Day 55 - 22 Feb - Puerta Vallarta

Photo: The Malachon (ocean walkway) has many wonderful bronze sculptures and each year they seem to add one or two more.

It was a non-event day and we didn't do much. Wayne was staying out of the sun and by mid-morning I was antsy so headed up to Walmart with the intention of investigating the "Galleria Vallarta". It turns out it is a new, ultra-modern shopping complex, a la Bayshore. It has a big anchor store called 'Liverpool' which is high end plus a dozen or more smaller stores. There's room for many more but still has lots of vacancies. It's really quite beautiful and there's nothing like it anywhere else in PV that I've seen. There lots of marble and granite, plus fountains and a big food court...it will warm the hearts of many gringos. I did manage to find a killer bathing suit and then headed over to Walmart to top it off with a cheap wrap.

It doesn't matter where I shop, I'm always amazed by the fact that inventory is so small, considering what the rent must be on some of these places. In the mall across the street, there's a 'Lan' anchor store, which is also very high end, but the cosmetic counters have perhaps half a dozen items in the show case and little else, unlike what we see at home where the show cases are filled (sell one-replace it). However, there's nothing you can't get here, it's just a matter of knowing where to go for it. There are lots of furniture stores--some of them on back streets in places you wouldn't expect--but they are there. Given the issues we've had with the LuvMasheen, Wayne was able to take it to a Dodge dealer down the road and find a Goodyear tire outlet across the street to have all the tires checked.

I keep looking at Real Estate ads and while there are many, many villas in the $350-$500,000 range, there are just as many 2 bedroom places for $125-$150,000, or less if it's a studio apt. We are not, repeat not, planning on buying kids--it too complicated and too late in life for us. Besides, we like the option of going to different places vice being tied in to vacationing in the same place. I'm thinking Paris for a week next year.......

We were too lazy to cook or go out so just went over to the restaurant and got burgers/fries to go. The bed is quite comfortable...last year the same style room had a bed like a concrete floor, which seems to be the norm in Mexico. However, this mattress has a small pillow top and with the foam we bought, was very comfortable so we expect to have a good night's sleep.

Take care everyone, our love to all. Congratulations to Doug & Claire on the new house. Missing my children. Until next time, keep those snow-blowers goin'!