One reason you might want to give me a call and book a week in the sun is to bring your loved one away for some reconnecting, relaxation and well…love. Isn’t that also what February is famous for…Valentine’s Day or El Día del Amor y la Amistad?
Since pre-Columbian times, Mexicans regard friendship very highly, considering it a precious gift of life.
“La amistad es lluvia de flores preciosas”
“Friendship is like a shower of precious flowers”
as this fragment of a beautiful Aztec poem illustrates.
Nowadays in Mexico, as in the rest of the world, we celebrate it on February 14 in exactly the same way that people celebrate everywhere else. All over Mexican cities there are balloon vendors offering their colorful heart-shaped declarations of love, for most of them have written on them “Te Amo” (I love you), “Para mi amor“ (For my love) or “Felicidades” (Congratulations). Delicious chocolates, as well as flowers – red roses especially – and greeting cards are also sold in every store. And, if you’re in Mexico City, don’t even try to go to a restaurant without a reservation made weeks before.
Don’t you worry, though, I can get you a great restaurant reservation! How about a table for 2 in the sand at the Punta Mita Residents’ Beach Club or, even more romantic, under the stars at the end of the wharf in Punta Sayulita with chef Cesar on hand for some fresh, grilled lobster and a nicely chilled bottle of something crisp.
Imagine sitting over the lapping ocean in your shirtsleeves looking into the eyes of the one you love the most and toasting Cupid for getting you out of the cold and dark. Picture yourselves munching away on the Pacific’s finest offerings and indulging in a decadent dessert to really round out the evening… something Mexican, exotic and chocolaty. (It’s OK, all of us have already fallen off the 2016 diet)
Actually, the great thing is you don’t have to wait for St. Valentine’s Day to do this, I can make it happen for you and your true love any day of the year. Put me to the test.
I am now, however, thinking about that chocolate, synonymous with
Valentine’s Day and always a winner in the passion/ wooing/ dating stakes.
There’s nothing like a beautifully-wrapped box of fresh truffles to win anybody’s heart.
In Mexico, we don’t necessarily have the fancy truffle shops that we find in Europe and now in most American malls. Instead, we have hand-crafted Mexican chocolates that can come in fancy boxes. You will need to make a special pilgrimage, though, to find these purveyors. More abundant are different flavours of artisanal chocolate sold in bars, blocks or thick rounds.
Mexican chocolate is quite distinct, more intense and with a grainier consistency. It has been around for a very long time, since the Aztecs, in fact. (Think about it – these guys really had it going on! Chocolate and verses back in 1900 BC… more than most millennials could come up with today.) And, chocolate was one of greatest “currencies” of the early stock market.
As you would expect in Mexico, it comes in a variety of exotic flavours:
chili, oregano, corn chips, Tabasco…a little like the Michelada recipe (link to Michelada blog post). You’ll find a myriad of interesting flavours, not necessarily associated with chocolate. Be sure to try it whilst you’re here.
Miguel C
Bon vivant, gastronome and all-around great guy – Miguel Neves de Carvalho brings you the best of what Punta Mita and the surrounding area have to offer. His passions include polo, horse riding, rugby, cigars and most recently … golf.
Miguel lives in Punta Mita with his youngest son, his fiancée, Lisa, and his two dogs “Tanqueray” and “Tonica”.
He started Punta Mita-Rentals in 2012.
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Photography by Kemi Vernon. See more of her work at www.kemivernonphotography.com