Final Days

I took Kelly to the airport this afternoon. She made sure to make her last night here memorable by getting in the swimming pool at the bar we were at. Now that she's gone it is real to me that I am also leaving in a few days. I made an omelet for dinner with what I have left in the refrigerator: pineapple, onion, garlic, cheese and egg. It isn't wonderful but it will do. That means I can allow myself to eat out for dinner tomorrow and Monday, but I do have cereal for breakfasts and peanut butter and jelly for lunches.

Mayto

Kelly came on Sunday and we've been low key except for yesterday evening when we went out. Today, I suggested we go to Mayto. I found a website called hidden Puerto Vallarta beaches, and Mayto stuck out because it seemed so private as well as being a tortoise sanctuary. The drive to Mayto was beautiful if not interesting. It took over 1.5 hours to get there, because nearly 20 miles of the trip was a dirt road. We didn't get photos of the journey, but I took a lot of photos at the beach. We never got lost, but we had some pretty specific directions from the website. It could be very easy to get lost, and that may be why we were the only white people we saw once we got outside of Puerto Vallarta. How refreshing! This possibly was my favorite day in Mexico. When we arrived, we were THE. ONLY. PEOPLE. Other than two Mexican surfers with their three dogs (they did not stay long), we were literally the only two people on this beach all day long. It was amazing. We ate at a restaurant on the beach; seafood of course. It was really affordable. Then we explored the beach and I kept saying, "Kelly, look at this!" The water was so clear and the beach was really steep so the waves were violent, incredible and dramatic. What a great beach day. When people say they love the beach, I can finally identify, as long as it is a beach like the one at Mayto.

A view of the beach.


Ducks that the restaurant owner had to shoo when we arrived.


This is the turtle center. I read that during mating season they rescue eggs on the beach so that they survive until hatching. Apparently this isn't mating season.


View of the restaurant.


Where our food was prepared.


A view of a hill on the beach.


A view of Hotel/Restaurant Mayto (the other restaurant on the beach).


Literally miles of beach.


More of the beach.


View of Mayto Restaurant.


We walked to this outcrop of rock and explored the creatures who call it home.


This is a snapshot of the 20+ miles of dirt road we traveled. It was rough. This was one of the few stretches of straight, curveless "road."


Kelly at the restaurant on the beach.


Kelly the first night she was here in Vallarta.


Kelly again.


Kelly on the hill above my place in Vallarta.


Kelly and I.


Video of Mayto.

Next visitor

Leia came on Wednesday and left today, a day earlier since Landon was sick at home and not getting better. She and I went out while she was here and visited Sayulita as well. The big news was me spilling scalding hot olive oil on myself and melting the skin off of my finger. It hurt. I still have no skin but since Leia's a nurse she made sure I didn't do anything to further damage it. I've kept it covered and I hope it heals sooner than later.

Leia and I before burning my finger the next day.


Martin and Enrique at the bar.


The three of us in front of the sexy Jesus painting.


Leia and I.

Dentist

I got my haircut today and my teeth cleaned. Both were cheaper than they would have been in the states. The haircut was a success. The teeth.....

It was the most terrifying cleaning I have ever had. I bled so much. Then, he tells me, someone who has never had a cavity in his life, that I have ELEVEN cavities. The cost to repair them was waaaay beyond my budget. I talked to mom and she said he couldn't know for sure since he didn't even take x-rays. At least my teeth are clean, and still in my head.

Sayulita

I decided to go to Sayulita today. It is a little town about 30 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. It's known for surfing and is much more laid back than Vallarta. I absolutely loved it. I'm coming back at least once before I leave. The town itself is small and easy to navigate. I parked and walked two blocks to the beach. Even though there were a lot of Americans, this place is more "Mexican" and less touristy than Puerto Vallarta. The waves are a lot calmer and the little bay is shallow. It is easier to relax out in the water rather than fight the waves coming in every ten seconds. There were gold flakes in the sand, and it made the water shimmer. The town and the beach were much cleaner than in Vallarta, and though there were vendors selling things on the beach, not once was I asked if I was interested in buying anything. What a change! Politely rejecting the vendors on the beach in Vallarta becomes exhausting after an hour or so.

Main plaza in Sayulita.


A view of a street in Sayulita.


Another street.


View of the beach.


Beach at Sayulita.


Another view.


View of the bay.

Marisma

There are lots of street vendors near my place, but they all serve beef. I am tired of making all of my own meals so I searched the internet to see if anyone had discussed Puerto Vallarta street vendors. Someone actually had a website with maps and ratings of all street vendors and I chose to try Marisma, about five blocks north of me in a neighborhood I hadn't yet explored. I got shrimp finger tacos and they were amazing. Two of those with a drink was less than four dollars. I will be going back often before I leave. However, they close at 5pm, so it's strictly a lunch place for me (since Mexicans usually eat lunch around 3pm, this makes sense, but I'd like to go for dinner too if it was open longer).

Day Tour

Josh and Sarah decided they wanted to do a day tour on Monday. We started by getting on the boat and traveling to Los Arcos, a rock formation just off the coast where we snorkeled and saw fish, jellyfish, eels, etc. Then we traveled to a beach accessible only by boat to walk 30 minutes to a waterfall in Quimixto. We had lunch there and traveled back to Vallarta. Of course, complimentary drinks were available while we were on the boat. They both went home today and I'm back to my routine here at the apartment.

This was a seagull who was flying next to the boat. It was eating cheetos from peoples' hands.


This is one of the rocks that are "Los Arcos." We were able to swim inside to see the wildlife under the water.