Bay View Grand Condo

I was not happy at all with the electric charges at the condo. I don't think the Chotzen girls were very upfront on the costs.

Home

We have been home for a couple of days now. I am back in my nest upstairs. I know I should try to get downstairs more but I like my sanctuary up here.

I have a little stomach bug thing going on which keeps me close to home. It's the D word. Everything I eat go right through me within the hour.

My sister Peggy did such a wonderful job taking care of our mother. My mom had a little accident while we were gone so my sister had to deal with everything that came with that. Thanks Peggy for everything, plus taking care of our pets and dealing with all my mail!

My mother's knee after the ER doctor stapled it closed. OUCH!!!

Los Mochis Pit Stop

We arrived at Los Mochis around 4:00 PM. Not bad timing. We left Vallarta at 7:00 AM. It was still a little dark. By the time we were on the jungle road it was getting light. It was very overcast and misty all the way to Los Mochis. The jungle road was very cloudy! It was thick. I did't want to look I get too stressed when Ken drives. His driving scares me. Here we are racing through hairpin turns and you can't see 10 feet in front of you. And Ken is driving with one HAND!!


I guess tomorrow Ken agrees not to fly like a bat out of hell. We will get home when we get home. I hate rushing these trips back and forth, they are not fun!! I would like to experience more of Mexico beside Puerto Vallarta. Like I said before you might as well fly. I will never drive to Mexico again.

We stayed at the Plaza Inn in Los Mochis. It was very easy to find even though it wasn't right off the carretera as it showed on the website. Once we got our room straightened out and unpacked we went down to one of the two restaurants.  Owen's was open for dinner and I have to say the service and the food was excellent!

Ken had a Sirloin and I had a filet mignon with a yummy sauce. I also ordered scallops as an appetizer. They were very good. Trinity had a breaded fish. The waiter called the fish lenguado. As far as I can tell it is either sole or flounder. I tasted it and it had a texture almost like chicken but tasted like fish. She also had hot chocolote which I suggested since she was cold. I regretted that. She mostly played with the drink. She didn't like the fact that it had skim on the top, you know when the milk is slightly overheated. Then she didn't like any little speck she saw in her cup.

We had two drinks each with our meal. I had two margaritas and Ken had two bohemia's. Trinity did not like her chocolate milk so she also had a sprite. By the time we were finished I was very full. Then they bring the dessert tray full of desserts. I could not even fathom having dessert!

After dinner we came back to the room and veged out on TV and internet. Till tomorrow....

Packing up for the trip home

Today was spent packing suitcases, cleaning up. Making sure we had enough pesos for the Cuotas and gasoline. Made reservations at the Plaza Inn in Los Mochis. I really wish we were able to take the Copper Canyon train up all the way to Chihuahua and back. Not happening, Ken just doesn't seem keen on doing this. Guess I will have to find someone else who would like to make that run with me.

Most of the stuff is packed into the car. We have a change of clothes for tomorrow and our swimsuits and PJ's to keep in a cloth bag. This way we won't have to drag our suitcases up to the room. I will try to take more pictures of the trip home to post on this blog.

I think if we flew in, I would not be so paranoid but we are driving and we still have to cross the border. AZ does not have the best reputation here in Mexico at this time and we do have AZ plates.

I usually get this when we are coming or going, so it's probably just me.

Villa del Palmar

Finally, we made it to Villa del Palmar. When we went on a Timeshare jaunt last April we had recieved a $100 certificate towards food and beverages at Villa Palmar. The resort was pretty nice. The decor was traditional Mexico. There were two swimming pools and it is beachfront. The service staff was excellent. We had a waiter by the name of Francisco and he was awesome! We had no problems using our certificates and they treated us as if we were spending cash.

We had drinks and food. Ken ordered a roast beef sandwich, I had a huge burger with fries (120mxp) and Trinity had a quesadilla. The Cuba Libres (70mxp) were coming fast, along with Kens Negro (mxp) Modelos, Trinity had a Pinada.

