My JETSAM wallet came, and I love it
I backed this project a while back, the JETSAM wallet, is made out of recycled clothes from back in the day. The one I got is made out of a vintage tie. I’m actually quite surprised about how small the JETSAM wallet is, but I really like that about it. I don’t usually take my big leather wallet out with me, because of how big it is, but I love how small the JETSAM wallet is. And because it’s only a $30 wallet, I’m not that worried about losing it. It’s great! Finally a small, all-around wallet that feels high-quality, and looks awesome. I can’t wait to actually use it out in the wild.
Puerto Vallarta Day 4
Wow, today was scuba diving day. I’ve been waiting to go scuba diving for basically my entire life, and I finally lived the dream!
We had an early wakeup today, clocking in at just before 7am, which is very early with the time difference, and the minimal sleep. I actually overslept a bit, and my parents were not happy about that.
The day 4 vlog is going to be very interesting, because we used the GoPro underwater camera for both dives. As always, you’ll have to wait until I get back for that 
I think I slept in the car ride there, which is 15 minutes. After we arrived at the scuba shop, we had to wait a little bit, then try on the fins so we would be all ready on the boat. We didn’t have to worry about the wet suits, as they said they would fit. At around 9am, we were ready to go. We got on the boat, and started the 40 minute trip to the diving site. We dived at Mariatas, which is to the south of Pureto Vallarta. When we got there, it was time to suit up, and mask up. The whole process didn’t take very long at all, and we were diving around 20 minutes after arriving at the location. Now comes the fun stuff.
The vlog says a lot about the dive, so watch that on my YouTube channel (when I get back from Pureto Vallarta), for the full dive. We saw all kinds of sting rays, fish, eels, and all sorts under the water. I have to say though, it was freezing under the water at some points. There was one point during the dive, when I accidentally awoke a sleep Manta Ray, and it freaked me out. I got to hold starfish, pufferfish, and touch an octopus for the first time. The second dive was pretty much the same as the first, with a few more fish, and a few other minor differences. The deepest we went throughout both dives was 55 feet, which isn’t very deep, but allowed us to see lots of fish, stay reasonably warm, and no decompression on the way up. At the end of the second dive, I had used up almost all of my 3,000PSI worth of air, which was a bit scary. I think we all had a great time diving, and I would love to continue diving in other locations.
After the dives were completed, we had a sack lunch and went on a little bit of a whale-watching tour. We saw sperm wales breaching a few times, and Harriet swore she saw some dolphins swimming along. I then fell asleep on the boat, and woke up to some ocean spray hitting me in the face. The trip on the boat was very realizing, because it was a private boat just for our family. We definitely had a great time on the boat, and I can’t wait to share the GoPro footage we got.
When we got back, we had a steak dinner, followed by a swim in the pool, and just general decompressing. It was a physically-stressful day, but I we all enjoyed it. Tomorrow is going to be filled with relaxing by the pool, before zip lining and rappelling on Thursday.
Read MorePuerto Vallarta Day 3
I admit it, I didn’t do very much today. Never fear though, as I will blog every bit of it!
First things first, I got up at 11am. I missed the breakfast buffet, and was pretty groggy. Not even a Mai Thai could get me awake. I’m starting to wonder if the waiters did slip something into one of the many drinks I had…..
Lunch was the same: buffet, and then some time to use my computer. The internet here is just horrible. Beyond horrible. Then again, at least I have internet. I think being on a 7-day vacation and not having any internet at all would finish me right off.
Today marks the first day of our cuba diving training. We’re not getting the full PADI certification, but we can use some of the training and dives we’re using on this vacation towards the full certification. We waited FOREVER while our instructor (Frank), got the tanks and everything loaded up. Finally, after everything was loaded up and we were ready to learn, we’d waited around 45 minutes. Before we dive into the ocean, we need to know the basics of diving. This included all the hand signals and stuff, which we learned, two by two, in a freezing cold pool. Aparently my lips were blue after the lesson ended, but I need to check the GoPro footage before I can confirm that.
