In this section are some last impressions of Puerto Vallarta. Most come from some of my favorite hangouts on Olas Altas in Zona Romantica (the romantic zone).

A washroom sink in Toucan Fredy’s, part of the Posada Roger Hotel. I’ll admit it doesn’t look all that great in this photo, but in person it was interesting. Too bad it didn’t translate well to an image.

During this stay, I encountered a problem with my power supply. A plugin on the transformer had broken loose and I was trying to figure out a way of fixing it. I was directed to a local computer store in south Vallarta, but getting there meant taking one of the city buses that I’m not very fond of. You’ll see why in some upcoming images.

A typical interior shot of one of these buses. As you can see, they’re not in a great state of repair and frequently the shocks are shot, making for a bone jarring ride.

A typical example of these seats, made of fibreglass with no cushioning, adding to the rough ride.

Getting to the store itself turned out to be a bit of an adventure as you have to make use of an overhead walkway to get to the service area. In addition, the streets weren’t well marked, and the woman who referred me was concerned I would get lost. She recommended that I take the middle street on the other side and see if I could find the store. As it turns out, finding it was easier than I thought.

Directions to the computer store. As it turns out, it’s run by a fellow from Saskatchewan. It was a great place, but short of replacing the power supply, they didn’t have the answer to my problem, nor did several other stores in downtown Vallarta.

In the end, it turns out that the solution would be to cut open the sealed case, then smear a lot of 5 minute expoxy over the damaged area, glue it back together and use some black electricians tape to help seal it.

After trying to cut the case open (and realizing I more likely to cut myself than the case), I came up with a compromise, which was to use globs of expoxy on the damaged area, then force it into the area around the break and smooth some of the glue around the outside of the case. That worked and the heat generated by the case also helped to cure the glue. The result isn’t elegant, but it should last for the rest of my trip.

In this last section are shots of several different restaurants on Olas Altas and some samples of their fare.

Andales, one of the many restarants around here.

A classic example of cheap coffee in Mexico. One the first times I’d experienced this was in Bucerias in 2005, when I was having breakfast with my friend Roger. I’d ordered coffee with cream and a few minutes later the waitress came out with a cup of hot water and the coffeemate. A couple of minutes later she came out with the Nescafe. Roger took one look and said, “Some assembly required.”

On another occasion, I was in neighboring La Cruz at ten o’clock at night with a Mexican family that had adopted me. When I ordered coffee, the waitress came out with a cup of hot milk and the Nescafe on the side. I took one look and thought, “Only in Mexico,” but when I poured over the Nescafe crystals into my cup and stirred the result, it tasted surprisingly good.

An experimental breakfast at Andales. If I recall correctly, it consisted of a tortilla, eggs, beans, cheese, and I think a bit of sauce. It wasn’t the most appetizing appearance, but it tasted allright.

This place is one of the better hangouts on Olas Altas. Not only do they serve great coffee, but they also have a bookstore attached where you can browse through a good sized selection of paperbacks, mostly used.

A great example of the coffee here and of a delicious dessert, tres leche. I have no idea how it’s made, but it’s incredibly moist and rich. If you get a chance, you have to try this dessert.

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