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.

Father's Day in Mexico

Started the day out at the pool. Had a couple of glasses of some really good cheap German wine with our neighbo Tonita. We met Tonita at the pool one evening she was out there with her son Maximo. He is such a cute four year old and reminds me so much of my grandsons back home. She and her family just moved back from Cancun where they work in the Timeshare business. It must be lucrative since they have a nice condo here in the Bay View Grand.

After the pool, we decided to go to town for dinner. I wanted to take Sarah to see La Bodeguita del Medio. This was one of mine and Ken's favorite places to have fun. Well they were not having any specials and I hate the fact that they don't mark down the rates for slow season, where many of the other restaurants do. So we had drinks, mojitos for us, water for Sarah and a pinada for Trinity. We also ordered a couple of appetizers to stave off Sarah's headache, some meatballs and some mariquitas (fried plantain chips.) The dipping sauces with the meatballs were good.

Sarah was getting a headache because she was hungry.

A fun part of La Bodeguita de Medio is that you get to graffiti the place to your hearts content, they even supply the marker! Trinity had fun doing this, since it will probably be the only business establishment she will ever get to graffiti without consequences.

After this we went to try out La Dolce Vita. I had read some great reviews on it and knew they had excellent pizza's which the girls would want to try. When we arrived there was a line forming outside and it was pretty crowded inside, I thought we would have to wait, but no they took us right in. The line outside was probably for the folks who wanted to dine on the patio upstairs. I was okay with being right near the air conditioning!

Ken ordered first since it was Father's day. He had the lasagne, I ordered a Carppacio appetizer, it was thinly slice raw beef in some type of herbed oil with some very thinly sliced parmesan cheese. Served with toasted bread! It was very good. For my meal I asked the waiter to order for me and he picked a seafood pasta special. I was very happy with his choice. It had spaghetti noodles with stuffed oyster shells surrounding the pasta.  The oysters and the shrimp sauce was excellent! My tastebuds were in seventh heaven!

Sarah and Trinity both had pizza as I suspected they would. Sarah had a Diavola Pizza and Trinity had a Salami pizza, both looked good. Sarah's had thinly sliced serranos and it was hot! Trin ate most of hers there, while Sarah only had a few pieces.

The only thing missing from the meal was a decent salad. I always love a good salad with Italian food.
The wait staff were very nice and friendly, even offering to take our picture as a group.

Yelapa

Wow tomorrow we are finally going to Yelapa! I love Yelapa, I love the people of Yelapa! Yayyyyyyy!

Botanical Gardens of Vallarta

We set out on a new adventure, a trip to the canopy to visit the Puerto Vallarta Botanical Gardens. It was well worth the 30 minute drive. It might be cut in half in a taxi since they drive like Italian racecar drivers!

We were so glad we decided to make this trip, the gardens were beautiful! We were smack in the middle of the rain forest pretty far up in the mountains behind Vallarta. I encourage anyone who heads to Puerto Vallarta to take a trip to the Botancal Gardens.

There are many exotic plants and flowers to enjoy year round. The trails are easily accessible, but try to wear shoes with good traction be it sandles or tennis. I wore a pair of flip flops and did okay but my feet were hurting me towards the end due to no arch support.

We decided to hike down to the Rio Swimming Hole. The path looked okay at the beginning, then we started go down stairs, lots of stairs you'd see the end then the path would snake around and there were more stairs! My feet were starting to hurt, mostly because I was not wearing proper shoes. Was there no end in sight? Finally we get to some levelish ground, there are some big boulders that the path winds around. We gently step through and around them, me looking closely at every log because it looks like a crocodillo! Plus keeping my eyes peeled for snakes. We finally get to what we guess is the swimming hole, not very clear as you can see from the picture above. Lots of bugs and mosquitos. They had heavy rains the day before so that probably accounts for the murkiness and bugs. I was so freaking hot by then, if I had on my swimsuit crocodiles be damned I would have jumped in. Seriously, I thought I was going to die right there in the middle of the flipping jungle!! Ken and the girls were eyeing the trail that went up high over some boulders because it led to the waterfalls, I said go ahead I will be happy to just sitting here on this old bench beneath this tree which has cougars and snakes living in it waiting to pounce on some weak human once they were left alone. So off they went to the waterfalls. I was sitting there trying to cool off and it just wasn't happening. Not like AZ when you get in the shade it's cool, here it's as hotter! So I decided to just get a head start and start hiking out of there. This way I am not holding them up when they come back from the waterfall. So I headed out. I forgot to bring a bottle of water with me and thought I was going to pass out a few times. I finally made it to the last set of steps and looked up to see the restaurant with it's cool refreshing beverages cheering me on! So I  kept going. Every three steps I had to stop to catch my breath and fan myself off. Damn why didn't I bring a bottle of water? I kept myself going because I knew there were people up there cheering me on as they watched me stumble up that damn hill! A cool refreshing drink awaited me.... had   to  keep   going....

I made it....... yet to live another day!

