Puerto Vallarta

Today was our most unpleasant day so far. Dorian was frustrated from his injured foot and I was not in the best of moods either. We were having trouble agreeing on a town to stay in for a night. So we kept driving south in hope of finding a spot we liked. Once arriving in Puerto Vallarta I was interested in watching the people walking around. “Civilization” I said to Dorian (we had previously been almost alone for close to a week). We were then greeted by our first rain. It was a refreshing gift. We were hot of course from the drive and I immediately took in the cool humidity.

After the pleasant rain turned into a downpour we got lost, grumpy, frustrated, and tired. We had not found a place to stay for under $100 that allowed pets. Of course, we thought of the no tell motel (there were two in this town), but we were unable to pull our rig under their low entrances. We discovered while driving in circles that Puerto Vallarta is an illusion. The main strip is kind of clean, has big fancy hotels and a mall. Don’t be fooled though. On the outskirts of highway 200 it’s smelly and dirty like most cities.

We found ourselves turning onto a cobblestone road that led us to condos and clubs. We found a hotel near a marina for about $100 a night and we decided to sneak Ivy in though the entrance. It was really funny. When I pulled Ivy close to me while passing the concierge counter she barked. I started coughing like that bark just came from me. I was shocked when I was not stopped. Dorian and I were laughing in the halls while walking to our room.
That night we slept in a huge bed that seamed unfamiliar to us already since the camper is limited in space. We hade become attached to our home on wheels. We quickly left in the morning after practicing our Spanish with our waiter while eating breakfast at the hotel. It was nice not having to break down camp this morning.

Ivy came waltzing down the stairs while we were all leaving. Everyone stopped in their tracks but they didn’t seam to want to argue about it. Unfortunately one more incident happened before we were able to continue our journey. We noticed how crowded the parking lot had gotten over night while getting into the truck. The camper was now boxed in. While Dorian tried his best to maneuver the truck he accidentally hit the bushes that bordered the parking lot. The parking attendant came out. He tried to help us but with little success. It didn’t seamed to bother him that the bushes in back of us were now standing diagonally.

After a while the guy who blocked Dorian in came out and moved his car. We shouted out the window “lo siento, gracias” and smiled while we drove away. We felt bad about the bushes but we decided to just keep moving forward. There wasn’t any damage to the truck thankfully.
We stocked up on supplies at the Gigante down the road. Today was turning out to be a good day and we again continued south down highway 200.