Paradise or Not, We'll Let You Decide (Friday, November 2nd, 2018)

We have really enjoyed our last month here in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, but along with the great memories, there are a few things we might want to forget.  

We have always wanted to spend an extended amount of time in a beach town, and this gave us the opportunity to do that.  We have also always wanted to try living in a city center, in an apartment, overlooking the shops below us, within walking distance of everything.  This trip has also given us the opportunity to do that.  So how did we feel about it?  Well, we definitely have mixed reviews.  

Let's start with the things we won't miss when we get home:

- Constant Sounds of Construction - Puerto Vallarta is growing incredibly fast right now, and with that comes the sounds of construction.  All day, everyday.  Jack hammers, saws, drills and skid steers to name a few.  After awhile, it got to us.

- Greta and Claudia - Greta is the parasail boat, and Claudia is the banana tube boat.  They run just off the shore of Playa De Los Muertos (the beach by our hotel).  Each day we would go for a bob in the waves for at least an hour, but we did get tired of having to watch out for the boats.  They would come very close to shore for their pickups and drop offs. We understand they are just trying to make it easier for their patrons but sometimes they came ridiculously close!

Lack of Meaningful Conversation with People Around Us - This one kind of speaks for itself, since we don't speak much Spanish and understand even less.  But even beyond that, when you don't know the people around you it's hard to have a meaningful conversation, even in English.  I know we would make friends over time, but this was still a hard one after an entire month.

Lack of Sweets - This isn't just Mexico, it's just about every country other than the U.S.  Cookies, cakes and pastries are beautiful, but they just aren't sweet.  Steve and I don't eat a lot of sweets, but I have to say that when I'm in the mood for something sweet, I want something sweet.  And here, everything is just really bland.  But we did find good flan, so that made me very happy.

Not Having a Car - We didn't think that this would be a big deal to us because we are right in the center of the Romantic zone within walking distance to almost everything.  And anything that we can't walk to, we can get to by bus, uber or taxi.  So we're still not sure why this started to bother us so much by the end, but it did.

Vendors - Some of the vendors were so nice, especially the jet ski rental guys.  We talked to them almost every day, and they were great, and we will miss them.  But some of the vendors are just too pushy.  They bug you day after day after day.  You'd think they would finally realize that you are here for awhile and give up, but nope, not necessarily.  I realized that they are just doing their job, but uggh.

Non Potable Water - We Americans take potable drinking water out of the tap for granted.  We are spoiled!  There are very few countries that have water that is OK for us (with our tender tummies) to drink without issues.  At least we could use it to brush your teeth, and that was a huge plus, but we will be happy to get home where we can drink water out of the tap without thinking about it.

Pig Sweating - Most of the time that we were here, the temperature was around 88 degrees fahrenheit and the humidity was about 88 percent.  These temperatures are certainly more tolerable than Havasu in the summer, but with the high humidity that we aren't used to, it was very sweaty!

Bugs - Everyone comes to Puerto Vallarta for the tropical climate (including us), but with the tropical climate comes bugs.  Ants, mosquitoes and no-see-ums are prevalent pests.  We learned to live in harmony with the ants, but the mosquitoes and no-see-ums  became hard to handle after awhile.

Condensation - Coming from the desert, we are not used to sweaty glasses that constantly drip on you.  We got very good at salting our drink napkins and just letting them soak it all up.

Bank Runs - We never knew what to expect when we went to the ATM for money.  Maybe they would have it, maybe they wouldn't.  We learned quickly to plan ahead because there were no guarantees of getting money when you needed it especially on a weekend!

Uninvited Entertainment and Solicitors - Whether in a restaurant or on a bus, entertainers and solicitors would just come in off the street and either perform or ask for money.  It is standard procedure here, but we're just not used to it.  We couldn't understand what the solicitors were saying, so we would see if everyone else was giving money and would do the same, assuming that they was a valid story.

Having to think about where you should and shouldn't eat - In the U.S. you really don't have to think too much about whether or not a restaurant or street cart is a safe place to eat.  The health department takes care of the concerns for us, but in other countries that isn't the case.  It's every man for himself, so you have to beware of the restaurants you choose.

Breakfast from 9:00 - Noon - We really loved our hotel, but one thing that took some getting used to was that breakfast is served every morning from 9:00 - noon.  We typically eat breakfast around 6:30 or 7:00 at home, so this was quite an adjustment.  Mexico runs on a later schedule than Arizona does (so does the east coast of the U.S. for that matter) so a little adjustment was necessary. 