I must admit I felt the drinks. I guess I had not eaten since breakfast and they hit me hard! We came home and I went swimming to sober up. I thought I lost my phone again, but it was hanging in my small purse on the chair. Ken was not very happy about having to look all over the place for it.

One thing I really liked about the resort was there was a lot of people! It was nice to hang out with other folks and to talk to someone else for a change. Our resort is so big and has two huge pool areas, that you feel very isolated.

I felt terrible for the vendors since they are not allowed to step foot over a rope that marks the resorts bounderies. So they stand there trying to get you to look at them which is their signal to come and try to sell you their wares. I bought a couple of wraps for a fairly good price.

Towards the end of our day a vendor with an iguana appeared. We were able to get a couple of pictures with Trinity holding it. I was surprised that she did not mind doing that.

Sarah's Last Day in Puerto Vallarta

Today was Sarah's last day in Puerto Vallarta. So we did some things she wanted to do. She was looking for a couple of things to take back and wanted to watch the fireworks from the Malecon.
So we headed to town around 11:30. We parked in our usual parking spot near McDonalds. We headed East away from the Malecon mainly because we have already shopped on the Malecon many times and did not want to deal with the timeshare folks.

Ken wanted Sarah to taste the Tacos al Pastor before she left. I asked a lady who was walking by where we could find a place that sold Tacos al Pastor, she pointed towards the direction we were traveling and said five blocks that way. Now in most cities five blocks would be a long ways, but in Mexico their blocks are very small so five blocks might equal one of ours. We walked the five blocks and could not find the place, so I asked a man who was walking nearby and he told me to go up East one street and then turn right which was the direction we were headed. He said we would see the church and something to the effect that there was one near there. I honestly didn't understand the last part. Spanish was too fast for me. So we went that direction, found the church which is the church I have been wanting to visit. Still no taco stand. Across from the church was a restaurant so we walked in to see if they knew if they could give me directions. By this time Ken and Sarah are getting antsy notice you can arrange the words to spell (nasty). They don't do well when they are hungry. So we ended up eating there.

Ken mentioned that he felt safe eating there since sitting next to our table was a nun.

I ordered shrimp fajitas. Ken had chicken fajitas and Sarah had garlic fish. Trinity was not very hungry and only had one bean and cheese taco. With the meal came a bowl of vegetable soup, agua pina, and flan.
I made a few tacos with the fresh corn tortillas that they brought, squeezed some fresh juicy lime over it and poured some of their tasty salsa on top. It was wonderful! Ken made tacos out of his too. The soup was most definately homemade and delicious! Sarah said her fish was wonderful and Trinity ate all of her taco. The meal cost under 200 pesos. Not bad at all.

Sarah needed to use the washroom before we left. I laughed when we first sat down because I faced the washroom and the door was more like half a door wide! I remember my abuela having a bathroom door similar to this. Brought back memories.

We left there and went to the church across the street. I love to visit the local churchs whenever I go to a new town or village. Our Lady of Guadalupe church is a popular landmark in Puerto Vallarta.

I took several indoor pictures which do not do it justice. It is not a big and is more simple than I expected it to be.

After photgraphing the church we went West towards the Malecon. We had several blocks to walk back to the car. I wanted to buy a few more Christmas gifts so I kept my eye open for anything that looked promising. We went into a couple of souvenier shops, I figured Sarah and Trinity might want something for their friends. Then we moved on. We were hounded at every restaurant and timeshare kiosk we passed. It can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. You have to lie to them or they don't give up. We tell them that we already own here and are not interested, that usually does the job or you can just act like you don't see or hear them, but I find that kind of rude.

I remember that Iwanted to find The Rolling Stone Leather store because I was had read they had nice leather purses for very reasonable prices. Trinity was keeping a lookout for me and finally pointed it out. Its funny that I have looked at this store just about everytime we have been to the Malecon and never once paid attention to the name. We went in to take a looksie. They had some nice things, especially the boots and compact purses, wallets etc. I fell in love with a small purse made out from stingray, it was around $98 US. But Ken gave this signal which meant no more spending.So I passed it up. I had already picked out a cute purse for Sarah and a pair of harachas. My sandles broke and I needed a replacement. I tried to get Trinity to pick something out but she didn't see anything she liked.

