Vacation Part One

Joseph decided it was time to take a real vacation. Not an extended weekend piggy backed onto a work trip, but a legitimate, one week vacation. Given the time frame of the vacation (one week), a super lengthy flight was out of the question. Joseph was keen to do some swimming so after a little research we decided to head back to Mexico, but a different area. We would spend two nights in Puerto Vallarta and then head to a smaller beach town called Sayulita. If you look at a map of Mexico and then put your finger half way down the pacific coast, that's where we went.

Puerto Vallarta is a bit of a vacation destination, but it's also a real city with history and culture. As the plane landed and we drove to our hotel we noted the lush greenery and lack of dust. This town has much different characteristics compared to Tijuana. The driving was also a bit more organized. The sense of lawlessness I felt it Tijuana was much less.

Our hotel was a bit out of the way in a real neighborhood. Our over talkative cab driver said that our neighborhood was ugly. I liked it. It was real. And our neighborhood was referred to as the Romantic Zone which I thought was appropriate given its colorful nature. Our hotel was a super quirky former mansion of a Mexican actress named Maria Cortez. The hotel host began with a tour of the hotel which included a rooftop pool and bar. The bar was open 24 hours and was self service. Guests were instructed to just record in a notebook what they drank. The journey to this roof included two iron spiral staircases seemingly unsupported. To a person who can tolerate heights but not much more, they were dizzying. He then led us up a snug stucco hallway so small we had to almost turn sideways to fit. Down two more nauseating spiral staircases we arrived at our suite. It was fantastic.

Swimming pool in the hotel lobby

View of hotel and hills from hot tub on the roof

Living room of our suite

Same room different angle

View of spiral staircases from our patio

Stair case for only skinny people

Roof top hot tub

The preceding story of our hotel illustrates four Mexican themes I have found in my travels.

1. Mexico is not going to coddle you regarding safety. For example, the spiral staircases we encountered are probably not something you find in the U.S. either as a safety or a litigation concern. There were no signs advising you to be careful. Another example is the 24 hour DIY bar. Mexico is just going to trust you to hold your own.

2. It will probably work out/I trust you. Example here is the trust method for keeping on top of your bar tab and just a general vibe I can't quite put into words.

3. Mexico has quirk and lots of it. No two buildings appear the same. Everything seems to have its own personality.

4. Mexico is obsessed with spiral staircases.

After settling in we took a stroll around our neighborhood and had a meal at a unimpressive Mexican restaurant. The best part of the meal was watching the owners children squabble over lollipops. Later in the evening we walked town to the beach which hosted a boardwalk and a gaggle of mostly Mexican families on vacation.

Later in the evening we satiated our appetites with street tacos and tamales and retired back to the suite.

Koi fish pedicure

Joseph in old town

Saturday we did a more thorough tour of the city. There was an old church and wavy cobblestone streets. We walked the boardwalk and watched Pelicans fish. We later saw these Pelican retire in a giant tree. I didn't realize Pelicans slept in trees. We concluded the day at bar where we met a man from San Diego who had just closed on a condo in Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta is known as the most gay friendly city in Mexico and has a unique character. It's like if Provincetown Rhode Island met a beachy boardwalk town but in Mexico.

All in all it was a successful first couple of days of vacation.