Puerto Vallarta Mexico -April 8

Puerto Vallarta has always been a favorite location for me. This time I'm going for one week. Given that this will be my 7th time and I've done all the tourist activities P.V. has to offer, this time I will be spending my time walking, reading and enjoying the sun.

I came acoss a hotel many years ago that appealed to me. Besides being a pretty, smaller hotel the location is in the Romantica area of P.V. which makes it walking distance to Malecon and on the walking path to the water taxi area. This particular hotel appeared in Expedia suggestions for me - so I booked it immediately.

This is the first time I haven't stayed in an all-inclusive and it is the first time I've flew with Delta Airlines.  The flight required a transfer in Minneapolis.  Both legs of the flights were unspectacular. The flight from Saskatoon to Minneapolis offered wi-fi, which was surprising as generally phones are to be placed in airplane mode.  The second leg of the flight was disappointing as no TV's or in flight entertainment were available.  The attendants of Delta, with the exception of one, were helpful and pleasant. As we crossed into Mexico the air view was interesting, the ground looked like it had been painted camouflage colours and then I saw some interesting crop markings.

Once arriving in P.V. I hopped on the local bus to reach my hotel. The buses in P.V. are something each traveller to this area should experience. To travel within P.V. you need a blue bus and the locations it will be stopping at are hand written on the front window. Buses are privately owned, which results in a variety of different sizes, styles of seating and conditions of the buses. On a previous holiday, one of the buses i rode on had bullet holes through the glass. The bus stops are clearly marked and it only costs 7.5 pesos for travel around town. The bus driver will make change and give you a paper ticket. No transfers are allowed. I strongly recommend you have the accurate change as the bus will most likely be moving before change is given to you and before you are sitting down. Occasionally an inspector will get on the bus and ask to see tickets. The buses often appear to race each other to the next stop; I suspect that they are paid by commission, so the more tickets they sell - the more they make. During busy seasons the buses are so full and standing room is so packed that it can be hard to get off the bus.

  I had forgotten the exact location and got off the bus early. After a couple  blocks extra walking with my luggage I found my hotel, Playa Los Arcos. It was as nice as I expected. My room is small but has a king size bed, a cute little bathroom with a porcelain sink painted with flowers and a ruffled shower curtain. The balcony can barely hold two chairs, but the view displays the pools and ocean as well as the hills P.V. is built on.