Leaving The Rolling Stone Leather shop

Note: blow up this picture by clicking on it. The detail in the doorway and door are pretty awesome!

After we left the leather shop I spied the No Name Boutique. I had read a about this store in a review and I really wanted to check it out.  I bought a cute dress and a couple of outfits for Christmas gifts.

I was also able to find a blouse that my Aunt had asked for which was a load off my shopping list!

OK, one more stop, I wanted to buy something from the La Bodeguita Del Medio shop. They sell T-Shirts, hats, cigars and other souvenier items. I made my purchase then we went upstairs for one more Mojito and water for the girls. We really needed to take a break and cool off!

Took a picture of the girls with our favorite hostess.

We finally left La Bodeguita and headed home for a little cooling off by the pool. We headed back to town later on and walked all the way up the Malecon again, with my New shoes! Big mistake!!! We watched the fireworks then we headed to Bubba Gump Restaurant for some viddles.

Since Ken had already eaten and so had Sarah, so I thought I figured it would just be Trinity and myself eating. I ordered the Bubbas after the Storm Bucket of Trash. It came with Spicy fried shrimp, battered Mahi Mahi, Crab claws. We also ordered something called Shrimpers Heaven. I ordered a bowl of Crab Bisque for Sarah since she was eating our food. I guess she didn't eat like I thought she had but was not interested in ordering. Trinity and I were starving!! Sarah and I had a strawberry lemonade, and Trinity had some kind of Pinada type beverage. Ken and a draft Negro Modelo.

A Day With the Dolphins

Off to Agua Venturas for the day. The highlight of course was being able to spend time in the water with dolphins. First off finding the park was quite tricky. We took the main road that runs through Vallarta, Carretera 200. Heading North from the Marina area we drove past the airport and across the river into the state of Nayarit. As you enter Nayarit you will see a sign for Nueva Vallarta. Take this exit and immediately take another exit! Yes I know it sounds funny but there is an exit within an exit, so be on the lookout, slow down as soon as you exit. So once you are on the second exit you are in front of the water park. I know it didn't look like one to me either, but once you go down a bit you will see a palapa like entrance which then looks like a water park.

We made our reservations online which saved about $16 per person! So if you know you are going to do this and you are not with a cruise, make your reservations online. I suggest you try not to go on the days that cruise ships are in and don't do Sundays because that’s when the locals come to play and it will get awfully crowded. The Aguatic park is closed on Monday

We did the dolphin encounter. Our admission allowed us to enjoy the dolphins. We were also allowed entrance into both the sea lion and dolphin shows. Plus all the rides in the water park. This also includes the inner tubes. Make sure you bring towels because even though the website says they have them for rent or loan they told a couple of ladies ahead of us that they did not have towels.

Food is sold there at reasonable prices. Hamburgers & fries (79 mxp), hotdogs & fries (59 mxp), club sandwiche and pizza. There is also a restaurant which probably has more on its menu. They sell alcoholic beverages, sodas and lg water (25) mxp.

Lockers are provided for your belongings. You have to go to the souvenir store, pay a 50 peso deposit they will provide you with a key that fits a locker near the front entrance. There are also lockers near the dolphins which are ready to use, the keys are there so you don't have to get one from the store. The only bad thing is they are much further away from the rides, so you may want to start out with a locker by the main entrance.

They take photographs and videos of you or your group. The package runs from $130 US to $150 US. If you have a waterproof camera you are allowed to take it in with you in the dolphin area. The sidewalks around the slide and pool area are hot so if you have water shoes wear them!

Be sure to buy your bio-degradable sun screen elsewhere since a tube is $16 US at the park!

Another note, there are two dolphin adventures in Puerto Vallarta, be sure you are looking at the one with the water park, because the other one only has the dolphins, they do not have the water park.