Day Two in Paradise

Woke up early and decided to get a headstart on the day. Lot's of places open early here.

213) El Jacal Chavalon (Sport Bar

This place is right on the main drag, and is a great semi-dive bar. It was only 8:00 A.M. but there was already a guy in there who could barely keep his head up but was managing to drink a very large frozen margarita through a straw. This place has a nice little sidewalk seating area where you can get decent, and inexpensive, Mexican food. The bar inside is quite large and features more pictures of Zapata and his crew with a nice picture of him on horseback at my end of the bar.

I had a Negro Modelo

214) Andale

Well I was drinking my beer at El Jacal they guy with the margarita left but I found him here with another one in front of him and a straw in his mouth. Good stamina, wonder what he is going to do with the rest of his day. This is another place that is just jammed at night and usually somewhere along the way they bring in a live burro. No sex acts though, just a guy with his burro. They have nice cushioned bar stools with mosaic supports that match the mosaic on the floor. There is another set of bar stools that ring the entire place one half-floor up. The whole place, walls and ceilings, is lined with egg-cartons. While I was there some very heavily made up woman came in that was well perfumed. If it was New York and she didn't have such large breasts I would have though it was a drag queen for all the drama she brought to the place. Good action for 8:30 A,M.

I had a Tecate

215) Langostino's

I headed down to the beach and stopped into this lovely little bar and restaurant. It is not too far from where I am staying so it was kind of on my way home.

I had a Bloody Mary and headed back to pick up the rest of the crew and have breakfast.

216) Tequila Town

After breakfast a a bit of pool time my buddy and I headed out to hit a few. Our first stop was this place on the corner of FCO. I. Madero and, I think, Vallarta. It is the road you hit if you drive across one of the main bridges from the other side of town. It is a small place barely big enough for the pool table that they have. If you don't sit at the bar you can sit at a stool by the window and get a carbon monoxide high. Nice life-sized carved wooden skeleton that people like to stand by and have their picture taken. I am no exception.

I had a frozen margarita

217) La Ballna Azul (The Blue Whale).

This is one of the few remaining authentic Mexican taverns left in this town. Typically, and today was no exception, I and whomever I am with are the only gringos in the place. Kind of dead in the afternoon but quite lively at night with a few hookers, the occasional brawl, and a lot of hollering. All and all though it is a pretty friendly place and I have never had a problem there. Great spicy peanuts on the bar and a machine where you can buy cigarettes one at a time.

I had a Corona and a shot of tequila

218) Cactus Bar

This place has gone through a number of changes. When I first started coming to Puerto Vallarta it was the Corner Bar, then it had a brief incarnation as a Mexican leather bar, and now it is the Cactus Bar. It has a pool table and windows that look out onto the street.

I had a Dos Equis and a shot of tequila and headed home for a break before the evening's festivities.

219) El Dorado

This is one of my favorite restaurants, right on the beach and not far from my place. Usually it is the first restaurant that my wife and I go to when we get into town but because of our late arrival and other planned activities it took us until now to get there. They have a good sized poured cement bar that looks vaguely like a very large brown anaconda. They have live music and a great view of the sunset which, tonight, was spectacular.

I had a staight-up margarita at the bar before sitting down to dinner.

220) Coca Tropicana

This place is just down the beach a bit from El Dorado. It used to be where the Corner Bar was after it relocated from what is now the Cactus Bar (see above). It is a bit back from the beach and has a large courtyard with tables for dinner. It is across the sidewalk from the beach and a bit walled off so it doesn't have quite the view but is still a nice enough place. One year when we went out fishing and caught a few small tuna we took them here and they cooked them up for us for dinner.

I had a gin and tonic. I had had several at El Dorado and this may become my new favorite drink down here, for awhile at least.

221) Lazy Lizard

On the way back home we passed by this place and popped in. Most of the drinking is done outside but they did have a small, four stool, bar inside that was kind of messy. We managed to find enough space to set down our drinks though so that was good enough for us.

I had a gin and tonic and called it a day, and a very successful day at that.

Well, with 221 down I have a mere 779 left to go.