Saturday, February 4, 2017 - Puerto Vallarta

Awoke this morning tied up to the Puerto Vallarta pier. Kudos to the captain – this is a tight space and he had to have done a 180! Once again the weather is spectacular!  (We learned later from the captain's presentation, that the ship has two electric-driven props that turn 360 degrees)

After a casual breakfast of made-to-order omelettes in the Lido dining room, we made our way down to the gangplank to begin an adventure into town. (Sam's foot is better, but its still swollen and she has to wear my Crocks, but is able to hobble around). We dickered for a taxi ride ($5 each) and went the 4 miles north into the city and the “Malecon” (Boardwalk) with our ultimate destination the Church of the Lady of Guadalupe.

The Malecon is lots of fun. It is many miles long, a concrete “boardwalk” along the shoreline. The beach is all rocks, no swimming here, but some crashing surf. Interesting shops and cafes` along the street. Many examples of some large, rather whimsical bronze statues. Some great sand sculptures and the famous “stone art”. Lots of pedestrians enjoying the day – seems like a lot of “locals”, of course, it is Saturday. Lots of peddlers around, too, silver bracelets four for $20, etc. We did not succumb!

We had a very cool visit to the church. It’s very historic and we happened to arrive just in time for a wedding! The bride arrived in a restored '32 Ford. The organ played and the bells chimed! (see video)

We had a great lunch of roast beef sandwich and seafood burrito at a sidewalk cafe called Vitea Bistro.  As we headed back toward where we started, we stopped at the Tierra Huichal gallery. This is famous bead art done by indigenous Mexicans. We bought a little piece depicting an iguana as a souvenir.

We took a taxi back to the ship. The kid taxi driver was awesome! Boy, he was good as he weaved in and out of traffic, tried to avoid bumps, paid only cursory attention to traffic lights. Got home in no time!  (Our van drive yesterday said “they have no pedestrians here, only survivors”)

Dinner in the main dining room tonight, with the folks from our group, consisted of shrimp cocktail, apple and pear salad, surf and turf (!) and chocolate cake or cheesecake. As usual, the cooks did a superb job!

After dinner we moseyed on down to the Vista Lounge for a very good song and dance show by the Westerdam Singers. Then next door to the BB King Lounge for some jazz by the ship's jazz band. There are a lot of talented people on this boat!

It was nearly 10:00 by the time got back to our stateroom. The ship is rolling a bit tonight – this is the first time we've really noticed any movement. The next two days are “sea days” but there is a lot of stuff on the schedule to keep us occupied!  And lest we not forget, the Super Bowl is tomorrow!