Monday was a national holiday, so I took advantage of the three-day weekend to take a trip to Yelapa, a seaside village — accessible only by boat from Puerta Vallarta — where some friends have a little casita.

Yelapa is built on a small bay with a sandy beach in the center, surrounded by steep cliffs and dense rain forest. A river runs down from the mountains to the beach, bisecting the town. On one side of the river, the village rambles up the hillside. A steep, winding “road” — basically, a wide sidewalk made of concrete with embedded rocks —  runs upriver from the town. On the other side of the river is the beach, from which a straighter, less steep road heads uphill. Pretty far upriver is a pedestrian bridge. The only other way to cross the river without wading through it is by using one the local forms of transportation: ATV or burro.

According to the owner of Cafe Bahia, a popular restaurant located right at the pier, ten years ago, Yelapa had no electricity, only generators, and was so remote that it wasn’t in any travel books, not even Lonely Planet. Today it is a popular daytrip from Puerto Vallarta, although the challenging terrain will hopefully keep it from becoming overrun.

I had to spend Friday night in Puerto Vallarta, where I got a suite at the Casa Anita, on a hill just above the harbor, for $68USD. I found Puerto Vallarta to be beautiful but full of loud, drunk Americans, mostly of a certain age. I was glad to head out early Saturday morning.

A word about Mexican intercity buses: They are amazing! The ETN line offers triple if not quadruple the leg room found in the Economy class of an airplane, plus reclining seats, seat-back entertainment, and a bathroom compartment with a door that separates it from the rest of the vehicle. The five-hour roundtrip cost about $35 USD.

Below are a few pictures from the trip — more to come!