I'm a LOT Past Little Rock

So, I just got back from my five days in Little Rock, AR. I went there with some classmates of mine to attend a conference for school. We learned a lot of new osteopathic techniques but all in all the trip was MISERABLE!! I am going to keep this blog short as I have a heaping pile of things to catch up on. Below is one of the instructors showing us a new technique for pregnant women.

If you haven't noticed, I try to keep most things in my blog positive. However, I do not have much positive to say about this trip. There was more drama between the girls than I ever had to deal with even in middle school! I couldn't believe it. You'd think as medical students we would have tact and respect for each other but that is unfortunately not the case. As much as I appreciate the guidance and new techniques I learned, I don't think the trip was worth it. I also had a hard time dealing with the fact that I had to listen to girls scream at each other about frivolous matters while J was sick in the hospital. There are more important things in life to worry about. J, I hope you feel better and I love you!

I did get to see the Clinton Library, however. It is definitely something to see.

Sorry I did not delve further into the weekend but frankly, I don't want to remember it. I'm glad there were some girls along that kept my sanity intact and were a shoulder to cry on. You are the best!

♥ R

Just You and I : PV Part II

On one of our free days, with the suggestion from a local Puerto Vallartan, Ry and I took a water taxi to a beach called Yelapa 40 minutes South of PV. A solitudinous beach was awaiting our arrival as it is not accessible by land. It was utterly breathtaking. Yelapa beach sits deep within a cove and its perimeter is surrounded by jungle. The water was a bright blue and parasailing was in high order. However, among such beauty, was a palpable indigence. This was evident throughout PV as well. I wondered if the millions of tourists that embrace PV every year choose to ignore this sad reality. Ry and got a chance to walk through the neighborhood of the people who lived in Yelapa on our trek to the waterfall one mile off the beach. Most of the homes had no windows or doors (some no roof), the flooring was obviously a mixture of cement and mud, and the clothing was hanging outside the house on a line held up by two trees. I don't deny the fact America has its share of poverty, but it is not like in Mexico. From my perspective, the disparity between the wealthy and the poor was much greater there, an obsolete middle class. You'd think with all the tourism, the economy would be better but the problem is every market is saturated. There are too many taxi drivers, more necklaces than will ever be sold, and empty money cups for the homeless. It broke my heart. However, I know nothing different. What seems an impoverished and unlivable world for me is simply their reality. As I said in my previous blog, they live a life with much fewer means that us, but in the end seem to be happy. As my dad says, happiness is defined within. It is a choice that is not influenced by the external influences in one's life. It would ring true in this case.

Sorry for the digression. We spent the rest of the day on the beach (our only full day on the beach) sipping Corona's, eating chips and salsa, and getting our feet wet in the water. It was more relaxing than downtown because of the lack of people. The Fodor's book was a lifesaver on our trip and I found myself gravitating to it often to see what our next adventure would be. As I was reading about Yelapa in Fodor's, Chiggy and her delicious homemade pies was mentioned as a highlight. Not one minute after I read that, Chiggy was behind us offering her warm coconut and chocolate pie. Now, when most of the vendors approached us on the beach throughout our trip we politely said, "No, gracias", but in this instance we decided to purchase the pie. Fodor's had it right, seemingly just when we needed her, Chiggy greeted us with her warm, delicious homemade pie :)

The majority of the 2nd half of our trip was spent at the time share resort my dad and N gave us to use. It was fun to experience both aspects of things. Neither Ry or I are "beach bum" type of people. The one time we decided to sit around the pool and sunbathe we were bored after thirty minutes and ended up doing something else. It was fun, however, to sit in the pool at the resort after everyone went off for dinner. We enjoyed the pool after dark under the starlit sky. It was as if we had the whole pool to ourselves. Plus it was right off the ocean so that was an added bonus.

