My Annual Pilgrimage to Mexico

Livin* the dream in my favorite place on earth!
I arrived in Puerto Vallarta with my best friend Caroline yesterday afternoon after a hectic few days.
It is always good to lose your cash card the day before you are about to travel. People don{t really use traveler{s checks any more, and it would have been too late for that anyway. So, after a meltdown I tried to collect myself and worry about all the other craziness I needed to focus on. At least I didn{t forget to refill my prescriptions before my trip like last year!

Caroline and I arrived at Puerto Vallarta*s shiny new airport. The first thing you get to after immigration and customs (a green or red light determines whether or not they go through your luggage) is a room full of people trying to sell you trips, time shares and the like. It is swarming with young, good looking men and women who are determined to sell you whatever they have to offer. It is quite disconcerting.
We were approached again at the car rental place. He said we could get $150 off the rental car if we just went to a sales talk at some timeshare. No thanks.

Guess what I forgot?! My driver*s license. Duh. We worked it out, but still I could be really screwed if I get pulled over while driving. We have insurance up the ying yang, so I am not too worried. And money speaks all languages down here. Or so I have heard.

After a few beers and some delcious antojitos at the hotel restaurant and a dip in the pool, we headed out to gather our friend, Cory, who flew down from Canada. He had been traveling for over 12 hours and was really happy to see us.

Caroline was reading a newspaper on the way back to the hotel and found an interesting advertizement for a weightloss technique... give yourself salmonela and/or ecoli. Under the direction of a doctor you can shit your brains out, feel like complete crap and when you have lost enough weight the doctor will give you some medication to get rid of the parasites. That is if you don*t die first. Good times.

We had a wonderful dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Puerto Vallarta. I think this is the 5th time I have been to Puerto Vallarta. I love it. Anyway, dinner was delicious, although Caroline and I didn*t eat much since we had already pigged out earlier. I will definitely be going back with Ken when he gets down here.

Walking back up the malecon (boardwalk) to the hotel was beautiful. It wasn*t too hot, and there was a nice breeze. And a ton of people everywhere. I am guessing they were all watching the soccer game earlier because when we arrived it was so empty I was a bit worried. Not to worry though, there were plenty of people roaming the streets, watching street clowns, artists, food vendors and crafts people do their things. We didn*t see many foreigners but plenty of Mexican*s. Puerto Vallarta is a common vacation destination for Mexicans from Guadalajara and Mexico City, among other places I am sure.

When we finally arrived back at the hotel we lounged by the pool for a while and then I made my way to the room so I would be ready for our big journey to Guadalajara in the morning. It felt great to shower and fall into a clean bed. Caroline and Cory apparently fell asleep by the pool. They didn*t get back to the room for at least a couple of hours. I am very happy I wasn*t drinking because I know I would have had a killer hangover this morning!

The drive to Guadalajara was uneventful... just the way I like it. We stopped in a tiny town for lunch and had very simple burritos and quesadillas. My burrito had refried beans and a mushroom concoction, no meat. It was pretty tasty.

We were probably on the road about 6 hours total. The toll road was about 2 hours. Thank god for the toll road. The free ones take forever.

Driving in Guadalajara is no joke. Not as bad as I imagine driving in Mexico City would be, but a bit scary none the less. Try finding a street sign with a truck or a bus bearing down on you. Fun. We actually found the hotel relatively easily as I had really studied the map at lunch. I was even able to park the car on the street in front of the hotel. Never mind that it was over a shit hole - literally. There are some really nasty smells in this city. The grate over the shit hole would not have kept me and my flip flops from falling through. Nice.

Our room is more like a condo. We have two bedrooms with two double beds each, a living/dining room area, a kitchen and two full bathrooms. No bathtubs though. Bathtubs are hard to find in Mexico. Sorry Ken.

After settling in a little we headed out for dinner at La Chata de Guadalajara. One of the best Mexican meals I have ever had. It is a bright, cheery place with yellow walls, yellow tablecloths, and lots of Mexican pottery and old photos of Guadalajara on the walls. There was an army of waiters ensuring we had everything we could possibly want and then some. It was a perfect eating experience. I had pozole of course!

We are wrapping up the evening with a concert (a Cuban salsa band) in one of the many plazas, a walk through the plaza where masons are chipping away at big blocks of stone, and an hour at the internet cafe. This is a perfect way to end an evening.

More later. Mas tarde.