This has to be the best tour I’ve ever taken here. You’re picked up by a van and taken to Mismaloya. After checking in you’re asked to leave your shoes behind while you walk barefoot through some of the town and the beach restaurants.
There, you navigate the waves and step into the panga with the help of the guide.
The cave we would go into later that night.
First, you tour around los Arcos Islands while the guide gives you a little history on the islands.
Baby pelicansBaby pelicanThe cave we went through laterAnother of the Los Arcos islands
Then we went to a secluded beach and got out to watch the sunset, which was amazing. Nothing like listening to Maná and having a cerveza while watching the sunset on a secluded beach in the middle of nowhere.
We all got back into the boat as it was getting dark, and we motored over to the big cave of Los Arcos. You could see the bioluminescence best where it’s darkest, so I swam into the middle of the cave, taking care to stay away from the walls which evidently had sea urchins. That’s the only thing that scared me, really, was sea urchins.
As I swished my hands through the water, sparks spread around the motion. I saw some lone sparks at the bottom of the cave from the current, and when I kicked my feet, I could see some. It was pretty spectacular. Just as it became very dark and the bioluminescence was at its max, our leader called out and had us group together in the water to wait for all of these boats to come into the cave. There were two boats full of gawking tourists, two kayaks, and two standup paddle boards that came through. It was a little scary because it was so dark. I didn’t want to get hit by a boat. I didn’t even know which boat was mine, as there were no lights on any of them. This is dangerous, and it’s a matter of time before someone gets hurt.
Food and drink prices have become almost the same as in California. They’ve increased portion sizes in an effort to make it worth it but I can’t ever finish 2/3 of my plate.
Nachos at Swell, a deal if there are 2 people 180 pesos
Basic, small margaritas with raunchy house tequila are 150 pesos = $8
But if you want a normal size one in the big goblet glass or with better tequila or blended with fruit, it’s 230 = $13 which I don’t have a picture of because I’m too cheap to buy one.
The nachos at Fajita Republic were $13. I ate 1/3 and gave the rest to a guy digging through the garbage for bottles.
The next day I got a bagel in a store for breakfast, but it was dry and gross.
Then I went to Swell Beach bar, which used to be my favorite, for lunch. I’d stopped going because during high season, a lady stops you and says that you must spend a minimum of 500 pesos which, when you only want one or two Corona lights, doesn’t make sense. But today I decided to splurge.
I had the coconut shrimp (forgot pic) which was enough to feed four people, and a small mango margarita, then a beer a little bit later and it came to 600 pesos = about $38. That is slightly less less than what I would spend in SF. But I remind myself that I am at the beach. And I get to jump in the ocean in between drinks and food orders and play in the waves. I can’t do that in SF.
The waves were big today!
Then I splurged on a foot massage which started at 500 pesos. I got him down to 400 = $25.
I discovered a place called Barra Light which has a salad bar, açaí bowls, and stuffed baked potatoes. Mine was amazing, the best meal I’ve had so far, but it was 160 pesos equals $9.
Baked potato
Breakfast is 160-210 pesos = $10-12 w/o drinks at The Porch, Cocos Cafe, Cafe San Angel.
I got two sliders thinking they would be small leg sliders normally are, but it was almost like two normal size burgers. So much food!
Giant sliders
Right now I’m at the pool having a plain Penafiel spiked with tequila I got at the store. A local little girl is talking to me in Spanish. She’s so cute! She has those little metal front teeth.
I keep searching for cheaper places but am having a hard time finding any. Will let you know.
One thing I’ve done to save money is eat only two meals a day. A banana is OK for breakfast.
One thing that’s still affordable is massages. I had a 30 minute one in a salon, Perfectspa, which was excellent for 500 pesos=$28. One hour is 700 pesos = $50. You can get this price in the beach too, but your bathing suit gets ruined by the oil.
I kind of thought May was shoulder season, but it’s not. Either that or it’s because of all the cartel action that scared people away in this last month. But it’s empty.
Last Sunday I was complaining about how many Mexican families were taking up all the beach chairs, but it seemed like that was the last day they were here. It’s been pretty much empty everywhere since Sunday.
I go out to sit on the beach and watch the sunset and there is nobody there in restaurants like Abuelos, La Langosta, Canto del Mar. Also empty are Langistinos and Cuates y Cuetes. Even Andakes at 10:00 lastnight had one group of five people and two individuals sitting at the bar. Margarita Grill too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this empty. 
I think the heat is even worse than in June. At least in June, you have the rain to cool you down. If I walk four blocks, my hair and clothes get wet with sweat.
But hotels are still charging full price high season prices. I extended the Tropicana for two nights and have to pay 90 per night when I “only”paid 70 per night on my original reservation. This was definitely the most that I’ve ever spent on hotels in Mexico.
I think it’s about my 25th time here. I call Puerto Vallarta my summer home without a home.
I try Uber this time to get into town. It’s $10 vs $25 for a taxi, so worth it. But you have to cross the steep pedestrian bridge to get to where the drivers are. My suitcase is rolling strangely. I look down at the wheels to see that one is missing.
