Saturday. 11/23

We met our first timeshare shark at the airport. We thought they were only in the streets, so our "guard" was down. He claimed to be an employee of the airport, and that it was his job to see that we were not ripped off by any cab driver. He even had an official-looking badge with his picture on.

Cab driver didn't know where CyC's was!
Met JR, KATINSOCAL, and Capt Jack, Cindy and Kerry.
Now, meeting new folks is hot and thirsty work, so we had to stay cool and refreshed, eh... Many Pina Coladas...

Met Pat & Dale at the Blue Shrimp for dinner.
Best shrimp we've ever had. Highly recommended!
You can order by the KILO.

P&D offered us a ride back to the Marriott. During said ride, we were formally introduced to PV's cobblestone streets. If you wish to get rich in PV, open up a shock absorber and front-end repair shop! No bucking bronco ride could ever be as exciting!


Sunday.

Spent daytime at the Marriott pool. There is a swim-up bar. Now, swimming is hot and thirsty work, so we had to stay cool and refreshed, eh... Many Coco-Locos... They chop the coconut up afterwards for you to eat.

Went to Bodeguita del Medio for dinner. Met Lauri & Steve, Pat & Dale, and Deb & Bill. Had an unusual Cuban drink, full of green mint leaves and 200 proof Cuban rum. Called a "Mojito". Now, shouting across the table with 8 people is hot and thirsty work, so many Mojitos were consumed.

After dinner, we all went to El Guamuchilito for their special
"Coffee Yayas". They are on fire at one point, and blue flames get poured from glass to glass. It is a real "show". There were many ingredients, Brandy being chief among them. And, of course, watching a fire show is hot and thirsty work so...

Then Capt Jack and crew appeared, seems they were at another table out of our sight... They informed us that JR lived very close, so we went to visit.
JR's door was banged upon, to no avail... :-(
Methinks he called the police about a "rowdy drunken bunch" outside his front door! :-) :-)


Monday.

Explored the entire Marina Vallarta area, where our hotel, the Marriott, was.
Shops, condos...
Even found the Hospital in PV that accepts Steve's US Govt. Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The Ameri-Med. Right in the marina! Convenient for future...
Went up to the bar at the top of the Lighthouse, El Faro, for Sunset Drinks.
Recommended for sunset-watching and drinks, not dinner.
T'was a yellow building blocking a large bit of the sunset, turned out it was the Marriott!
Now, climbing lighthouses is hot and thirsty work, so had to have many Margaritas...
For dinner, we went to Portobellos at the Marina.
Now, I'm Italian, and it has to be really exceptional to impress. Well, dinner at Portobellos wasn't as good as mom used to make, it was as good as GRANDMA used to make! Highly recommended!

Tuesday.

Today we took an official tour. It was run by Harris Tours. We'd recommend them highly. The tour was very well organized, and the staff very Professional. It was called "The City and Jungle Tour".
Went through town, downtown, flea markets, The Malecon, the big Cathedral, then went up into the mountains.
Went to El Pitillal, Conchas Chinas, Los Arcos and Mismoloya.
Saw the set where Night of the Iguana was made, and the set where The Preditor was made.
We had a late lunch on top of the mountain at Chino's Paradise" There was no electricity and no written menu. They have this big tray with everything they have, and they point out what each one is while you stand around the front of the restaurant. Then, they swish aside a curtain, and you see the prices.
We chose the Seafood platter for two, and it was HUGE!
Hope the picture came out...
Food was great.
And, of course, mountain climbing is hot and thirsty work, so many Tequila Sunrises...
Got back to the Marriott and zonked out. Had a small dinner, a small Pizza pie, and watched some Games at "Champion's", the Sports Bar at the Marriott.

Wednesday.

We met Deb and Bill for breakfast. Then, we went along with them so we could get an idea of the "reality" of everyday life in PV. Went into a few furniture stores, the Gigante food market, etc. Let's face it, if you live in PV, you're not going to go to glamorous restaurants every night. More likely to be home nuking a TV-dinner!
Speaking of which, another "little" thing we learned, it's tough to find appliances with the buttons/instructions in English. Another fact to file away...
Went to see D&B's Condo and then went to visit Pam at her place of business.

We went to see the Hotel where we were originally supposed to stay. The Premier. Chatted with the Foreman of the construction crew. Basically, it's not damage-repair at all, it's "clean-up". He said they were still shooting for a 12/15 reopening.

Went into town, got the obligatory tacky little souvenirs. Souvenior-shopping is hot and thirsty work, so we stopped into Pipi's for drinks and their famous guacamole, made right at your table!
It was delicious! Highly recommended!

Walked around a bit more, then realized that eating guacamole is hot and thirsty work, so we stopped at "Oscar's", on the river, for many drinks.
While there, we encountered our second and only other timeshare shark. Inside the place! She was dressed well, and began asking us how was the food, so we figured she was an employee of Oscar's and, again, our guard was down. Deb and Bill caught on right away, we didn't.

We had dinner at Frankfurts, since we arrived too late to go the previous Friday with everyone. It was Wunderba! The Sauerbraten was as good as I've had in Munich! Highly recommended.

Thursday.

Visited Brenda at her place of employment. Handed over the lemons!

Went on a Mini "Tequila Tour" in El Pitallal. Learned origins, how made, great gift shop, tasted mucho brands, from the weakest, up through Racillo.

We bought 4 bottles of Tequila. When we got home, there were five
bottles in the box. Neither of us has ANY idea how the extra bottle got
there!

Figured we should have Mexican food at least once, so we dined at
Cafe De Olla.
It was very good. Recommended.

Went for drinks at Andales. This was the only disappointment of the
whole week. We didn't like the music, (Disco-Pop), the seats had no backs
and were very uncomfortable, and the specialty of the day, a
lime-flavored margarita in a glass so huge you had to pick it up with
two hands, was not that good at all.

Friday.

Our first "Friday" at CyC's. It was so comfortable we didn't even go for
dinner. We DRANK dinner there! Met Laura(WXDIVA), Doug, Mansam,
Margarita Mom, Capt Jack, Brenda, and JR there.

Went to the "Pie in the Sky" for desert. Had great spiked coffees and
cakes and pies. Highly recommended.

And that's it. Saturday's airlines fiasco is described elsewhere. Gotta go now;
writing trip reports is hot and thirsty work!


Our WebShots Page