Here's our guide (right) with our "air conditioned limo" behind us!

This charming rural town of Sierra Madre (left) captivated our interest. The plaza was beautiful - clearly the pride of local residents.

This is another view of the plaza. This beautiful covered bandstand would host visiting dignitaries or be the stage for local events.

The church, adjacent to the plaza, is always a "work in progress." People here plan continuing growth of the church as time goes on. Even so, it was lovely, with an inviting space and gorgeous windows.

We shared the road with these cowboys. (right) In order to access the forests and isolated beaches we had to travel through farms and villages. We had a real authentic experience.

These cows were unusual with their hang down ears!

Bromeliads & orchids hang around in the forest trees. (right) This forest is a combination of tropical and desert, so we saw representatives of each. 

These iguanas (left) prefer to live in the river bank. We saw other iguanas that resided in trees.

In fact, here they are! These particular iguanas are herbivores and therefore wouldn't bother humans - or if provoked would not have the nasty bite (read: highly prone to become infected!) of the carnivorous iguanas.

You should know that I'm a flower freak and can't go by bright flowers without trying to capture that image.(left) I'm told that these are the flowers from tubers.

More pretty stuff. (right) This is why Puerto Vallarta is so attractive to many people. Plants and trees are flowering all year round!

These plantains have a little different taste than the more familiar bananas.

Definitely, an inviting sight! (right)

This little beach is surrounded by treacherous rocks to the north and south.

We did not see any turtles. (right) BUT, they do come ashore here to lay their eggs and the people here try to do everything they can to enhance their survival.