I awoke Monday to a busy Vallarta. The relaxation of the weekend was a just about all gone, and now everyone was back with their hustle and bustle of the beginning of the week. Again I heard the cars honking, the tourists carrying on conversations, and the restaurant across the corner calling out the names and the number of the party they had with them. The kids had school that day and were already gone by the time I woke up. The apartment itself was quiet, in complete contrast to street just outside. I got up and sat on the couch in the living room, nothing to do but sit there. Iliana was already awake and told me to hurry up and get ready. Ready? Ready for what? Today we were going on a trip, today we were going on a cruise.
I got my stuff together and we made our way down the street to fetch a taxi. As we drove down the main avenue, the sun and wind hit my face. Another warm beautiful day in Vallarta. I was starting to get used to this, the weather was just more then I could ever ask for. It was perfect in every way. As we drove to the Marina, Iliana pointed out some of her favorite things along the way. There was a huge sculpture of a humpback whale in front of what looked like a hotel. It was huge, and very beautiful, as it stood there along the road. As we drove the resorts just passed us by. Most of the bigger hotels and resorts were closer to the Marina, closer to the airport. I remember when I had first came to Vallarta years before, the time I met Iliana, my brother was working for Marriot, so we stayed in the Marriot Casa Magna Resort. It was very nice, big open walkways, a nice pool and a private beach easily accessible. As the taxi made it’s way to our final destination I saw many boats, big ones, small ones, sail boats, and big power boats. I wondered which one we would be taking today. As we got out of the taxi, Iliana took two tickets out of her bag and gave me one. “Las Caletas” it said on it. (Check it out: http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/english/las_caletas.html). After a short bathroom break we both walked over to the ticket stand and redeemed our ticket. We had to wait another 15 or 20 minutes but soon we saw our boat. It was a two story catamaran that seemed like it could hold over 100 people or so. Other people formed a line that we ourselves got into, and then it was time to board the boat. As we got on, I asked Iliana where she had gotten the tickets from. She said her dad worked for this company, and although he wasn’t going to be on this trip, he was a captain of a similar boat that would take tourists out into the bay and other places around Vallarta. He had gotten us free tickets for the cruise, a cruise that I found out later should have cost us like $75 each. Once everyone was aboard we set off on our cruise. The captain explained that the trip to Las Caletas would take about 45 minutes, because we were going to do some whale watching in between. Whale watching? Awesome! I had never seen real life whales (shamu at sea world doesn’t count), so I was excited at the thought of maybe seeing some. I had read that they enjoyed the Bahia de Banderas because of the warm water, and the fact that they could have their young without fear of any other sea life attacking. I had read that the perfect months for whale watching was the end of December through the end of March. And this being the middle of February, I was in there in the perfect time. I was excited, and as we got farther and farther out the excitement only grew more and more.
Now this was not only a whale watching cruise though, people don’t pay 75 bucks a person to “maybe” see a whale or two, no it was also a bit of what they call “booze cruise.” This one wasn’t as bad as some of them, but it was one of them. As we made our way farther into the bay, they announced the announcement that everyone cheered for. The Bar was now Open. It’s hard to find a bar that isn’t open in Mexico, and just because your on a boat cruising through the bay, there’s no exception. People want to drink, people want to get buzzed, even if it is around 11 AM. As the people got their drinks and made their way back to their seats the captain started to slow the boat. He had seen something in the water. He came over the intercom and told us the biggest thing to look for when whale watching was the mist shooting up out of their blow hole. This could be seen and heard from a far distance, and evidently he had seen one. He told us to watch to our left as he slowly crept the boat along at a low speed. Everyone got quiet on the boat, as off to left just in front of us a burst of water mist went shooting in the air. Then what looked like a part the tale came out of the water and then back down again. Then just as everyone thought it was gone, the whole tail (its called a fluke) came out of the water. It was a great sight. Such a big tale, dark color with white designs marked on it. The whale was diving. The captain said that the whales blew water and breathed in air, took a few shallow dives, and then one big dive that would take them to the deep water of the bay. When you saw the complete tail, this was the whale taking it’s deep dive. It was amazing to see, and so close you felt like you were right there in the water with it, well because actually you were. As the captain turned on the motors we cruised for a couple more minutes, and then again the boat fell silent. Yet another whale was close to us, and he or she too was going to take their dive. Again, the blow of mist, then the small part of the tale, and then again, the huge fluke came out. It was just awesome, and I sat their in awe, as people took their pictures and drank their alcoholic drinks.
