Mexico Vacation

Just wanted to document some of the memorable things I did while we were in Mexico, and make it a little more interesting than my 1-sentence daily summaries in my journal, so here goes!

Day 1 - I think we woke up at like 3:30 or 4 in the morning, so we could get to the San Luis airport and catch our 6am flight. I was sick all week and drove up to my Dad's after my last final the day before, so waking up really sucked! After we arrived in Puerto Vallarta (P.V.), we rented a car and drove about 2 hours to get to the house in Playa Los Cocos. I enjoyed my first sunset at the house, and then we went for dinner at Lucy's in Aticama and bought a few things at Alba's market.

The first sunset in Mexico:


Day 3 - Although my cold/flu was finally going away, this was my first "sick" day in Mexico. Dad had bought some Jack "Yaka" fruit from a local fruit stand, and we ate some for breakfast. Then, we decided to drive into San Blas to look for waves and go grocery shopping. By the time we got to the beach, I was feeling really nauseous, and when Dad got out to look at the waves, I had to get out and puke up the Jack fruit! Jack fruit stuck up in your nose is NOT fun, I would not recommend it! LOL. Well needless to say, we didn't go surfing. We did go grocery shopping at the market, next to the plaza, and then we stopped in at the San Blas social club, and Ernie's where Fluffy the crocodile lives. Later that night, we went into Aticama for the festival, and then up to Jason & Rebecca's house on top of the hill.

Church in San Blas:


Warnings for "Fluffy" the crocodile at Ernie's


Day 5 - We drove into P.V. to return the rental car, since Dad got the truck working. Did some good shopping at Walmart.

Day 7 - December 19 - I finally decided to give surfing another try, and Bill offered to let me use his "beginner-friendly" soft-top, extra-wide longboard. So, off we went to San Blas, and took the left turn to head to Borrego beach. We decided to go all the way down to the river, where Dad had seen good waves before, but had never surfed. It was super easy to paddle out, and after a few tries, I finally caught a wave! I rode it all the way in, and stayed up for more than 30 seconds. Very cool. Meanwhile, Dad lost his board, had an asthma attack, and Bill had to paddle out to give him a board. Michelle jumped in too, trying to pretend she was on Baywatch. Dad was ok, and after a few beers, we went off in search of lunch. We decided to have lunch at the Yacht Club we had found a few days prior. Nice place overlooking a new harbor, with a pool and seating upstairs, and a little restaurant and bar downstairs. We had some pretty weird ham-filled taquitos, a bucket of beer, and shots of tequila. Great fun. Later that night, we had a big bonfire at Bill's house, since he and Brenda were leaving the next day. Drunk people + gasoline + palm fronds + no Mexican fire laws = TROUBLE! Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought, but I did get a pretty good video of Bill almost catching his eyebrows on fire!

Cool bird & sunset


The bonfire


Day 8 - Bill & Brenda drove north to go home today. We slept in pretty late, and then Dad took us to the Laguna up in the hills. It's not too far away, and easily accessible. I don't know if you can swim in it, but it was really pretty to look at, and they were a couple of cute little birds there. Then, we went into San Blas, and later we went for dinner at Hotel Garza. It was probably the nicest place to have dinner in San Blas. I had some really great shrimp sauteed in garlic and butter, with rice and veggies. After we got back to the house, we went over to Casa Manana, and Tino invited us to go to Santa Cruz for a fiesta in the plaza. We ended up going and meeting up with him and a few other locals, enjoyed some margaritas, beer, and music. Towards the end of the night, I spotted two white little puppies wandering around the plaza, and then they ran under a truck. I asked Dad if I could keep one if I could catch it, and he said I could, so what did I do? That's right, I caught one! I crawled under a pickup truck (in a skirt!) and pulled one out. Meanwhile, the other one ran away, and we couldn't find it. I kept the one I pulled out, and decided to call her "Nieve," Spanish for snow. She was pretty dirty, so we gave her a shower when we got home, and Michelle picked all the ticks out of her ears. Nieve was pretty scared and timid, and hid under the bed the whole night.

