Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta Mexico- January 19th to Feb 2nd, 2008-02-18

Puerto Vallarta lies along Banderas Bay, the second largest bay in the Western Hemisphere. It is located 352 kilometers (219 miles) from Guadalajara, the state capital of Jalisco, and it is nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountain range. The region has many forests, rivers and waterfalls, with an average temperature of 27° C (80° F).
I must first thank Ron and Pam Larose for allowing us to stay at their condo

in Nuevo Vallarta (about 30 minutes north of P.V.) The condo was excellent right on the sandy white beach with two huge swimming pools superb new accommodations and the boogie boarding was rad!

Thanks so much as we are still trying to save a little money for the big trip (Home). Coupled with the stresses of trying to sell the house, the pressures of working and the two straight years of slaving for the $ and dedication to trying to get this trip going simply took a toll and we needed to get away.

Brent could only get a week off of work so the first week was dedicated to doing what ever Brent wanted – That typically included being on the beach with beer in hand J so that is what we did.
The first day we went to a large super store called- MEGA (a lot of locals shop there) we simply got in a cab and asked to go- it was $10.00 US dollars from the condo- Villa Magna in Nuevo Vallarta. There we spent $300.00 US dollars on booze, food, snorkelling gear and mix. –Seems like a lot- I thought so too. Mexico is not as cheep as it use to be (especially in the tourist areas)- the good thing is we mainly eat in (especially for breakfast and lunch) plus there was still a little left over for the next person to arrive at the Larose cottage. J

So what are the high lights you ask?
Well the first few days were spent on the beach tanning, walking, exploring the surroundings. There was a great dinner place off to the right of the condo complex (closer to Paradise village) on the left hand side of the road called Fajita Republic. - great food cost is around $13.00 US a plate.

Brent and I also decide to do a booze cruise on the Santa Maria which would take us to Los Arcos for snorkeling, Las Animas, for lunch and beach time and Yelapa, to see the water falls this was a all day trip including breakfast, lunch and booze for $35.00 US each.(bought at a stand just out side of Paradise Village near the water taxi pick up.)

Although Brent only had a week we decided to take Gustavo Rivera Archundia ( a coworker at the Blackfoot Inn) up on his offer to come down to see him in his home town- Manzanillo (in the state Colima just below PV.)- Thank you so much Gustavo for inviting us down –It was fun, beautiful and great to experience.
So how did this all take place well:

1. Had to get a car and figure out how to get there was the first thing on the agenda. So Brent and I took the pedal bikes out of the condo in search of a car rental company. With almost none of my spanish classes in tack we taked to the agent expaning we would like an open air Jeep for pick up at 9:00am on Wednesday January 23 and of course we would require full coverage. At a total cost of $180.00 US we were off.




2. Look on the internet and get a idea of where to go




3. Drive down the road with out falling out of the jeep during sharp turns, getting catapulted out as we went over speed bumps the size of small mountains, experiencing sensory over load when getting stuck behind a bunch of asses (please see pictures on Flicker) and dehidration due to the lack of cold beer on a hot days drive.




4. Upon arriving the next challenge was to locate Gustavo and his family that live in Manzanillo (as I have not taked to Gustavo since Canada about two weeks prior.)




5. Once we spoke with Gustavo we hung out at the main beach on the pier until he arrived – Where Brent and I had a great time- we got a few cold beers and slapped on our bathing suits and jumped in the ocean. WOW what a difference from PV just 4 hrs north- A) the water and the temperature was much warmer B) the waves were twice the size and mother nature dished up some ass kicking, so much so I had a boobie exposure accident. C) I have never experienced more salty water in my life- It was like licking a salt bed, rolling around on it and then having it shoved down and in every crevis you own.- Having said all that it was FUN- We laughed and got the shit kicked out of us by these waves.




6. Gustavo came down to the each to get us where we had a couple of quick cold ones and then he brought us up to this look out point over one of the bays. Although I have never been to Monaco the pictures I have sceen of it looked exactly like the amazing view I was experincing.- Gustavo was right when he said his home town was beautiful.




7. We stopped off to meet his Mom, sister and brother and have a drink with them in their home- now we can see why Gustavo has so much charm –his family was very hospitable and fun to meet.




8. We get back to the hotel and take a quick shower to remove salt and sand from the unmentioable parts and start to drink- after the hotel there were two bars and because that was not enough and we still wanted to drink so the only option left was a strip club- to end our tequilla run.




9. So that ends the trip to Manzaillo- as it was lights out clothes and all. Total cost - $220.00 US for 4 of us. (ouch)
   Recall the trip down to manzinillo- well we had to return to pv but this time hung over and dry heaving. L
   
   WOW Manzanillo
   
   After Brent had to go home on Saturday the 26th I was left by myself. Dispite having spent a huge amount of time alone traveling for work, I have never spent a full week in a country where I did not really speak the language and did not have anyone to hang out with.
   It was really a good experince one in which I became more connected with myself.
   
   So what did I do? Good question for the first couple of days I was unsure what to do- I went to the beach, did a huge amount of walking – no drinking after the Manzaillo experience.
   So I looked for jobs, tried to find out more about the cost of living and housing costs- because Canada is simply too cold and it is time to move on to a diffeent lifestyle.
   Then that was not enough so I desided to go sailing & whale watching ($55.00), visit Punta de Mita ($60.00 taxi), do a day trip to PV ($29 taxis) have dinner in Bucerias,which is excellent, and take a dinner cruise to Calistas Island (very expensive at $85 a head but well worth it)- not to mention great days of boogie boarding and lazy afternoons of writing in my journal and taking afternoon swims in the heated pool.-total cost $0.00
   
   
   Let me fill you in on what I found. (PS all in US $)
   Housing costs are min of $65,000 for 1 bedroom housing –no washer or dryer in a poor neighbourhood. $150,000 to $250,000 for a nice two-3 bedroom 1500 sqft home in one of the smaller villages out side of PV or Nuevo- equipped with new apliance and a washer-dryer.
   You could get a 1 bed modern condo on the beach for around the $179,000 in Nuevo but a great modern house on the golf course was going to be $550.000. Now I have given you the rock bottom I could find –They easily go up from there. Electricity- water and gas is about $210.00 a month aprox. $1.50 a sqft with no AC you put that sucker on and you will need a cash IV of about $600.00 a month. Cost of Vehicles are around the same as Canada- Toyota Rave 4 $32,000- although small motorbikes are quite reasonable $1,500 or so. Now for the jobs- well to sum that up it really is a surival of the fittest, luckiest, smartest and truly the best connected with cash to get going. Basicly everything is commission and the commission is no screaming hell compared to the cost of living. You need to go down and carve your own job or career. One thing that is a real asset is english –so many tourists with money and especially in the real estate business they need you.
   If you would like to make a change you can go down to the immigration office in Nuevo Vallarta at Paridise Village mall located upstairs in the book store and ask to apply for a FM3 (either a extended visitors or a working one) the cost is around $120 to $180 US.
   A real estate web site : http://mlsvallarta.com/
   For jobs and other items- all in Spanish though: Anuncios Clasificados de Puerto Vallarta - Mano a Mano (http://www.manoamano.com.mx/)
   
   
   In the end I hope you found this interesting and informative if that was what you were looking for- thanks for reading- until next time.
   
   Carrie Larose- Feb 15, 2008