Vallarta Zoo

One day during our first week in Puerto Vallarta we were hanging around the Starbucks downtown. It is one of our favorite places to meet other English speakers and you can get a wealth of information while enjoying a latte. Well, at least for me who has no problem starting a conversation with perfect strangers. We visited with a man who had lived in PV for several years and discussed where we should be sure to visit. He gave us a lot of suggestions, but the one we hooked onto was the zoo. So we made another trip to the south. The zoo is very different from the zoos in the US. I don't mean that in a good or bad way, just different. Okay, so it's the same in that there are a lot of animals you don't run into daily around town, but that is about where the similarity ends. One of my favorite differences is that some of the animals are not caged at all and those that are caged can often times reach you (or you can reach them). We are walking down the first ramp and one of the first enclosures we come to is a panther area. The panther is lounging against the wires that are not quite an arms length away from us. The bars are made of re-bar that is spread about 2 inches apart. If you're getting the picture you can see that I can easily reach out and touch the panther between the bars. It was quite the dilemma and discussion. Do you or do you not touch the panther? It's right there, there are no signs that discourage it, there are bars to protect me provided I can move my hand back faster than the panther can turn over and strike. Sure, why not?  So, I tentatively reach out and give a little poke above the bottom. That same spot my house cat loves to be scratched. The panther stretches a little and seems ready for a good scratching, so ... I oblige. Where in the US could you scratch the back side of a panther? Feeling completely satisfied, we continued through the zoo. There is so much to see. At another enclosure I bravely reached out to pet the black bear. That is not something I would recommend. Evidendly the the bear woke up on the wrong side of the den because he was less than amicable. I stopped along the path after leaving the grumpy bear and not feeling the need to pet any more wild animals and was taking a picture of a beautiful large black and white butterfly. Stunning! As I was getting the perfect shot the giraff reached over the short wall and decided to take a taste of my hair. Probably not used to the blonde variety and decided to see if it was different than the darker hair. All in all, the zoo has a lot to offer when it comes to up close and personal with the critters. On the other hand, there are some unpleasant smells that come along with the experience. Again, not quiet like back in the states. With that said, I would have to consider whether or not to swim in the sea where the water washes down from the zoo. Probably not the cleanest part of the bay. Just sayin'!
As far as accessibility, I'd say not so much. The ramps are steep and if there is a little rain then they are also slick. If you could only access part of the zoo though, it might be worth it. We had the opportunity (for a fee) to hold the week old tiger kittens. There were actually a variety of babies that you could spend time with. That is priceless and could be enjoyed without all of the ramps.

Las Palmas near Puerto Vallarta

This was an interesting day. We had rented the car for the whole month that we were in Puerto Vallarta. As I said in a previous entry, everything was inexpensive that summer. So, we were able to explore the surrounding areas. One day we were driving from the south side of the bay to the north and according to our map there was this road that went around town. Little did we know that the map was not to scale. So we headed into the mountains for our scenic bypass not knowing that we didn't have nearly enough gas for this detour. The drive was beautiful with lush green tropical forests. As we climbed away from the coast we spotted wild iguanas and ripe bananas. The further we traveled the fewer vehicles we saw. After a while, people were moving on horseback instead of cars. They weren't out for a ride, they were actually using horses to go somewhere. There were children playing in yards that thought these two blonde women in a shiny rental car were quite the spectacle. They waved and smiled like the circus had come to town. As we continued to climb and the gas gauge continued to drop we started looking for any signs of a gas station. No Google maps to help us and nothing on the paper map we had picked up at the concierge. Finally, we spotted a young lady walking on the road and I used my best Spanish to ask, "Donde esta gasolina?"  She looked at me like I was speaking greek, but figured out what I wanted and pointed up the road speaking much faster than I could translate in my head. I did manage to get "Las Palmas" out of the dissertation. We headed up the road and found Las Palmas and the gas station. The woman working at the station did her best to communicate and between her patience and my limited Spanish we concluded that the pumps were broken. There was no way we had enough gas to get back to town. She managed to convey that the man was coming to fix the pumps. We waited. We had no idea how long that might be because in Mexico most people are not in a hurry. It was a beautiful day and we had our Starbucks with us, so we waited. It was only about 15 minutes before the man showed up, fixed the pumps and filled our tank for us. We were on our way. The second half of the drive was much more relaxing than the first. Having a full tank has a way of increasing the peace of mind. Las Palmas was beautiful, the people were gracious and I would definitely recommend this route for those who like a little adventure and want to see the Vallarta area that is far removed from the influence of tourism. 