Ry had planned a whale watching tour for the two of us well before we got to PV because they book early. It was our earliest morning of the week, 8 AM. We were there at 8 AM sharp and guess what... we were the only ones on time... again. However, I got my fill of entertainment due to the whale vertebrae on display. I was obsessed with this massive thing. I attribute this to my love of osteopathic medicine. For those of you who don't know, osteopathic medicine is an alternative forms of medicine much having to do with the structural integrity of the musculoskeletal system. This part of my curriculum is on top of learning all the pertinent "medical science" stuff. I plan to give you more of a lowdown on this in the future. If you have more questions just ask me but for now I will keep on the topic of our trip! After they pried me away from the vertebrae, we were off to find some whales. This was an awesome experience. We saw two male whales fighting and a mommy and her baby swimming together. As fun as it was to watch them my only complaint (most of you are probably saying, "your only complaint?", and you're probably right, it wasn't my ONLY complaint!) was that the whales didn't come up to breathe very often. Every time we'd see them come up to the surface to breathe and flip around a bit, they would dive back down for 10-15 minutes. The most fantastic part of the whole experience, though, was listening to the whales sing. Apparently they develop "phrases" they repeat over and over to deliver messages to other whales in their area. Pirates of the old days thought this singing was coming from the mermaids below, hence the myth. It was spectacular. It was as if they were trying to tell us a story, though we had no idea what it was. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was interesting.

One of the last adventures we did were the Los Veraños Canopy Tours. I would have to say this was my favorite part of the trip. The premise is to soar high over the natural landscape on a cable line and harness supporting you. When we first got there I got nervous, however, that maybe is what made it more fun in the end. The harness they put on wrapped around the thighs and waist. When looking at it I thought, wow this thin piece of fabric held together by thread will be holding me 180 meters in the air while flying across a river... Best not to think about it. All I can say was this did NOT disappoint. Not only were the views gorgeous but the guides were a lot of fun. I think they especially liked me because I have a memorable Spanish name, none of them forgot it. As I reached the highest, longest, and fastest cable of the tour one of the guides asked me if I wanted to ride across backwards with him. My instinct told me no but my adventurous side said yes! They hooked me to the line backwards while the guide hooked himself facing forward. He took a leap and we were off. As we launched, he told me to let go of my safety bars. What, are you nuts?

I was brought back in time to when I was a nine year old little girl that was terrified of ALL amusement rides. At that time, my dad tricked me onto a roller coaster at the Great America Six Flags near Chicago. I kicked and screamed until they strapped me in the coaster. Once we started riding, though, I gradually opened my eyes and felt free, as if there was nothing in this world I couldn't do.

Snap back. The guide asked me again to let go and this time I did it. However, not only did I let go of my safety handles but I flipped myself backwards until my hands and head were pointed to the ground. I was flying (upside down)! It was the most exhilarating thing I have ever done. I was free. As I reached the end of the 400 meter cable, another guide caught me and said, "Miss Raquel, you must have come from heaven, because you fly like an angel." I'm sure it was just a one-liner he tells everyone, but even if for just a moment, I truly felt like one. It was so much fun, I did it one more time.

I apologize for this blog getting long. I guess that is why I split it into two parts. I also wanted to say that though the Canopy Tour was my favorite adventure of the trip, by far the best part was spending it with my husband. I never knew two people could be so similar yet so different at the same time. He is one of the most understanding people in my life. Who else would put up with my whining and complaining all the time? I sometimes ask God what I did to deserve such a wonderful man. When it comes down to it, I don't think I did anything, I just got lucky. Ry, I can't wait for our next adventure together. I love you!

As a final note, Ry and I have a request. We LOVED PV so much and would love to go back someday. However, next time we would like to go with a group of people! If interested, let us know :) Sorry to disappoint Jeff, but there were no arrests... on this trip at least!

