09.04.02

Mexican Cruise- Day 4
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

YAY! We finally got to our first port! We got up really early and grabbed breakfast at Tiffany's on the Lido deck. Then made our way to the gangway to disembark. Out of 16 possible excursions, we opted for a 7-hour Umimog Outback Adventure - a tour of a local small town, a rugged ride through farms and rain forests, hiking through the rain forest, and a BBQ lunch on the beach.

When we first got off the ship, we met up with our tour leader on the docks and waited for him to round up the rest of the group. We then took a bus to the Tour Adventures Headquaters for a briefing. At the headquarters, we signed waivers and were briefed on safety precautions regarding riding the Unimog, which is an all terrain truck. Before we started our tour, we watched people swim with dolphins and we had a chance to hold a boa constrictor...which I gladly passed up. =P
The Unimog ride through local small towns was fairly calm. But once we hit the lush farmlands and rain forests, the ride was really rough and bumpy. There were rope handles that hung overhead for us to hold onto which were helpful....because some parts of the ride literally launched me off my seat! We stopped to hike through a rain forest and got an upclose look at nature. Our videographer caught a glimpse of a boa constrictor in a tree branch above...after that, I was fearfully looking all around for snakes and other critters. After our hike, we rode the Unimog to a secluded beach for lunch. The beach was beautiful and the waves were big! Lunch consisted of BBQ carne asada and chicken and all the trimmings. We splashed in the water and played volleyball and football on the beach. After a couple of hours, we headed back to the ship. It was exhilarating riding in an open vehicle speeding along the highway. We must have been far away from port because our tour guide, Olinka, busted out an ice chest and started playing drinking games with tequila, rum, and beer. We took shots of tequila, chased it down with beer, and had a crazy concoction of all three. It was lethal! Were we in the States, I can't imagine how many laws we would've been breaking: open alcohol in a moving vehicle, public intoxication, littering, obnoxiously shouting at other Unimogs (who were playing the same drinking games), etc. But don't worry, Mom..I had my seatbelt on. HAHAHA! I got so sauced from the ride back.

Since the ship wasn't set to sail until 9pm, we decided to have dinner in Puerto Vallarta. Frank, this guy from our tour, decided to join us. We grabbed a cab downtown and ate at Cafe Olla. Let me just say that when I'm buzzed, all manners go out the window. I shared a cab with Ivy and Frank..and throughout the entire cab ride, I was asking Frank a hundred and one questions about his life. It seemed perfectly harmless at the time, but now that I think about it, I was boldly nosey. Whoops! hehehehe
Dinner was great. We dined on lobster, filet mignon, baked potatoes, rice, beans, chips, and guacamole. A guitar plucking singer sang "La Bamba" for us for two dollars, and some stranger from another table bought each of us a rose. After dinner, I wanted to walk around downtown... but it started raining heavily, so we grabbed a cab and headed back to the ship. My buzz wore off and I was feeling pretty drained.

Back on the ship, we all showered and headed over to Gatsby's Bar for our usual drinks and conversation. We checked out the club afterward and danced the night away. We headed back to our cabins a little after 2am. I fell asleep watching "Lord of the Rings".

Pictures from today:


Bett, Wil, Cin, Ivy and I waiting for our tour guide


dolphins


Wil , Bett, and Ivy holding a very HEAVY live boa


our tour guide, Olinka


me and Bett on before our hike


hiking


beach


Wil playing volleyball with the tour guides


our tour group: Wil, me, Glen, Bett, Ivy, Cin, Mike, Frank, Bonnie, Valerie, and Olinka


Wil, Bett, and Cin on the unimog


tequila, me, Ivy, and Olinka


Bett, Wil, and a guitar plucking singer


Ivy, Cin, and the singer


a view of Puerto Vallarta at night


at the Gatsby's Bar

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a mouse in one hand+a credit card in the other = online shopping! hehehe
Ashlyn's pic of the day
(courtesy of Aric)


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