Puerto Vallarta, Take 2

This past weekend we headed to Puerto Vallarta with a group of friends. A couple of the guys in the group are originally from Vallarta so they offered to take us on a trip and show us the more local side of things. We planned for half of us to stay with Jose Luis (aka Coi) and the other half to stay at Diego's place on the beach. We left on Friday afternoon at 6pm and took Primera Plus again (the luxury bus line).

looking our the bus window at the pretty mountains on the way to Vallarta

 Danny and I stayed with Coi and a few other people at his house in the center of Old Vallarta. His dad, who owns a furniture dealership in Vallarta picked us up at the bus station and drove us to his beautiful home. As it was already pretty late when we got into town, we quickly changed and headed to the club. The first night we went to a club called "Disco Rockie" It was only 100 pesos for girls to have open bar until 2 a.m. Somehow, Coi and Diego managed to work it out so that "open bar" turned into entire bottles of alcohol (including a bottle of champagne at one point) and mixers being brought to our table, so we didn't even have to bother with going to the bar. It seemed like they knew everyone in the club and apparently Jose's sister is married to the mayor? or the king of vallarta?? something like that, so it seemed like he sort of had his run of the place. To be honest, I wasn't 100 percent prepared for the party scene in Vallarta. The group we were with partied well into the morning, returning both nights at around 6 a.m. It was pretty tough to stay alert and excited about being out. In my opinion NOTHING is fun for 6 hours. I hung in there though and we went to Xtine after the first club and then grabbed tacos al pastor on the way home (at 6am), at a place called Pepe's .

 

Our group inside Disco Rockie

The next morning, I was the first to wake up and I spent about a half an hour talking to Jose's dad in VERY poor Spanish about Vallarta and his family (hey, atleast I tried). My spanish is getting a little better now that I'm two weeks into my class. My listening comprehension is pretty good, but I have a tough time remembering the conjugations and tenses. Anywho, a nice lady who works for Jose's family made us eggs and cut up fresh fruit for us and then we put on our swimsuits and headed over to Diego's house in Nuevo Vallarta to spend the day at the pool/beach. Here's some pics of Jose's place in downtown Vallarta.

By the time we got to Diego's place in Nuevo Vallarta, it was around noon. Diego, who also had a paid helper at his house, served us a version of Mexican lasagna which was served in a casserole dish and consisted of layers of tortilla, cheese, shredded chicken, and mole verde. Super tasty. I thought this was the place we would be staying for the day, since it had an awesome pool and was located right on the canal, but then we were told we would be heading to the "real" beach/pool area. Sooo Diego's family not only owned a beautiful home on the canal with a pool in a very nice gated community, but they ALSO owned a second beachfront apartment in the same development. Needless to say, this is not how the majority of Mexican citizens live, but it was definitely a sweet deal.

Tough life.

We hung out by the pool for most of the afternoon and then went out for ceviche and shrimp tacos at a cool local seafood restaurant nearby.

Ceviche tostada

After a nap and a shower we went out Saturday night for drinks at a rooftop bar in Nuevo Vallarta. We  introduced our Mexican friends to the "Pickleback" shot, which is basically a shot of whiskey immediately followed by a shot of pickle juice (thanks, Jackie!). However, since pickles aren't really part of the average Mexican diet, everyone thought they tasted pretty strange ("It tastes like McDonald's!). After the rooftop bar, we went to a place which was having a Casino-themed event.

light-up ceiling at the rooftop bar

Jose Luis and Phillip at the blackjack table

Once we got inside, we could tell the casino theme was in full effect. They had blackjack tables set up, and vests you could tie on to make it look like you were wearing formal wear. All of the tables looked like large di and there were giant playing cards everywhere. They seemed to notice that we enjoyed the plastic top hats and vests so they just kept bringing more and more props for us (what is it with Mexicans and props??) At one point during the night, we discovered that Mark, one of our friends was on Mexico's version of American Idol. He also performed at Euro Disney for a few years. He's sort of a mini-celeb in Mexico. So after a few drinks, he got on the stage and sang some classic Mexican love songs. Here's mark on "L'Academia":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwra8FEyXe0

And here's Mark onstage Saturday night

Yep. Wigs and Boas

Dancing in my formal wear

The next morning, we woke up and went to a market near El Malecon. I bought a beaded skull made by the Huichol people (the same ones who make the yarn art). I'm pretty excited because I had been specifically looking for one for awhile now. At 5pm, we headed to the bus station to catch our ride back to GDL. The weekend was a lot of fun, but a little bit draining. I think we will abstain from partying for at least a week. Maybe.

Hasta la proxima!