Awake at 8:00 to get ready for our day trip to Yalepa. We showered, had a quick bite of breakfast and headed down to the pier to catch our 9:45 water taxi. It turned out to be just us and an older couple from Palm Desert on the 45 minute trip down to Yalepa. Normally, the taxi would have had to make 2 stops along the way, but they radioed to him that there were no passengers that day, so it was a nice straight shot. We were cruising along when suddenly the driver started pointing off to the left of the boat and immediately cut the engine. There, just a short distance away, was a humpback whale surfacing. It was too cool to be that close. It stayed at the surface long enough for us to get a couple of pics and then is disappeared beneath the surface and was gone. Nice added bonus to our ride and surprising as they usually don’t show up until mid December.
We arrived in Yalepa and immediately headed up to the waterfall. We had been here last year and there is a geocache there that we had not been able to find. We decided to give it another shot this year. We trekked up through the village and got to the waterfall just as a large tour group was finishing up. Once they left, we hunted and hunted, but never found what we were looking for. Will have to try again next time. But, we couldn’t leave without swimming in the falls again. The water is so crisp and chilly, but feels so good once you are in. A quick dip, some pictures, a diet coke, and we headed back down through the village to try for another geocache that we had found listed there. This one was out on the bluff at the edge of the cove and we were able to find it very easily.
Back down to the beach for lunch and swimming. When we got back down, there were a few more people that had arrived on other taxi’s or day cruises, but still, less than 50 people on the whole beach. We ate at Marlin Restaurant and Bar. Nachos and Quesadillas for Chris, and a spicy mix of marinated beef chunks with corn tortillas for me. While we were eating, this sad little stray dog came over and sat next to my chair. He was very hungry, so I shared my lunch with him. You really don’t appreciate the vet care here at home until you see some of the strays in Mexico. At least this one got a good meal and some attention on this day.
After lunch, we got drinks and sunned for a bit before going for a swim. There were a number of families there for the day and they little bitty kids playing in the surf were very cute to watch. When you are just 2 feet tall, those waves can be pretty scary and fun at the same time. One adorable little girl, maybe 3 years old, was sitting right at the edge of the water and just letting the water roll up over her. Her mom was sitting next to us and another woman commented to her that she was going to have sand everywhere when they got her out of her suit. The mother said that the little girl had already come to her a tad bit concerned, because as the little girl stated, “mommy, I have sand in my coochie”. We got quite the chuckle out of that
There was a woman whose husband was trying to convince her to parasail. She was afraid to do it and I knew exactly how she felt. Chris had done it last year on the beach in PV and loved it, but I was scared to do it. This woman’s husband finally convinced her to do it so I watched as she headed down the beach, got strapped into the harness, hooked to the chute and up she went. She took off and screamed and waved and I watched as she floated all around the bay. When she came down, it was a perfect landing and she was so excited. She convinced an older woman who was with them to do it as well and I sat and watched her and thought, you know what, what the hell. I grabbed 350 pesos out of my bag, marched down the beach, handed over my money, got strapped in and suddenly I was lifting off the ground and soaring. It was an amazing feeling and an incredible view of the area. As soon as you were off the ground, all of the sounds from the beach faded away and all you could hear were birds and the wind. The cove is surrounded on 3 sides by jungle mountains and everything else below you is just crystal blue water. I wish there was some way that I could have had a camera up with me, but I had handed it to Chris and told him he BETTER get this on film, LOL! When you are getting ready to take off, they give you a few instructions. First, they tell you that as soon as you start to lift off, you are supposed to sit. You are in a “seat” of sorts created by the straps on the harness. In my panic at taking off, I didn’t sit back far enough, so I felt like I was going to slip out of the straps the whole time I was up there (I found out later this is not possible), but it did inhibit my relaxation up there a bit. The other instructions had to do with landing. They said that as I was approaching the beach, I needed to listen for 2 whistles. The first meant I was supposed to pull down hard on the strap on my right side, then I would hear another whistle that meant to let go. Well, in my bliss, I did not hear the first whistle. I’m soaring around and suddenly look down and see three Mexican guys frantically making choo choo pulling signs at me (probably mumbling “stupid gringo” under their breaths). I pulled down hard on my right, glided down and managed to make a perfect landing. It was a rush knowing that I had conquered my fear and done it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I walked back down to Chris and we ended up just being lazy and playing with black lab who would bring you a water bottle and fetch it. Over and over and over. Reminded us of Spunky back home with his tennis ball.
The water taxi returned at 4:30 and again it was just us and the same couple from the morning trip.
Once back in PV, we had to head straight for the villa as I had a scheduled massage with Adalberto at 6:00. His massages are the best we have ever had. $40.00 for an hour and a half. Amazing.
When my massage was over, I found Chris napping in the room. We showered and got dressed and decided we would head to a place called Fajita Republic that Bob and Cal had told us about. We walked down the hill and found that Fajita Republic is closed on Mondays. We had the same problem last year with El Brujo. We headed down the block to a place we had passed the night before called Café de Olla. Packed with people and the food looked good, so we got a table. We ended up getting the special of the night. A platter for two with 4 lobster tails, a 12oz sirloin steak, 5 butterfly shrimp, 2 grilled potatoes, rice and veggies. Oh, and these very tasty and very strong margaritas. Everything was quite good and very filling.
Although we were a bit tired from the day, we had told Bob, Cal and Mitch that we would meet them at Garbo’s for a drink. Garbo’s is a piano bar right down by the beach and was only a 5 minute walk from where we had dinner. We walked in and ordered drinks. I had a lime drop martini and Chris had one with craberry juice in it. Wow. Strong drinks. We chatted with the guys for a bit and listened to the singers who braved the mic. After 2 drinks, we decided we really did need to get back and get to bed.
