We've finally touched down in Mexico!

We are greatly enjoying ourselves, though Julia is (admittedly) experiencing some culture shock. Our flight was uneventful, but we did enjoy viewing the beautiful mountains and desert. We touched down, got through baggage claim uneventfully, and were immediately accosted by a guy asking what hotel we're going to. We told him, and he pulled us aside telling us all the vital info about Puerto Vallarta, including which buses to take and delighting in our Spanish. We eventually learned that he works for a resort in P.V. , and was hoping to persuade us to book some time there. We didn't take the bait, largely because we are only staying here one night. We thanked him for his services, stepped outside, and were immediately overwhelmed by the heat, dust, and traffic! We weren't totally clear which bus to take, even though buses passed by us every few minutes. The Americans that appeared every now and then were completely unhelpful, and eventually I just had to jump aboard a blue bus and shout at the driver "Van al Centro?" He said yes, and we hopped aboard.

The bus was old, dusty, filthy, full of locals, and had incredibly uncomfortable seats. I paid the guy $5, and told him to keep the change ( even though it only cost about $1.80 for both of us). He wasn't sure what to do. The roads really are horrible, and our driver wasn't older than 19. It was pretty jarring. Julia and I argued about when we should jump off, but at her insistence, we got off at the perfect time. There were no announcements, or signs of any sort. We headed down the road, past taquerias, beggars, and barbers, and inevitably made it to the Hotel Belmar.

We tried to check in at reception, but the lady (well into her 50's) insisted she couldn't find our reservation. After must searching, we discovered our credit card had been rejected (it often is for over-seas charges) and the reservation had never been made! Fortunately, I insisted we get some cash in Houston before we leave, so we were able to pay in cash. My Spanish got us through quite effectively, and inevitably, we got a room on the fifth floor. The lady apologized that it was so high up, but pointed out we'd get terrific excercise. Our room was small, cute, and avocado green. Our internet worked just fine, and we got a great view of the hotel the whole way down. We set up base in room 26, left, came back, and realized our key was actually for room 27! We had entered the wrong room by mistake (it was left open by a maid, we think) and were then unable to get back in. We told the ladies downstairs, and they had a good laugh before giving us a different key.

After we got that all sorted out, we got some pesos from an ATM, and wandered along the beach and the river. We did see some cool wildlife, including a giant iguana, some beautiful pelicans, and lots of fat, loud, oblivious Americans. We grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby seafood taco stand called "La Calamari Adventuroro" yes... The Calamari Adventurer. Julia munched on some smoked marlin tacos and bottled water, and I enjoyed a delicious octopus tostada and a Pacifico beer! Yum! We sat at the "bar" and got a front row view of the kitchen and cooks. Sanitary? Questionable. Cheap? Certainly. Delicious? Definitely.

We headed back to hotel, cleaned up, rested, made a few essential phone calls, and headed back out. As this is a tourist/party costal city, not much is happening at 5:00pm when we headed out. Hence, our restaurant of choice had nobody in sight... including staff! We wandered around, and inevitably hit a beautiful island between the two rivers called "La Zona Romantica." It was a manicured, picturesque tourist walkway, flush with all the lanterns, scenic views, and posh restaurants one could hope for. We stopped to chat with one of the resaurant owners, and inevitably chose his restaurant for dinner. We enjoyed his sense of humor, margaritas, pico de gallo, tortilla soup, fresh fish, and "large shrimp" (e.g. prawns). It was thoroughly enjoyable, with a great view of the river walk. Julia did get a bit freaked out when she pieced together that frozen Margaritas have ice... and ice gives you "la tourista" (the infamous Mexican intestinal illness) . I wasn't especially worried, since it was a fairly swanky restaurant and a place won't stay in business if it's best seller to Americans make them sick. We also hesitated over the pico de gallo, and the free salad, but I said "What the hay?" and Julia eventually followed suit. We had planned to hit another place afterwards, but either from the homemade chips or the long day, we were ready to turn in afterwards. The meal was probably the most expensive we'll have in Mexico (around $46.00 US), but it was less than half what a meal like that would cost in the US. We've agreed that from now on we're going cheap street grub all the way (at least for a while).

Tomorrow we have to take a bus to the "Central", then take another one to Tepic, switch buses, and head to San Blas. We'll update you once we're there!