Puerto Vallarta, as always, the best port yet!

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Geo: 20.6509, -105.215

"Now who's at the door?". Mom motions me to resolve the issue and I open it to greet Boomer who says, "We're ready. Let's go." From her beauty bar located just around the corner, she gives me a stern glare, then says, "Hi guys. What's going on? Al, let's go. Where's your shoes?"

It's a little after 8am and the boat doesn't dock until 11. What's up? Apparently, they spoke with some crew member who said that the ship might dock earlier, maybe 10am. Now they had a chance to make the dolphin encounter so we needed to eat breakfast at the buffet and get to the disembark area early to be the first off. I grabbed a couple of things, slipped on my shoes and off to the Lido we all went. A quick breakfast got us down to the Promenade deck where we could monitor the docking process. It was there that Boomer told me his ATM card had been compromised in La Paz, the only place he had used it. It was at Bancomer, a large Mexican financial institution with enclosed ATM machines. Unbelievable!

It was 10 when our group jubilantly descended down to level 4, anxiously awaiting the forthcoming announcement confirming their early departure. As a more experienced "cruiser", I had already determined that there was no way we would be leaving early. But I had other problems now. I had left my room card and needed to return to our stateroom to retrieve it before I would be allowed to leave the ship. So I went up a few fights of stairs, got the card which was under the room service tray, and returned to our group who will still optimistic about seeing those dolphins.

Sad faces confirm the fact that it's after 11 and we' re still on board. It wasn't until 11:20 that we hit ground and it was evident that the dolphin encounter was out. The tour cost would be refunded because of the time change but the opportunity to experience dolphins up close was gone. So Min wants to go to the beach and our ATV trip is at 1:30 in the old part of town so we grab a cab and go to the Malecon and checked out the beach. That's when I realized I forgot my paperwork for the ATV trip. I did have it on my iPad so Boomer and I found wifi so we could get the info and he did screenshots of it for the tour company. Back in a cab for $6 to the ATV place and all was good. The voucher, phone number and map with directions were all prepared ahead of time and left on board the ship. I'm supposed to be the expert!

After gathering up our coscos, lentes and bandanas (helmets, googles & bandanas) we received our debriefing on operating the bikes and we were off. Min's parents on a bike, Min & Alan on a bike and me and Mom each on our own bikes, we headed up the cobblestone streets of old Puerto Vallarta. We leave the town and head into the mountains as the buildings and roadways become more dilapidated, perhaps rustic as we roll through the outskirts of town and into the jungles of the coastal mountain range. The cobblestone streets have been slowly disappearing, replaced by dirt ground up into fine dust by local residents and, of course ATVs. Our little group is rolling pretty good. Mom thinks her bike is a small Boss Hoss and cruises along. We finally get to the top of the mountain where we stop at a small rest spot. Everyone dismounts and we enjoy a nice lunch with choices including beer, Marguaritas, nachos, quesadillas, etc. We sat in the jungle adjacent to a waterfall flowing into a clear pool of cool water. Several people went for a swim since it was a hot and dusty ride up to this location, Min and Boomer included.

Then we joined in for a tequila tasting party, sampling persimmon, chocolate, anejo, almond and coconut among others. I'm not buying anything but Mom made a purchase. After that, we headed back on our bikes, stopping on top of a hill for a group picture. One of the guides stops traffic for us when we get back into town which keeps the group of about 15 ATVs together. All of us are covered with dust. We tip our guides, Pancho and Paco, and take a cab back to the Malecon for some last minute sightseeing and shopping before heading back to the cruise ship via two taxis.

At the pier, a port worker saw Mom walking so slowly that he offered her a ride on a golf cart and we all jumped on, passing everyone else that was walking. We felt special. It was after 7pm when we boarded so everyone returned to their staterooms, showered off all the dust and changed clothes and ate at the buffet since we were too late for the fancy dinner. Then out to the pool party for some line dancing, Congo dancing and just plain dancing. Great fun. Hey, we're on our way home. Min's parents and us turned in for the night but the kids stayed out for awhile. We just can't keep up!

Lights out.

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