We cruised some more, me seeing a pod of dolphins just along side of the boat, and some other huge fish that actually jumped out of the water just to the right of the boat. As we started to slow down, I got my first glimpse at Las Caletas. It was a type of cove, a jungle hideaway that could only be reached by boat. It was actually created by a man named John Huston, who was a very well known Hollywood director. I believe he directed the film “Night of the Iguana” in Vallarta, and fell in love with the town. He built Las Caletas for his one personal leisure, and upon his death, they turned it into a tourist attraction. As we docked and made our way off the boat, the place hit me all at once. It was beautiful, the private beach, the shelters made like tropical huts, everything looked so natural and peaceful. As we walked down the path to the main area, we were told that we would first be having lunch and then we could do whatever activity we wanted for the next few hours. As we got to the main eating area we got our plates and served ourselves. It was a buffet of Mexican food, whatever you wanted, and however much you wanted of it. The drinks were on the house too, whatever type of drink you wanted, margarita, beer, tequila, whatever, they had it. And as much as you wanted too. That was the beauty of it, people paid their money, and got as much of anything they wanted. Iliana and I grabbed our plates and made our way down to a table on the beach. And when I mean on the beach, I mean ON THE BEACH. It was just surreal, the food, the drinks, the friendship, and the table on the beach, just feet away from the crashing waves. It was just paradise. Once again a moment in paradise, and I wasn’t sharing it with the person I really wanted too. Iliana was great, she was a great friend, and we had lots of fun together, but she wasn’t Gaby, and at the time, Gaby was everything that mattered. As I finished my plate I sat there and looked out over the ocean and the beautiful surroundings. The ocean in front of me, and the jungle behind me. It could not get any better then this, I knew that much. But of course it surely did.
As we both walked down to the beach the afternoon activities began. We tried snorkeling, but the waves were two strong, and kept pushing water in our snorkels, so we opt for kayaking. As we waited for kayaking guide to begin, I started talking to one of the workers that had worked on the boat. I don’t remember his name, but for some odd reason we started talking about work. He asked me what I did for a job and I told him I worked for what then was Homeside Lending Mortgage Company, and I pretty much just did office work. He just shook his head, and asked if I liked it. I told him the money was pretty good and yeah, I guess I liked it. I remember him saying “I have the perfect job, just look at what I do!” I had to agree with him. He was out on a boat, dancing and entertaining people for a living. Then he got to see so many whales and other marine life, not to mention kayak and snorkel in one of the most beautiful places in Vallarta. He got PAID for this. Even though it probably wasn’t as much as I did, he was truly enjoying his work, he loved it, he lived for it. He got up everyday and loved to go to work. He could say that, and I couldn’t. My work was acceptable, but by no means did I love it. By no means did I wake up and long to be at work, but he did. He laughed as he shook my hand and asked me my name. “Robbie” I said to him, still thinking about how my work stunk. “No today, your name is not Robbie” he said. “Today I will give you a new name, a Mexican name, today your name is Pedro.” So for the rest of the day, he referred to me as “Pedro” because that was my new Mexican name. Iliana just laughed when I told her, mocking me the whole time. Yeah, thanks a lot buddy.