Mum brought along a GoPro 2 sports camera, which I had head-mounted for part of the lesson, and used for some underwater vlogging. I’m hoping that I can use it tomorrow for the full dive, but dad thinks that it will get in the way of the mask. It would be awesome to bring it along though, as it is a very cool piece of kit.
After the lesson concluded, we went back to the hotel and watched some TV, and just killed time for a bit. It was about 7 when we got back, and so we had 2 hours to kill before our dinner reservation at 9. That nights dinner was steak, at the steakhouse, and I have to say it wasn’t as good as our experience at the Mexican restaurant which we attended last night. Still, it was hot food after a freezing enoucnter in the pool, and for that I am grateful.
That pretty much wraps day 3. Day 4 is going to be awesome, as we’re heading out for a full 2-dives off one of the beaches. It’s gonna be good
Puerto Vallarta Day 2
Wow, Pureto Vallarta is amazing. We’ve had such a great time, I’ve had hardly had any time to blog On the other hand I’ve got a lot of video.
My dad DID actually get up at 8am, so I lost 20 Pesos to my mother. It was actually very surprising, because he did drink A LOT. We got to try out the infinite pool which was my favorite part. I’ve only ever seen them in magazines and stuff. My favorite part of the hotel, is the swim-up bar. It’s hard to describe, but you go up and order you drink, while sitting on a barstool which is under the water. This is awesome for three reasons; I’ve allowed to sit at a bar, the drinks are free, and it’s underwater!
As the day went by, it got sunnier, and sunnier, and sunnier, and thus hotter, and hotter, and hotter. Wow it’s nice to be in Mexico. We took camp at a shady bit, and dad slept for pretty much the whole time. I went back and forth from getting drinks (Mai Thais, and other various non-alcohol cocktails), to just swimming around the pool. At one point my sister, mother and I went to do a bit of exploring on the beach. Dad was completely asleep, so he didn’t come along. We did some body-boarding with the free boards, then some other exploring along the beach. We saw some puffer fish that had been swept up on the shore. They’re just like they are in the movies Harriet and mum tried to save some (with mum’s shoe), but we knew that they couldn’t be saved. There were some local Mexican merchants on the beach, one of which was selling coconut milk. We didn’t drink all of it, but felt it was important to support the locals.
For lunch we stuffed at the buffet as usual. Then more swimming, and water volleyball with some other guests. As it got towards night, we were getting a bit hungry as our reservation at the local Mexican restaurant was at 8:45pm. We played pool while waiting. It was definitely worth the wait, because we had a great Mexican server by the name of Jesus, who made some delicious tortia soup. After the meal, dad had a Mayan Coffee, which including fancy cup-to-cup tequila heating. That may sound a bit odd, but it will all make sense in the day-2 vlog. After that, we hit the night club for some more free drinks, and weird dancing on stage. It was pretty crazy. The day ended at around 11pm, and I was very tired. Day 3 is gonna be good
- Robert
Read MorePuerto Vallarta Day 1
There’s a lot to say about the first day, so I’ll start from the beginning.
First we had to get up really early for the plane. I was vlogging all the time, and I think everyone was a bit grumpy as it was REALLY early. The airport was just how I remember it (Seatac), and we left our car in a lot.
Stupid Alaska Air didn’t let us confirm our seats until we were actually at the gate, thus we had to be there a tad bit earlier. It didn’t feel like any time at all, but I found out later we were at the airport for 2 hours. Time flies when you’re at the airport. See what I did there
The plane was just like any other I’ve been on. Cramped, boring, and that one damn baby that has to cry for the entire flight. Uh. Really pissed me off. We left a bit later, so our pilot was trying to make up speed. The first thing he asked us to do was turn off our kindles, which makes absolutely no sense to me. A Wifi Kindle or iPhone in flight mode will not affect the plane in any way if it’s in sleep mode. There is no point in turning it off completely. Some pilots. I listened to music and slept for the first part. On our way, we saw Stanford, the Golden Gate Bridge, and other landmarks that I remember seeing when last going to San Francisco. Let me just clarify, that our plane stopped at San Francisco as like a layover. My dad (@clarkezone) decided that we need to make another trip to California to see Leo Laporte and visit Stanford.
