Puerto Vallarta – Day 2

Friday morning December 26th. We slept in until 7:00 am … which is kind of late for us, but hey — we are on vacation! We started our day in the fitness center, but then I left to go for a run through the city streets since there was only one elliptical machine. First I ran down and back up the steps which lead to our villa complex, a total of 70 steps (we counted them!). Then I ran down the cobblestone street to the pier, and out to the end of the pier where the fishermen were gathered. And then I ran up the winding street which heads uphill, which was probably not a good idea — there were no sidewalks, lots of crazy drivers, and evidently this was the main thoroughfare heading South out of town. I made it back safely, just as Sheri was finishing her workout. Then we enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room, omelets and whole grain toast.

As we were cleaning up after breakfast, we met our neighbors — Randy and Charlie, gay partners. We learned after we had arrived here that PV is a popular vacation spot for gay men in particular (not so much lesbians). As it turns out, we are only about 4 blocks from the gay beaches, and this part of town seems particularly gay friendly. We don’t judge gays and lesbians, and they don’t bother anyone … and it actually is okay, for I don’t have to worry about any men hitting on my beautiful wife, and as long as I am with her I have no one hitting on me. Oh, and Randy and Charlie just happen to be from my home state of Ohio, and Randy frequently visits SLC.

After breakfast we went on a long stroll down the boardwalk, it definitely started to get warm as the late morning sun started to heat up. We also got to experience the “Mall of Mexico,” dozens of street vendors who walk up to you trying to sell their wares. “No gracias” is becoming our favorite expression.

Lunch at Planeta Vegetariano was absolutely wonderful, and no less a source than Bon Appetit magazine has called it one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the world.

After lunch we returned to our villa and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the pool. Lay in the sun, cool off in pool, lay in the sun again, cool off in the pool again … you get the picture.

And dinner at Archie’s Wok was equally wonderful. Just off the boardwalk, this restaurant was founded by Archie who migrated here from Santa Barbara, CA, in the 70’s when PV was still a sleepy little beachtown. His restaurant has grown into a local favorite dining spot. Sheri had tofu vegetable lazagna and I had garlic shrimp — yum! Desert was also fabulous, lime cheesecake and flan. We definitely need to hit the fitness center hard again tomorrow morning.

After dinner we took in the local nightlife, lots of people milling about in narrow streets, having dinner, drinking in bars, hanging out at internet cafes (like me now), selling goods, etc. It seems like the activities could continue all night … I am sure that they do. But they will have to go on without us, we headed back to our villa at 8:30 pm. After a late night snack of cookies and milk, we are ready to go to bed. It seems like we have been here so long already, but this is just the end of Day 2. We still have 8 more days in paradise to enjoy!