January 3, 2013

Had breakfast at Mc.Donald again – then checked out and headed toward Puerto Vallarta.

We are riding through jungle – sometimes the canopy is completely covering the road.

It is beautiful.  Hit a lot of traffic, however, so 2 1/2 hours later we finally get into Puert0 Vallarta.  At 85 degrees and traffic, we are sweating profusely!!!! We parked the bike to rest and noticed an Italian restaurant across the street.  Had lunch there and got our bearings – they had wifi so we were able to check out some accommodations online.  Found a boutique hotel online called Villa Olivia.

Couldn’t phone, so we drove the few blocks over to see if they have availability.  The owner just happened to be down at the street level when we pulled up – wow, what a find.  Our room has an amazing view of the ocean – we can hear the waves crashing – and it is very well appointed ($90 a night).  Denise is French-Canadian and has 16 rooms, lives on site, and speaks French (yeah, I can practice!), Spanish and English.  She is very gracious – I did practice some of the French I have been learning….. she said she just loves it when and English person speaks French because she loves the accent they give it – hahaha – yeah right, I am sure I butchered it!!!!

Got settled in, relaxed on the balcony and watched the sun set.  We took a walk down the Malecon tonight – boardwalk along the beach.  There are quite a few tourists here – more than I expected.  We had  fish tacos on the sand… loving this trip! 

January 4, 2013

Enjoying Puerto Vallarta….

January 5, 2012

Left Puerto Vallarta after breakfast.  I am really enjoying all the fresh fruit here – usually papaya, apple, pears, bananas, pineapple…. We continued south on Hwy 200 – lots of curves on this road.  Scott keeps scraping his boot tips!

The picture above shows a cross- typical especially around a dangerous curve where someone has died.  Below is a shrine – we have passed several.

The temperature is getting up to 90 degrees during the day.  Not too bad if we are riding at a good speed, but as soon as we hit traffic we start sweating!  Stopped for lunch at a roadside fruit stand – had papaya, watermelon and pineapple.  Delicious!

We decided to stop at a little beach town called San Juan – we ended up at Hacienda Trinidad, a beautiful hotel with pool and restaurant right on the water.  We got into the pool to cool off as soon as we could, then swam in the ocean.  The ocean water is really warm!!!!

Dinner was camerones (shrimp) and guacamole while watching the sun set.  I don’t think I will ever tire of these beautiful sunsets!

January 6, 2013

Took a run on the the beach to start the day.  Took off around noon after listening to Pastor Ed preach from the Packinghouse (the internet is an amazing thing!), Calvary Chapel in Redlands.  We rode through more curves – and many small towns.

Every time we come to a town, there are topes  – speed bumps.  Two or three bumps, 500 feet or so apart, that slow the traffic.  We usually zip on past – but sometimes the topes are large, or unexpected, and we get jarred pretty good.  Stopped and ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach – carne asada burrito!  Lots of Americans – guess it is a good surfing beach.  Not the greatest accommodations….

Donkey in the road….

We got to Playa Azul – a little fishing village, where we thought we would find a hotel.  No hotels to be found – so drove on and on until we came to a large city, Lazaro Cardenas.  Found a hotel just before it got dark!  Cooled off in the hotel pool.

January 7, 2013

Our hotel included breakfast – yes! After we ate, we decided to stay another night here – just to relax and rest.  Next door to the hotel is a great little cafe with live music.  Had dinner and then my romantic husband made me dance with him…  ❤ ❤ ❤

On to Acapulco tomorrow!