Two Weeks Left!!!!

I can hardly believe that the time has gone so quickly, but I only have 2 weeks left here in Puerto Vallarta!!  This coming week is my last week of Spanish classes, then I have one more week to just relax and enjoy PV before Louie gets here and we head out on our road trip to Guadalajara, Tequila, Guanajuato, and San Miguel de Allende.

April seems to have flown by, probably partly because my family was here for the first 10 days!  Actually, Kellie and Joe arrived on March 29, and stayed in a hotel downtown near my house for 3 nights.  I had a great time showing them all the sights of downtown Puerto Vallarta, including the zoo of course.  The rest of my family arrived on April 1, and Kellie, Joe, and I met them at their hotel.  I got to spend several afternoons at the hotel with my family, including Easter weekend (when Maya got lost!).  Also, the rest of my family came downtown for an afternoon/evening to see my apartment and go out for dinner at the best taco place in PV. 

Tacos at Panchos in Old Town

After my family left, I realized that my time was ticking down very quickly, and there was still a lot of things that I wanted to do while I was here!!  So of course, I made a list!!  And I have been steadily checking things off for the past two weeks, but I still have lots more things to do!  One of the most important things on my list was to visit at least 2 new beaches (one down, one to go).  There are a couple of beaches here that I just love, so I always end up going to those or to the one closest to my house, but there are so many great beaches here, and they all have their own character.  Last weekend, I visited Playa Conchas Chinas for the first time, and I loved it.  Here is the description from the Puerto Vallarta website.  It really was as good as it sounds!

Conchas Chinas Beach, is one of the most fascinating beaches you are likely to find here. Only a few minutes south of downtown Puerto Vallarta, flanked by lush mountains on one side and aquamarine waters lapping at the clean, white sandy beach. Enjoy natural pools formed by encircling rocks, a fried fish on a stick, relax & enjoy yourself as you rarely have before. The transparent waters offer you a clear view into the depths where you'll see a wide array of fish and other sea animals that are found in the area, an experience you will likely never forget. Proof that is is one of the cleanest Vallarta town beaches available.

This weekend, I have also been busy checking things off my list.  I went to the movie theater to see the Lorax in Spanish.  I was pretty impressed that I could actually understand it pretty well.  I went to the farmers market to get some tasty snacks.  I went to a play at the Puerto Vallarta Theater, Blanca Nieves (Snow White) of course in Spanish.  And finally, I went to the Marine Museum.  I'm doing pretty well on my list, but I still have lots more things to do!!

Maya was Missing!!

I have had family here visiting for the majority of the past two and a half weeks, which has been so much fun (although not very good for my spanish)!!  With the exception of Joe and Kellie who braved a weekend in downtown PV (and I think they enjoyed it!), the rest of my family stayed in an all-inclusive hotel in Nueva Vallarta, about 20 kilometers north of Puerto Vallarta.  It took me about 90 minutes on the bus to get to the hotel from my house, so for the weekend of Easter when I didn't have classes, I wanted to stay in Nueva Vallarta, closer to the hotel.  Of course, the Rui Palace did not allow dogs, but one of my Mexican friends here lives in an apartment in Nueva Vallarta and invited Maya and I to stay at his house for the weekend.  This was perfect, as the apartment was only a 15 minute bus ride to the hotel, and I could still spend the nights with Maya to give her her medicine. 

Little did I know that there was going to be about 8 other people staying in the apartment as well, mostly visiting Puerto Vallarta from Guadalajara for the Easter holiday.  Maya and I did have the bedroom (with the only bed) to ourselves, which actually worked out fine for everyone since it seemed like I was the only one who actually wanted to sleep at night!!  Even Maya wanted to be out partying in the livingroom on Friday night, but her mean mother wouldn't let her!

On Saturday night, everyone (except Maya and I, of course) went out somewhere, and didn't get home until 6 am!!  I am definitely too old for that kind of partying these days!  When I left for the hotel at 8 am, there were literally 7 or 8 people passed out on the livingroom TILE floor!  I woke up my friend to let him know that I was leaving, and that my family and I would be by around 5 in the afternoon to pick up Maya, since my family was actually going to leaving their all-inclusive hotel for a few hours to check out my apartment and have dinner downtown.

When we arrived at my friends apartment on Sunday afternoon and walked in, it seemed like everyone was acting a little weird...and I didn't see Maya.  I finally asked my friend's roommate where my dog was, and he just shrugged his shoulders and said that he didn't know!!  Apparently when he woke up (at about 1pm) she was already gone!! 

My family and I immediately headed out into the neighborhood to look for her, but I have to admit that I was not feeling very hopeful since it was already after 5 pm and she had been missing for at least 4 hours, probably more.  As we cruised around the neighborhood, it seemed as though everyone had seen her at some point during the day.  She really must have been making the rounds!  My mom and sister talked to a police officer that said he had seen a dog earlier that afternoon, but when he tried to pick her up, she bit him!  Well, we knew we were on the right track then.  After enlisting the help of 4 little neighborhood boys and almost 2 hours of searching, we finally found her outside one of the neighbors houses.  The neighbor had put out food and water for her during the day. 

I was beyond relieved, and Maya also seemed very happy to be found, although she was definitely no worse for the wear and it seems like she had a really fun adventure!!  It was an Easter miracle!!! :)

Maya...happy to be back in her own bed!