Managed to turn my watch back an hour, but wasn't quite sure what
to do when my spiffy new Samsung Galaxy S-10 (expecting awesome photos) didn't
automatically switch. That was solved the next day, but back to our arrival. After shaking
the daylights out of us for the last 10 minutes on cobblestome hills, our taxi delivered
us to our hotel. None of the people at the front desk spoke much English, but we managed
to connect with previously made informal plans. Didn't seem to be any need for money or a
credit card, and they asked one of their guys to show us to our apartment. Good thing they
did, as we went out the front door, turned left, up to the next cross street, turned
right, crossed over the street and went down half a block. Saw Dorothy and Bennoe greeting
us from their balcony along the way, but in a different building. Then used our keys to
get through 2 large locked gates, up 2 flights of stairs, (no elevator, with luggage) and
to our place. Pretty nice, and roomy: full kitchen with table, 3 closets plus lots of
shelves, bedroom with king bed, sitting room with TV (that gets NHL games), and
a small balcony with a view of the ocean
Interesting
electrical pole next to balcony, with birds nest containing babies in the middle of the
insulators. Photo later.
Long walk Southward along the Malecon (description), with intermittent shopping & sight seeing.
This button should give you a glimpse of the Malecon's ocean edge:
Band 80 feet in the air - the-papantla-birdmen
all sorts of
entertainment. This guy looks like a sand statue, but he moves occasionallyWe evntually got to the outdoor market - big and busy, shoulder to shoulder, with anything you could want. Cinnamon buns were awesome.
Ran in to Mike the pool player and Sandy his wife, then Claire from London and a few other cronies
Dorothey and Darlene going for pedicures,
Doug, Bennoe & Johanne going for beers on the beach.
It's not entirely the beers that got the photo tilted - I was trying to include the parasail above
the umbrella.DB&J spend a couple of hours swilling beer, and eating gucamole & chips while watching various kinds of boats, parasailing, and an endless stream of immaculately dressed beach vendors selling: tattoos, jewelry, snack food, sculptures, hats, rugs, donuts (we called him Tim Hortonez) cigars, paintings, clothing, etc, etc. Saw a Tshirt for sale near the beach yesterday: "Fuck Trump. If you like him, Fuck you too" Not too surprising.
Parasails
being towed behind boats brought back memories of my skydiving days. The second parachute
I owned was exactly the same design ("para-commander").
Marathon hike back,
with more entertainment along the way.needless to add, took an Uber back "home".
Had
supper at the recommended Italian place at the top of the building where we checked in.
Beautiful restaurant, with view of the sunset over the ocean, and great Italian food and
wine. Overheard a number of French Canadians in that building, and checked out the pool
when we left. Johanne think's the one in D & B's building is warmer, and we can probably
drink their beer for free. I was going to try to keep it to one or 2 beers a day, but
according to that plan, I'm already up to late February's consumption. 
On
the walk back, we noticed the Mexican approach to garbage collection, at least in this
area. There's no door to door pickup. Instead, garbage is placed in the middle of
intersections in the evening and is picked up overnight. In the meantime, the
intersections turn into round-abouts. A little further on we came across a group of people
spilling out of a doorway and sitting on the sidewalk, singing slow Spanish hymns. We
figure it was a prayer meeting.I'm too lazy to embed the photo's and video's I've been taking into this website. Seems crazy, but I think I'm going to go to bed at 10PM.
The place we ate at last night has a big buffet on Sunday mornings, so off we went around 08:30. Delicious, but different - didn't recognize a lot of stuff on the buffet, but had some of it anyway. Another gorgeous view of the ocean from table in photo, calm and flat (the ocean, not the table. well, it was flat, too). Wondering how the sailboats out their are able to navigate. Guess they're not in a hurry. Email from Bennoe inviting me to a local bar to watch a hockey game with a bunch of Canadians & have refreshments. Not surprisingly, the women will be shopping. Doing this quick web update, pulling photos and videos from my phone, and then off to the hockey game.
After the game, Bennoe, Vinny and I wandered up the street while messages were shooting back and forth to various wives about supper plans. Stopped at a sidewalk stand for my first taco. This is a large booth covering a 4 x 10 foot part of the sidewalk, next to a 2 foot wide sidewalk, next to a store where they have supplies and refrigeration. They're all specialized, and this guy serves beef tacos pretty well non stop for 16 hours a day, and they are delicious.
