Tentative Itinerary

Ok, so the first couple of weeks are more or less planned. I'll arrive in London the 22nd, spend the day in London and fly from London to Pisa, Italy the 23rd. I will take a couple of photos of the leaning tower and then head to Florence where I'll meet up with a friend. From Florence, I will visit the Cinque Terre area, highly recommended by Rick Steves and just about every other travel writer. May 1st will be spent in Milan, then I'll fly to Athens on May 2nd. From there, I don't know for sure.

So that's it for now. I started a To Do list last night and it's growing by the second. Better get started!

Update:

My next trip is coming soon. April 21-June 24. I know I've already traveled a lot this year, but there is still so much out there in the world (so much to see so little time).

I am going to need to buy a guidebook or two and figure out when I'm going to go where and for how long in what order stage. I have a good idea of my general route, but am having some trouble with the beginning and end of the trip. I'm planning on doing a bit more research tonight (flight options/rail options/ferry options/etc.) and try to decide my first stop. I'm flying in and out of London, but haven't decided exactly where I will go from there... at this point I have 3 options: Greece, Italy, or Malta. I'm going to turn it over in my head for awhile and see what I can come up with.

Until then...

Waterfalls

Friday, March 6, 2009. The day we went to the waterfall was the best day of the trip. I will probably still be telling the story and cackling when I'm old and senile.

The day was amazing. We ate breakfast at the hotel, then drove towards Tepic to a tiny town where we stopped for directions (the bartender at the hotel had given us directions up until that point). We were told to take a right, then a left, and then turn left at the cemetery. After what seemed like an hour (it was probably closer to 20 minutes), we arrived at the "parking lot." The road between the cemetery and the parking lot was... insanely awful. I can never complain about roads again. Or at least not for awhile. The narrow dirt road was pocked and hard to walk on much less drive on. And the parking lot was little more than rocks and a few patches of brown grass.



After parking, we walked another couple of kilometers along the "road" and then down a bunch of poorly kept steps. At some point, someone cared enough to build the path to the waterfall and create different designs on each step. We finally arrived at the waterfall only to find two other groups. We had seen a couple of other cars in the parking lot, but for some reason I guess I thought the waterfall would be ours.



The four of us jumped in and swam for a bit. I got very cold very quickly, and it didn't help that I swallowed about a gallon of water. Needless to say, I didn't stay in long.

Greg wanted to explore, so I joined. Lem and Jenny stayed at the waterfall. We tried climbing up a dry waterfall bed, but that didn't work for very long. So we reversed direction, climbed back down and then climbed the rocks past the waterfall pool and through brush along the stream. We followed the stream until we found a second waterfall. At one point, I was actually standing on top of this second waterfall. How many people can say they have stood on top of a waterfall? Trust me when I say the view was amazing. I know I've used that word a couple of times now, but really words fail me. I'm not sure that there are words that describe the view or how I felt on top of that waterfall.









I couldn't get enough of the view- I didn't want to leave our even more secluded waterfall. I couldn't stop thinking about how we two were the only people on the planet seeing those particular mountains and that particular waterfall. There were no other people anywhere around and it was a... great feeling.

The two of us climbed back through the brush from rock to rock to join Lem and Jenny. The other groups had gone and the four of us were alone. We finally had the waterfall to ourselves, but we were all tired and hungry. We slowly ambled across the rocks, up the stairs, down the sad excuse for a road, and into the car. The boys had promised us a waterfall and a sunset. They had delivered superbly on the waterfall and only had to deliver a sunset. Unfortunately, we left a little too late to make it to the beach to watch the sunset. Instead, we stopped at the side of the road on the top of a mountain. We could see the sun reflecting on the ocean in the distance. It was the perfect way to end the perfect day.

San Blas

Thursday, March 5th San Blas was nice, but I think we were all glad to get out. The drive took a lot longer than expected, and longer than it should have - we missed the turn. The turn couldn't have been well marked for four people to miss. Tired and hungry, we pulled into a parking lot behind some restaurants at the beach. There were a number of restaurants, four or five probably, that all blended in together, so it was difficult to tell when one restaurant stopped and the next one started.

We ate at the second restaurant because the boys said the beer was cheaper. Yes, the beer was cheaper, but everything else was too... cheaper quality that is. Two of us ordered 7-Up, but we didn't get 7-Up. I don't know what it was, but it came in a 7-Up bottle. Note to self: remember that once a glass bottle is empty, it can be filled up with whatever the restaurant wants, which in this case, I couldn't even venture a guess. A cheap Mexican lemon-lime soda maybe? Although this stuff had a distinct metallic taste. Anyways, I'll move on from the soda. My meal was probably the safest of the four - the others ordered a meat dish. Jenny's fish was good, but looking at it creeped her out, Lem's steak tasted like Jenny's fish, and... Greg was happy with his beer.

As soon as possible, we left the restaurant and spent the rest of the evening relaxing at the hotel.