The Laguna


Nieve


Day 11 - We went into San Blas to find the vet so Nieve could get a rabies shot and health certificate so we could fly her home. We found the vet, got the shot, but they didn't do health certificates there.

Good sunset


Day 12 - December 24 - First we went by John Stewart's old house up the street, to see if we could spot some tortugas (sea turtles), where Dad & Shell had seen them before. No luck, but did see some beautiful butterflies. Then, we went to Santa Cruz and drove through the town to see if maybe we could spot the other white puppy, but with no luck. :( Then we drove down to the beach in Santa Cruz, and Dad decided to drive on the beach. The sand was pretty soft, so he headed towards the water and rocks, thinking it would be easier to drive there. Unfortunately, it was that gross clay-mud, and we got stuck! We tried all kinds of things to get un-stuck, and then finally some locals came over to try and help us. After about an hour and a half, a 4-wheeler, 3 trucks, 2 ropes, some chains, and about 10 guys later, we finally got pulled out! Meanwhile, Michelle and I enjoyed a few beers at the restaurant right there while we watched, and then we ordered some empanadas. When Dad got out of the truck, he noticed that the tire was leaking, so we couldn't stay too long after finishing lunch. After we got home, we headed into Aticama to find a new tire stem, and the guy ended up changing the whole thing for us. Phil drove up at the same time, cuz he had ordered new tires for his 4-wheeler, but they sent the wrong size, so he had to get the wheels taken off and put back onto the old tires. Later that evening, we went to Casa Manana for Christmas Eve dinner, and ate with the Baileys (Phil, Suzanne, Kristy, Sarah, and Estelle). The turkey was pretty good, but the stuffing was weird. It was this weird combination of ground beef, sweet sauce, raisins, and walnuts. After a little while, I started to feel sick, so Dad and I went home, and I got sick as soon as I got to the bathroom. Ground beef coming back up feels about as good as the Jack fruit!

The truck stuck in the mud


Day 13 - Christmas! - After we opened cards and gifts, we drove into San Blas to go surfing at the drowning river and to find some Christmas crab for dinner. Surfing was good, uneventful, and we found some crab in the plaza. Then we had a few drinks at Ernie's and used the internet. On the way home, we picked up some oysters in Aticama - I was in the mood to try barbequed oysters again. After we had dinner, we just sat around, played a few card games, and then the neighbors started lighting off fireworks! Bottle rockets and M80s I think. Super loud and some went wherever they wanted!

My Christmas snow


Day 14 - Drove to Tepic to find a vet and a bathtub. Found the vet, got a health certificate and more shots, and went searching for a pet carrier for the airplane. We walked to the plaza, saw the cathedral, Christmas tree, nativity scene, little kids ziplining across a fountain, and Huichole Indians. No luck with the carrier, so we went and had some margaritas and coconut shrimp at a restaurant in a really cool old Victorian-style building, overlooking the plaza. Then we went off in search of the ceramic store for the bathtub, but they were already closed by the time we got there. So then we headed to Walmart & Ley's in search of a pet carrier. No luck at Ley's, so we went to Walmart. Dad returned his battery, and I found a carrier! We made it back home in time for pizza night at Casa Manana, a very successful day in my book.

Tepic Cathedral


The kids ziplining across the fountain in the plaza



Day 15 - We had breakfast at Casa, then went surfing in Platanitos. We parked at the top of a hill, and then we walked down a bunch of stairs to get to the river. Then, Dad & I paddled across with the surfboards (Nieve on mine), and Michelle swam across. I wasn't very successful, so I paddled in and dropped off my board and played with Nieve. Then I took a few pics of Dad from the water with my cool waterproof camera. After we got home, we pretty much sat at Casa for the rest of the evening and then headed home.

