Silver Cities Tour: Puerto Vallarta

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The twelve hour bus trip from Playa Azul to Puerto Vallarta was hell. It was supposed to pick us up at 9.30pm but arrived at 12.30am. The bus was full as we were the second last stop and it reeked of urine. Mexican buses are well known for being overly cold from the air conditioning but the toilet is a steamroom and nobody appears to have hygiene standards. There was no toilet paper when we got on the bus so thankfully I had backup tissues with me. But still, during the stops you'd think the driver would check the status of the toilet, especially when we had twelve hours to go from our pickup point. With four hours to go we changed bus drivers but not buses so we were the only five left on the bus with it smelling like a sewer. Next time some idiot tells me I wasted money by flying around Mexico instead of experiencing the joys of it by bus, I'll tell them they're kidding. The first class buses (we've tried four different companies so far) are terrible and I'm happy to pay extra for a comfortable (and quicker) flight.

Puerta Vallarta has grown a lot since I was here with Juan in 2002. I didn't realise there was a hurricane after we left so they had to rebuild a lot of it anyway. Lots more shops, streets and the malecon has been extended. It's really gay as well, more so than before. Rainbow flags in between traditional shops in the downtown area where we stayed.

Our hotel is only a street away from where Juan and I honeymooned. I did a drive-by and felt ok. The others went out for dinner, but I've got diving tomorrow so I'm having an early night.

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