March 10, Saturday …. Take off!

Linda spent the night at my pad Friday to simplify getting out of town very early Saturday morning.  Our driver arrived right on time and we sped out to O’Hare … only to find a gazillion people in line for international check-in.  Things moved swiftly, though, and both our checked bags were marginally under-weight.  Inching through security, we looked back to see an entire family dressed in fluorescent pink & yellow – no chance of losing THOSE children in the crowd!  Off we went to the gate, to discover once Linda went to fill our empty water bottles, that boarding was well underway.  Nonetheless, we got on in good season and there was enough room in the overhead bins for our second carry-ons.
We were aisle-to-aisle, so not too much chance to communicate enroute.  I had a selection of Spanish cheese slices and some Triscuits to see us through lunchtime, and of course we had our water bottles for hydration.  Once we landed in Puerto Vallerta (to Linda’s great relief, we actually had a jetway!!), we were faced with very extended lines for immigration control & customs … big Spring Break week here.
Ultimately we got through the administrative hurdles and found our driver (despite the blandishments of scores of independent drivers who used every ruse in the book to get us to sign up for one of them).  We had a pleasant drive to our “condo” … until the very final approach.  The building is set right into a steep hillside, and the approach is on an ancient-style cobblestone road.  It’s about a lane-and-a-half wide, though it’s two-way … and it goes up and down at precipitous angles.  The car strained to hold the road in sunny, dry weather … we would NOT want to try to negotiate it in rain!
The unit is spacious and lovely … two full bedroom/bath areas and a third semi-private (draw your curtains to seal off the living room) bedroom.  Three balconies, and a lovely view overlooking the town and the large Banderas Bay.

After getting settled a bit, we called a cab to take us to the major grocery chain in town, which happily has a taxi stand right beside it.  Our list was eclectic and we had some serious work to do to translate what was on the shelf.  Among other delicacies, the store offers still-warm tortillas … Linda ordered up a KILO (about 2 inches of them!).  Gradually crossing things off of our list, we stocked up, grabbed a cab back up the hillside, and settled into fajitas wrapped in the still-warm white-corn tortillas made minutes before.  Just lovely!