Back at the villa, we sat on the balcony and had one last drink. It is probably about 75 degrees and there is a nice breeze. We are listening to some music and checking email.
We arrived in Yalepa and immediately headed up to the waterfall. We had been here last year and there is a geocache there that we had not been able to find. We decided to give it another shot this year. We trekked up through the village and got to the waterfall just as a large tour group was finishing up. Once they left, we hunted and hunted, but never found what we were looking for. Will have to try again next time. But, we couldn’t leave without swimming in the falls again. The water is so crisp and chilly, but feels so good once you are in. A quick dip, some pictures, a diet coke, and we headed back down through the village to try for another geocache that we had found listed there. This one was out on the bluff at the edge of the cove and we were able to find it very easily.
Back down to the beach for lunch and swimming. When we got back down, there were a few more people that had arrived on other taxi’s or day cruises, but still, less than 50 people on the whole beach. We ate at Marlin Restaurant and Bar. Nachos and Quesadillas for Chris, and a spicy mix of marinated beef chunks with corn tortillas for me. While we were eating, this sad little stray dog came over and sat next to my chair. He was very hungry, so I shared my lunch with him. You really don’t appreciate the vet care here at home until you see some of the strays in Mexico. At least this one got a good meal and some attention on this day.
After lunch, we got drinks and sunned for a bit before going for a swim. There were a number of families there for the day and they little bitty kids playing in the surf were very cute to watch. When you are just 2 feet tall, those waves can be pretty scary and fun at the same time. One adorable little girl, maybe 3 years old, was sitting right at the edge of the water and just letting the water roll up over her. Her mom was sitting next to us and another woman commented to her that she was going to have sand everywhere when they got her out of her suit. The mother said that the little girl had already come to her a tad bit concerned, because as the little girl stated, “mommy, I have sand in my coochie”. We got quite the chuckle out of that
There was a woman whose husband was trying to convince her to parasail. She was afraid to do it and I knew exactly how she felt. Chris had done it last year on the beach in PV and loved it, but I was scared to do it. This woman’s husband finally convinced her to do it so I watched as she headed down the beach, got strapped into the harness, hooked to the chute and up she went. She took off and screamed and waved and I watched as she floated all around the bay. When she came down, it was a perfect landing and she was so excited. She convinced an older woman who was with them to do it as well and I sat and watched her and thought, you know what, what the hell. I grabbed 350 pesos out of my bag, marched down the beach, handed over my money, got strapped in and suddenly I was lifting off the ground and soaring. It was an amazing feeling and an incredible view of the area. As soon as you were off the ground, all of the sounds from the beach faded away and all you could hear were birds and the wind. The cove is surrounded on 3 sides by jungle mountains and everything else below you is just crystal blue water. I wish there was some way that I could have had a camera up with me, but I had handed it to Chris and told him he BETTER get this on film, LOL! When you are getting ready to take off, they give you a few instructions. First, they tell you that as soon as you start to lift off, you are supposed to sit. You are in a “seat” of sorts created by the straps on the harness. In my panic at taking off, I didn’t sit back far enough, so I felt like I was going to slip out of the straps the whole time I was up there (I found out later this is not possible), but it did inhibit my relaxation up there a bit. The other instructions had to do with landing. They said that as I was approaching the beach, I needed to listen for 2 whistles. The first meant I was supposed to pull down hard on the strap on my right side, then I would hear another whistle that meant to let go. Well, in my bliss, I did not hear the first whistle. I’m soaring around and suddenly look down and see three Mexican guys frantically making choo choo pulling signs at me (probably mumbling “stupid gringo” under their breaths). I pulled down hard on my right, glided down and managed to make a perfect landing. It was a rush knowing that I had conquered my fear and done it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I walked back down to Chris and we ended up just being lazy and playing with black lab who would bring you a water bottle and fetch it. Over and over and over. Reminded us of Spunky back home with his tennis ball.
The water taxi returned at 4:30 and again it was just us and the same couple from the morning trip.
Once back in PV, we had to head straight for the villa as I had a scheduled massage with Adalberto at 6:00. His massages are the best we have ever had. $40.00 for an hour and a half. Amazing.
When my massage was over, I found Chris napping in the room. We showered and got dressed and decided we would head to a place called Fajita Republic that Bob and Cal had told us about. We walked down the hill and found that Fajita Republic is closed on Mondays. We had the same problem last year with El Brujo. We headed down the block to a place we had passed the night before called Café de Olla. Packed with people and the food looked good, so we got a table. We ended up getting the special of the night. A platter for two with 4 lobster tails, a 12oz sirloin steak, 5 butterfly shrimp, 2 grilled potatoes, rice and veggies. Oh, and these very tasty and very strong margaritas. Everything was quite good and very filling.
Although we were a bit tired from the day, we had told Bob, Cal and Mitch that we would meet them at Garbo’s for a drink. Garbo’s is a piano bar right down by the beach and was only a 5 minute walk from where we had dinner. We walked in and ordered drinks. I had a lime drop martini and Chris had one with craberry juice in it. Wow. Strong drinks. We chatted with the guys for a bit and listened to the singers who braved the mic. After 2 drinks, we decided we really did need to get back and get to bed.
Back at the villa, we sat on the balcony and had one last drink. It is probably about 75 degrees and there is a nice breeze. We are listening to some music and checking email.
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