The Red Snapper

Oh man, I have been down and out for the past several days. The Aztec Two-Step started Thursday evening with bouts of nausea and dysentery. It was a rough one. I’m blaming it on some funky ham and cheese I bought at a local deli the other day. I was shot on Friday, so I extended my stay at Los Arroyos for another night. I didn’t leave the RV the entire day. I cranked the AC and flopped around trying to keep an occasional cracker or two from coming back up. A lost day in the life.

Saturday morning, I managed to get my things in order and slid out the gate around 11:00 a.m. I’m still not 100% but if I’ve got to lay around pointlessly somewhere , it might as well be on the beach. Getting through Puerto Vallarta was my main focus in the short term. I know they pull this all cargo vehicles must travel in the outside lateral lanes rule, kind of one way frontage roads, but nothing is really marked and a tourist would never know so they use it to prey on gringos passing through. The only sign in Spanish that really spells out that large vehicles move to the lateral is at the turn off to the airport where one sign says Puerto Vallarta and the exit says Airport and cargo vehicles must stay in side lane. But, it looks like you’re exiting to the airport and not going where you need to go. A mile further up, the lateral signage says malecon while the main road says Barra de Navidad, the direction I need to go. The left turn ahead is actually out on the main highway, so I’d have to go off to the right then fight my way back on and over so I continued to the left turn lane(s). Two lanes going left have turn arrows on the ground but there is only one lane to actually turn into, the one I’m not in of course. Cars behind are starting to honk, so I move forward hoping to turn around as soon as possible but there’s the blue and red lights chasing me over to the side. I tried to plead my case but the woman must need new shoes. To make a long story even longer, the lady cop led me out of town then worked me for a twenty dollar bribe threatening to keep my license. I could have done it because it was an expired license from my dummy wallet, but I was going to be passing back through in the near future and didn’t want to be a fugitive or hang around in my condition contesting the issue. I just want to lay down.

The rest of the ride over the mountain after Vallarta was smooth and easy. Lots of topes and slowing until I got past Mismaloya where the road went uphill and things got quiet with very little traffic. We did a short break in El Tuito then continued on to the Red Snapper in Punta Perula where I slid into a nice little spot with a patio and jumped in the ocean for a rinsing off.

Spent most of the afternoon in a beach front chair watching the world go by. Saturday night, so plenty of city folk out raising Cain for the weekend. Nice breeze and a decent little place to recuperate. I rallied and rode into town and ate a couple of tacos, maybe not the best of ideas. But I guess you have to get back on the horse, eh?