Day 46 - 13 Feb - Puerta Vallarta

Photo: One of the Iguana's that sit high in the trees along the river. There are three of them, generally in the same area, all keeping tabs on their particular 'territory'.

G2 left yesterday afternoon and we will miss them. As much as Wayne and I enjoy being together, after a few weeks it was nice to have some other people to converse with and tell lies to. We had a great holiday together and I felt sorry for them going home to yet another snow storm and freezing weather after two glorious weeks here....I really did! After they left, we washed a big head of lettuce and supper for us was salad...and nothing else.

I decided that this morning was going to be photo day downtown so we were up early and on the 'crazy' bus by 8:30 am. It's a real ride on these old buses...I don't know what keeps them held together...but they are generally outfitted with lots of pictures of Jesus and rosaries so maybe that helps. There's the odd new bus around but the local ones are old school buses, painted and decorated according to what the particular owner likes and the destinations are painted on the front window...which doesn't hamper their vision because they don't watch the other traffic much anyway! In the end, it's the fastest and cheapest method of zipping downtown...50 cents each for one way.

As I was outside for the sunrise ceremony this morning, I saw a big cruise ship approaching through the mist so knew it was going to be busy downtown. We walked the malachon and I clicked away and before we knew it, we were at Freddy Tucan's...the home of the big breakfast. We didn't over-indulge and in fact, each left a portion uneaten but knew this was brunch, vice breakfast, and there'd be no more food until supper. Wayne wanted to look at some stuff so we parted ways and agreed to meet back at the resort whenever. Perhaps because it was early and the crowds hadn't hit yet, people were very laid back and I got some great 'people' shots. I followed the park along the river to the Cultural Centre and it was lovely. It's very lush down there and the flea market stalls are bigger and much nicer as well as a number of very good restaurants. While I was there, a couple went by me and he had a small bell that he was ringing as he walked along the pathway. As he walked, cats of all sizes, shapes and colours came out of the undergrowth and followed he and his wife. They looked like the Pied Piper and at a particular spot she pulled a bag of food out of her purse, spread it around and the cats dug in. The reporter in me made it impossible to walk away without talking to them and getting some photos. They have been coming here for 19 years and having been feeding the cats all that time for the 4 months they are vacationing. The man pointed out a smaller cat with a nick out of his ear and told me that when the authorities catch one of these cats, they take it in to be neutered and have the notch done to show it's been 'fixed'. This is a good thing.

There's a definite difference in PV this year...we noticed it the first time we were downtown. The merchants have always tried to keep their sidewalks clean and early morning sweeping & washing is the norm. However, everythings seems to be brighter and better maintained this year. Teams of people are painting buildings white up and down the side streets and everything looks like it's had (or is having) a face lift. Puerta Vallarta has grown so much in the past 10-15 years that perhaps the additional tourism money has finally had some benefit. Regardless, it's looking quite nice despite the busy traffic and additional people from the cruise ships.

It's a quiet night in tonight. The sunset was particularly beautiful and I keep taking photos even though I must have hundreds by now. There isn't much cloud, which always makes for gorgeous colour in the sky but tonight the horizon was bright orange above the dark ocean and it was spectacular. I will try to re-size some photos while I'm watching television tonight so that I can download.

Until next time, we love and miss you all. High five to Carl for holding a successful baby shower for Melanie and the 'Spring Tulip' theme. Martha Stewart...and I...are very proud of you! A photo would be nice Carl. I am seriously missing my baby HoneyB and glad he is over his last bout of cold.