There is a nice restaurant at the botanical gardens Hacienda de Oro, a very pretty hostess and our waiter/bartender Rudolof. He was so nice. The minute he helps you into your seat he brings the ladies a scented flower for their hair. Ours were gardenias, so sweet smelling. He then brings you a rolled up washcloth which as been chilling in an ice chest. You open it up and it feels like heaven just kissed your hot sweaty face! He then takes your beverage order and food order if you are going to eat. We just had breakfast before we arrived so we were not hungry. They have the most delectable drinks and a fine food menu. Homemade icecream or milkshakes are available too. The view from this over the canopy restaurant is breathtaking. There is a nice breeze that comes through which makes you feel so welcome to stay forever. The pretty hostess allows me to take a photograph of her in her traditional dress.

The beautiful hostess.

Rudolfo and myself

Shopping on the Rio Cuales

The girls and I have been wanting to go shopping on the riverwalk. Ken finally relented and took us. First off was to find a parking spot. It's hard to find one in town even in the slow season. I could not imagine having to find one in high season! Then Ken gets to show us that he does not have any skills at parallel parking! So embarassing for him everytime. I keep saying we should take a cab! It's only around 50 pesos for a cab for all four of us.

We take the malecon route since me and the girls like the slow pace he has to travel and we get to see the crowds and goings on.

Trinity met a small parrot name Jueves, he was so cute and friendly. The owner and artist took her out of the cage and let Trinity and Sarah hold her. The people are so nice there.

Puerto Vallarta has sculptures everywhere you can imagine. They are amazing and fun to photograph.

We did some shopping..

We had drinks but didn't eat, I hope they don't starve!

The River Cuale was ooookay, not what I expected. Personally I would never go there again this time of the year, too hot and too many pushy sales people! I know this is the slow time but I cannot handle being approached every 4 feet by someone throwing stuff in your face!

The Marina

Our condominium Bay View Grand is located in the Puerto Vallarta Marina area. It is about a one mile trek to the marina and it is worth it once you get there, many nice restaurants to choose from. Not so many timeshare sharks! Timeshare sharks are heavy here in Puerto Vallarta. They are a very colorful group of people trying to make a damn good living getting you to take a look at the timeshares available in PV. They have creative ways of setting the hook. Say for example you are wearing an Oceanside T-shirt, they will start the conversation with, "Hey are you from Oceanside? I've been there before" etc and so on. They call it a game, and if you have a week or so in PV it might be worth a few hours of your time to play the game. They make these tempting offers for example, $400 US dollars cash to go take a look or say tickets for four of you to go on the Pirate ship or Encounters with the dolphins. If you plan on doing these things it may well be worth your while to let them pick up the tabs. If you already own timeshares then the offers will almost double!

This is a timeshare resort thate we checked out.

Only a million bucks if you want it fulltime! Around 50 grand for one week a year!

Our Timeshare Shark (Can't remember his name)

Boats docked in the Vallarta marina.

A Trip to the Zoo

All I can say is wow! You cannot go to Puerto Vallarta without a trip to their zoo. It is the only zoo that I know of which allows you to interact with the animals.

The ride to the zoo took about 30 minutes. We went up about 1300 feet in elevation, so you can imagine the road had a few twist and turns. We were passed by many drivers who were familiar with the road. We did see some soldiers going the opposite direction. I am getting used to seeing masked men with large weapons in trucks along the highway. It must get awfully hot wearing ski masks!

The cost to enter was $50 per person which included food to feed the animals, and 30 minutes with the baby cubs. Ken did not pay for the priviledge so he just watched us from a far. The bag they make up has pictures that describes what each animal likes to eat. There was one that they called a cookie and we could not find anything that looked like a cookie. They had carrots, peanuts, pellets, bread crumbs. To tell you the truth by the time we were heading out of there the food was starting to look good to me!

Our first little occupent was this cute female monkey with her baby. She took the peanut right out of your hand.  The male seemed a bit more timid, he wouldn't take food from either of us girls. Ken went to give him a peanut and he came right down and took it from him. Go figure.

This camel liked the goodies we had for him.

The flamingos were something else, they were pretty far away when we first approached their area, but as soon as they saw us them all came running up to us. Making loud noises and practically jumping on you for the food. They were not afraid of people that's for sure.

This giraffe could easily step over the barrier between him and us, but was happy to remain in it's area. There was a young women ahead of us with her husband and I watched as she fed it a carrot from her mouth! Very courageous, nobody in our group would do it, I tried to get them to so I could get a picture, but no takers.

All the animals were so friendly, except maybe the crocodile. I have to mention there are some kind of biting bugs there that linger for several days after. It took me about 2 weeks for mine to clear up and to stop itching. They sort of remind me of chigger bites.

This little goat freaked me out. I was just looking over the wall to see what was in there and he jumped up right on the wall!! I was taken by surprise and screamed! ha ha He was too cute. It's really strange how they mix some of the animals together, for example in here they also had guinea pigs and rabbits.

We finally reached the baby cats! There were 2 Siberian tigers 1 month old, and 2 lion cubs 25 days old,  and 1 leopard 3 months old. We had such a wonderful time holding these babies. The tigers were quite a bit more aggressive then the little lions.

There is something so awesome about being able to hold and pet these wild animals. If you ever get the chance to do it, take it, you won't regret it. It was hard to leave all these wonderful experiences behind, but it was time to go home. Too bad these babies wouldn't fit in my purse!