Looking down at the river that we had to swim across


Dad Surfing



Day 16 - Slept in late, Roberto came over to go over some new plans for the house, and then Dad & I went into San Blas. On the way back, we stopped at the shell store and the "Coco Loco" bar. Then, we went to the old fort at the top of the hill, it was pretty cool.

The fort


Looking down a canon from the fort into San Blas


Day 17 - Dad started to feel a little better from his illness he'd had the whole time, and decided he didn't want to leave yet this week, like we were supposed to! After quite a bit of searching and failed 800-calls, he finally got through to the airline and changed our flight! Sweet. 7 extra days in Mexico! Dad surfed at home for a bit, and then we went to buy some food and oysters. The Baileys had their annual Lutefisk dinner at their house, and Dad & I ate 2 dozen oysters!

Day 18 - Surfed at the drowning river with Dad, Kristy, and Sarah. Ate some lunch at Etc. beach club, and had drinks at Casa.

Day 19 - December 31st! - today was the day we were supposed to be flying home, so it was very cool to still be in Mexico for New Year's. We drove into Jalco to find the car registration place, but they were closed. Then, we went into El Cora and went to the waterfalls. It was a really nice road until you get to the little village, then it gets really rough and bumpy. The last little bit of the road until the parking place is kinda scary, huge ruts from the rain, but we made it just fine. From where you park, you can see the waterfall below, and across the valley. But, I wasn't satisfied with just seeing it, so we decided to climb down. I carried Nieve most of the way, and we climbed down about 200+ stairs. When we finally got to the bottom, I was drenched in sweat! The waterfall has a nice little swimming hole, so we jumped right in. The water was pretty cold, but it felt great. Then, I climbed about 10 feet up the waterfall and jumped off! Very fun. Dad dove off. Michelle swam in the hole and scraped her foot on the only rock in the whole swimming hole! Then, we walked down the trail a bit, following the waterfall flow and Dad found the next 2 waterfalls. You can't jump off of those ones, but they were cool to see. Then we had to hike all the way back up to the car! Nieve climbed up all the stairs by herself with just a little help here and there. What a trooper. After we got home, we got cleaned up and ready to go to a little cocktail party at VJ's house up the road. It was only until 10pm, but there was some great wine and cheese (even Brie!) and fresh fruit (strawberries, pineapples, etc.) Met a bunch of people, and then went over to Casa Manana for the rest of the evening.

El Cora Waterfall


Dad jumping off the little rock


Dad diving off the waterfall


Day 22 - Went to Platanitos to go surfing. I went with Tino, and Dad & Shell were going to meet us there. He surfed a little, and I sat on the beach. We walked too far down the beach though, so I never saw Dad & Shell with the boards, so I never got to surf. After we got back, we hung out at Casa for the rest of the day, and racked up a $100 bill. Yikes!

Good sunset with Nieve


Day 23 - Went on a bike ride with Sam (Daniel & Marta's friend) to find some Aztec ruins. Couldn't find them, so we went into San Blas and had lunch at Borrego beach - Sarandeado fish - a local specialty. He had never seen the fort, so I showed him where to go and we walked around for a bit. Had dinner that night at Lucy's - great chicken flautas.

Day 24 - Went to Chacala, a cool little beach town about 45 minutes south. The name means "where there are shrimp" in Náhuatl. Later, we went to Jeff's house for his big birthday party, and had some good old fashioned American BBQ food. Yum!

Chacala


Day 25 - Jan 6 - :( packed, cleaned up the house, and got ready to leave. Then we drove into Sayulita for dinner, then to P.V. to spend the night before our flight the next morning.

The last sunset in Mexico:



Day 26 - Jan 7 - 8am flight home. Yuck! No problem getting Nieve on the plane, and then made it through Customs in Phoenix without any issues. Got back to SLO by noon, and then spent a few hours at Bill's place, followed by yummy sushi for dinner.

The End!