Ended up spending the afternoon sitting in and around the infinity
pool on the roof of B & D's building. Beautiful view of the ocean, and city below, pool at
perfect temperature, and once again, drinking Bennoe's beer (gotta quit doing that). Laid
out on fancy deck chairs and absorbed the 30 degree sun. A few other residents of the
building wandered in and out, and of course, B & D knew them.The place a few doors down from us that we thought was a prayer meeting was setting up again this evening when we passed it on the way home. Our current theory is that someone passed away, and this is a grieving ceremony of sorts.
Put together a tasty supper from our supplies. Warning: Mexican Doritos are higher octane that what we get in Canada. The dark brown mottled colour should be a warning.
Finished reading that book I started, and I think I may be turning into a reader.
There always seems to be a single source of music outside in the late evening. I've heard guitar, an opera-like singer, and tonight it's trumpet music. I've sure the singer was a live person, but the others might have been recordings. During the day there's great music coming from a construction site up the street.
OK, I have to see if I can get some photos onto this site.
Had a fairly normal breakfast this morning of instant oatmeal, coffee and mango juice.
Johanne's out walking with the women again (suspect it's really shopping) so I thought I'd
take a few photo's of our room / apartment. First photo is our kitchen, with front door to
cameraman's back.
Place
is long and one room wide. Here's the view down the hall from kitchen, past the 3 closets
on left, and bathroom on the right, past bedroom then sitting room, to door to balcony
which faces the street. 
King
size bed. looks small in photo for some reason. I could probably sleep sideways in it.
Sitting
room, with TV in cabinet on left. We get CBC, and NHL hockey on it, but haven't watched it
much. 
and
the balcony. small, but with ocean view, and really nice if there's a breeze. You can just
feel mexican life proceeding as usual when you're out there. Kids, dogs, roosters, music
for the construction workers up the street, occasional loud motorbike negotiating the
uphill cobblestones, spanish conversations of passers by...next nerd challenge is to get some of the video I've been taking onto this site. New cell phone takes stunning video, but the files are huge.
This
evening website update is starting to feel like a regular confession of transgressions
committed during the day. Dorothy seems to have recovered completely from her cobblestone
gymnastics, which is a relief. Bennoe and I met a bunch of Canadians for their regular
pool game at 11:00. I met Dan, Mike, Grant and Vinny there in a quiet local pool hall with
about a dozen tables. Played a weird game called "golf" which apparently I'm no good at,
but had a great time for 4 hours. Officially, this is referred to as Monday Therapy.
Beverages were consumed. There wasn't any wagering, which probably saved my retirement, as
some of these guys have played pool several times before. At the end we each chipped in
about $1.40 CDN to cover everything. Others in the hall were playing a pool variation on
tables that don't have any pockets, and I saw little pegs like miniature bowling pins near
the center of other tables.
Wandered back to Bennoe's place for more beverages and philosophizing. Dinner plans were
made and remade several times around doctor's appointment, and the discovery that our
first choice of resturant, El Patron, is closed today. Eventually we herded everyone
together (Bennoe, Dorothy, Doug, Johanne, Vinny, Claire and Darlene) and went down the
road a couple of blocks to PePe's Tacos
https://www.facebook.com/PepesTacoVallarta/ . Quite informal, but incredibly good
food. I'm sure we'll be back there again.The ladies went off on some errands by car, and D, B & V returned to B & D's place to continue beverages and philosophizing. Almost had the world's problems solved when the ladies returned and distracted us. Eventually we finally quit abusing B & D's hospitality, and left them in peace and quiet.
(Vinny has a better photo.)
Did
a restorative yoga class with Dorothy's cousin Gary's wife Barb in second floor studio
along the Malecon at 11 AM. It was crowded but a great class - inspiring philosophy as
well as vigourous wokout. We'll be back for more. Photo is view from studio across the
Malecon to the ocean. Heard birds and waves throughout the class.
Supper
was Italian food at La Triviata on 5th floor of Paloma del Mar Hotel. Excellent food &
great service. Photo shows a cruise ship leaving port as we ate, in about the middle of
the shot.
Had
this incredible chocolate cake fondant dessert. They bake it to order, and it comes with
vanilla ice cream and sliced strawberries. This alone pretty well guaranteed that we'd be
returning to La Triviata.
