Kathy & Eric's travels: Heading South to Punta Perula.

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011

Time to hit the road and head south.

This morning we packed up and then walked up the road for breakfast at the 3 Hermano’s restaurant before heading out. A good breakfast of ….huebos (eggs) which should hold us until we get to our destination of Punta Perula. We don’t plan to stop for lunch so we needed to fill up. Done !

On the road with me in the jeep with Frank and Sandi and Eric following on Blue.

The outskirts of Puerto Vallarta seem to go on for a long way but as we got closer there were the cruise ships. I shot these photos from the jeep. They are huge!

It was all clear sailing until we entered Puerto Vallarta and ended up downtown. Apparently there is a bypass but we couldn’t see any signs so we ended up downtown along the Malecon and it is a horrible ride on a motorcycle. Lots of cobblestones and very slow as one of the two lanes going south was dug up and two lanes were forced into one and had almost stopped so the Harley seriously overheats. Sand sculptures along the beach and probably things we’d like to see but….not today.

Streets of Puerto Vallarta.

This shot up the hill toward the cathedral. Puerto Vallarta is trapped between the mountain and the water so it is hilly above us.

Somewhere up there is the bypass that we missed!

As we made our way out of town the road got really twisty and turny with about a billion topees that seemed to go on forever. It would seem to me that the tour buses take people out of town about ten miles and the topees go about the same distance. After that finished it was still really twisty and Eric was glad I wasn’t on the bike as he rode.

As we were heading south from Puerto Vallarta we really needed a spot to stop and stretch our legs. I kind of hoped it would be a pee stop ….Mexican style but in order to pee I would have ended up at the bottom of the cliff. I can wait!

Both of these shots are looking back at Puerto Vallarta.

We headed up into a mountainous area and there were lots of pine trees growing. Odd to think they would be growing here. They are a really long needled pine.

Up on the right are the pine trees that grow up in the mountains.

As we started back down to the coast it was time to look for fuel for Blue. She doesn’t have a very big tank and it would not be good to run out of gas. Just north of the cut off for Tomatlan we ran into a really nice Pemex. Yippee!!! Gas, pee stop and helado (ice cream) and a bum break for everyone. At the same time there were trucks of school kids on a (field trip ?) Just the same as home only a warmer different country. Okay, except at home we don’t pack school kids around in pick-up trucks!

As we headed south we eventually saw a sign for Punta Perula. The road was dirt and we thought we must be in the wrong place so we stopped and asked people if we were on the right road. They said yes, but we got out The Mexican Camping book by the Church’s and it said go farther. Good advice because we hit the well marked sign on a paved road and headed into town.

As we drove the road in we arrived in a typical small dusty Mexican town. It was really hot. Our friend Ron Townley and his sister Bev and husband Vern had spent winters here in the past so we were interested to see Punta Perula and make it a stop.

We drove up and down the “main street” in the jeep and then decided we were hot, tired, cranky and in desperate need of a cold cerveza. Eric couldn’t ride Blue up and down any more because she was way too hot so it was time for a break. We parked by the square in the shade of a big tree and Sandi spotted a beer store across the street. A quick dash across and the beer angel brought us a…Cold Pacifico… mui bueno!

All right now time for a place to spend the night. We asked the guy who owns the surf shop where we should go and he suggested the Dolphin Hotel. A quick look by Sandi and I while Frank and Eric waited and a quote of 750 pesos per night (about $65) and we decided to look some more.

We finally found the Punta Perula trailer park and it turns out they had bedrooms in a building on the property. 500 pesos per night for a room with a communal kitchen. At first we thought we were going to have to share a room with two beds but it after we had a look it turned out we could have a room each and we were in.

Punta Perula trailer park and bungalows. That’s the area where the bedrooms and communal kitchen are up top.

A beautiful view from the narrow deck. Happy hour and then dinner.

We got settled and then it was time for happy hour. Much better now. Up the street for dinner and it was good. Only a block away so we weren’t exhausted. Pescado Veracruz…(fish with peppers, onions and ? and it was all good and cheap to boot.