As we get into the Romantic Zone, burned out Oxxo and Kiosco skeletons are partially covered with tarps but look as if they haven’t been touched since the firebombing by the cartels in February. It’s not as busy as usual on the roads, and it wasn’t busy at the airport. The driver tells me that tourism is down 30%. This is partly also because it’s starting slow season. Too bad the hotels don’t know this and start charging less for rooms.
I stayed less than a block from here in February one week before the bombings. 
The line to check in at the Tropicana is long, and workers are moving in slow-motion. The check-in process is cumbersome, still making copies and filling forms the old-fashioned way.
They’ve added a “rece-fee” which after five minutes of grilling the worker turns out to be “resort fee”. I try to correct his pronunciation, but he just keeps repeating “is necessary”.
I go to the towel lady, fill out the paper for the towel, and five minutes later, head to the pool.
My room has an ocean view and I can hear the waves. It’s really a great room with super strong air-conditioning and a fan.
My view
It’s HOT, 93 degrees and a little humid. At the pool, it is impossible to get a lounge chair. Every single one is full, many with towels on empty chairs. I jump in the water to cool off but the water is easily 90 degrees so I venture to the beach.
It is almost 100% filled with large Mexican families. They use all the chairs they can to deposit their things which include food, bags of ice, and alcohol cleverly disguised in water bottles. I see an empty chair and ask if it’s occupied and am waved off three times.
I finally find a plastic chair, drop my stuff off and go into the ocean where the water is still warm but cooler than the pool water. When I return, I am scolded by a vendor because these chairs are evidently not part of the Tropicana. They are for rent.
A Tropicana beach chair finally opens up! But there are no waiters on beach. I walk to the bar to order a margarita and see if I can charge it to my room, finding out it is necessary to go to the front desk and open a tab first. Forget it. I go back to my room to get money and finally get my margarita.
I jump in the pool one more time and notice that it’s dirty. It feels sticky on the bottom and there are missing tiles – lots of them. There’s spilled food around the lounge area and it’s evident they don’t clean the pavement.
I go to change my wet towel for a dry one but the towel lady has lost my “papelito”. Solving the mystery becomes a ten minute process. She conducts a thorough investigation and begrudgingly has me fill out a new paper. I am to bring it when I want a new towel.
Looking around at the walls outside my room, I noticed that the building is falling into disrepair. 
I am beginning to lose my infatuation with this hotel.
This is based on $35 per day for food without having to cook and $35 per day for hotel/hostel with a private room. If you stay in bunkbeds at hostels and buy groceries and cook your own food, you could easily do this on $30 a day. This amount doesn’t include tours, transportation, or souvenirs. To save more, do some days in bunkbeds and cook your own meals and some days in nicer places.
How to do it:
Travel in the shoulder seasons: October, November, March April. Book Private rooms at hostels. They run around $30-$40; sometimes you have to share a bathroom but it’s really not a big deal. Some rooms are amazing; some not so much. See my post on restaurants and hotels.
Make sure they have free breakfast and a refrigerator for leftovers. If they have free breakfast, take a piece of bread and cheese and wrap it in a napkin for a snack for later.
Portions are huge so save the food you can’t eat. Time your meal so you only have two meals a day: free breakfast as late as possible and late lunch/early dinner. The cheapest things to order are tostadas, which are really paninis and empanadas.
Cocktails are more affordable here than in the US, as are “cups” of wine.
Instead of paying for an international calling plan if you don’t have it, just use Wi-Fi wherever you are.
Use Uber versus taxis whenever possible. They’re easily half the price. In Argentina, to save money on getting money, do not use the ATM. Wire yourself Argentinian pesos through Western Union from your home city but don’t make the mistake I did: If you just ask for a certain amount of money to be put in they’ll give you one code. That means you have to take the full amount out at once and carry it with you for the rest of the trip. If you want to withdraw, say, three different withdrawals, you need three different codes, one for each withdrawal. For example, if you put in $1000, ask for $300 as one withdrawal, $300 as a second withdrawal, and $400 as a third withdrawal. You have to specifically ask for this.
Walk to places whenever you can. Check how far they are from the bus station or train station. Buses are cheap and reliable. You can also do overnight buses with lay down beds and save on a hotel night.
If you really want to save on tours, use local tour companies rather than online ones like Viator. Just realize that you are taking chances on the local companies. I went with a local company on one tour, got Covid on the bus, had to sit on a horribly hard seat, and it was all in Spanish. The next day I went on one booked through Viator and it was 100% better. If you really want to save that $10, book with Viator far enough in advance, wait for the local tour company to contact you to confirm over WhatsApp, then cancel with Viator and go with the local company. Note that Viator books up 3 days in advance, and they have a strict 24 hour policy for cancellation.
Prices:.
Tostada (toasted
To get around the loneliness that hovcurs work solo travel, especially if you’re older, force yourself to start conversations. It’s hard and often doesn’t lead to conversations but worth a try. Also, book a dorm room. Work a few days in a shared room, shared kitchen, and shared common spaces, you’re bound to talk to a few people.
This all brings up solo travel. It’s challenging. You might go days without speaking to anyone except store clerks. You eat alone staring straight ahead and after so many nights of doing this, you start to feel like you’re on the outside of the bubble of the world, watching all the happy, normal people inside the bubble, wondering how these people came to be so happy.