Think
the women went shopping. Not sure, but I know that Bennoe and I did. Armed with lists,
Bennoe and I headed for the main drag to catch a bus to Walmart. Had flashbacks to the
earlier marathon walk to the TelCel store for SIM cards, but managed to keep it together.
We got off the bus near the harbour, where there were 2 cruise ships, and a yacht with a
helicopter on the back of it
We
split up for the shopping, and it wasn't going to badly while I could use my phone to
translate the shopping list items to the spanish names on the shelves. Then my phone went
flakey again, and things went downhill. Could have sworn avacados were on my list, but
apparently not. Luckily, Dorothy has enough supplies to make guacamole out of them. I
managed to translate bathroom to "bano" (with a wiggly n) before my phone weirded out,
which turned out to be very handy. Made it through the checkout, using a credit card, due
to my lack of success with currency conversion. Our cell phone prowess was once again
demonstrated when neither one of us was able to order an Uber due to technical
difficulties (don't ask) but we were able to take a taxi, which was already there. Way too
much booze and water to carry to take a bus back.
Didn't
take long to get ourselves, some sunscreen, and several beverages out to Bennoe's swimming
pool, where we basked and tried to forget the day's technical traumas. Realized we'd also
forgotten about our wives, but in a stunning feat of communications, managed to text them
and confim they were still shopping.
We
could look down from the pool on the top of B & D's building to the terrace on the top of
D & J's. No pool on the terrace, so we haven't spent any time there.
While
I was surveying views from the pool, I realized how good the Mexicans are at passive air
conditioning. I think these roofs that resemble something from the Middle East gather
rising heated air and direct it to the opening at the top, where it's moved away by any
wind, or just convection. There's another variation in our buildings. The building design
incorporates open ended vertical shafts that are 5 to 10 feet square, and, say, 7 stories
tall. Windows allow air from living quarters (notably steamy bathrooms) to enter the shaft
and rise, creating another kind of convection air flow.
We
sat around the pool for while, absorbing the hot sun, and eventually made dinner plans.
Took the easy choice and went back to the excellent Italian place nearby for a late
supper. Played musical entrees, generally choosing something that someone else had and
liked the previous night. Once again, the food was just great, with lots of sharing across
the table. Beautiful orange sunset despite lack of clouds. Rumours of yoga class tomorrow
morning.. 
Was
lazy and didn't do nightly website update last night, so I'm going by my gray cell starved
memories here. Bennoe's not feeling well, and spent most of the day taking it easy at
home. We did indeed have a 11:00 AM yoga class. On the way, we saw the aerial performers
doing their daily vertical commute. Got some video of them later. Once again yoga was
inspiring, but vigourous. Think I may have aggravated a pumpkin-tossing injury to my left
shoulder because it's a bit painful.
After
yoga we wandered over to Pepe's for a lunch break. The Mariache band was in full swing,
but when we told them we weren't interested, they left us alone.
But
of course, the table right behind us wanted the full treatment, including the kids joining
in using hand rattles (or whatever you call those things)
The
ladies headed off for more massages. Not sure what they're doing that causes the need for
all these masages.
I
expected my ball cap with the name of a Japanese Ham Radio manufacturer to attract all
sorts of female ham operators on vacation. Not only did it fail to do that, but it didn't
cover my ears, which were in danger of being broiled during the 17 hours a day we spend
walking outside. So, I broke down and bought a touristy Panama hat. It hasn't attracted
any ladies from Panama yet, either. We also bought other critical supplies we'd managed to
forget: playing cards and a bottle opener.When we headed back home, Johanne did a little pirouette half way up the 2 flights of stairs. Apparently she get dizzy if she keeps turning in the same direction, so she twirls in the opposite direction to counteract that. I suppose you have to expect anyone who would marry me to be a bit weird.
Memory's
a bit weak here, but Johanne and I ended up at an Italian restaurant called La Dolce Vita
on the Malecon for supper. Food was pretty good, but not as good as the Triviata. We sat
next to a young family with extremely well behaved kids. Come to think of it, that's
happened a couple of times. Or maybe it's just that we're used to our kids being brats?
This was the view from our 2nd story table after we finished our meal.
