Puerto Vallarta - I Have Returned

Yesterday I was reminded of the scene in Cat Ballou where Kid Shelleen passes out after drinking and shooting a pint bottle of whisky and Jackson Two-Bears says something like "Shortest day I have ever seen." I always like to give you a bit of trivia, my favorite in this movie was seeing Dobbie Gillis again.

Anyway, the day wasn't really all that short, just the part of it I spent here in Puerto Vallarta. Got up at 2:00 AM, got picked up by my car service at 4:45 AM, was sitting at the gate waiting for my 8:30 AM flight by 6:15 and after a six hour flight I was in sunny Puerto Vallarta. An hour later, after clearing immigration and customs, running the time-share guantlet and a taxi ride, I was back on lovely Los Muertos beach.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I quickly changed into more appropriate clothes, shorts and tee-shirts, and hit Cuate y' Cuate on the beach for a couple of beers. Then we stopped at a new place back a few blocks, O'Rourke's, for another beer. Picked up some supplies (rum, Coke, and beer for me) and headed back to our place for a quick nap before dinner.

Hah, our quick nap lasted until 3:00 AM this morning, a bit too late for dinner even here in the Romantic District. Dozed until about 6:00 AM, checked to see if I could get a wireless connection (I can, but only outside on my little balcony) and felt compelled to keep you informed of what was going on.

Last year I had a regular internet connection inside my apartment, but somehow this year there were no available modems. Also, I have been hearing that the wireless connection is a bit unreliable. It seems to be working fine this morning, though, so no big deal. I do most of my work in the early mornings and evenings anyway. During the day it is a bit too bright to work out here.

This morning I will go for a walk along the malecon to check out the lay of the land and see what has changed. I have already noticed one new place, the aforementioned O'Rourkes, and seen a few shuttered store fronts. I had planned on going to Sweeny's for my first beer here, but it doesn't open until 4:00 PM this year. Still stays open until everyone stops drinking and you can get food until 4:00 AM. I ran into Sweeny on my way to Cuate y' Cuate and asked him about the late closing. He said tourism is really down this year, about a third less than normal, and it just didn't pay for him to open earlier in the day.

Well, Puerto Vallarta still looks crowded to me. I don't like it when everything is packed, but I sure don't like to see the places I like hurting for business or, even worse, closing down.

Okay, off to explore the town a bit. Kind of an overcast day with hints of blue sky peeking through and already nice and warm. The surf is pounding in the background and life is good.