We left for La Penita at 5:45 am on Friday, January 5. We had a great direct flight and arrived at around noon. We had 3 large pieces of luggage with virtually no clothes - all things for our condo including an air conditioner.
We rented a car for the first week from Gecko in Bucerias (highly recommended) and they picked us up at the airport. When we got our car, we stopped for a few groceries at Chedraui (only a few because we will head into PV to Costco in a few days) and then got on the road. Apparently too quickly as we were pulled over for speeding. After some "negotiation", we were on our way. We did get some good advice - there were 3 accidents on the road from Bucerias to Sayulita (normally a 15 minute drive) which was holding traffic up for more than 2 hours - we took the long way around thought Punta Mita which saved us a lot of time. We arrived to our condo in the late afternoon. We went to Irma's for dinner and then to Hinde's for margaritas and to watch the final of the world junior hockey tournament.
We spent Saturday and Sunday lounging and organizing - we had renos done to the bathroom and kitchen so everything had to be organized again. The vegetable and fruit truck came on Saturday afternoon and we stocked up. We had breakfast (BLT's) at Chasite on Saturday morning and we did have dinner at Gigio's.
On Monday, we drove to Bucerias to pay our internet bill for the year (about $300). We stopped at Lateral in Bucerias for Breakfast and had a great asparagus and bacon omelette. We then ventured into PV to Costco. $13,0000 pesos later (about $900), we were stocked with Bailey's, Sangria, wine, beer, toilet paper, print ink and almost everything else you can think of for the next 6 weeks. We then stopped at Walmart to pick up a few groceries which we didn't want or need in bulk. We then stopped at Home Depot for a few things and our last stop was La Comer - across from Mega. It is the new version of Mega (which has been sold to another chain Soriana) and had opened 2 weeks ago - a great grocery store with good prices. Then back to our place. A long a tiring day!
On Tuesday, we picked up George and Shannon from Grand Palladium Resort about 50 minutes away near Punta Mita. We came back to La Penita and made our first stop at Hinde's for a margarita and some shrimp tacos. Still the best margaritas I have ever had! We showed them our place and then ventured across the river to Guayabitos to walk the beach. It was really hot so we stopped at Juan's for a drink and some nachos, at Alicia's for some drinks and at Mateja's for some drinks. A great day. We had dinner at Avanti's and then wandered downtown. George and Shannon spent the night on our hide a bed.
On Wednesday, we took George and Shannon to Sayulita to show them around and have lunch. It seems like Sayulita is getting busier and busier each time we go. We then took them back to their resort.
On Thursday, we went to the market in the morning. We ate breakfast at Irma's ($8 for the both of us) and went to pay some bills - we had left a deposit for our electricity bill for the year of about $300 and when we went to pay this year found out that we were only charged about $50 for the year so we still had a $250 credit. We tried to pay our property taxes (about $30) but couldn't find the office. We spent the afternoon at the pool and started my swimming routine again - I try to swim everyday! On Thursday I did 25 lengths. We ate in - Chorizo on the BBQ and salad.
On Friday, we got up early to return the car to Bucerias. We stopped at Lateral again for breakfast and then at La Comer for a few groceries. We returned the car to Gecko (US$360 for the week) and walked a few blocks to catch the bus. We took Pacifico which was about $10 each for the hour ride and it only stops on the highway at the main towns. The other option is Compostela which is half the price but takes twice as long as it stops everywhere and actually goes into each town. We spent the afternoon at the pool. I swam 30 lengths. We went to Las Brisas with Gail, Roger and Genie to see the Perez brothers - they are a great local band who plays old 60's and 70's music and has everyone up dancing. Raj (one of the newest owners at our condo) joined us as the others left, so we had a few drinks with him and then ventured to Hinde's with him for a few more drinks. We didn't get home until after 11 pm - crazy as we have been fighting to stay awake past 7 or 8 each night.
On Saturday, we got up and went for breakfast at Chasite and met Genie for coffee. We then went and ordered some curtains to be made with some bright fabric and I got a haircut for $2.
That's it for the first week...