Toro! Toro! Toro!

Wednesday, March 4th, the four of us went to a bullfight in Puerto Vallarta. Later, we were told that the young, less experienced guys fight in Puerto Vallarta, and that if we wanted to see a real bullfight, we would have to go to Mexico City. In addition, we weren't aware that in Puerto Vallarta, bullfighting is strictly a tourist sport. I'm pretty sure that the only local women I saw (sitting behind colorful banners) were the matadors' mamas.

I had read an article or two about the bullfighting process, so I had an idea of what I would see. I was as prepared as I could be for the events of the fight, but there was no way I could have prepared myself for the crying sound the bull made after the first spear. I had wanted to go because I had heard so much negative press about the cruelty of the fights, but if I hadn't seen it myself, how could I form a valid, educated opinion one way or the other. And at the same time, bullfighting is part of the culture. Granted, at least in Puerto Vallarta, the fight has become more tourist culture than local culture, but the show was originally once upon a time for the locals.

I've posted a few photos. I took a lot, but am posting a few of the less graphic photos. While the blood and injuring made my stomach turn, I really enjoyed watching the dance-like moves of the matadors (well, most of them. There was one that didn't exactly know what he was doing and lost both of his shoes!)

Back Home

I'm back home, but I've been ill so haven't written. I'm a bit better today... no fever at least, but my whole body is still aching. My trip was great... until I got sick that is. But I had a lot of great experiences and a lot of fun and met a lot of great people.

Until the next trip...
elaina

An Illustrated Fairytale

Journey Through the Ass of the World

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, two fair damsels had to journey far and wide to return to the land of their origin. They met with significant strife and adversity to travel from the land of los cocos to the fair city of Puerto Vallarta.

The day started out well enough. I had the waffles with whipped cream and melon. The waffles were a bit on the soggy side, but definitely better than the unidentifiable vegetables I ate yesterday. We were having a great time. But then, all of a sudden when we least expected it, the boys decided to leave. Jenny and I conspired and decided upon a plan of attack. We attempted a divide and conquer, but the boys could not be swayed. So much for our feminine wiles.

Much faster than either of us wanted, the boys were ready to leave. Despite our requests to see us off, we were forced to see them off. We became very sad and very droopy as we watched them drive off into the wild blue yonder. We decided to soak our troubles in limonada and Fanta.

After a bit of relaxation and discussion (more discussion than relaxation), we ambled out to the bus, but not before taking about three thousand photos of everything from “our table” to ourselves posing with the wait staff. We were told that the bus would pass directly in front of the hotel at 2.00 and all we would have to do is flag it down. We stood in the hot sun for what felt like forever.

At 2.30, we waved at the bus driver, but were left waving wildly and stupidly. We didn't understand. We are nice girls. Why didn't he stop? We were clear in our intentions; we were obviously waiting for the bus.

Sweaty and defeated, Jenny and I walked back to reception. Apparently we were standing in the wrong spot and the bus couldn’t stop (reception told us to stand in front of the hotel and that’s exactly where we were standing).

The next bus was at 4.40. We had only two options. One option was to take a bus to San Blas for forty minutes (the opposite direction that we wanted to go) and then wait at the bus station for about an hour and then take the Puerto Vallarta bus from its origin. Our other option was to take an expensive taxi to a town up the road and then a bus to Puerto Vallarta from there. Neither were appealing. So we stashed our bags at reception, sat at the restaurant, and dined on margarita pizza and pina coladas. Wanting to make sure we caught the 4.40 bus, we left the hotel at 4.15. This time, we walked a bit to a flatter bit of land (reception thought that perhaps we had been standing in a bad location and that is why the bus passed us by… although we stood where they told us to).

Bored out of our skulls, we practiced hailing the bus in various ways (and even jumped around on the road just in case jumping in front of the bus was necessary).

We suffered much during this second wait. We didn’t know when the bus would arrive, so we kept our backpacks on. The palm tree trunk bench was far enough off the road that seeing the road was impossible, so we couldn’t sit down either.

(We wanted to see the bus coming). The only distractions were the frequent cat calls of strange Mexican men sitting in the back of pickups. I had no idea that there were so many desperate hard-up men in Mexico. At one point, about an hour into the wait, a large white van with no windows pulled up. A drunk man with an empty cup in one hand and a dog in the other offered us a ride. We politely declined. He told us that there were no more buses tonight. Although we were nervous about his intentions, we stood our ground and fought gallantly against this drunken dragon.

One hour and ten minutes into the wait, there was hope! A speck in the distance. Was it a run-down car with a speaker on top trying to sell plants? Was it a truck full of cat calling men? NO! It was the bus! We started jumping for joy (literally), then scrambled to take a photo of the bus (proof that it existed I suppose).