On the final flight from San Francisco to Pureto Vallarta, @clarkezone and I watched Quarantine. It’s supposed to be really scary, but we both laughed at some of the death scenes because some of them were completely unrealistic. And yes, there was another baby on this flight. During the last 10 minutes of the flight, we flew over the beach, and I swear that there were about 100 sharks below splashing around. Harriet and dad don’t believe me, but I saw what I saw.
It was quite an experience being in a Mexican airport for the first time. Apparently our bags had to be checked because of something or other…. They forgot to recheck mine which made me happy (they were pulling everything out of the other bags, and making a mess). When we finally got through customs and security, there was a mass mob waiting to see us things. We were watching our bags and stuff the entire time. I felt I couldn’t pull out my phone either. When I did get to use it a bit later, I found out that the data is $20/mb. Holy cow. Roaming was already off, but I had to double check anyone. Twenty Dollars per megabyte. That is a LOT of $$$. My dad didn’t pay for an international data plan, as even that is expensive, but I do have 50 texts that I can use over the entire trip. Yay.
It was about 7pm local time when we finally arrived at the hotel. After exploring for about an hour, it was very relieving that the hotel was nice. My dad was greeted with some Sake and a momosa (an exotic alcohol beverage). I was greeted by free wifi that required no login. I really can’t wait until I’m 21. I’m writing this with no internet connection at all, so you’ll have to wait for the media and pictures, but check my Facebook and Twitter for a few pictures that I managed to get up. I posted one in particular that got a lot of likes on Facebook, of the pool and the sunset background. My friends are very jealous that I get to go to Mexico, for obvious reasons. I admit it, I was a bit cranky until I had something to eat, but that is a whole different story. We got our bags into the room, which doesn’t have a great room, but it’s ok. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I was worried about my computer being stolen, but luckily the hotel has a laptop-sized safe! The one thing that completely blows about our room is that the Wifi signal doesn’t carry. GRRRR so frustrating. I’ve found that the reception is the only room when you can ever get semi-decent signal. Whenever I go by with my phone in my pocket, it starts vibrating like crazy as it picks up all the emails, tweets, facebooks etc.
For dinner, we went to the buffe. Before I continue, let me clarify that ALL food and drink in this hotel is free. You have to book 24 hours in advance for the fancy resturaunts, so we just had to stick with the buffet. I’ve never seen so much food in my entire life. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to an American buffet before, but this place is HUGE. It’s like Epic Buffet time. I stuffed myself completely full. After that, it was time to hit the local night activities. I was extremely happy to find that the hotel included a nice selection of non-alcoholic cocktails, and I didn’t even have to teach the bartenders my favorites. If I remember correctly, I had 5 cocktails, some 7-up, and Pepsi. The music was great, and my mum said she would pay me 100 Pesos ($10 approx.) if I would dance with her on stage. Never again. Luckily I don’t know anyone here. I got to bed at around 11:30pm local time, all ready for tomorrow morning. Before I went to sleep, my mum bet me 20 Pesos ($2 approx.) that dad (having drunk a lot that evening), would not get up for a swim at 8am (6am Pacific). You’ll have to see who won the bet in the next post
Yeah, I’m pretty happy. I’m actually writing this on day 2, as I didn’t have much time to write the post yesterday, but I’ll try getting back to real-time. I have a lot to look forward to over the week, and will try and blog/vlog every bit of it. If you enjoyed this post, I would really appreciate a comment and a Facebook like (button and comment box below). You can also hit the donate in the sidebar, as it inspires me to create awesome new content for you all!
- Robert
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