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Published: December 19th 2006
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Puerta Vallarta
With Emilie at a Cuban Bar PUERTO VALLARTA-SAYULITA
From Guanajuato I headed to Puerta Vallarta, located along the stretch of beaches in the Central Pacific Coast of Mexico.
Emilie from Quebec whom I met in Guanajuato was also heading that direction and so we both took off on a a cool Sunday morning for a 12 hour bus ride via Guadalajara to the PV. What a long ride it turned out to be!
Checked into Hostel Oasis. A nice and clean hostel with nice hot showers, free internet and DVD´s to watch. It was sad but true, that it felt good to watch some tele after a couple of weeks on the road.
PV was as expected. Very touristy and very expensive.
One of the main reasons why I chose PV and Sayulita was to source for temp work as I had been told that the the high season when tourist vist was starting soon
Emilie and I just chilled out and enjoyed the sun after being in the cold for a few weeks. We sneaked into a swimming pool of a 5 star resort and made it our own hotel....ha ha
On the 3rd day we took a 2 hour bus ride to
Puerta Vallarta
With Emilie at a Cuban Bar Sayulita, a really small but nice beach front.
The town is so small that it took me 10 minutes to make it from one end to the other.
I walked the streets and popped into a few restaurants to ask for some temp work but was told to come back in one to two weeks time as the season was just about to start. Getting accomodation was also a problem to find. Emilie had been there before and managed to find something and decided to stay in Sayulita for a bit.
Not really keen on PV and not finding any work for the time being, I decided to move down south and head to Barra De Navidad, a small village, for a day and then join Alissa, Gillian, Lauren and Mike, my friends from Casa Mexicana who were all meeting in Manzanillo to travel down south for some sol (sun), sand and sea.
BARRA DE NAVIDAD
It took me 5 hours by bus to reach Barra De Navidad.
Spent a day there. It was nice and quiet with only a few tourist around. It was a nice change from PV.
Walked a along the beaches and enjoyed the
sunset.
Found a nice little dive to eat and got to know Gonzalos who worked there. It turned out that he performed in another place every night. And so I got him to play the guitar at the side street cafe and and we both sang ¨I started a Joke¨ by Bee Gees. Him, in Spanish and me in English! It was fun. Had a few beers and called it a night. Left Barra De Navidad the next day to join the rest...
MANZANILLO
Met Lauren from UK at the bus terminal and checked into Colonial Hotel, an old but well maintained hotel with a big room to house all of us. It was so nice to have air-condition, plush towels and television. Sharing with a few people made it really affordable.
The rest arrived later in the evening the and we all went out for a nice dinner and had really tasty Mexican food. Lauren lived in Manzanillo for 6 months a few years ago and knew the place well. Over the next 3 days, we swam at the beaches and chilled.
Got to try cerviche, a local delicacy of raw fish, shrimp, squid and tuna marinated
with lime and salsa over a few hours which cooks the seafood naturally. It was sooooooo fresh and delicious. One of my favourite dishes in Mexico. YUMM!
Also, tasted the best Pina Colada ever at a restaurant called Sunset Restaurant, I liked Manzanillo alot. It was not overly busy and things were much cheaper. Bought a new pair of fake sunglasses after breaking two others within a month!
The photos you see in the blogs have been taken with a US$10 camera that I started using since Guanajuato. I bought one after having my digital camera stolen. You need to wind it manually and I had some problems with it here and a fair bit of pictures didnt turn out well....but the ones that came out was not too bad.
MARUATA
Another 5 hours of winding roads and close shaves...(the bus drivers here drive like stunt drivers! ) we arrived safely in Maruata, a very remote village with a gorgeous beach front, an ideal getaway for the young at heart and those with a budget.
One of the first signs that this place was going to be awesome was when we were greeted by a lady when
we walked into the village. She gave us a small bag with some ¨HAPPY LEAVES¨ in it and said, Welcome to Maruata!! ha ha ha...Happy we were.....
We found a cabana with basic amenities at the top of a hill overlooking the long and endless stretch of beautiful beaches. The view from our cabanas was simply amazing. Golden sands kissed by the sun and the cool breeze in our faces, listening to the sounds of the waves splashing away....Maruata was all ours for the next few days....
Basic conditions it was, as we had to use a bucket to take a bath.
The girls took some time to adjust as the toilets didnt have any proper doors as well. So, not really showering for a few days was quite an experience....
It was sunny the whole time we were there. With only a handful of travellers. Some sleeping in hammocks and some in tents which you could rent from the locals here. Food was also decent. We bought bread, tomatoes, cheese and avocados for a steal.
The waves in the Central Pacific Coast can be pretty rough. So swimming was always with caution. Nice waves for
those who enjoy surfing.We enjoyed the sun, sand and sea for a few days and had a few drunken nights which was hilarious and will be embedded in my memory for a long long time.
On the 3rd day, I did something silly and cut my finger pretty badly while trying to open a beer bottle without an opener and broke the bottle in the process.
Had to hitch a ride to another small village nearby and had my finger stitched. What an experience. My first time being sewn up and it had to be Maruta, Mexico. I was suprised that the whole treatment was free as I had visited a community clinic and the lady doctor was so friendly although we did not quite understand each other.
Not being able to swim now, I had nothing to do but walk along the stretch of beaches and enjoy the view. I was bored and since there was no one around, I actually took off my shorts and walked in the nude along the far end of the beach! My first time and I have to say that it felt liberating! Of course I made sure no one was
Manzanillo
Alissa excited to see the beach! around by a mile.
Oh yes, one of the things we had to put up with here was mosquitoes as all of us were plastered with mozzie bites!
PLAYA AZUL
We left Maruata and moved on to the next village.
It was Hallowen and we had a small party at a nice cabana we found which had two floors, a proper hot shower, fan and nice comfy beds.
The beach here was not as nice as Maruata but we enjoyed it nonetheless.
We bought some fish from the fishermen early one morning which was fresh from the sea and barbequed it for lunch and dinner.
Our cabanas happened to be located next to a turtle sanctuary and we got to witness the baby turtles being release into the sea which was a really touching experience as you see them crawl to freedom.
Stayed in Playa Azul for two days with the girls and decided to head up to Mexico City. Alissa, Gillian and Lauren headed to a different direction and we said our final goodbyes this time around...and to the beautiful beaches of the Central Pacific Coast.
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Marisa
non-member comment
Amboi amboi amboi
Hey, glad to see you're having a great time and developing quite a tan... boleh pass off as orang tempatan lah! ;) Ah, and saya lihat anda ramai "awek2" yg menemani anda so anda tidak akan kesunyian dan "homesick"... Muahaha! Be careful with them beer bottles next time, dah tua pun tak reti nak bukak botol! Take care!