Puerto Vallerta, May 21, 2008

So today we hit Puerto Vallarta. We had company in this port the Carnival Pride was docked next to us. Let me tell you – they have an awesome slide. Oh well, I can give up the slide – sort of a mini water park. It was docked in the slot that the Disney Magic was back in 2005. I also finally got to see where the Sam’s Club was. In fact, Steve and I even visited it but more on that later. We got up at 7:15 – tired but I managed to drag this carcass (and that’s really what I’m feeling like) out of bed and dressed and got to have breakfast. After the excursion in Acapulco – the Ancient Petroglyphs, I was not taking another chance – I ate, eggs, corned beef hash, large bowl of oatmeal and one bagel. I wanted to make sure I had something sticking to my ribs. And it’s a good thing I did. Read on.
We left on time and there were only 25 of us on this excursion. We got to the place – did the prerequisite bathroom break – the bathrooms were clean but low in TP and no running water (it was turned on later). Then we proceeded to hike. The excursion we did was the Sierra Madre Hike. FOLKS – PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, CONSIDER THIS A WARNING. IF ACAPULCO SOUNDED HARD – THIS WAS JUST AS BAD IF NOT WORSE. The total hike was actually about 3 miles and the only good thing about this hike – well ok, one of the two or three things good about this was that it was conducted in May and in early morning coolness. But I do stress the word coolness with a hint of irony.
The hike pulled no punches – almost immediate we ended up going single file. About 95% of the trail is literally single file. FOLKS, please take me seriously, this is a loose, shale-like walk in places with some steep climbs. There is lots and lots of dust and vines and many times the leaves over your head will cover you and while it makes for a relief from the sun – it keeps it moist. I was drenched in my tank top within the first couple of moments. Trust me – there was a couple of times within the first 20 minutes where I literally wanted to kill myself. My heart was pounding so fast in my throat that I felt like I was going to pass out again. (I had a fainting spell on October 31 of last year where I ended up being taken to the hospital. Turns out my trainer was training me too hard – nothing serious at all –she just didn’t let me lie down when I needed too) Well, that was my danger sign to slow down so I did. I went to the middle of the pack and eventually ended up staying there up and back. We lost about 4 people within the first ½ hour. Imagine trekking through a jungle with vines and insects (well minus the mosquitoes – it wasn’t season yet) with dangling vines and a carpet of dead leaves and mulch. Yeah – well, that was this hike.
Many places were slippery and narrow and the drop-off as we climbed was very scary looking. We only stopped 3 times as the guide was pushing us. We had one guide in front – and I was kind of miffed at first at his speed but he explained it later. Then we had another one trailing. As I said, we lost the DVC lady – who came on this excursion almost immediately. I thought she’d turned back but later on – much later – she joined us at the top of the summit. But she was like ½ hour behind us. At one point, we all had to climb sideways and hold hand to form a human chain. I told you folks, this was different. Of the 25 people, the majority were older folks and that REALLY IS THE ONLY REASON I DID NOT TURN BACK. I thought the Petroglyphs was hard but darn it – I was not going to let someone almost 20 years older then me outdo me. Isn’t competition a grand thing? J
So, we finally reach the summit – this mountain is on private property in a little country town called Nogalito. There is one house which is a 6 bedroom house that would sell for about 2-3 million. Trust me folks, this is not a multi-million dollar house. I’m sure many of you have houses just as grand but for some reason, the American want to come in and take it over. The owners of the property were even offered 3.5 million to sell off 1.5 acre so that a developer can come in. Well, according to the guide, the owners are a bit saavy and are holding out.