As we sat on the sea kayaks they pushed us into the water, and we were on our way. The kayak was for two people, and me being the bigger person sat on the back spot with Iliana in the front. We paddled hard to get out of the waves, and made our way out into the deeper water. It was great to get out into the water, the sea being so close, never knowing what could be lurking just under the water. As we already knew there were whales, and dolphins, but I hadn’t seen a shark yet. As we paddled farther out, I wondered if I would see one, I wasn’t really scared of them, but I wasn’t too fond of them either. I remember years before while boogie boarding in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Texas coast we had seen a shark. That year there was a huge migration of fish swimming through the Gulf, and it was just like a all you can eat buffet for the sharks. I remember being out by a sand bar, and seeing a shark about 6 feet long swim in front of us and chomp down on some fish. Needless to say that was enough for us to turn around and head back for the beach. Like I said, I’m not really scared of them, but then again I’m not fond of them. I respect their power, and hardly like to challenge it. I actually had a shark around my neck that day, a present from years earlier when my brother live in Vallarta for a few months. It was made of silver, and I wore it on a silver chain. My brother hasn’t given many gifts in life, so this gift from him I thought was pretty special. A brother to brother thing. Well I’ll tell you right now, that day I didn’t see any sharks. I wish I could have, but I guess they weren’t hungry enough. Maybe I didn’t have enough meat on me, months before? Yes, they would have loved me, but now I was thin and trim. But as we paddled, well as Iliana did, I stopped halfway and let her do the rest, hehe. As we made our way over to a cliff in what the guide said was fairly deep water, I saw a dark shadow swim by our kayak. I thought I must have been seeing things, but when another person saw it too, it perked my curiosity. I stared down into the water again, and once again saw what looked like a huge shadow move by our kayak. I asked Iliana if she had seen it, and she nodded yes. We asked the guide what it could be, since other guests were starting to get nervous, even turning around their kayaks and paddling for the beach. The guide said in spanish, what Iliana translated to me in english, being the word “Mantarays.” Mantarays? I had heard of them before, but never had seen one. She went on to translate the guide’s words, telling us that the mantarays were pretty much a giant stingray. They really were pretty much harmless to humans, and some people even used to ride them, like giant kites of the sea. I watched as they swam around us, the dark shadows in the water moving so effortlessly. We paddled on for a bit longer and then started to make our back to the beach. Most of the kayakers were a bit frightening by the mantarays, and just wanted to get back to the beach. As we returned to the beach, Iliana and I decided to explore for a bit. We walked around the trails there in Caletas, going to a high point that overlooked the entire cove. It was just gorgeous, the water, the jungle, the view of Mismaloya and Vallarta in the distance. There were many little huts too, that just had hammocks to lay in, and enjoy the day. As we sat and talked, we just enjoyed each other’s company and let the day pass by. Slowly that day passed as we sat and did nothing, enjoying every minute of it.
Soon the time came for us to leave Las Caletas, and as we boarded the catamaran we all said our goodbyes to the quiet private cove we had called our own for a few hours. The boat pulled away and soon we were on our way back, but there would be no whale watching, we were just on a straight path back to the Marina. The sun was going down by this time, and I got to see a little of the sunsets that makes Vallarta famous. As we made our way across the bay, I saw what I thought could be Le Kliff, the restaurant we were supposed to go to days earlier. It was perched high on a cliff, above the ocean and the crashing waves. I imagine what a great sunset those people were going to be having, as they ate their expensive dinners. The boat was in full swing again, the bar was once again opened, and the wait staff was up and dancing to the music blasting over the speakers. But I just sat in my chair and stared back at where Las Caletas was, it was my new favorite place, and I longed to be back there. The quiet, the peace, the sound of the waves and the wind blowing through the jungle. It all called me back. And as I sat there in my seat, as we sped through the bay, I wished I lived there. I wish I didn’t have a to have a office job, I wish my job was to be out on the sea, to spend everyday like I wanted too. To wake up and love my job, to wake up and long to be outside, to spend my days on a boat in the ocean. I sighed to myself in sadness, as I realized I didn’t have that life. Someday though, someday I would. I promised myself that much.
We sped through the bay until we finally reached the Marina. As we docked and made our way off the boat all the guides were there, receiving tips and thank you’s from the tourists. As I made my way off, I heard a voice behind me. “Adios, Pedro!” the voice said behind me. I smiled and yelled “Adios” back to him. As we took a bus back to the apartment, Iliana and I talked about the day. The beauty of Las Caletas, the whales, the kayaking with Mantarays. The day was great, relaxing, eventful. We were both tired, and longed for a shower and some rest. As we drove the main avenue, the sun was setting, each of us catching glimpses of it through the trees and hotels as we drove by. We had actually never seen a sunset together, something we had talked about doing as friends. When we first met we had both said that we enjoyed the sunsets over the ocean, and vowed that one day we both would watch one together. But we had missed Le Kliff days earlier and today we had missed it also. Tomorrow we said, tomorrow we will see watch it.
We arrived at the apartment, took our showers and rested up a bit. That night we took it easy, just walking down a few blocks to get some coffee at a local coffee shop and walked the Malecon a little bit. Even though it was Monday, the bars were still going strong, but this night we didn’t go out, being too tired from the days events. That night I went to bed somewhat early, not even remembering falling asleep. I slept peaceful, exhausted, but peaceful. The days were almost finished now, only one day remaining in Vallarta. Soon we would be back on our way to Guadalajara, and I would be there with her. With Gaby. The reason why I came down here in the first place. One more day, that’s all that stood in my way now. I slept well. Day 5 was in the books.
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