Knock, knock, knock by the military

We left San Sebastien just before 10:00am, but we weren't going very far. We had read about the nearby La Hermita waterfall, and it looked different, we just weren't sure if there was going to be much water at this time of year!

We were surprised to find one other car parked up at the trailhead to the waterfall. On a Tuesday morning, we figured it would be pretty quiet.

If you don't like creepy crawlies...

Then it's probably not a good idea to visit the Santa Gertrudis mine in San Sebastien.

We were originally planning to do a long 22 km hike up to La Bufa... but I found out that the route uses the same path that the ATV's do... so it's not a true hiking trail. So we changed our plan to do a much shorter 7 km walk to the Santa Gertrudis mine... an old silver mine that dates to the 1800's.

Heading into the mountains

First though, I need to tell you the end of our Starlink story. I had mentioned yesterday that their support people were slow getting back to me, but once they did, the guy was absolutely fantastic. He spoke perfect English. He cancelled our Canadian contract, refunded the amount paid, and set up my email address to be able to easily start a Mexican contract. Once that was done, I still had a few glitches trying to get it paid with our Canadian credit card, but eventually our Wise debit card came though with the approved payment. 

The same guy was readily available until I got everything sorted. 

Time to hit the road!

This post coming to you via Starlink internet! No, we haven't worked out all the financial details yet, but the system is working as it should. The internet is fast enough, but their customer support is very slow! Anyhow, the main thing for now is that the system is working perfectly.

Saturday was our last day here in Puerto Vallarta.

What a circus!

We went to the circus a week ago, but now we are experiencing another one!

Yesterday was the day to activate our new Starlink Mini because our cellular internet plan runs out today at midnight. 

The price of eggs

We puttered around for the morning, then after lunch we walked inland to the Pitillal neighborhood to the laptop repair shop we had stopped in at the day before.

We got the data transferred to Ruth's new laptop, and ended up leaving the old one with him to see if the screen problem can actually be repaired rather than replacing the screen.

Extended our portable solar panel

We went for a walk yesterday. We had seen a pathway that led alongside a river here in Puerto Vallarta, and coincidentally it led by a store where I had been told I could buy the cable for our portable solar panel.

So we went there, and then continued on to a laptop repair place.

Apparently laptops only last two and a half years

Ruth had been having problems with her laptop the last couple of weeks. The screen would only come on after playing with the angle a little bit, and she would have to turn it off and turn it back on several times.

Mine had exactly the same issue last November, and I ended up buying a new one then. 

Some great ideas!

Yesterday, we hopped on the local bus to go out to the town of Valle de Banderas.

Whenever we have stayed in this area in the past, we went to the Rancho Alta Rosa RV Park which was run by a Canadian couple from Alberta. I think the first time we stayed there was in 2011, and then several times since.

We are open to suggestions!

We had a nice relaxing day yesterday.

The main priority of the day was to get some more cash. We had to pay another 3,300 pesos ($230 CAD, $160 USD) for our second week here at the RV park in central Puerto Vallarta. 

Market day, and everybody loves the circus!

There's a weekly local tianguis market just a 15 minute walk from us every Saturday morning. Here in Mexico, the weekly market is where most locals go to get the best prices and the freshest produce to put on their plates for the week ahead.

So that's where we go as well!

Out exploring with Lorne and Sue

Yesterday, our friends Lorne and Sue drove down from their winter hideaway in La Penita about an hour and a half north of here. 

Just to give you some background, Lorne and Sue were readers of this blog, and they contacted us way back in 2016 because we were going to be passing through Manitoba and they had just sold their house and bought a motorhome.

Crocodiles in Puerto Vallarta!

We set off in the morning to walk to the old historic district to meet up with our friends. We met them on the malecon and wandered around for an hour or so, then headed up to Pepe's tacos for lunch.

Views above Puerto Vallarta

Just for something to do, we went for a walk over to what they call the Romantic Zone of Puerto Vallarta. Ruth had found a viewpoint on the map that we could climb up to for some beautiful views.

Starlink and politics. And our refrigerator!

Yesterday morning we puttered around cleaning up Igor. There was still lots of bodyshop dust because we never got a chance to get him properly cleaned up after getting his roof painted, and then of course we were at the beach with all the salt and sand flying around. 

He's looking much better!