Thursday we were in Puerto Vallarta! We got up and ready and got off the ship to check it out. PV is really big and just beautiful. It helps that the ship is actually anchored right at the heart of the city, unlike the other two ports we had been at.
We found our tour guide right away and waited in the hot morning sun for awhile until it was time to head off on our Jeep tour!
We took a short walk to where our Jeeps were waiting, had a brief talk by our tour guide, Pepe, and off we went onto the streets of Mexico! It was SCARY. Wow, you think drivers in the US are bad? Angels, all of 'em compared to those in Mexico! There were like 3 separate sets of lanes, I am still not sure how you knew when or where you were supposed to go... Thank goodness for Tony's extensive driving training!
We left Puerto Vallarta by way of the poorer, older part. It was neat but sad to see how these people live. Tiny little houses with a second story made with cardboard. Little kids alone running around outside. It definitely gave me a better understanding of Mexicans and why the ones who live here do what they do.
We drove through a little village...
And stopped on the side of the road by these cows...
To put on...
BANDANAS!!!
It was going to be a very dusty, dirty ride up into the Sierra Madres, so we had to wear these! It was pretty funny. (The guy in our Jeep with us is Bernie, who we met that morning from our ship. He happens to be from Auburn, WA, minutes from where I grew up and where my mom still lives!)
And we were off again.
Not sure what the deal is with this sign. We had been driving for an hour, no way we had been anywhere
but Mexico. But thanks for the welcome!
We stopped in a little village. It was beautiful there, an example of a very simple life. Hard to fathom with the way we live. There was a group of kids who had bracelets on tables that they carried around, following us until we stopped. We all of course had to buy some! They were really sweet kids and Tony even chatted in Spanish a bit with the little boys.
This is the school the kids go to. Mexico doesn't have enough schools for all their children, so the kids either go in the morning or evening.
The little store. The lady there was selling snacks (even Coke!), a few necessities, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies.
After the village, we headed back down the mountains. We stopped at another tequila distillery. I didn't take any pics for some crazy reason! This one was neat, it had the distillery and then a tiny little eating area and grill where we had tacos. It also had a mini market with about 5 stalls. I bought a painting from a man who was there selling his work. He paints Puerto Vallarta and I guess is pretty well known in Mexico.
Passing a big soccer field. Lots of kids playing!
Tony had to take a pic of the Mexican prison. NOT a nice place!
New construction.
Then we were taken to a beach club where we hung out for about an hour. It was beautiful!
After the beach club, we all got back in our Jeeps and headed back to where we started. We still had several hours left in PV, so Tony and I took a taxi to the Malecon, which is a long road along the beach with lots of shops.
Two men were sitting on the beach under the blue umbrella. They had made this out of sand.
AND THIS! Wow, it was amazing, and the people were bigger than life-sized!
Another shot for Tony.
Mr. Lizard was on the rocks seeing us back to the ship.
Goodbye, beautiful Puerto Vallarta!
Once back on the ship we showered (oh man, it was the best shower ever, I don't think I have ever been quite as dirty as I was that day!) and went to dinner. The show in the Savoy that night was a guy named Paul Boland who does impersonations. He did a whole show of it and it was pretty funny. Then we went to the Ice Rink/Studio B for The Quest game show. I can't even really explain it here, but I will just say I don't think I have ever laughed as hard as I did during it. It got pretty racy at times, but it was absolutely hilarious. What a great end to a great day!
Thursday we were in Puerto Vallarta! We got up and ready and got off the ship to check it out. PV is really big and just beautiful. It helps that the ship is actually anchored right at the heart of the city, unlike the other two ports we had been at.
We found our tour guide right away and waited in the hot morning sun for awhile until it was time to head off on our Jeep tour!
We took a short walk to where our Jeeps were waiting, had a brief talk by our tour guide, Pepe, and off we went onto the streets of Mexico! It was SCARY. Wow, you think drivers in the US are bad? Angels, all of 'em compared to those in Mexico! There were like 3 separate sets of lanes, I am still not sure how you knew when or where you were supposed to go... Thank goodness for Tony's extensive driving training!
We left Puerto Vallarta by way of the poorer, older part. It was neat but sad to see how these people live. Tiny little houses with a second story made with cardboard. Little kids alone running around outside. It definitely gave me a better understanding of Mexicans and why the ones who live here do what they do.
We drove through a little village...
And stopped on the side of the road by these cows...
To put on...
BANDANAS!!!
It was going to be a very dusty, dirty ride up into the Sierra Madres, so we had to wear these! It was pretty funny. (The guy in our Jeep with us is Bernie, who we met that morning from our ship. He happens to be from Auburn, WA, minutes from where I grew up and where my mom still lives!)
And we were off again.
Not sure what the deal is with this sign. We had been driving for an hour, no way we had been anywhere but Mexico. But thanks for the welcome!
We stopped in a little village. It was beautiful there, an example of a very simple life. Hard to fathom with the way we live. There was a group of kids who had bracelets on tables that they carried around, following us until we stopped. We all of course had to buy some! They were really sweet kids and Tony even chatted in Spanish a bit with the little boys.
This is the school the kids go to. Mexico doesn't have enough schools for all their children, so the kids either go in the morning or evening.
The little store. The lady there was selling snacks (even Coke!), a few necessities, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies.
After the village, we headed back down the mountains. We stopped at another tequila distillery. I didn't take any pics for some crazy reason! This one was neat, it had the distillery and then a tiny little eating area and grill where we had tacos. It also had a mini market with about 5 stalls. I bought a painting from a man who was there selling his work. He paints Puerto Vallarta and I guess is pretty well known in Mexico.
Passing a big soccer field. Lots of kids playing!
Tony had to take a pic of the Mexican prison. NOT a nice place!
New construction.
Then we were taken to a beach club where we hung out for about an hour. It was beautiful!
After the beach club, we all got back in our Jeeps and headed back to where we started. We still had several hours left in PV, so Tony and I took a taxi to the Malecon, which is a long road along the beach with lots of shops. 
Two men were sitting on the beach under the blue umbrella. They had made this out of sand.
AND THIS! Wow, it was amazing, and the people were bigger than life-sized!
Another shot for Tony.
Mr. Lizard was on the rocks seeing us back to the ship.
Goodbye, beautiful Puerto Vallarta!
Once back on the ship we showered (oh man, it was the best shower ever, I don't think I have ever been quite as dirty as I was that day!) and went to dinner. The show in the Savoy that night was a guy named Paul Boland who does impersonations. He did a whole show of it and it was pretty funny. Then we went to the Ice Rink/Studio B for The Quest game show. I can't even really explain it here, but I will just say I don't think I have ever laughed as hard as I did during it. It got pretty racy at times, but it was absolutely hilarious. What a great end to a great day!
2 comments:
WOW!!! Your pictures are amazing! You did a beautiful job documenting the day, I feel like I was right in the Jeep with you!
I LOVE that sign "Welcome to Mexico!"
By the way, you look so beautiful too! :)
Great pictures! I love the ones of you and Tony with your bandanas! I really love the sunsetting on downtown PV..very pretty.
The way you showed and explained the variety of areas and landscapes was so interesting. Thank you for sharing your trip with us! And I love my Bear!!!!
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