Bennoe's
feeling better today, so once again, we're a fairly healthy bunch. Today's adventure is a
trip to the Botanical Gardens (or "BOO-tanical Gardens, if you prefer), which is quite a
ways South of PV. After last nights Dengue scare, we dug out the insect repellent we'd
brought, along with sunscreen and sun hats. Took an Uber to the bus "terminal" and
exchanged vocabulary lessons with him on the way. Boarded the "bus" and it rattled to life
after a brief wait. It had a broken windshield, and a quarter of the door was a solid duct
tape panel. It was a bit shaky, and laboured on the never ending steep hills, but did
deliver us intact to the Botanical Gardens after being stuck behind a slow truck for half
an hour. Ate a tasty lunch there and then headed out to explore. The B G wasn't as extensive as we expected, but interesting in any case. Had a nice chat with a long time PV resident who produces coffee and sells it locally and in the markets.
Went
across the swinging bridge, but it turns out Johanne is a bit timid, and not a swinger
after all. Took a couple dozen plant photos which I'll put on a separate page and link in
here later. 
Visited
the chapel where our yoga teached Barb does some special classes, and a vanilla
plantation, and cactus collection. 
Another
lazy morning - didn't get out of bed until after 9. Even Johanne is sleeping in a bit
(until 6). Eventually wandered down the street to to the
Calmate Cafe. Delicious food to start the day: omelete and a cold tropical drink.
Had
a nice chat with the friendly Canadian lady who runs the place. She even agreed that they
should have ketchup available. Think we'll be returning here several more times.
Another
lazy morning for me, but Jo was up around the crack of dawn, fetching coffee from the
vegetarian Green Place near the Paloma del Mar lobby. She's such a regular that they start
making her coffee as soon as they see her. Jo got the urge for MacDonalds food around mid
morning, so off we went on the first hike of the day. Photo shows the breakfast specials.
I had the one on the left, and Jo had the one on the right. My scrambled eggs were quite
spicy, with peppers, onions and a couple of unidentified ingredients.The things at the
back of the picture are biscuit slices with bean paste and melted cheese. And the same old
McD's sausage pattie we know and love. The prices aren't as bad as they look. The dollar
sign is also used for pesos, and 100 pesos is about 7 Canadian dollars, so a $79 breakfast
is about 5.60 CDN$.
Looked
out the front window towards the ocean at one point, and noticed pelicans on the roof
across the Malecon
The
pelicans also seemed to have taken over a small boat anchored just off-shore
We
walked back along the beach which was sometimes sandy, and sometimes rocky. There was one
weird spot where the rocks on top of sand made a rattling sound when a receding wave moved
them around. At the ends of streets there are stairwells, restaurants, or artwork like
this sculpture. (After overhearing a converation, I think this may be a sundial.)
This
one's for Larry. A guy fishing in the ocean from a rocky part of the beach. Seemed to be
using pretty light gear. Especially considering that later, we saw dolphins and whales in
this bay.
We
continued wandering along the beach, picking up the mandatory interesting souvenir stones.
As we walk by the back of a restaurant, where there beach chairs were arranged, a voice
said "Johanne?". It was a Canadian lady Georgette that Johnne had met on her Monday tour
to the South. She recommended both the restaurant we were behind, and a day trip from Boca
de Tomatoes via water taxi to a beach area up the coast. Took this photo so we'd remember
the restaurant. 
Eventully
got back home, and soon headed to the Paloma del Mar lobby, where we expected Martha to
arrive between 1 and 2. Had long conversations with Linette from Calgary, and a lady from
the hotel who was very friendly, helpful, and spoke excellent English. Martha arrived
around 2, after her plane's departure had been delayed due to a sick person on board and a
need for extra de-icing. She's pretty tired, but we got her through the minimal check in
paperwork (again, no money required) and showed her to her room, which is quite close to
ours. Invited her to our place for relaxation, chips and a beverage.
We
eventually headed out for supper at the restaurant recommended earlier, El Barracuda, a
had a great meal, with more worrisome Sauv Blanc. Meals included ribs, fish tacos, shrimp,
mushroom soup, etc. While we ate, entertainers on the beach were juggling flaming torches. 
After
the meal a magician came around and did slight of hand and card tricks that were pretty
amazing. At one point he transported a coin from his own hand to behind Bennoe's watch. He
did some really good card tricks, including one where he used my camera to take this
picture of what seemed to be the fanned deck of cards, but was actually showing the exact
card that had been previously secretly selected. Really entertaining.
