Bananas, mangos, melons!!!!

Robert:

I often have to make the drive over to the official county seat, a little farming and ranching town, just a few kms inland, called Valle Banderas.

Until about four years ago, you had two bad options to get from Bucerias to Valle Banderas. You could take the long, paved way, backtracking down the highway to Mezcales, then winding inland through San Vicente, then San Jose, then left toward Valle. It was a 45 minute drive or more, depending on traffic.

Coco palms alongside the now-paved back road.

Or, the even worse option was the washboarded gravel and dirt back road, direct from Bucerias to Valle. I did this backroad a few times years ago, and while the route was much more direct and much shorter as the parrot flies, you would arrive in about 40 minutes with the fillings shaken out of your teeth, and your shock absorbers in cardiac arrest.

"Yes, we have mo' bananas... we have mo' bananas today."

(P.S. If that caption above sounds positively idiotic...it is. But there's method to the madness, inasmuch as it's a twist on the title and lyric of one my dad's favorite songs, "Yes, We Have No Bananas." It was a novelty song that was a major hit in 1923, when Dad was 11 years old. He used to sing it around the house.

From Wikipedia:

 (Yes! We Have No Bananas" is the title of a novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn from the 1922 Broadway revue Make It Snappy. Sung by Eddie Cantor in the revue, the song became a major hit in 1923 (placing No. 1 for five weeks)^[1] when it was recorded by Billy Jones, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman, and others. It was covered later by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Spike Jones & His City Slickers, and many more. It also inspired a follow-up song, "I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues", recorded by Billy Jones and others in 1923.)


Okay, back on track to Valle Banderas;  about four years ago, the municipio (county) paved that back road road nicely, and now you can leave Bucerias at noon and arrive on the plaza in Valle at 12:18 and 14 seconds. More or less.

Plus, it is a very beautiful country drive. I love it.

You wind for 8 kms along the foothills, through ranches and farms, with some very rugged, forested mountains rising up ahead and to the left of you.

The best time to take the drive is late afternoon. The angle of the sun low in the west is just right for dramatic golden light against the mountains. Gorgeous.

Ripe melons! Tempting to sneak one into the car. But, I'm not a melon felon.

Coming back from Valle today, I stopped by the roadside and snapped a few quick pics of the typical crops you see. I didn't get them all.

Mango orchards everywhere. Not in season at the moment.

For example, there are really lush and beautiful cornfields, beanfields, and sometimes tobacco and papaya. I'll have to snap those next time.