OK, now that we've gotten that off our chests, lets talk about the things we will definitely miss, and there are a lot of them.

Number One...Great Healthy Food! - When we look at trip advisor, there are 1256 restaurants within 1 mile of our hotel, and keep in mind that the ocean is on one side of us, so it's a 1 mile half circle.  We have eaten at so many different restaurants, and they are amazing!  They serve fresh seafood and vegetables and anything else you could possible want.

Crashing waves - If you've never had the chance to live by the ocean and listen to the waves crash against the shore as you fall asleep at night, you've really missed out (as have we).  It is the most relaxing sound.

Soft Sandy Beaches - The sand here is so soft, so whether we were walking along the shore or playing in the water, we appreciated this part of Mexico so much!

Friendly Mexican People - Puerto Vallarta is an extremely friendly town.  Everyone is happy, helpful and enjoyable to be around.  During the month we were here, we would leave our belongings in a pile on the shore and take a swim.  Literally hundreds of people would step over our things, but no one ever touched them.  We were here during low season, and I can't speak for high season when there are lots of tourists here, but we really enjoyed the people.

Fresh Lime Margaritas - At most of the restaurants here, including our hotel, the margaritas are made with fresh squeezed limes instead of margarita mix.  They are so good.  We will definitely miss them.

Mornings and Evenings on our Balcony - Steve and I love being outside.  Our room has a great balcony overlooking the city and the Bay.  We have used it non-stop since we got here, and we will miss it so much when we leave.

Green - There is so much green here, and compared to the desert where we live, it is so refreshing.  Of course, with green comes rain, almost every night in fact, but it was refreshing for us, so we really didn't mind that either.

Mini Split A/C in Bedroom - Unlike the U.S., most other countries don't have central air.  They air condition only the room there are using at any given time.  This is so much more efficient and economical than central air.  At night we would close our bedroom door and cool only the bedroom, and it was heavenly.

Bread from La Comer - While we were here, we posted several pictures of the bread from La Comer, and that is because it is SO good.  We can't get bread in Havasu that even comes close to these little loaves of heaven.  We will definitely miss it!

Corner Convenience Store - There is a little convenience store right on the corner under our hotel.  We use it all the time for picking up little odds and ends.  It is so convenient.

Walking the Beach Almost Every Day - We have been terrible about exercising while we have been here, but we seem to get plenty of exercise by default, walking the beach and walking through town.  We can used our beach highway to get to so many places around town.

A City with Easy Bus Transportation - The town we live in is small enough that we don't have buses, so it has been really nice to be able to jump on a bus and get just about anywhere we want to go.  The one thing we won't miss about the buses is that they are all privately owned, and some are really old.  You never know what you are going to get when you ride the bus, but one thing you can be sure of is that it probably won't be air conditioned.

Daily Maid Service - We have been spoiled so badly by our room maids.  Martina, her two daughters and Elba.  They have taken such good care of us while we have been here, and always greet us with  smiles on their faces.  We will miss them so much!

Breakfast Right Downstairs - Duh, who wouldn't like to have breakfast waiting for them right downstairs every morning.

Betsy, Armando, Oscar, and Raul - Betsy and Armando are the office staff, and they have been such a pleasure to talk to everyday.  Oscar and Raul own/run the hotel.  We will miss them all!

Steps Going Up to Our Apartment - Our apartment is on the 4th floor, and there is no elevator.  We have been getting great exercise!  We will miss the easy access to fitness without ever having to hit the gym, but then again, maybe we won't miss the stairs.  We averaged about 12,000 steps per day and about 30 flights of steps per Steve's phone.

A Swim in the Ocean Each Day - Probably the thing we will miss the most is our daily swim in the Bay.  Salt water is an amazing thing because even I can float in it.  It has been so relaxing, and a lot of fun to ride the waves.  The water temperature this time of year is approximately 85 degrees so just perfect for soaking!

There are a lot of pros and a lot of cons to being here in Mexico.  But the important thing to keep in mind is that they are all a part of the Mexico experience.  If you are here, and don't give yourself the chance to experience them, then you really haven't experienced Mexico.

Halloween and Dia De Los Meurtos, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (Wednesday, October 31st, 2018)

We've always been curious about Halloween in Mexico.  Do they celebrate it, or don't they.  We know that Dia De Los Muertos is a huge celebration, but just never understood how or if they go together.  So this year we had the opportunity to find out.