Also
entertaining was watching the ladies who had been sampling the Sauv Blanc all night
attempt to walk from restaurant.They managed to keep from falling over by holding on to
each other and giggling very loudly.
Martha
thought she was picking up some Fosters beer, but her eyesight's not too good, and it was
in fact Kloster beer, which is lousy stuff. So it seems we're Kloster-phobic.
Stopped
to get a plate of taco's each at a road side stand after that, then took them across the
street to a bar to add beers to our snack time. You can never have too many tacos, or too
much beer.
Once
back at the home front, we lazed around B & D's pool, solving the world's problems and
absorbing sunshine until sunset.
Another
delicious feast. We calculated that we averaged 7 tacos and 2 beers per person, with
various hot sauses and limes thrown in for good measure. Met up with Tony and Sheila in
the restaurant. Once again, KIm made it back without wheeled assistance over the more
challenging uphill route.
Wow,
we're more than half way through or vacation. Seems like we just got here a few days ago.
Doug had reverted to his old habits, and was up until the wee hours of the morning working
on some nerdy robot project. Still managed to get him up in time for 11 AM yoga, although
he didn't get any coffee all day. Partly because he chose other beverages. Jo & Dorothy
nice and relaxed before the hard work started
Kim
and Mark joined in as well, and fortunately, no further damage was done to Kim's broken
foot. Martha's there too, limbering up in a pink moose Tshirt. Great restorative class as
usual, and Barb had intriguing comments on resilience, what it means and how it helps you
enjoy life. Will have to find out if she has published anything - it would be worth
reading.
After
a workout, it's important to re-hydrate, so as usual we headed to Pipi's, for refreshments
and food. The margaritas were roughly the size of a wading pool, and the conversation got
more animated during re-hydration. Should have got a photo of the guy making guacamole frm
scratch at our table - he was awesome, and did an encore for another round of spicy guac.
When
the Mariachi band came around, we decided to go all in, and soon the whole restaurant was
treated to our bellowing of Johhny Cash songs with a Mexican flavour. The musicians were
actually quite talented as well as amusing. The 2 guys in the photo were joined by a bass
player in another corner and a guy that played the pan pipes as well as a guitar,
simultaneously. I think at some point someone was fondling my spine checking for
scoliosis, but I could be mistaken.We ate a ton of food, and brought some home as well. Mark wisely got Kim into the ever present wheelchair, as she was too busy enjoying life to be bothered with trivial stuff like safely navigating with a broken foot.
A
meeting was called at B & D's pool, for serious relaxation and sun bathing (and continued
re-hydration) We eventually realized that the sunset we were waiting for wasn't going to
happen due to layers of cloud near the horizon.
Awoke
to the sounds of Johanne and Martha cackling on the balcony, and the sound of a large
diesel engine working hard. We'd suspected the top floor of the building under
construction was ready for concrete, and sure enough, the street was blocked off by this
giant concrete pump. Naturally, I took a lot of pictures and video, but I'll put them on
another page so people don't poke fun at me.
Well,
OK, one or two more. They had the boom extended, but it wasn't quite long enough so they
had to bring it back to the ground to add a 20 foot entension hose. In the process, they
almost put it onto our balcony, or it seemed like that.. Eventually a concrete mixer
backed up the block, around parked cars, and started feeding the pump.It's hard to see the
truck through the trees and "free-form" Mexican overhead cabling.
After
that we entered 2 Ubers on our way to Bocha de Tomatlan (river mouth of tomatoes), a
charming little harbour south of Puerto Vallarta.This picture shows the dock where we would
leave by water taxi. It's taken from where the Uber actully dropped it off, on the wrong
side of the bay. It was a
little dicey for gimpy Kim, but we made it over there.
Fortunately,
this boat, capsized and half blocking the river mouth, wasn't our water taxi.
We
made it into the open water taxi after negotiaging with skinny Albert, who insisted on
prepayment of the return fare. Off we go to Playa des Animas, which is only reachable via
water.
Lots
of interesting places built into the hills along the way, including resorts, high end
residences, and the open air platform that Barb teaches yoga classes on occasionally.Doug, zoom in on this one.
