Dawn on Sunday December 15:

We skipped our normal routine of morning schoolwork and chores, and instead hopped in the car and headed south. As mentioned yesterday, the flat, wide multi-laned (6 – 8 lanes for most of the way) highway between La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and Puerto Vallarta paralleled Bandaras Bay. On the bay side, there were many high-rise tower hotel/condo complexes, a huge resort complex with a water slide park and air tram, a couple of military bases, the airport, and a cruise ship terminal. In between, were assorted commercial buildings. The construction was dense and there were few glimpses of the ocean. The other side of the street was also lined the entire way with buildings, though this side had more industrial-type businesses, car dealerships, and strip malls. Except for the median, there was little greenery. Since it was early on a Sunday, there wasn’t much traffic and we made it to downtown Puerto Vallarta in an hour. 

As we also mentioned yesterday, shortly after passing the cruise ship terminal, the road suddenly changed to narrow, one-way cobblestone roads upon entering the historic downtown area. The downtown area also had little greenery. Only a few blocks beyond where we’d parked yesterday, there was another stark line indicating that we’d crossed the threshold from downtown to the part of town called Zona Sur.