Time out from the Beach

We have taken some time away from "boot camp Mayto" and given ourselves a weekend off. Jon and I were getting a bit stir crazy, and anyway teenage weekend parties are not to our liking. We took ourselves off to the Vallarta Botanical Gardens and had the most wonderful day under the cool trees and bathing in ice-cold river water. That may not sound attractive to those entering an English autumn, but believe me, we craved the change.

We went and came back on the bus. You might think that is nothing much to write about, but mexican buses are a law unto themselves. It arrived half an hour late (we got up at 5.30 a.m. to catch it), but the bus driver was so accomodating that he took us all the way to the Gardens and, at the end of the day, picked us up from the gate. The journey back involved a stop in El Tuito so that passengers could visit the bano (bathroom). We bought corn cobs from a stall at the roadside and munched them on the bus. I had a chance to listen to various spanish conversations and try to understand. On the way back to Mayto we came across a truck which was stuck in the mud and holding up the traffic, so the bus driver hooked up to it with a tow-rope and we hauled it out before carrying on our journey. Needless to say, bus timetables are not that reliable, but the bus does get to it's destination eventually, come hell or high water!

We decided to stay in a small beach hotel for the night. El Conchito run by Fernando who treated us like long lost family when we rounded the bend and entered his, frankly weird, hotel grounds. Absolutely covered in driftwood, sculputures, shells and various items washed up onto the beach, the place looks the very epitome of mexican-culture. We will go there again as it gave us the chance to sleep one night in a proper bed and have a shower not shared by lizards and crabs!

Back to earth now, we have turtles to save.