And what we discovered is....Halloween is huge, at least in Puerto Vallarta.  We think this might be because of the huge expat influence in this city.  

In order to get a good table at a restaurant on Halloween night, you have to have a reservation.  The expats are out in force at all of the restaurants handing out candy and trinkets to all of the kids.  The kids don't trick or treat from house to house at all, it just at the restaurants along the Malecon or at least close by.

The amphitheater on the Malecon was also packed.  We aren't sure if it was a Halloween show or a Dia De Los Muertos show, but it was very popular.

All along the Malecon were Dia De Los Muertos statues.

This picture gives you a better perspective.  These statues are huge!

There were alters set up all over town as well.  Some were in businesses, and some were out on the street.

We didn't get front row seats at our restaurant because we didn't realize that a reservation was required, but we were still managed to get some pictures of the huge crowds on the Malecon and the Dia De Los Muertos parade that went by. 

We enjoyed our shrimp fajitas in the relative quiet of our second floor restaurant.

And then headed back out into the crowds of the night.  Unfortunately, we didn't last long, it was a little overwhelming for small town folks like us.  So before long we were heading back toward the solitude of our hotel for the rest of Halloween night.

As we made our way back, the pirate ship shot off it's fireworks, just as it does every night down by the Malecon.

What a fantastic night, enjoying Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos festivities in Puerto Vallarta with the locals.  We had no idea what a huge combined celebration this is and are so glad we got to experience it.

El Tuito, Mexico (Tuesday, October 30th, 2018)

We're nearing the end of our month long stay in Puerto Vallarta, and have seen just about everything we had on our bucket list for this trip, so now we are filling in our days with the places we thought we would visit if we still had time.  

One of the places that you can visit on with the "Vallarta Adventures" group is a little mountain town called El Tuito.  We prefer to do things on our own for the most part, but if it's a place they take people for the day, we thought it might be worth seeing.

So we took the bus that goes to the Botanic Gardens, and then just stayed on to the end of the route, and ended up in the town of El Tuito.

There were three stops in the town of El Tuito.  We stayed on till the very last stop, which went to the town square and all of the city buildings.  It is a pretty area of town.

What we quickly discovered is that El Tuito is NOT a tourist town.  It is a very quaint, true Mexican town.  No one speaks English, there are no vendors trying to sell you things, and most of all nothing is American style.  It is a beautiful mountain town, where everyone is living life the way they do every day, and they don't care if you are there or not.

On the edge of town, there was a farm nestled into the jungle.  And just beyond the farm was this building.  We're not sure what it was, but it was very pretty.

A corn field.

 It's hard for us to understand how they keep the jungle out of their crops.

We enjoyed our walk through the town, just taking in the sights.

We needed some produce, we we stopped into the little grocery store.  The lady down the street actually called it the Tienda Grande, but I think that's because it actually carried everything.

This is the mix that they use at Cocina Economica in La Cuz  to make their  tortillas.  We saw the lady dump it out of one of the bags while we were eating lunch there. I really hope we can find some in Arizona to try, because it makes great tortillas.  I'm sure there is something to do with the technique as well, but I'd love to figure it out.  This mix is also gluten free, so that's great news too!

They even carry bulk animal food in this store.

We bought our avocados and tomatoes and started looking for a place to eat lunch.  This little restaurant was back by the municipal buildings so we decided to give it a try.

They had a beautiful indoor courtyard.

Steve ordered the machaca (shredded beef with egg).

I had the chili rellano.

Both were very good.  


After lunch it was time to head back.  We caught the bus at the same place that it dropped us off.  This bus was a little more "used and loved" than the bus we rode to get here, but that was fine.  As we were choosing our seats Steve noticed four very large tires in the back of the bus, but didn't know why they were back there.

But at our last stop before the bus left town, it stopped at the automotive store on the highway and dropped off their tires.  We thought that was hilarious!

The fare for the trip home was not quite as much as the fare to get to El Tuito (35 pesos going and 32 coming back to Vallarta; $2 US).  Go figure!  We have no idea why but seems to happen regularly.  It is always an adventure riding the buses.  You never know what you are going to get, or what it is going to cost you!  But it's always cheap, and it always gets you where you are going!  

Today I decided that the less they charge, the faster they drive.  It's definitely more of an adventure that way.  The drive to El Tuito was about 30 miles from Puerto Vallarta, and took about an hour and a half, and believe me, he was hauling.  It is a very windy, jungle road the entire way.