Monday, December 7th

Monday December 7, 2015, Puerto Vallarta

We had a wake up call for 6:15. What a shock after being able to sleep until we woke for the last three days.

We have a tour scheduled and we must be on shore to meet our bus and guide at 8:35. This tour is going to be fun because it is a tequila tour.

When the ship docked we discovered much to our surprise that the ship was docked in the middle of a bustling commercial district. Directly across from us was a Walmart , a Sam’s Club and a major shopping mall. We did not forget to put out our Canadian flag. We will be docked here until tomorrow evening at five. All Aboard is at 4:30 tomorrow.

When we disembarked we were greeted by dancers and a Mariachi band. Colorful and musical. We are in Mexico. The day will be warm and it is a kind of dull sunshine, almost high overcast.

The bus was air conditioned and bright and clean . Our guide was named Emma and she had a good knowledge of the area and a working microphone.

We had a good laugh when we stepped on the bus to find out that Mary and Richard were on the bus. It seems that everywhere we go we see that couple. She laughingly accuses me of stalking her and says she is going to report me to the captain. It is funny on a small ship because you keep seeing the same people. She is now living in California at Ocean side but she is originally from England. She told us that this is the third time she has taken this tequila tour. She says it is fantastic.

The tour seemed a little late departing and we soon found out why. We were being joined by some of the Love Boat cast. Isaac and Doc and Gopher and their family came on our bus just as we were about to leave. We would find out that they will be with us only part of the morning.

We left the dock and had a tour of the old town area. They have a wonderful new Malecon with wonderful sculptures and shopping. The waves were breaking and at time the spray was on the walkway. It is so very beautiful. 

I am impressed with the beauty and the modern aspects of this city.

We had a stop at Our Lady of Guadelupe cathedral. It has a guilded crown which is a replica of one worn by Carlota, empress of Mexico.

 The church was filled with fresh flowers. They were everywhere and the air was heavy with that glorious scent. From December 1 till 12 is a sacred time in this city and that is the reason for all of the flowers. 

It was at this point that the Love Boat cast left us.

We were taken to a shop called the Opal Mine. The interior is made to look like the inside of a mine. Well Ken bought me a beautiful Opal pendant. It is basically red and silver but it is amazing to see all of the different colors in it. It is absolutely gorgeous. I know I will enjoy it for years.

Our final and main stop was at the Tequila Hacieda.

 It is a lovely sunny location and here we were made to discover the fascinating process of tequila making from its origins in the blue agave cactus to our glass. We were given 6 samples of Puerto Vallarta’s finest. By the time I had slugged those 6 drinks I was in need of lunch to be certain. Lunch was very good with lots of salad and fruit and chicken dishes.

While we ate our lunch we were entertained royally by young people doing traditional dances. They also had 2 games. One was to make tortilla shells and I took part and I was a ceramic toucan. Quite colorful. I will have to put some felt on the bottom to make sure it doesn’t scratch furniture and to level it up. It is a bit tippy.

At the end of the lunch we had to make our way through a crowd of vendors who wanted us to buy their goods. That is always a not so pleasant part of being in Mexico.

We boarded our bus and we were returned to the city. We had a rest and a snack ( I had my December fries) because tonight we are on another excursion…Rhythms of the Night.