Day of the Iguana
23 January 2011 | Banderas Bay-Puerto Vallarta
John
The weather here continues to be awesome.
Earlier in the week we caught up with a couple that we first met in San Diego before the Ha Ha who have been hanging out here in PV for the last year or so Len & Erin off S.V Mistro a 76ft Irwin sailboat, nice people.
They invited us to go on a hike with them around the southern side of the bay. Due to the dense vegetation and spectacular scenery over the years this area has been the venue for quite a few movies such as Predator and The night of the iguana so yesterday we were picked up by them in their car and the 9 of us began our adventure.
After and hour or so we parked the car in a small village called Tomatlan to hike the 5 or so miles to Las Animas.
The trail crosses freshwater creeks and winds it`s way in and out of the forest,up and down the rocky coastline and right past an extraordinary mix of buildings,abandoned and occupied along with plenty broken dreams all of which are accessible only by foot,donkey or boat.
The locals live in some pretty modest dwellings among which are what have been at on time or another very rustic hotels and small resorts. The wet season is brutal here and many of these buildings being built on the side of a mountain have been destroyed by landslides especially last year when the rains were the heaviest in over 100 years we are told.However there were a few really nice private homes in the mix and new hotels/resorts under construction.
The views are breathtaking as are the small secluded beaches that the path leads down to every now and then. It was a great hike unfortunately we left the camera behind but Leanne did manage to get some good shots on her I-Phone and i have uploaded them to the photo gallery if you would like to take a look.
At our destination Las Animas we were greeted by the now familiar local vendors peddling their wares however there was a new addition to the array of stuff that is designed to relieve tourists of a few pasos.
Large iguanas were on hand (literally) for photo opportunities . 25 pasos (about $2) bought you the chance to have your photo taken holding onto one of these prehistoric looking critters , they sure are cool looking.
So thats what we have been up to. On a sad note Matt has decided that it is time to go back home so we have booked his flights for Saturday and he will be home on the 31st January. We will really miss him but I guess that he has to find his own way now.
We will hang out in and around PV until he leaves and then continue our journey south.
Bye for now
LOL J,L&M