Another One...

You hear stories of rental cars and cars with U.S. plates being targets for cops in Mexico, and you want to be able to blow it off and say that it will never happen to you--but unfortunately, it does happen to some.

Our first visit to Puerto Vallarta/San Pancho was in May and we were pulled over twice in our rental car. Once for speeding--which we ended up paying $80 USD after some negotiation. And the other for going over speed bumps too fast--which we luckily talked our way out of. But the best part to all of this - we were moving along at the same speed as the other cars in both cases.

We needed to go into Puerto Vallarta for various reasons on Friday and as soon as we passed the bridge into PV we knew it was going to be a rough day. There was a traffic stop going back into the State of Nayarit and one coming into the State of Jalisco. In this instance, just like the others, we slowed down and were moving along with traffic and still got the arm wave to pull over. We do as we're told and wait to hear our crime--which was speeding. The officer was very pleasant to us, as they have all been in the three instances we've encountered, and told us he was going to write us a ticket and we could come back on Monday to pay it. Jeremy politely asked how much the ticket would be ($75USD is what he told us) and if we could pay it now and be on our way. The officer replied with "I'm sorry senor, that is not legal. You have to go to our office to pay the ticket. But I will give you your drivers license back today." Jeremy accepted this and the officer went to his car to write the ticket. But when he returned he asked us a few questions, and with the loud road traffic the officer couldn't here Jeremy's response and thought he said something about John Cena. Apparently the officer is a fan of John Cena (who is a WWE star--I looked him up when we returned home) and started laughing. This was all it took! He said "Ok, I like you and you make me and your esposa laugh. I will let you pay the ticket here and be on your way." This was in broken English, but I gave him huge props for even speaking to us in English. So, Jeremy pulled out $400 pesos, he tucked it away, and we were on our way again.

We passed one more traffic stop on the way home, but luckily didn't get pulled over. Our tactic this time was to look away from the officers as we passed and that seemed to help. I can't say for sure if they really target rental cars or U.S. plates, but one thing is for sure - we seem to be unlucky when it comes to driving to PV!

What was that?

While living in the tropics can be enchanting, mysterious, and very captivating, the creatures that linger are down-right spooky! I have never seen so many insects, reptiles, birds, and other things that I couldn't even tell you what species they belong in my life.

We have an outdoor kitchen, and although that could seem somewhat exciting, cooking in it is a whole different story. The summer heat pounds down on you and makes you sweat in places you didn't realize you could possibly sweat, and the creatures that come out of no where are repulsive. The minute you pull anything out of the refrigerator the flies, ants, and mosquitoes start to swarm. And no matter how fast you cook or clean up it doesn't matter; they can still smell the food from a mile away.

But the best part, we have rats! And they are ripping off the labels of the canned goods trying desperately to get inside. At this point, pretty much everything is in our refrigerator or freezer staying safe from the heat, humidity, rats, and insects.

So, we were bound and determined to de-bug (literally) our kitchen today--which meant a trip into Puerto Vallarta to Home Depot. We bought everything from rat killer to mosquito burners to ant repellent to mosquito nets and hurried home as fast as we could to get rid of them.

First, we hung the mosquito net across the kitchen entryway and put a small fan in the kitchen for air circulation and we were in business. But, while doing that we started to get eaten alive by mosquitoes, so we started to burn the mosquito burners--which literally look like a stove burner--and they solved that issue. Then, I mixed up the fly repellent and sprayed it all over the trash can. But that only brought out all the maggots that were in the trash can, which then brought out the gecko's to eat all the maggots--trust me, we see the whole circle of life here. Then, Jeremy laid the rat traps, so who knows what we'll walk out to tomorrow morning in the kitchen.

We are bound and determined to win this war against insects and rodents, but we are certain it's going to take some time. I wish I could post pictures of all the excitement, but I left my camera in the truck for two days and it got so hot it won't work anymore. You gotta love it here!

Who needs a car seat?

We've noticed that the locals don't use car seats, and have seen three month old babies sitting on their parents lap in the driver's seat bouncing down the dirt roads.

But, the view tonight from our palapa tops it all...I was up there and happened to look down as a lady was driving down the main road with her breasts hanging out and breast feeding her baby. I'm not sure what to even call that....talented, stupidity, or desperate to stop a crying baby? Who knows, but that's life in San Pancho!

Summer is finally here...

The first sign of light in the morning is a good indication of what the weather will be like for that day. We've heard about the torrential downpours that are supposed to come in the afternoon and bring with it the humidity, but that has yet to happen. Instead, the storms are hitting at night, lighting up the sky as if it were daytime, and leaving puddles of water that you are constantly dodging the next day. We are averaging about 3 inches of water when it rains, and the river is now starting to flow, which means the lagoon by the ocean broke through so the river is now flowing into the ocean. It's an amazing sight to see.

When we woke up this morning the sky was as clear as it get possibly be, so I knew it was going to be a hot day, and it is--which means that summer is officially here. The town shuts down from 1:00pm-3:00pm for a siesta, and it's about that time, so we are heading to the beach to siesta on the sand and listen to the ocean waves.

I'll have pictures of the river flowing into the ocean soon...adios!

Livin La Vida Loca in San Pancho, Mexico

Call us crazy, adventurous, free-spirited, or desperate to live by the ocean, we made up our minds that moving to Mexico is an opportunity of a life time that we couldn't pass up.

This blog was created to share our experiences and adventures with our family and friends, and anybody else who wants to take that leap of faith and pack up their lives and start fresh in a new country.

We hope you enjoy this site and visit us often.