Chapter 28 - A Week of Fun in Puerto Vallarta, MX

 

Hello again, it's Corp & Tammy from Crabby & Chipper Travels! 

On December 12, our fun in Bucerias sadly came to an end and we checked into the Capitol O Hotel in Puerto Vallarta to a surprising 12-day celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

The streets and public square were packed with people and vendors
for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe festivities.

The festivities include pilgrimages that bring gifts to the Lade of Guadalupe church. 
Some pilgrimages are very simple, and others are like the one above
with beautiful elaborate costumes and traditional Mexican music playing.
  

There were more than 350 pilgrimages to the church during the 12-day festival.

Video of a different pilgrimage on the way to the church.

We couldn't resist the taco stands in the public square and enjoyed delicious chicken quesadillas, steak tacos, and fish ceviche.

On December 13, we went on a 8-mile walk that led us through several neighborhoods that were new to us.  

Suspension bridges are always fun.....not!

We walked around on Isla Cuale.

Houses on the bank of the Cuale River in Gringo Gulch, where the wealthy foreigners built in the 1940s and 1950s.

The narrow sidewalks and alleyways in Mexico are always intriguing.

 That evening we went to Pipi's for dinner.  It's one of our favorite restaurants in PV.

We love the fresh guacamole they make right at your table....so delicious!

The mango margarita was super yummy!

The shrimp tacos were super yummy too!

On December 14, we had an unexpected turn of events when our bathroom flooded due to a broken pipe in the bathroom in the room above us.  

A broken toilet pipe in the unit above us caused the ceiling leak.

Since there was no on-site hotel staff, Corp got into the room through a small window and quickly discovered the leak.

We were pretty frustrated with the hotel already (no towels, dirty room, no on-site hotel staff) and the flooded bathroom took us over the top.  The hotel management offered to relocate us to an AirBnB owned by the same proprietor, so we had a much nicer room and the perk of a rooftop swimming pool.

The rooftop pool was great at the end of our hot humid walks.

That afternoon, we went to Captain Don's, and saw the Gecko Band that delivered an impressive rendition of "Little Drummer Boy."

We loved their rock version of the "Little Drummer Boy".

That evening, we walked on the Malecon and came across all sorts of activities.

Corp met the Grinch who was a foot shorter than him.

We came across a huge choir singing traditional Mexican Christmas songs.

Here we are under the lights in the gazebo in the public plaza.

The twinkling and racing lights in the gazebo in the public plaza were so festive!

This was a super large Christmas tree that had racing lights.

 That evening, we also met Seattle Dave at Salty Caesar.

Super nice guy...with 23 years of living in PV, his insights made for a great conversation. 

On December 15, we embarked on a waterfall adventure, taking the bus from PV to Boca De Tomatlan for $10 pesos per person and the continuing to Yelapa via a 45-minute boat ride.  Yelapa is only accessible by boat.  The 6-foot waves were pretty intense.  Though no whales or dolphins were spotted, a sea lion made an appearance in Boca.  Our tour guide Ernie, along with Kristy and Liz from England, added fun to our day. 

Our tour guide Ernie...he sure enjoyed a lot of tequila shots along our $5 tour.

Corp picking and giving me a hibiscus.

Corp eating a berry that had a buzzing sensation.

Art along the way up to the waterfall.

Horses riding through town.

More art along the way up to the waterfall.

We made it to the waterfall after a 15-minute walk.

We couldn't pass up a photo close to the waterfall, but the water was pretty cold.

After visiting the waterfall, we walked through town to the beach.  This view was incredible.

 

We walked across a river to get to the beach park and departure dock. 
The river has a lot more current than we were expecting.

There is nothing better than enjoying a pina colada on the beach.

We enjoyed some pretty yummy shrimp ceviche at Franny's.

Their departure dock was very busy with people arriving with supplies.  Again, the town is only accessible by boat.  

A boat full of construction materials arrived so they move the lumber into town by 4-wheeler. 

Corp, me, Liz, and Kristy on the boat ride back to Boca.

 

The big waves made getting off the boat really tricky!

On December 16, we had a fun beach day, marked by the purchase of a Hawaiian shirt and Nacho Libre mask.

Corp has a new Halloween mask.

Check out Corp's new mask.

Mask close up.

On December 19, our travel plans hit a snag with several flight delays ultimately resulting in a flight cancellation.  We were rebooked for departure the next morning.   We have experienced this before, but it's still nerve wracking and frustrating.  Sun Country offered housing and meal per diems, so we ended up getting a taxi to Villa del Palmar Beach Resort and enjoyed a great Italian meal at La Dolce Ristorante.
 

The trees outside the restaurant had the most beautiful lit bulbs.

On December 20, we departed after an on-time flight.  We were told the flight that was cancelled yesterday was due to a captain's chair being broken.

We enjoyed the empty flight.

We loved all the leg room.

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

Guy sitting on the sidewalk smashing aluminum cans with a rock.

Look closely at the front of this truck. 
The steer head was wearing a bra for sunglasses.

Sometimes a beer can on the door handle is the best door alarm.

Viva Mexico!

I love the Day of the Death theme in this wall mural!

Funny!  This telephone was attached to a tree.

On the bus ride home from Boca, I saw a little girl in front of me with this hat on and I had to have one.  Found it on the Malecon for $12 U.S.  Makes me laugh every time I wear it.

Our last sunset was the best!  We never get sick of the beautiful Pacific Ocean sunsets.

Well, that's a wrap for Chapter 27. 

Stay tuned for Chapter 28, which will feature our road trip to the Emerald Coast in Panama City Beach, FL. 

Adios for now, 

Corp (Crabby) & Tammy (Chipper)