We
landed at a concrete pier which, like almost all the sidewalks in Puerto Vallarta, has a
serpentine stripe composed on beach pebbles on their sides, embedded in the concrete. The
sky looks cloudy in the photo, but it was only slightly overcast. This was probably a good
thing as it kept the heat down a little. Skinny Albert, or boat driver, was insistent to
the point of rudeness that we should go to the restaurant on the left. We found out later
that the restaurant on the right offers free water taxi pickup to and from Boca de
Tomatlin, which explains his insistance on round trip prepayment, and his direction away
from the generous restaurant.
The
restaurant on the left (north) which we never visited.
We
got about 20 meters to the right, and found this place with free lawn chairs, and
restaurant service. This was our base of operations for the afternoon.
There were occasional beach vendors, quite polite, including this guy who invited you to
play with and photograph his large iguana. Sometims its for tips, sometimes you pay 20
pesos ( $1.40 CDN).
We
took one end of a long table for lunch, and found that Barb the yoga teacher and her
husband Gary (who someone is related to, maybe Dorothy?) were
right next to us. Many of us had half an avacado with jumbo shrimp and guacamole in it. Might
have been the best shrimp I had on the trip. A Mariachi band with a sousaphone player came
by, and we ate to the strains of La Cucaracha, and Jun ta da Medo.
We
lounged in the lounge chairs, and generally took it easy. Doug and Martha even went in
swimming, but it's tricky due to the uneven sandy bottom, and marginal undertow.
(nerd antenna timeout). The vertical at bottom left looks like a 2 meter VHF antenna, but
I can't figure out the 7 enclosures. They look a bit like the radomes that ships use for
navigational radar? I've seen them in other places as well.
The local people weren't as worried about going in the water as we were, and there was
always a collection of boats of various sizes nearby.Eventually skinny Albert took us back to B de T, and was apologetic about his earlier attitude. I'm guessing he was hoping that we hadn't found out about the free water shuttle. Once we were back we found that Ubers weren't available, but that turned out to be a good thing. Instead, we took a taxi/van that was about the same price, but much more comfortable and convenient.
As
we left for supper we noticed that a patch of the cobblestome road in front of our
building had been repaired/covered with fresh concrete, perhaps left over from the pump
this morning. There were small pails at either end, and no one seemed to mind that one
lane was informally closed. Our supper venue was Archie's, an Asian restaurant. It's well
known and popular, an as expected we had to wait in line. Unfortunately the excellent taco
place up the street, which is where you normally go to wait, was closed.
It's
going to be so disappointing to go home to regular food. This was another feast for the
taste buds - I had Singapore Shrimp, and there were satisfied smiles all around. (bonus
points if you can find me in the photo.)Doug was temporarily deafened when he accidentally got caught between bellowing singers outside a Karaoke bar next to Archies. Everyone was enjoying themselves enthusiasticly, and most of my hearing came back during the Uber ride home.
OK,
back to Thursday. This is one of many sculptures along the Malecon which we went by on the
way to yoga. We're regulars at yoga now, and it's a shame we won't be here for some of the
yoga adventures Barb teaches in locations outside of Puerto Vallarta.
After
yoga, a group went off to get massaged, and Bennoe, Claire and I ended up at a patio in
front of the Cheeky Monkey for lunch and beverages.
It
turns out we weren't actually at the C M, but some other place with Oyster in it's name,
but it's all good. Claire went off to meet with some of her pals, and Bennoe and I headed
homeward. He found the watch repair place he had heard of, which was about 6 feet wide
with a large inventory on display, including Rolex watches for 500 peso ( $35 CDN). Wasn't
able to find the replacement watch band he was looking for despite measurements, trial and
error, and occasional exchanges of Spanish phrases. I think it would be hilarious to see
some of our Spanish conversations with accurately translated subtitles, although to be
fair, Bennoe's Spanish seems to be quite workable. Then again, how the hell would I know?
We
decided to to follow recommendations we had from multiple sources, and go to El Patron for
supper. The way there was a bit of a hike, and one of the streets was completely blocked
for a while by trucks unloaded something into a warehouse. After that we crossed a huge
sports park, with numerous pick up and organized sporting activities under way. Got to the
restaurant, and there was a table immediately available for our group of 7, right against
the street. Another case of outstanding food, well worth the walk.
The Sauv Blanc was popular, so I took a photo to document it for research purposes once
we get home.
BY
the time we left, it was dark, and much of the sports park was lit up. This photo is a
boxing ring, with various punching bags around it. A bit earlier we paused our walk to
watch what looked like a religious ceremony taking place on a basketball court. A circle
of people in street clothes surrounding a drummer and a collection of smoking conch cells.
