Chapter 6 - New Friends, Hiking, and Waterfalls

Hi again...

Chapter 6 kicks off with our one month stay in Puerto Vallarta.

We checked into Mariapaz's Place on February 2.

😀 The pros of Mariapaz's Place:

2 bedrooms, 1 bath
close to a fruit and shrimp market and Walmart for groceries
10 minute walk to the beach
well appointed kitchen
secure back yard

😞 The cons of Mariapaz's Place:

in a run down apartment building in a non-touristy neighborhood
dark
propane water heater in apartment with no ventilation
located about 5 miles from the Malecon and Zona Romantica

A few pics of unique things about this place.

We parked the scooter inside the unit so it wouldn't get stolen.

Corp couldn't believe the propane hot water tank is inside the unit with no ventilation.

Toaster wouldn't stay down so we improvised. Corp shoved a spatula in the push down lever
and it stayed down to make toast.

Every night about 9 p.m. a 10 year old boy would drive a
scooter through the hall to our back patio for safe keeping.
A resident told us to keep our scooter in the unit.

Corp made a new furry friend. It looked like he had been in a fight right before we arrived. He was limping and had cuts on his head.

Over the course of the month, he recovered.
Corp was giving him treats all the time.

Charlie trying to escape the patio area.

On February 3, we went to the Art and Food Market in the Puerto Vallarta Marina.

LOTS of high end yachts in the marina.

Beautiful lighthouse.

We tried tamales...they were ok.

We tried corn on the cob...it was slathered with mayo which was odd.
I didn't mind it...Corp didn't like it.

We split a huge shrimp burrito...pretty tasty.
We waited in a long line to get it, so I'm glad it didn't disappoint.

And ended our feeding frenzy with cherry cheesecake...delicious!

On February 17, we drove 20 minutes south of Puerto Vallarta to Boca de Tomatlan, a quaint little traditional fishing village...perfect for a day trip!

The Horcones river (Rio Horcones) flows down from the Sierra Madre Mountains
through the lush tropical jungles and is home to what looked like 100+ panga boats.

There is a really neat sand bar that has a few restaurants.
I tried by first passion fruit margarita...pretty yummy!

We were up for a hike so we crossed a gang plank bridge and hiked 3 miles to 5 different beaches; Playa Colomitos (the smallest beach we saw), Playa Madagascar, Playa Hacamiya, Playa Caballo, and Playa Las Animas.

The terrain was too uneven for Charlie to walk so Corp was his sherpa.

Our last beach, Playa Las Animas, had a number of restaurants to choose from.

The shrimp tacos and shrimp ceviche at Jorge's Place were awesome.

Along the way, Charlie met some new furry friends to walk with.

We decided to take the water taxi back to Boca instead of hiking one hour back.

5 minute panga boat ride for $10 USD. Loved it! Fun day trip!

Video of the panga boat ride.

On February 18, we had a beach day at the main beach in Puerto Vallara; Playa De Oro.

Playa De Oro

Playa De Oro had a unique lagoon that ran into the ocean...neat feature.

The highlight of the day was watching whales breach.

It was pretty spectacular seeing them launch out of the water.

Look over the guy's right shoulder when watching the video.

On February 19, we hung out on the Malecon during the evening. Lots of activities going on.

Corp couldn't resist getting a brat from a street vendor.

It had all the fixings...
jalapenos, tomatoes, cheese, grilled onions, and of course bacon.
Messy but delicious!!!

Saw some beautiful fireworks across Banderas Bay.

Jugglers performing on the Malecon.

On February 20, we were walking Charlie in our neighborhood and discovered a great walking path in a dry riverbed. It became our go-to walking place for him.

Corp posing on a look out point on the trail.

Otherwise, walking him in our neighborhood was always a fiasco. So many barking dogs behind fences that sounded like they wanted to rip your leg off.

On February 20, we met our friends Wayne and Karen, from Pendicton, BC, at the Margarita Grill. Lots of laughs with them. We hope to see them again when we are traveling up in British Columbia this summer.

Their banana margarita is so yummy!

Wayne and Karen, from Pendicton, BC Dinner pic....say cheese!

On February 24, we hiked to the top of Mirador el Cerro de la Cruz in downtown Puerto Vallarta.

Very easy hike,..just a lot of steps.

On February 25, we got our caricature done on the Malecon.

It took about 45 minutes to complete.
We really liked it when we saw it.

Lots of people were spotting by and looking at the artist's progress and kept saying it looked great. Now let's hope we don't wreck it while traveling the next 4 months.

On February 27, we left Puerto Vallarta and drove south 15 minutes to Mismaloya.

Corp discovered a great beachside restaurant on Playa Palmares called Canto Palmares. We ate there at least 4-5 times.

Their shrimp tacos and shrimp tostadas were outstanding.

The restaurant had the most incredible beach view from the bathroom window. I know....pretty weird.

In Mismaloya, we stayed at Casa Iguana.

😀 The pros of Casa Iguana:

beautiful garden space
nice patio for chatting with neighbors

😞 The cons of Casa Iguana:

dark outdated room
no microwave
no toaster
motel layout so when people walked by they could look in the windows
mosquitos/no see-ums (Don't know what no see-ums are? They are a nasty super little flying bug. Their bites can result in welts that take weeks to heal. They come out at dusk and dawn.)
crazy loud birds at dusk

Crazy loud birds at dusk.

The scooter and bikes are hanging over the edge of the river bank.

Fun alligator sculpture outside the hotel.

While eating dinner one night we saw a great impromptu fireworks display.

On February 28, we had a fun beach day with our Casa neighbors, Mike and Janet from Olympia, WA. We showed them Playa Palmares and stopped at our favorite Canto Palmares restaurant to enjoy their awesome shrimp tostadas. Mike and Janet showed us Playa Mismaloya in town.

It was fun watching the panga boats come racing up to the water's

edge and stopping on Playa Mismaloya's shore.

Los Arcos - Mismaloya

Charlie and I posing.

Beach shade all set up. We bought the shade on Amazon.
It's really finicky with wind. We prefer our old fashion beach umbrella.

I just really like this pic.

Mike andOne of the best things about traveling is meeting new people.
Janet from Olympia, WA.
Hope to see them again this summer when traveling through Washington state.

On March 1, we went to Edenva and walked up to a small waterfall.

Walking across the plank bridge to the waterfall.

Corp and Charlie checking out the water.

Family shot.

Swinging by the waterfall.

Charlie fully in the water.

Charlie getting his paws wet. We were surprised since he hates water.

Corp sliding down the waterfall.

Charlie's all tuckered out after his waterfall experience.
Soon after we got kicked out since we didn't realize we were seated in a VIP area.

Miscellaneous random cute/funny/interesting pics/videos below...

VW bug with luggage and bike on top....yikes!

My dad, a big Harley Davidson enthusiast, would have love this one!

Fun looking VW van.

Charlie still loving the beach life.

Mexico is known for bands with horns and a tuba that play very loudly....

sometimes all day.

Every time we hear one we would say "more tuba" and laugh!

Corp drinking a strawberry (fresa) smoothie from a bag.
It's very common when ordering from street food vendors.

The triple chocolate ice cream bar and coconut bar were our
favorite ice cream treats in Puerto Vallarta.
We found them in our neighborhood mom-pop convenience store.