I guess this is what is meant by Mexican time. The bus was supposed to arrive at 4.40, but didn't arrive until almost 5.30. Jenny commented that she prefers German time - she likes punctuality. I just prefer not having to stand for over an hour with my backpack on. We thought about setting them down, but due to the problem with the first bus, we didn't trust the driver to stop. We wanted to be ready to leap in front of the bus or run after the bus yelling wildly and waving if need be.

We boarded to the sound of mariachi music on the television. The movie was halfway through and featured a Burt Reynolds look-a-like chauvenist pig grabbing at women, peeking at them through keyholes, and feigning blindness to get a little action. In the end, he married the blond haired blue eyed chica he had previously assaulted and was stuck with a bunch of babies and another on the way. So is the way of the world. We walked immediately to the back of the bus to take advantage of the toilet. Sadly, the toilet was locked. We had been waiting for over an hour. We had considered going back to the hotel to use their toilet, but had a feeling that the second one of us left, the bus would come. So we didn’t. We held it. As I type this an hour after we boarded the bus, we are still holding it. We have no hope of peeing within the next couple of hours. We probably won’t arrive at the hostel until ten at least, but very possibly even later than that. At the hotel, Jenny called Oasis and asked if there were two beds available. There were only three beds available. She requested two for us. I’m glad she thought of that – I hadn’t. The bus ride has been more or less uneventful. We are the only two gringas on the bus, and have gotten many stares. A woman hopped on the bus in one town, sold some tamales and hopped off in the next town. The woman sitting in front of us bought too many and offered Jenny one. Only two hours to go.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The whole dynamic in the hostel has changed. We are in sleeping in the same room as our favorite Norwegian, but he took a bunch of 21-year-old college students out last night, and as of 8.20 AM, they still aren’t back. Jenny and I had the room to ourselves, but I’m not sure that’s so much of an accomplishment when the room smells like feet and vomit. I slept okay, but am now trapped in the room by a modern day hippie and his guitar (which is leaning in front of the door).

Last night was… I don’t even know the word for last night. We arrived at the bus station north of the airport. We paid to potty, then walked outside to find a bus to the city. We got on the first bus with Tunel painted on the window. An hour later, we stumbled off the bus and into the hostel. We expected the bus to drive directly to the hostel, but we were unpleasantly surprised. We spent an hour bumping along dirt roads in scary areas of the city.

We loudly greeted everyone we recognized and even some we didn’t. We learned that Ruben (the resident gigolo and drunk) had left (we were sad) and that Alfred was out of order!!!:) Ruben is… difficult to describe. Gigolo and drunk is a very poor description. Apparently, he left only a couple of hours before we arrived. Jenny is falling over laughing thinking about about Ruben’s tanga. I'm remembering his laugh and am a little sad he's gone.

Exhausted and starving, we crawled (almost literally) to Karina’s for tacos and quesadillas. Sadly, our fave little tanga man Oscar wasn’t there. Also sadly, Karina was ready to go out dancing, but we definitely were not. As a joke, Karina put a jjalapeno pepper on each of our plates, but Jenny was the only one with enough cajones to try it.

We chatted with Karina for awhile and then finally pealed ourselves away, went back to the hostel, and completely crashed in the vomit room.

This brings us back to this moment. The damsels conquered the dragon (aka bus) and found their way through the jungle, along dark and dangerous dirt roads, and over deadly cobblestones to the oasis.

I'm sorry...

I'm sorry I haven't been posting. The four of us have been crazy busy: we went to a bullfight, climbed to a waterfall, and several other neat activities.

I think I'm heading back to Puerto Vallarta tomorrow. I'll try to catch up then, but it may take a while.

Until later...

Sayulita

Today we headed out to Sayulita. We spent the day on the beach, body surfing, and boogie boarding. Even me! Yes, believe it or not, I boogie boarded. I didn't do that great, but I tried. I took a nose dive on more than one occasion, but I did catch a couple of waves.

Me attempting to body surf. I never did do very well.... this was probably my most successful attempt.
This is the little shop where we rented our boogie boards for 30 pesos an hour.

The view from the beach.
Anyone for a horse ride? We saw lots of horses and lots of horse poop.

Me boogie boarding. This is probably the only time I DIDN'T wipe out!

I have no idea what is happening tomorrow yet... there has been some talk about a bull fight. I'm definitely not crazy about the idea of killing bulls, but I am interested in seeing that part of the culture.

Until later....

Yelapa

Yesterday, me and three others went to Yelapa. To get there, we took a 30-minute bus and then a 30-minute boat. There is no access to Yelapa by car... there are no roads to the beachside village. Yelapa waterfall. We were a little disappointed. I was expecting... more water.

On the boat on the way back from Yelapa. I got motion sickness from the boat...

Believe it or not, there is a baby whale in this picture. I'll have to crop it later so the whale is easier to see, but look for the spray of its breath.
Me in motion on the beach. I swear this photo was not posed or planned. The beach was absolutely lovely.

View from the hostel