At seemingly random times, people would leave the circle and come to the centre to deposit
items, or to have a priestess lady annoint them with conch smoke. Weird, but fascinating,
a sombre ceremony in the middle of all the sports action.
As
we continued, we tried to warn gimpy Kim about any uneven footing in the darkened path, as we
didn't want her doing any as hoc gymnastics (Kim-nastics?). we left the park with a
basketball game in progress on our left.We decided to return on a different street, avoiding the warehouse. I love seeing the variety of the backstreets - a bar, next to a variety store, next to a residence, next to a vacant lot... It was going well until we encountered an ultra-modern OXXO corner store, which enticed some walkers in for a look see. I hadn't accounted for this in my bladder budget, so I continued ahead while the others loitered. Saw the place where we play pool go by, but it was a blur because I was in a hurry.
This
is the day of the much anticipated sailboat ride. (https://www.adasailing.com/)
Claire has done all the organizing, and warned us not to eat a big breakfast because they
will be serving us great food on board. While we were waiting to board I noticed this
pelican, perched on the stern of a small nearby boat...
...
this view of part of the harbour...
...and
iguanas sunning themselves in the trees.
We
soon boarded the 45 foot sailboat, removing our footware on the dock for safety - boat
gets slippery sometimes. 13 passengers, plus a crew of 6: grizzled captain, lady that runs
the tours, galley cook, and 3 "waiters" who continuously patrol the deck, offering
beverages and delicasies to eat. It's hard to believe how they created the food in the
tiny galley, but we were treated to fresh fruit skewers, honey/nuts/goats cheese balls, stuffed mushroom caps, and a
tasty chocolate dessert served in large plastic spoons. We had all preordered entrees, and
I can say that the red snapper was excellent. Probably doesn't sound anywhere near as
good as it tasted.
The
lady who runs the show. She gave us a briefing on shore, and introduced all of the crew
including herself, by name. However, once we were on board, they very very generous with
offering us drinks, and delivering them while the ship was rocking and rolling over the
ocean. As a result, we soon were unable to remember our own names, leave alone the crews'
names.
US Navy ship that had broken down, and was anchored. It was being repaired with Mexican
help. It would be a huge understatement to say Mr. Trump is extremely unpopular down here, and it
was amusing to see that the Mexicans were bailing out the American navy.
Doug - zoom in on whaleOn our way out we came across a couple of small whales playing in the bay. Didn't see any breaching, but the tails were appearing and disappearing above the surface. It went on for quite a while, and then we resumed our voyage.
That's
one of our sure-footed waiters on the right, and some of our semi-imobilized wale watchers
on the left.
Doug - zoom in on whalelooking roughly North?
Doug
- zoom in on whale
The
back of the boat was clearly the party place. The seating consisted of cushions about 5
inches thick, and the outer railing as a backstock. This prevented people from falling
down, because we were already down. From the left, Dan, who is also part of the Monday
morning billiards therapy group, Bennoe, Martha, and Johanne.
Dorothy
giving Bennoe a knee yoga massage. Or maybe she was just falling off the cabin we were sitting
on.
nope
- she seems to be still under control at this point.That's part of Vinny on the right
edge of the photo, who was his normal crazy self. I think the poop deck party scared him a
bit as he stayed at the front of the ship for most of the trip.
That's
Claire on the left. Not sure what Dan and Bennoe were doing with their hands. May have
been some ad lib yoga move. Nah.. more likely that they're simultaneously summoning one of
the waiters for more booze.By this point, the boat was rocking and rolling in more ways than one.
Bennoe
and Doug
sent this photo back to our buddies in snowy London who were attending our traditional Friday
afternoon drinking session without us. Wanted to let them know we were continuing the
tradition, in much more enjoyable surroundings.
70's
music playing over the speakers, gorgeous scenery going by, waiters constantly offering
beverages, it was awesome. The only challenge was getting to the head (nautical talk for
the bathroom) which was below deck, down a steep ladder. There were always helping hands
along the narrow walkway on the outside of the ship, and we didn't lose anyone overboard,
although we came close a few times. The singing and laughter got louder as the trip went
on, and everyone made a bunch of new friends. I wish I'd taken photos when we stopped to
swim in the ocean. Turns out I've been wearing a life preserver wrong all my life - if you
connect the belt and wear it backwards, it's a floating chair. Although climbing up and
down the ladder on the side of the ship was a bit challenging, I think all of the
passengers went out for a swim, bobbing in the ocean along side the anchored sailboat.
