Two months ago, my husband and I, and our kids ages 7 and 4, traded our stucco home in Colorado for a palapa in rural Mexico. It's a temporary trade--we'll be returning home soon--but it's been quite the experience, working and living in such a wildly different place. Here's a photo essay of a typical day-in-our-life.

This is where we live

The village is called Yelapa, accessible by a 45-minute panga boat ride from Puerto Vallarta. There are no cars, which means we walk everywhere. The local people mostly haul supplies using donkeys and horses (and there are a few ATV's).

Our little abode is a 10-minute walk up a steep jungle path from the town pier. It's a palapa, which means it has a palm-thatched roof and is completely open to the jungle. You can barely see the house until you're right at the front door.

On the patio, a huge Amapa tree sprouts through the dining room table. It's gorgeous. As a result, we've nicknamed our home "The Treehouse."

This is where we work every day

We're actually not on vacation during this trip. My husband and I are both working part time, plus homeschooling our seven-year-old son. (At home, our son attends a public school.)

I'm a writer, and I like to work at this primitive desk, which requires climbing a handmade wooden ladder to a tiny loft. My desk overlooks the ocean in the distance.

Because he needs to be connected to the internet for his job, my husband works on this cement laundry table under our house, because this is where the connection is the best. (Random.)

Our kids have a charming little corner for their schoolwork.

Although you can "get by" speaking English in this village, we're committed to learning Spanish, which deepens our experience. I actually speak some Spanish, but here's my family taking lessons from a local lady.

How we handle our day-to-day tasks

There is a "laundromat" in the center of the village, which is essentially a local Mexican woman who has a washer and dryer, but we usually do our own laundry in our big cement sink. It's harder than it looks, requiring some good hand muscles. Which means we're much more selective in deciding what clothes really need washing.

Our kitchen is tiny, but it has everything we need. One of my favorite foods to cook is fresh fish, caught the same day. We bought these little "snappers" from a neighbor, and they were delectable.

Because the water isn't potable in Mexico, we have to haul big jugs up to our treehouse. When I say "we," I mean my husband.

There's a mandarin tree nearby, as well as a weekly outdoor fruit market, so I've been teaching my son to make fresh-squeezed juice.

How we spend our free time

Because we don't have to commute to work, and everything in town is within a 30 minute walk, we spend tons of time outdoors getting lots of exercise and fresh air, and bonding as a family.

This is Isabel's Beach, our favorite place for swimming. The snorkeling is great. I've seen hundreds of fish, rays, and eels. Sometimes we see whales or dolphins in the cove, and I love to sunbathe on the big rocks.

Nothing's off limits in Yelapa, so you can rent horses and take them out on your own. Here we're taking a walk on a path that follows the river deep into the jungle.

Since it's so rigorous to get here, we pack super light. Which means the kids have very few toys: Legos, a doll, and a few card games. No electronics. Mostly they play in nature, climbing trees or making handmade crafts using found objects, like this wind chime. It's been awesome to watch them overcome boredom by exploring the natural world.

This article first appeared at Thought Catalog.

Follow Carrie Visintainer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/WildMamas

The heartache after a divorce and the resulting explosion of feelings are all contained in the songs on Mana's new album - "Cama incendiada" - but they are transformed into happiness on the sexy album, full of piquant lyrics and exotic fusions of rhythm, the band's lead singer, Fher Olvera, told Efe.

Olvera, the writer of most of the numbers, said that he was "crossing through some dark areas after a breakup," when he wrote many of the lyrics for the album that will go on sale on April 21.

And art, "for good or for ill, is what is born in your stomach, in your guts, in your testicles, what you really feel like singing," he said in an interview with Efe in Guadalajara, Mexico, where the band emerged in the late 1980s.

The group invited various communications media outlets to their studios to hear their ninth studio album, which includes songs like "Adicto a tu amor," "Peligrosa," "La Telaraña" and the title song, "Cama incendiada," (which means "The burning bed" in Spanish) emphasizing the importance of that very symbolic object where humans spend almost half their lives.

"You're born there, you grow up, reproduce and die there. Love sometimes generates so many flames that they can turn (you) into ashes," said the singer, who presented each of the songs on the album by explaining its rhythms and its significance.

Drummer Alex Gonzalez said that the album is a "very eclectic" one with touches of evolution and songs that the band's fans "have followed their entire lives and they're going to recall Mana's beginnings, but with a more up-to-date sound."

The album was produced by George Noriega, who has also produced works by artists such as Ricky Martin, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, and he forced the group to emerge from "its comfort zone to try and do different things and risk other things, musically speaking," Gonzalez said.

Despite the fact that Mexico is not going through its best period due to problems of lack of security, Mana's new album makes almost no references to the country, despite the fact that the band has always been rather constructively critical of its homeland.

Although the political situation in Mexico is bad, the singer said, he added that the "force of the people" is being heard and it fills him with hope to know that people can unite via the social networks to create change.