♥ R

On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful : PV Part I

Flying into Puerto Vallarta's Gustavo Diaz Ordaz airport, we could feel the energy. We unloaded the plane directly onto the asphalt with the mountains on the horizon and the smell of the lush salt air greeting us. Neither of us had ever been to Mexico so naturally we were excited to get out and explore. Little did we know that getting from point A to point B was going to be a bigger ordeal than originally planned. I'm certain all the taxi drivers get irritated with "us American's" as we explain to them where we want to go (in English, of course). Luckily we had printed off a map of where we needed to go with the directions written in Spanish and the route clearly marked with a blue line. Though, the taxi driver was looking at it like he still had NO idea where we needed to go. So, Ry being his helpful self and finally putting his high school Spanish to good use points to the map and says, "Agua, Agua". The man looked at him like he was crazy. Ry was trying to point out to this poor man the "blue" line on the map that led to our destination but in actuality he was saying "water." Blue in Spanish is "azul", not "agua"... The taxi driver thought Ry was telling him we were staying on the water. Luckily, we eventually made it to where we needed to be and it was worth the wait. The oddity of getting around in PV is the paved roads directly intersect the hand lain cobblestone streets and the pedestrians are often old men wearing sombreros riding a burro laden down with five gallon plastic pails filled with rocks. It was quite the scene. I told Ry that day to not speak Spanish to the taxi drivers anymore unless he was absolutely certain about what he was telling them, oh Ry.


We discovered the "secret" place of PV, The Cheeky Monkey. It is right on the Malecon with spectacular views and... $1 ice cold Corona's served with a lime. In our 7 days in PV, there were no other places we found where the beer was such a good deal so we made it a point to go back. The Cheeky Monkey to me was PV personified. No one there is in a hurry. In fact, I'm not sure ANYTHING was on time. If a boat was scheduled to leave at 8AM, it probably didn't leave the dock until 9, 10 o'clock. Starbuck's even opened over an hour late! I think we (American's) often get caught up into our schedules and deadlines too much. Life is so much simpler in PV. They don't have the most luxurious living situations, but all of them seem happy. They must know something we don't. And though the bill didn't come until three hours after we sat down, it made it all the more relaxing.


Ry and I also got a chance to attend Mass at the Cathedral in the Zona Romantica of PV. What made the experience so exemplary was the Mass was given in English and Spanish. To worship with people who don't even speak the same language as you was memorable. Plus, the church was beautiful. Some of the decor they had displayed you would never see here in America. The portrayal of Jesus was much more graphic, yet it felt more realistic. What an amazing experience!


I think Ry might argue one of his favorite memories of the trip was watching the Mariachi band on the Malecon Sunday night. We discovered that the people of PV use Sunday night as they're "going out" night. The Malecon was hopping with people. Ry and I were rushing to make the start of the concert by 6. Needless to say we were on time but the concert didn't start until 7:30, it all goes back to what I said before, nobody is in a hurry in PV! The band was superb; I felt like I was listening to classic Mexicana music with an old-world charm. And, if you can't tell, we not only were serenaded by the band, but had the soft sounds of the ocean waves crashing on the rocks in the background. Heaven :)

One cannot mention PV without mentioning THE FOOD. I can honestly say I have never experienced quite the cuisine. I may be biased due to my love of cilantro and guacamole, however. Not only was the food delectable and reasonably priced, but the presentation was exquisite. My favorite restuarant I must say was Pipi's (below). They served the most big and tasty margaritas I have ever had and a waiter made the guacamole right in front of us. However, this place was crazy. A three-man band went around singing at different tables (My fav "La Bamba"), a table of Spring Break ridden college students had tequila shots poured into their mouths from the bottle, and each table was served by six different waiters throughout the meal. It was exhausting, but delicious.

Part I complete. Part II coming soon...

♥ R

Hola de Puerto Vallarta

I told you I would update! Currently we are sitting in an internet cyber cafe and uploading some pictures. We have been having a blast here in PV. It is a beautiful place. Eating out, sitting on the beach, exploring PV, and meeting the locals has kept us busy. We have felt safe the whole time. Life is a bit slower here so it seems the days go by slower as well... and that is how we like it. We hope everyone is well way up there in the States. We will give you a full update on our Mexican adventures when we get back. Until then, bueños diaz!

♥ R & R