Despite being a bit reluctant at first, Johanne was right out there too, with a big grin
on her face.
We'd
seen whales near the horizon off the starboard bow. They seemed to be jumping
continuously, and it was so frequent that we figured it had to be multiple whales. One of
the passengers explained that whale families born in this area often return, and play
together, like what we'd seen. Again, this happened for quite a while, but it was too far
away for pictures, near the horizon. Whales have sensitive hearing, and their location
near the horizon may have had something to do with Martha's singing.
Claire
had asked the captain to cruise along the Malecon / beach before we went ot the
harbour to disembark. This is is Le Barracuda, and the beach chairs behind it (with blue
umbrellas), as seen
from the water.
I
took a picture when we were even with Honduras Street, which leads to our hotel. I can't
recognize it now, so I may have had alcohol induced confusion when I took the photo, or I
may have selected the wrong picture. Will have to review them.As we approached the harbour, a feeling of sadness descended, as we realized that this adventure was coming to a close. It's easy to understand why many of the passengers have taken this tour multiple times. We heard of a lady who has done it 80 times, and once you've done the tour, that is completely believable.
On
the way back, I noticed that the dock, which is largely concrete, is floating, and
"attached" to these vertical posts by rollers. As the water level rises or lowers (there
must be tides here?) the dock rolls up or down the posts.Doug: photoshop out your finger!
After
the sailing adventure, we visited
Claire & Vinny's home, high on a hill in the south end of town. There are 2 approaches
to going up the hill. The one from town is a fairly good, but steep road, mostly
cobblestone. The one from the South is extremely rugged, and it looks like parts of it
were last visited by a bulldozer. Guess which way our Uber driver went.At C&V's, some folks swam in the pool, and some just admired the view.
Apparently
they've spotted whales from their balcony in the past.
Jo's feeling better, although she and a few others still
occasionally feel like they're on a rocking ship. Martha's getting anxious for a good old
fashioned breakfast. It turns out that if you Google "bacon and eggs Puerto
Vallarta", you get Daiquiri Dicks, which is next to the Saturday morning market,
another destination on the vague plan for today. Since it's Martha's last full day, we
humoured her, and off we go to Daiquiri Dicks. They have generous breakfast
servings, but every item came on a separate plate While we ate we watched parasail launches on beach
right in front of D D's. Met D & B therend returned their key, so they're no longer
homeless.D & B departed, and M & J shopped at the market while Doug wandered aimlessly. Jo actually bought a top. Our ability to walk for hours on end seems to be diminishing, and we were soon in an Uber on the way home. It followed a weird route, half way up the hill, but we made it back. The ladies dozed, Doiug did website updates.
After
we retreated to our place for beverages, Jo heard the sounds of horseshoes on
cobblestones. When we rushed to the balcony, sure enough there were tourists riding down
our street. The old fashioned transportation was thwarted by modern cartage, when they
were blocked by a Coca-Cola truck in the intersection. Think we may need to find where
those horse back rides start from, and get Jo onto a horse.
For
Martha's last supper,we went back to the trusty La Triviata on the top floor of the Paloma
del Mar hotel, which has to be one of the best restaurants in Puerto Vallarta.. There was
a nice breeze, and a beautiful sunset. The food didn't let us down, and everyone loved
their meal. Once again, there seemed to be an influx of families with small children for a
late supper, after 9 PM. Maybe they all had siestas earlier.After supper we all visited Martha's room, which D & B hadn't seen yet. Although smaller than D & J's place, it's highly functional with lots of colour and art. Martha officially gave up hope of retrieving the top to her contact lense solution, which was part way down the stopper-less drain of her bathroom sink. Lots of McGuiver-esk recovery methods were discussed, but none were actually attempted.
Might be a driving adventure for Martha when she gets home tomorrow. There's currently a snow squall watch for the area in the weather forecast:
| Sun, 19 Jan | Local snow squalls and flurries. Local blowing snow. Local amount 5 to 10 cm. Wind west 40 km/h gusting to 60. High minus 4. Wind chill near minus 14. UV index 1 or low. |