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
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
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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