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!

Good news, and bad news!

We needed to get some exercise, so we started out by walking on the beach. And we had to pass by the resort our friends are staying at, so when we got there we decided to walk right in. Worse case scenario, they would just kick us out. Everybody had wrist bands of some kind, but nobody seemed to notice that we didn't.

Sure enough, we found them enjoying themselves by the pool.

They sold our Starlink!

On Sunday, we did the 102 km (64 mile) drive from Tomatlan to the big tourist city of Puerto Vallarta.

You would think that would take an hour and a half or so, but it took us two and a half hours!

We met Igor's cousin!

We went for a walk around Tenacatita before heading further north. There was supposedly another camping area up around the bend on the other side, so we walked over that way.

Still early, so the beach vendors were only just getting set up for the day.

January Expenses

Well, January was finally back to our sort of normal expenses. Traveling in a motorhome is our cheapest way to live, and this is the first month in a long time where we didn't have much in the way of extraordinary expenses. 

But there were some.

Free camping at Tenacatita Beach

Tenacatita is a beautiful bay with a tumultuous history.

Back in 2010, the entire beach was shut down and many buildings were demolished due to a property dispute. Land owners (some American and Canadian) were evicted from properties they thought they owned outright.