My Beadiful Life Blog

My mom just called, and she said the show was s-l-o-w and I haven’t made a sale yet. Looks like I’ll be getting most or all of my jewelry back…

17 days in Mexico.

October 5-8 Puerto Vallarta is

HOT. WET and hot. More so then South beach and Miami. We went through clothes a lot faster then we imagined. It is a beautiful place, but very touristy. Vendors would hassle us from the street, and indicate that we were extremely rude (“Do you know why we call Americanos Gringos???”) if we didn’t stop and talk to them, and, I assume, buy something. We never would have gotten anywhere if we weren’t ‘gringos.’ If you learn no other Spanish before going to a touristy place like this, learn ‘No Gracias’, as vendors are everywhere, selling everything from hammocks (!!), masks, bracelets, beach wraps, to, yes, beads. They are on the sidewalks, but their favorite place is the beaches.

The hotel, Playa Los Arcos was fabulous. I saw 2 wild iguanas just hanging out on the roof and in the bushes. Also, it was right on the beach and it had a pool! The ocean water was rough in the beginning, but once we got out, it was good swimming. Not many shells on the beach, but plenty of people.

The first day there, we got up late, walked out and bought a delicious, croissant like pastry from a vendor on the street, manzana y crema. Fantastic! We ate at The Rio Grande Restaurant for our first dinner there. Whole, grilled, red snapper. Delicious! The food everywhere was great, and not many problems. Just stay away from the fresh veggies and most fruits. And, obviously, don’t drink the water. Even brushing teeth, use bottled!

October 9-13 Yelapa is

A beach town with no cars that people can only get to via boat. We took a water taxi, which I highly recommend. It was a 45 minute FAST ride. I’m not prone to sea sickness, but it could definitely be a problem for someone who is.

We stayed in Casa Kimi , a small, fully furnished house with everything one could want. Plenty of reading material, a fully furnished kitchen that we did not utilize, and mosquito netting over the bed! The casita was very private, and the landscaping was jungle. It was so cool being part way up a jungle mountain, but still being able to hear the ocean waves during the day.

At night we were sung to sleep by a cacophony of bugs. Not for the faint of heart, but soooooo fun! I was surprised I had any blood left when it was time to go. I spent almost every morning on the porch with a cup of coffee in one hand, and a bottle of calamine in the other. (Apparently there is a non-buggy season, so I would go back during that time.)

The people were super friendly, and a majority of them spoke English, so our broken Spanish was not a problem. Vendors are prevalent even there though, and because the same ones are there everyday, I had to stay firm in NOT buying anything. Until I gave in and spent 150 pesos ($15) on a ‘red opal’ bead (re: Red glass bead) bracelet. (Coming soon to my site, after I take it apart and use it for one of my own creations. ) Also, there was LOTS of beach glass (Which I’m going to bead up into pendants).

We basically spent all our time on the beach. One awesome site was all the butterflies flying over the ocean to the island on one of the days we were there. There were literally thousands of them.

On the beach besides the waves and beachside restaurants, there were dogs, dogs everywhere! Of course I pet any one that came up to me, and I guess I got a reputation in their community, because we were followed home 3 different nights by 3 different dogs. Awwww!

We did go into town one day, for a waterfall hike, which one must wade in a river to get to. Or take a boat. On the way there we paid a guy with a small boat, on the way back we waded. The waterfall was BEAUTIFUL. There was a NON overpriced bar at the top, where we sipped the finest bottled water.

One other day we went on an extremely advanced trail ride to another water fall. I was not prepared for it, and had a horrible time. The waterfall wasn’t even a waterfall, it was more like a place in the river that was rapid. Waterfall my ass! It was horrible. Ben had a good time though. And, I grew as a person, as I never get THAT far away from my comfort zone. blah blah blah. Also, we crossed the river 3 times, and at least one of those times resulted in leeches for me! Oh boy! I wouldn’t have even known, except when we finally got there, I pulled something off my leg, squashed it before I realized what it was and right afterwards understood it as a tiny leech. GREAT! I looked at my leg, and there were bites running all the way up it. Big red marks with tiny holes in the middle. Lovely! I did a quick exam, and didn’t find any more, thank goodness. I just hoped that Oaxaca was not so buggy, and, it wasn’t.

(One more night (14th) at Playa Los Arcos)
October 15-21 Oaxaca is

A land of artisans. Not touristy at all. It was nice to know some Spanish, and frustrating at times that we didn’t know how to speak fluently. Oaxaca is a party city, there was a parade almost every night, and music in the Zocalo (the city’s main square) nightly. (more…)