Farther South to Boca de Tomatlan, Mismaloya and Yelapa

So after we visited Chico's Paradise we headed father south to the Botanical Gardens. It was summer and the rainy season was just starting, so the paths weren't all accessible. Even in a wheelchair you could enjoy this location. When we parked in the parking lot, I got some beautiful pictures of a humming bird. I was so proud of those pictures and they were stolen along with my backpack one day here in the states. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the gardens even though it wasn't the optimal time of year to visit. The owners were expats with a wealth of information about the Vallarta area. We stopped in both Mismaloya and Boca de Tomatlan.. The beaches there are smaller and very active as this is where you catch the water taxi to head further south around the bay. The seafood here is right out of the ocean fresh. It comes in and they start cleaning and cooking. YUM!  We have since taken the water taxi to Yelapa a few times. It is a great little town. When you get off the water taxi you are right at some restaurants that are definitely for the tourists. Good food, amazing pies and plenty of service with character. However, if you want to see Yelapa you have to walk down the beach and climb the hillside to get into the town and up to the waterfall area. The falls provide some great swimming opportunities. There are bathrooms on the way up that are well worth seeking out. Once up there the bathrooms are up the hill and VERY RUSTIC!!  There area couple of homes when they locals cook and sell the best ceviche. There are a few rooms for rent in Yelapa and our brother has stayed there. He loved it!  I will say that the water taxi is not a good option for mobility challenged as you have to jump back into the boat with the waves bobbing it up and down. One one visit we all left with bruises. Of course I'm not as young as I used to be and bruise easier. It was fun taking the water taxi and we saw wild dolphins and sea turtles swimming next to the boat. It was bumpy in a fun way with spray coming over the sides just to keep us surprised. The boatman stood most of the time holding onto a rope like he was skiing. I was dying to give that a try and maybe on another day I will if I'm brave enough.

Chico's Paradise

So, our first summer in Puerto Vallarta was amazing. I'm sure part of the allure was that there were so few people around. We rented a car and traveled all of the the outlying areas. We drove south as far as Chico's Paradise. It's a beautiful spot on the river where you can get some great local sea food. The prices are high, but there is character that makes up for it. There is a man who dives from the rocks into a small pool who draws the crowds to the railing for his show. I don't watch because, 1) I don't like the way my stomach flips when he runs and jumps off of the wet rock, and 2) I don't want to encourage his early demise. I know he's amazing, and that the tips he earns support his whole family, but I just can't watch. I do recommend when you are at Chico's Paradise that you make your way down to the river and get your feet in the water. It is a beautiful spot. We have since done the zip lining at this location a few times. One of the reasons I like this place is that they let you take your own camera. I'm always looking for a beautiful shot and when climbing the hills from zip to zip I notice things like the ocean to our right. The photographers are only interested in snapping pictures of you while you zip down the lines and don't capture the other beauty around. If I take my own camera I get great shots of both the activity and the scenery. Another great thing about Chico's is that when you zip across the river you can go right over the heads of your friends that stay behind to have a beverage. The guides are very accommodating, friendly and helpful. Check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eto23dvrmA

Starting a beach wheelchair rental business in Puerto Vallarta

So, starting an international business is a lot of work. Of course, if it was easy then everyone would do it. I"m going to discuss some of the hurdles we have encountered throughout the process and what we did to overcome them. Some of this blog will be looking back at what we did and once we catch up to the present I will continue the saga. I wish I had started this long ago because there were frustrating steps along the way that have since been overcome. I'll try to convey the hurdles and obstacles.

First came the idea. My sister Sheri and I traveled to Puerto Vallarta each summer for our summer break. We are both teachers and that allowed us to spend extended vacations in the Vallarta area. Our first summer to Puerto Vallarta was the summer following the Spring outbreak of Swine Flu. Travel to Mexico was let's just say it "cheap".  Flights were cheap, rooms were cheap, activities were cheap. We stayed at a 5 star resort for .... drum roll ... unbelievably low price of $49 per week. Yes I did say 'per week'. The resort was on the south side of the bay, ocean front, with twice a day maid service. Well, who can pass up a deal like that. Instead of staying the two weeks we had initially planned, we decided to stay 4 weeks. More tomorrow about our adventures along the road to beachcrossers.com the mobility wheelchair rentals of Vallarta.

New Blog

Just starting up the new blog. We're going to be posting the ins and outs of Puerto Vallarta. Can't wait to see how this progresses. This is me, Terrie, on my first trip to Puerto Vallarta. I went there on a business trip for my dad's business (Antioch Radiator). I think they had sold the most radiators or something for AC Delco and won a trip for one. Mom and Dad weren't interested in adding another person to the cruise at that time, so I was the lucky winner. It was totally awesome. I'm so happy that they sent me on that trip. I'll write more about the other trip they sent me on in my next post, but they certainly planted the seed of travel that grew into our new business.