Our Arrival In Puerto Vallarta - Feb 8 Monday PM

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This is my first trip outside of the States or Canada. We had to be at the airport in Edmonton at 4 am, and me being the procrastinator that I am, of course I was doing laundry, etc up to the last minute. Jim picked me up at 2:30 am and off to the airport we went. We had one short layover in Pheonix, then landed in PV at 3:00 pm. No sleep yet! When we had to go through Mexican security, we found that there were lineups of at least 50-75 people in each line...and there were about 5-6 lineups (maybe more). Of course we picked the SLOWEST one! It took us FOREVER to get through.

My friend Marie (from ACA in Jocotopec) picked us up at the airport - wasn't hard to find her...then off we went in the SUV to the place where she had booked a bed and breakfast for us. I have to talk a little about driving in PV...it scared the CRAP outta me! I lose track of time down here, so have no idea how long it took to get there. I know it's 20 min from the airport, but it took quite a bit longer than that to finally arrive...we took a few 'detours'! PV is way bigger than i thought it would be and on the main roads, there are 8 lanes 2 fast lanes in each direction and 2 slow lanes in each direction. The fast lanes were on the left, and the slow on the right. We kept in the slow lanes 😊 I am sure there is a method to driving down here, but I really could not figure it out. It seems to be 'every man for himself'...and I"m surprised I didn't see any accidents. Cars ALL over the place, cars cutting across 3 lanes of traffic turning left out of the rightmost lane....it seemed like absolute chaos on the streets! Anyone thinking of renting a car down here should be very afraid ! The only 'rule' that I understood was that size is everything! You always yield to any vehicle that is bigger than you. Marie didn't know the city either, but she drove like a trooper....pedal to the metal...in and out...oops...need to go across 3 lanes to turn right in a few yards....she's really good at butting into traffic which elicited much honking. She also had to stop a few times and ask the guy at Pemex (gas stn) and a couple of cab drivers directions.....

We FINALLY made it and pulled up in front of the B&B. We were now in an area of PV that I know tourists do not have on their 'must see' list. We're now on very uneven cobblestone streets and it's pretty tight for 2 vehicles to pass each other...What I saw was a concrete like wall with a small woodenwalkin door and a larger sliding wooden door. The wooden door was opened from inside by one of their workers, and Marie had to manouver the SUV into the driveway beyond the big wodden door .... there were only a few inches clearance on either side...Jim had hopped out of the vehicle to watch that she didn't hit anything on the way in. She's a pro !

I'm so glad that Marie was there to pick us up as I was feeling really out of my element and would have been quite nervous having to make our way there ourselves.

We MADE it ! The gates were closed and we began to unload our luggage....

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