We stopped briefly along the coast to take some pictures and buy souvenirs, if desired. Here, a hotel and condos overlook a nice beach cove.

I snapped this picture of Jill as we stand along the roadside next to a shallow bluff at the water's edge.

A grass-roofed hut sold souvenirs. We looked at the offerings, but didn't buy anything.

A couple of very large rocks lie serenely just offshore. Check out the boat on the right to get a sense of scale

After following the coast a ways, we turned left and headed into the hills, which is not at all far (a few minutes, really). Shortly after the road turned dusty, twisty and steep, we arrived at the location of the "Predator" movie set, or part of it, anyway. A few pieces of the set remain, such as a Huey shell and a treehouse. Now, there is a restaurant and gift shop beside a rocky stream nestled in a cleft in the mountain.

Remnants of a treehouse built for the Predator movie set perch precariously in a tree near the parking lot.

The short walk from the parking lot to the restaurant and gift shop followed a stone path along a rocky stream bed.

Steps cut into stone outcroppings flank a stream and a man-made pond. The jungle closes in behind.

A reverse view taken near the footbridge shows the open-air restaurant where we later had lunch.

After selecting a table at the outdoor restaurant and placing our orders for lunch, we gathered in the "parking lot" for the hike. The trail took us up steep inclines through thick vegetation. Again, being the dry season, it didn't look nearly as jungle-y as in the movie, which was obviously filmed during the wet season (summer). We had an enjoyable (and maybe just slightly strenuous) hike through the area, learning from Enrique about some of the various plants in the area. Pineapple and bananas grow wild; we saw young versions of both plants. We took pictures and even waded across the stream at a place where it forms a shallow pond. After about 40 minutes of hiking, the trail brought us back to the restaurant from the opposite direction from which we left.

We set out with the group on our jungle tour. The first part involved a steep climb along a narrow, sandy path.

Our tour guide, Enrique, explains about the local flora, including the wild pineapple plant at the bottom center of the picture.

Here, a view of the dry-looking jungle and steep hills along the tour.

We came to the stream near the end of the hike. There were three ways to cross: on the rocks, as seen in the background; through the water after removing socks and shoes, as with these ladies; or the way I did it--through the water with socks and shoes still on. The water was cool, but not cold.

By then, lunch was ready, so we ate our chicken fajitas (we had a choice of that, quesadillas, or mahi-mahi) and drank a beer. After lunch and a rest, we boarded the bus for the brief ride back into PV. First stop was a Tequila Factory where we saw how the blue agave is cooked and distilled. We chewed a piece of cooked agave to compare the flavor of the plant prior to distillation with that of the finished product, and sampled four different flavors of the bottled tequila. Didn't buy any.

At the tequila factory. No, the tour group is not lined up for a picture. That was the only piece of shade while we waited to reboard the bus. A bit of the blue agave plant is visible in the lower right corner.

Next stop was for shopping in old town Puerto Vallarta. The bus dropped us off near a corner on a busy, narrow street that was lined with small shops. We perused the tile and ceramic store, where Jill bought a coffee mug and matching bowl, then found the Mundo de Pewter just a few doors down. Good thing I forgot my Amex card that day; otherwise I might have come away from that shop with several bags (and several hundred dollars lighter in the bank account). As it was, I did buy one item: a bowl I thought quite striking in design, which Jill put on her card for me. Others opted to be dropped off at the Sam's & Wal-Mart Supercenter across the street from the pier, but we thought that a bit silly and disembarked the bus at the Mercury (the direct gate to Veendam's pier was closed) and came back aboard. Grabbed a couple of snackies from the Neptune and took our naps. Showered and then watched us pull out of the harbor, a tricky maneuver because we had to swing the bow around to starboard without hitting the Mercury. Took a few pictures of our departure.

A view of the peninsula separating the coastline from the harbor as we pull out into the Pacific. It was rather windy that afternoon.

Then headed up to the Crow's Nest, where we had two drinks each before dinner. After dinner was the "What's in a Name" name-that-tune. We did well enough to win prizes, although we weren't the top scorers. Ended up with disposable cameras, the kind that had - what do you call it? - oh, yeah, film in them. Jill and I popped up to the Crow's Nest afterward to discover that it was completely empty except for us and the bar crew. Had the token nightcap before hitting the sack.