Puerto Vallarta: Sun, Surf and Stitches

The week of our spring break is appropriately named Semana Santa or the week of the saint also known as holy week as it's the week before Easter. A friend of mine Anna and I decided to take a 13 hour trip up to Puerto Vallarta for this holiday week to enjoy some adventure mixed with some relaxation. We left Thursday evening to arrive around noon time on Friday in the Vallarta bus station. From there we found our way to our hotel located in the Centro, or center of the city near the Malecon (boardwalk). From there we dropped our stuff off and immediately set off to explore Vallarta. We had an incredible and huge lunch at a restaurant located on the river that runs through Vallarta overlooking the tree tops giving us a rather quaint view. We ate a huge lunch before heading out on a bus ride to no where allowing ourselves to get familiar with a few of the bus routes through out the city. Afterwards we took a walk through some shopping vendors looking for a shot glass for Anna as a souvenier while I just flitted through the items of interest not looking for anything particular. Afterwards we walked down the Malecon and watched the sun set on our first night in Puerto Vallarta, it was along the way we met up with a stand selling the tours we'd talked about trying to do before we'd arrived in Vallarta. We reserved our spots on two different tours for the following days and then quickly made our way back to our hotel to get ready for a night out on the town.

The next morning we awoke relatively early to make our way to the meeting place and begin our first day of adventure with an ATV tour. A quick ride up the mountain and we made it to the place, strapped up and were off Anna, myself and our instructor. We rode for several miles until we reached our destination where we sat and rested near a spring and watched the beautiful relaxing waters flow. Afterwards we drove around for sometime more enjoying the excitement and fast paced adventure that comes with driving an ATV. Afterwards we arrived back at the ranch where we'd begun the whole adventure only to begin our next adventure. Gliding over the Vallartan jungle on a metal cable with our wits and the supplied handle bar to aid us in our flight. Also known as zip lines. After a few quick instructions from our adorable little instuctor Ricardo we were set off and flying over twelve lines hung at precarious heights through the trees and forestation that existed. At one point I was even allowed to go down along with our instructor allowing me the chance to fly with out having to have both hands attatched to the bar, gaining speed along the way and with an incredible view. After all twelve lines (two practice lines and ten regular lines) we ate lunch at the restaurant located on sight and then headed back into town for a little bit of clothing shopping. After that it was once again time to hit up the dancing scene.

Sunday we over slept missing our scheduled boat tour and snorkling adventure. So instead we spent a relaxing day on the beach near by the hotel in the hot hot sun and then decided to go for full body messages to help relax and get rid of the tension that had been built in our bodies for some time now. It was an early night for both of us so that we'd wake up and have plenty of time to get ready the next day for our snorkling, boat tour, beach and waterfall adventure.

The next morning we awoke, dawned our bathing suits and headed out to meet our boat for our latest adventure. We boarded a water taxi to head out to the larger boat that would be taking us to the various sites on the tour. Within little time we arrived at Los Arcos or the Arks, a large grouping of shaped rocks in the middle of the ocean where we were given snorkling gear and little time out in the water. In the time alotted I saw nothing and became slightly agitated with the promise of fish that had not been there. I quickly returned to the boat upon their calling and we were off to our next stop. The beach. It was here we were seated for lunch and it was here Anna and I waited over ten minutes with no service while almost every other passanger on the boat had received drinks, and most others had already began or even finished their food, a drink order had not even been taken. So becoming more frustrated we finally flagged down a young boy who had been working and finally got our order placed for food. Another ten minutes later we got our food but still no drink order had been taken. After all had finally been received we finished and I went to sit while Anna went to go over and climb on the rocks shortly after she left they called us all back to the boat to go to the next location, aggravating me further by how little time we'd gotten to spend on the beach so Anna and I decided to stay. I decided to take up surfing while Anna went back to climbing around on the rocks. Shortly after entering the water and after finally getting up on the board I was thrashed by a wave and knocked off only to crash my knee against an extremely sharp rock. Cutting myself on my right knee, the side of my left foot, and on my hands as I tried to stand up and make my way out of the water. I quickly noticed that large amount of blood pouring down my shin from my knee and sighed forgetting my board and making my way back to the restaurant we'd eaten at earlier. Passing by several groups of American's who only stopped and stared at the badly injured leg with so much blood it was difficult to tell where the wound was coming from. As I reached the restaurant several mexican's rushed about to aid me one shouting off orders in spanish to call an ambulence, get the cleaning supplies, grab a chair and elevate the leg, get a tournequit, etc. I was quickly tournequitted and elevated and then carried to a boat by four rather strong and good looking mexican men and rushed over to another beach where I was told we'd meet the ambulence. I was quickly rushed off onto the beach by the lifegaurds there and attended too. They set to work cleaning the wound as best they could and wrapping it in an effort to stop the blood flow as we waited for an ambulence that was never going to come. After almost an hour of waiting they called in some other lifeguards to take me by truck to the nearest hospital. I was then carried away by two more cute lifeguards and on my way to the hospital receiving a most gorgeous and un seen by most view of Puerto vallarta from the ride to the hospital. As I arrived at the hospital I quickly came to learn that the reason the bleeding hadn't stopped was because I'd cut an artery in my knee. A stem of the femoral artery. They placed me into a bed almost immediately and the doctor set to work. Around another hour or so later I received somewhere around five internal dissolvable stitches and 20 external stitches, the whole while talking the poor doctors ear off in Spanish as Anna tells me the slight blood loss and possible anxiety of the whole situation might've made me a bit loopy. At one point in time I could've sworn the doctor wanted to give me an anesthetic just to shut me up, but through out the whole endevour I learned just how well my Spanish could hold up as I spoke almost no English the whole two and some hours. And as I left with a 4,000 some peso hospital bill and a ugly knee to hit up the pharmacy for an antibiotic to make sure I didn't receive an infection I realised maybe that wasn't a bad experience overall.

The next day was a day of relaxation as I was told no extreme physical activity. Anna had mentioned wanting to get a hair treatment and so we went off in search of a hair salon, and as she got a treatment a trim turned into a cut and slightly new style for my hair as I think the stylist was having fun playing with hair as blonde as mine as he continually told me how beautiful and shiny it was and healthy. After that we went back to the hotel and went off in search of parasailing only to find that is was more then double what it had been in Acapulco and we ditched the idea for a few beers and some delicious shrimps on a stick on the beach instead from a local and delicious vendor. That night was our last in Vallarta as the next day Anna had plans to move onto Mazatlan after we met up with Kelli while I was to return to Puebla since I was of little fun with the bummed knee. Ending an amazing and adventurous week in one of Mexico's more touristy cities.