Anyway, back to my description, we get to the summit and the guide tells us that this is as far as he goes on the excursion but that we had an option to go up a bit higher. He pointed it out to us and I nearly fainted. Here I thought that the climb we did was straight up – NOPE! This last part was about as far from the front entrance of Disneyland to the front entrance of CA Adventure. But straight up. Even now, I can’t believe I did it. Steve and I followed the other crazy nuts who wanted to get a good panoramic view, we about ½ there, I looked up and changed my mind. I sent Steve up ahead with the intention of staying at the ½ way point. Once I caught my breath, I had flashes of Steve crowing to everyone how I quit. Well, that little voice in my head just got louder and louder and stupid me listened to it and forged ahead. YEAH – I say stupid because you guys haven’t seen my pictures. I decided to proceed but took extreme care. I say extreme because at one point I had to cross what is essentially a part of the pass that was at most – 1 ft wide with death-defying falls on each side. Lets put it this way, I have a size 8 foot. Not wide, but I took a picture of my foot and the drop-off on either side that literally left inches on both sides. The trail to the lookout was very switchback and shaley so not to be taken lightly. Several folks did not go up there as it was just too steep. We took the prerequisite shots and then headed back down. If you all thought the climb up was bad, let me tell you – the climb down was even worse. We were told not to touch any trees or shrubs as you never know what is on there. There was poison ivy in the area. But you know what? I needed to grab on to something. I am sitting here with my right knee throbbing a bit and I’m in awe that I actually climb to those heights. Boy – was I stupid. I could have fallen and my kids would have been motherless. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. But it sure was fun – AFTER THE FACT! ROTFL.
The way down was not as hard as going up except for a few spots. What was really interesting was that we had more people fall down on the way down than on the way up. I really felt bad for the DVC lady, as I mentioned, by the time I got back from the pinnacle, she had caught up with us. Well, the guide reversed the order coming down. Those in the back – her for instance, were first behind the guide and those that were first climbing up were last. The trek was treacherous and as I said, we had at least 8 people fall down. No one was seriously hurt that I know off but it was scary. Poor DVC lady – I know this is the 3rd time I said this but she fell/slipped down 2 times. The 2nd time was VERY hard. The guide tried to get her up and couldn’t. I know that must of felt embarrassed when he couldn’t pick her up but part of the reason was that where she fell was all shale-like rocks and powder. She ended up sliding down a couple of more feet to more stable ground.
Along the walk, some people spotted some blue parrot type of birds but my eyes were on the ground. I was not going to take a chance and break a leg. At the bottom of the climb, the guide informed us that we did 3 miles in just under 2 hours. He said that was very good as last week he took a group of 10 tourists and they took just over 3 hrs. Remember – we only had about 3 stops total. So, he, the guide gave us some interesting facts on the local floral and fauna of the area. Then we went to the restaurant on the property called – El Nogalito Restaurant and Jardin Botanical (botanical gardens). If any of you remember the 2005 repo, I believe that this is the same restaurant that one excursion went to for lunch. Out in the boonies and in the middle of nowhere? Yeah – that was the one.
So, we were provided a snack and ONE – repeat – ONE drink – be it water, soda, beer or margarita. I chose water and Steve chose a margarita. By this time, I plopped my tired ass into a chair and proceeded to state that I was not getting up until it was time to go. So the waiters brought our snack – a bowl of guacamole with huge chunks of avocado in it. Then took our drinks. I changed my mind and decided to go to the bathroom but not before I put in an order for a coke, nachos with guacamole and a plate of chicken enchiladas. Boy, it was a good thing the guacamole was good. The nachos were good too but the sauce on the enchilada was a bit too red for me. Steve and I devoured the enchiladas and split our cheese nachos with the couple brave enough to sit with us. LOL. Turns out that they were actually on the same Ancient Petrogylphs trip with us in Acapulco. She wanted to know how we faired on the private portion and I relayed the glorious details. J Turns out her husband is a Vietnam Vet and we exchanged Army stories. He thanked me for my service and I thanked him for his. LOL – we proceeded to swap horror Army stories but it was a lovely time.
So after a bit, it was time to go. We climb back onto the bus only to find out that out seats – the one that I left my camera backpack in – were taken up by some rogue seat stealers. I heard Steve hemming and hawing (I was behind him climbing into the bus) when I poked my head around to find out what he was huffing about. That’s when I saw that some people were sitting in our seats. I didn’t want to make a scene so I just pushed Steve and said – its an empty bus – there’s plenty of seats. But as I passed them, I noticed that the lady had a towel and was holding it rather funny at her side. I passed her and then thought about it – it registered that it was pretty weird. So I backed up and asked her – is that my towel under your armpit? She then answered – OH! Yes it is and your sunglasses too. Well, this really pissed me off then and I about whomped her stupid head! Damn lady had had no intention of saying anything. I had pass her up by 3 seat rows until I forced my way back. Truth be told, I thought that I had put mu sunglasses in my backpack but I must of left them in the seat. This means that when they climbed in the seats – they had seen my glasses. They then rolled them up in the middle of the towel and pushed it up against her shoulder and the window and covered it up with the bottom of the curtains. But for the grace of God, I’d of lost my brand new Oakley sunglasses. I don’t know what made me listen to that voice but I’m sure glad I did. As it sunk in what had just occurred, I got even more pissed and ended up saying in a rather LOUD voice – THAT LADY TRIED TO STEAL MY SUNGLASSES! I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT! LOL – it was rather funny to see them book it off the bus when we got back to the boat! They made sure to stay away from us and diverted to another line to avoid us. By this time, I’d already posted via my iphone and was almost over it.
