Jungles, Zip Lines, and Sand Art

Day 5. Wednesday.

I stepped off the ship and set foot on land in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. As usual, there were people dressed up, wanting you to stop and take a picture with them and as usual, we tried avoiding them. Then I spotted a furry creature. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a sucker for all animals. The furry creature was the most adorable ass I have ever seen. And when I say ass, I mean donkey, obviously.

I made a beeline straight for the donkey. I am pretty sure I was making my squeaky voice, long lasting, "Ohhhhhhhh," that I make for all cute animals, and I'm pretty sure I was wiggling my fingers at the thing, if you can imagine. In my 'cute animal trance' I accidentally cut off the line waiting for the donkey, and sat right down on the wooden stool next to the beast. I instantly started petting and loving my new friend. I may even be guilty of having kissed his furry nose. He was the cutest donkey ever. Much cuter than the ones we used in the donkey basketball tournament back when I was in high school (yep, go ahead and laugh. I'm kind of a redneck) Then I looked up at the Mexican man who was holding the donkey's harness. I noticed he was also holding a basket of straw.

In my excitement, I pointed at the basket and asked if I could feed the donkey. He gave me a very odd look but still handed the basket over. I began to feed my friend. Suddenly the man holding Mr. Donkey spoke. "Okay ma'am, you need to let us take your picture now."

Oh. My. Gosh.

This was a line to merely get your picture taken with the donkey. Now realizing, I glanced at the line of people behind me, who were glaring me down with irritated and disgusted looks. So I smiled and the picture was taken. The pictures were $12. So me, being the cheap skate I am, obviously didn't buy it. I wish I would have now though. Just imagine a fuzzy donkey and a girl with pure joy and excitement covering her face. That's my picture.

I finally found Brian, Shay, and D. They had made it through the crowd and were now waiting for me. They weren't too upset. They just shook their heads and laughed at me a little bit. Randee and Trev were not with us during the course of this day. Yep, the married people ditched us. Just kidding. It was their one year anniversary, after all. I would want some alone time too.

We finally found a decent deal on. . . .

a zip line tour!!!

We're talkin' zip lines hundreds of feet in the air, taking you through jungle.

This was an awesome activity. If you ever go to Puerto Vallarta, do the zip line tour! It is totally safe and the guys that host the tour are hilarious!

Obviously, I didn't really have my camera out through the course of this adventure. But just know if I did, the pictures would be sick. Sick in the really good way.

After the tour had ended, we had a forty minute drive back to the city. Our driver, Manny, had just ordered lunch at the bar. We told him to take his time and we would explore.

While Manny ate, we wandered around the bar, which was under a giant canopy. . .

Went off a rope swing into this refreshing, little pool. . .

And poked through the cages at these parrots. Well, I poked them at least. . .

Once Manny finished eating, we took off for the city. With the remaining time we had, we walked along the beach, and also did some more shopping at flea markets. I purchased a beautiful stitched bag and a purple poncho. While walking along the beach, we ate some of the best mango that any of us had ever tasted and admired sand art.

Oh, and remember that talk we had earlier of donkey basketball in my high school years? Here is some proof:

Oh West Side High, you were grand.