Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Cafe de Olla

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Long before Puerto Vallarta became a tourist attraction, pirates and smugglers operated out of this harbor. Vallarta, as it is sometimes called, was a small fishing and pearl-diving village, turned into a small beach-landing port serving the Sierra towns nearby.

Throughout the decade of the 1950's the area on the hill of the downtown area north of the River Cuale developed as an expatriate neighborhood called Gringo Gulch. In 1963 Richard Burton was to star in a movie directed by John Huston, "The Night of the Iguana" to be shot mostly on location in the jungle at Mismaloya. He and Elizabeth Taylor stayed in Casa Kimberley in Gringo Gulch, making this area famous world wide as a vacation destination.

Incidentally, Burton ended up buying Casa Kimberley, a nine-bedroom villa, for $57,000, and gave it to Elizabeth as a birthday gift for her 32nd birthday, a few months after finishing the movie and a month before they officially married.

Years ago, we ate at Cafe de Olla and the food was out of this world. Always packed, this favorite Mexican restaurant serves traditional fare but has that "za-zoom" in its flavors.

We had to return for a meal.

Tropically painted, Cafe de Olla on the right, and Hotel Yasmin on the left

This photo was taken earlier in the day before the lines queue up for dinner. We were told one "must" have a reservation or leave it to Lady Luck to get a seat.

Hotel Yasmin is a quaint hotel right beside it. On our previous visits, we stayed in that boutique hotel.

Map of Puerto Vallarta, with Cafe de Olla marked

Our days were spent at Playa Los Muertos, frequented by the locals. An unpretentious beach, it was minutes from our current hotel, Hotel Eloisa.

The River Cuale shown on this map separates the downtown in the north and the Zona Romantica in the south. The famous Gringo Gulch is on the north side.

Hotel Yasmin

This quaint hotel has a sitting area on the outside to enjoy the sun, and there is a small swimming pool to the right of the photo. At this writing, rooms run about $50USD per night.

Menu Cafe de Olla

This is one of the menus from Cafe de Olla listing their specialties.

370 grams of Filet Mignon runs about $17USD, and filet of fish (grilled, with garlic, spicy, in Vera Cruz Style or with butter sauce) runs about $10USD per plate. You can also order a shrimp burger, fish burger, chicken burger or beef burger for a little over $5USD.

Another menu

Enchiladas, a typical Mexican dish runs about $5USD no matter if they are cheese, chicken, a kind of hash or grilled. There is a Mexican sampler plate for under $9USD.

Pollo Enchiladas

This photo cannot possibly tell you how good this meal was. Billy likes his Enchiladas and I enjoy the Chile Rellenos. Full plates are served with tortillas, rice and beans.

We also saw several Seafood/Carne Special Plates being served, HUGE 2 foot long platters with food piled high with Filet, Lobster, Shrimp, Quesadillas and more, made for two people. These ran about $50USD.

Yours Truly

There is live music playing at a table next to ours, and we are surrounded by the HUGE platters described in the photo above. They must have been the favorite of the night, those platters!

This is my beach hairstyle - no hair dryer, just mousse and salt air.

Lovely, eh?

Billy in a shirt that matches his eyes.

Our bill

Two full Mexican dinners, a beer and a bottle of water totals just over $13USD. Tip is extra.

By the way, Lady Luck was with us that night. We didn't have reservations, but we must have made it to Cafe de Olla about 3 minutes before the crowds started lining up!

If you are ever in Puerto Vallarta, there are lots of delicious restaurants to choose from. But make a date with Cafe de Olla. It's worth it.

Cafe Olla

Comida Mexicana

Basilio Badillo 168, Emiliano Zapata, 48380 Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

9AM–11PM, Closed Tuesdays

Phone: 01 322 223 1626

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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