So we returned to the Magic, I jumped in the shower and forced Steve to also. We stunk. Our once bright white and grey tennis shoes were now muddy red with not a speck of white in them. The leaves and twigs I brought back in my socks were not cluttering my stateroom floor but I didn’t care. I had a mission to achieve. I managed to talk Steve into going to Sam’s Club across the street. Folks, it is just as expensive as the ones in the states. No real savings except for a few things. Also, there is now a mall within the same shopping center but I didn’t enter it. I was told except for the language – it could be any mall in middle America with a Radio Shack, Wal-mart and other main staples of malls. So Steve and I snagged cab and went to the Diamond District of Puerto Vallarta where I managed to snag me some candy! LOL – the pretty kind too. We had about 45 minutes to deal and I came away with a very nice fire opal and a very nice ammolite. They wanted us to deal with a nice Tanzanite pendant but other than the color – it didn’t really sing to me. So, as I told them – I will be back in July and August and if I see anything then, I’ll get it. I got away with a very nice big fire opal, a ammolite pendant and a 18 inch gold chain. Not bad for 45 minutes of work. Steve wanted me to get the Tanzanite as it matched my ring I got in Alaska but I didn’t feel like spending $9000. I could get myself an original Ducky painting for that! ROTFLMAO! Seriously, if I got it now, I wouldn’t have an excuse to come shopping in July – my birthday and our anniversary double whammy! Of course, this was the reason Steve wanted me to get them as the girls will be with us in July and Megan’s birthday is July 20 while mine is July 23rd and our anniversary is July 21 along with my in-laws who will be traveling with us.
BTW, FIL was operated on last Friday for thyroid cancer and came out of it ok – they should be starting chemo for the lung cancer within the next week. Things are not good but we’re hoping that he will make the trip with us in July. The doctors told him that this chemo would not cure him but that could possibly extend the time he has left for a while.
So tonight was also the Crew Talent Show. This was a riot. Of all days not to have my camera. After the day I had and having some vision troubles through the lens – I attended without it. BIG MISTAKE. You all read my earlier blog about Chicken Boy being dead – long live Mr. Wiggle. Well, I couldn’t help myself, I left dinner to attend a portion of the 8:30 show just to catch Mr. Blue Wiggle wiggle his last dance. Boy, Brent is really going to hate me if he ever finds out! ROTFL.
Went back to dinner after the show and finished dinner. Nothing much after that except that we hashed memories with Putu/Agus and our tablemates who, BTW, attended the Historic Town and Tequila Making tour. They highly recommended it said they tasted flavored tequila for the first time, almond, mandarin and a few others but they slip my mind. I am booking this for the July cruise and can let anyone know what it turns out unless JustMEStace or GrandmaChrisX3 tries it out before then. Our tablemates did say that they did not have anything for kids to taste so some of you considering this excursion might want to take that into consideration. She, Claudia said the kids were a bit bored but the adults weren’t. LOL Wonder why – they had about 6 shots of tastings.
Oh yeah, ran into a couple in the elevator, seems their kids didn’t want to go out on an excursion so they left them in the kids club and they went out to party! Sounds good? LOL
OK – it’s almost 1 and I have got to get to bed. I only stayed up to type this and send it off so I’m not too far behind. Tomorrow is Cabo – as I posted – tendering – we get there approximately around 8 and last tender to Magic is 8 pm. It is also pirate night and yes – we are dressing up! Fireworks also so that is cool. We have kayaking to lover’s beach scheduled and will let you know how that goes. I am ready for a rest after all these arduous tasks I’ve put myself though. But in the end, I’m sure glad I did them. Now I know I DO NOT WANT to do them again – my walking mantra today? At least its not July or August! ROTFL!

BTW, clock turned back one hour - now only 1 hr ahead of PST. Almost there.