of our Internet friends! –Curt and Peggy.

Folks in Puerto Vallarta Take the Dead Seriously… Sort of

November 25, 2015November 25, 2015 / Curt Mekemson / 25 Comments

The charming Catrina has come to symbolize the Day of the Dead. Each artist creates his or her own version. I thought the heart and flowers added a special touch.

Come November 1st, people in Mexico prepare to entertain their dead ancestors. El Día de los Muertos, or, the Day of the Dead, has arrived. Home altars are set up; special foods are left out for the dearly departed; and people get ready to party with grandpa, even though he is no longer around. Why not? If you’d been moldering away in a grave for twenty years— or even a day as far as that goes, wouldn’t you be ready for a little fun, a bottle of tequila, and a six-pack of cerveza?

From a more serious perspective, the Day of the Dead allows people to get together and remember friends and family who have passed on. The tradition dates back to the ancient times of the Aztecs. More recently, the Catholic Church adopted it, as it often has with indigenous beliefs, to expand the flock and keep them faithful. The government, in hopes of promoting national unity, declared the day a national holiday.

Not far behind the church and the state, Mexican businesses quickly figured out that El Día de los Muertos was a cash cow waiting to be milked. Almost any market you enter in Puerto Vallarta offers Day of the Dead items for purchase. Among the most popular are skulls.

Skulls are found for sale everywhere in Puerto Vallarta. This fine example is a from Oaxaca. The shop person told me that all of the paint brushes used in Oaxaca art are made from human hair.

Okay, this skull is wild! The art is created by laying lines of beads into wax, a process used by the Huichol indians.

Ceramic skulls are much more common in markets, and much less expensive.

An army of skulls found in the Municipal Market of Puerto Vallarta.

Miniature box art for the Day of the Dead found in Puerto Vallarta.

Miniature box art also captures the spirit of The Day of the Dead. This is a scene in an auto mechanic’s shop. Everyone, it appears, is having a good laugh. Maybe they are discussing the bill.

Dealing with the spirits of the dead is worldwide. When I was a little boy growing up next to a graveyard and sleeping outside in the summer, I encouraged our three cats and two dogs to sleep on the small cot with me. They were my protection from the denizens of the dark. It didn’t matter that there was barely room for me. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia, I quickly learned that the spirits of the newly dead were particularly dangerous. An all night wake, with lots of rum and much wailing, was required to send the restless spirit on his or her way. My first night in Gbarnga, I heard people screaming and beating drums without a clue about what was happening. It was a long night.

We arrived in Mexico a few days too late to rub elbows with the dead, but we ran into Catrina in a number of locations. This lovely skeleton-woman with her stylish look and clothes has come to symbolize the Day of the Dead and Mexico’s willingness to laugh at death. She started off in the early 1900s as something of a satirical comment on Mexico’s one-percenters of the time, and their desire to wear the latest and most expensive of European fashions. She served as a reminder that regardless of our social status in life, we all end up in the same condition: dead. I salute the people of Mexico for their sense of humor about the subject.

Judging from the number and variety of Catrinas we found, I surmised that Puerto Vallarta's visitors bureau had sponsored a Catrina contest for the Day of the Dead.

Judging from the number and variety of Catrinas we found, I surmised that Puerto Vallarta’s visitors bureau had sponsored a make your own Catrina contest for the Day of the Dead.

We found this Catrina with her frilly hat at the Municipal Market.

We found this Catrina with her frilly hat, hot pepper necklace, and cactus blouse at the Municipal Market.

We found this realistic Catrina at the same location in the Municipal Market on a previous visit to Puerto Vallarta.

And this realistic Catrina at the same location in the Municipal Market on a previous visit to Puerto Vallarta. Note the snazzy ear rings.

I wondered if this blond bombshell with her generous boobs wasn’t a Marilyn Monroe Catrina.

I don’t think I have ever seen a plunging neckline plunge this much. And isn’t the red hat something! I’m thinking this lady is someone’s Valentine.

A Huichol artist worked on creating a Catrina in one of the shops we visited. I added my pesos to her tip jar and snapped a photo.

Miniature Catrinas, such as this one, and their male counterparts are created to sell to people who don't have have room, or the money, to buy a big one. Many are quite beautifully made with fine attention to detail.

Miniature Catrinas, such as this one— and their male counterparts, are created to sell to people who don’t have the room or money to buy a big one. Many are quite beautifully made with fine attention to detail.

The Puerto Vallarta airport featured a number of Catrina's, including this one.

This gal greeted us at the Puerto Vallarta airport as we were flying back to Oregon.

NEXT BLOG: “Want to buy some junk? Almost free.” words of a vendor as we passed his booth. The markets of Puerto Vallarta carry everything from tourist trinkets to valuable folk art.

A miracle of the modern culinary arts: the self stuffing turkey. Happy Thanksgiving. The turkey above is from one of the cards I used to create before writing and blogging took over my life. While we celebrate family and friends here in the US, I also want my friends in Europe and other parts of the world who have suffered so much recently to know that my thoughts are with you. Every day. –Curt

Wandering through Time and Place

Exploring the world with Curtis and Peggy Mekemson

Puerto Vallarta