He said that Mexico can overcome its problems, but the great "cancer" in Latin America is corruption. He also said that, as Mexicans, it is incumbent upon them to do as much as they can to "improve the country."

Puerto Vallarta, Jal.- The 15th International Film Festival in Puerto Vallarta (FICPV) ended with an exceptional closing at Mantamar Beach Club on Friday March 20 of this year. The diversity section of the festival, presented by the Agave Award, projected the documental "Made in Bangkok", in the presence of Morganna, opera singer and one of the protagonist of the documental, Flavio Florencio, film director and Noa, interpreter. The documentary was also screened, on the same, day at the Auditorium "Dr. Juan Luis Cifuentes Lemus" of the University de la Costa (CUCosta) Center.

The director explained that his documentary aims to avoid 'bullying' and to allow people to get to know a transsexual woman without prejudice. The film also aims to raise awareness on the matter and to make the audience reflect and understand people that surround us.

The idea of the documentary came up when Flavio came to live in Mexico and started going to bars where he met a variety of travesties that mimicked Mexican personalities. He loved the shows he was seeing. He started to wonder what these travesties did during the day, where they worked when they were not in the cantinas, and why they were not seen during the day. "I wanted to know what was behind that make up, sparkles, lights and colors," explains Florencio. He decided to get to know them. He started talking to them asking questions, looking for them during the day and interviewing them in order to come up with a universal story that could depict their shame in order to break stigma. That is how he met Morganna. She sang in one of the bars.

Through his documentary, Flavio shows what is behind the show, "overnight you are idolized, people make you feel divine, you are a beautiful someone; but during the day you are rejected, they do not employ you, you are discriminated and you verbally assaulted". He wanted to tell Morganna story to sensitize and to humanize the issue of transgender women.

"What hurts me more is the ignorance in people, and it is a very strong ignorance. People who discriminate against us and that assaults us do so intentionally", underlines Morganna. Morgana agreed to have a cameramen following her for three consecutive years, to let people see how they live and what they do, and to change the ideas and concepts that people have about transsexual persons, "it is necessary that people learn that we are human been also".

Noa was very supportive to Morganna. He describes his friend as an admirable woman of exemplary character and soul. "People say they tolerate certain things about us, but there still is a great degree of hypocrisy in this world", says Noa.

"I am much honored to have the documental shown at the closing of the film festival, and happy to be with the protagonists of the film. I am sure people are going to fall in love with them.” said the director. Moraganna and Noa also expressed their gratitude towards the FICPV, the agave Award and Puerto Vallarta. At the end of the screening, Morganna surprised the audience with a beautiful and emotional concert, "singing has been my lifesaver in the deep waters of transsexuals".

They advised the audience to live in freedom, to be happy and to always do what makes them feel fulfill and happy.

Morganna is a soprano transgender; determine to fight decisively against family prejudice and social stigma. Determine also to live a normal life, and be recognized by society. That’s why she works behind make ups, lights and shadows, trying to build her identity. An identity she has pursued all her life: an identity made in Bangkog.

[readon1 url="index.php?option=com_sobipro&pid=1&sid=703:mar&Itemid=212"]Source:www.VallartaToday.com-by MAR Translation Services[/readon1]

Puerto Vallarta, Jal. - San Pancho is known as the Cultural Capital of Riviera Nayarit because of the quantity and quality of its artistic and educational activities. A Village that has earned its fame, thanks to the participation of activist, and local and international artist, many of which have made of Puerto of this town, its place of residence.

The creation of civil associations which operate in old buildings was just the beginning and what made of this town, a magnet that attracts highly known personalities.

The most prominent case most certainly is the presence of the co-founder of Cirque Du Soleil, Gilles Ste-Croix; a world personality with a 35 years career, and now retired. Ste-Croix founded the Children’s Circus of San Pancho, as a way of given back a little of all of what life has given him.

"I came to San Pancho on vacation, 15 years ago, and discovered a town with very special people; it is also a beautiful town, with lots of trees, lots of greens. I love the environment, and the people of this town; that’s the reason why I decided to buy a house 8 years ago", says Gilles Ste-Croix.

"About four years ago I saw the work of “Entre Amigos” with children, and I decided to teach the children some circus trick, and it was then, when for the first time the Children’s Circus was presented. The children's circus is a unique opportunity and experience for them, there is no other place like it," added the Canadian artist.

Another special case is that of the American jazz musician Jeff Oster, a musician who, for art’s sake, for seven years has participated in San Pancho’s Music Festival.

"This is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and you should all be very proud of it. Any artistic activity that takes place in San Pancho is successful. There is a good feeling and much creativity, is like brothers and sisters working together, interested in all art activities that go on in the town. This is my favorite place”, explained Jeff Oster.

British artist, Daniel Stone, has also established a connection with the place; with the town that makes everyone comeback to share their talents, with the Cultural Capital of the Riviera Nayarit.

San Pancho is not the only micro destination of Riviera Nayarit that has a variety of cultural and artistic events and activities, but it has an example to be followed.

[readon1 url="index.php?option=com_sobipro&pid=1&sid=703:mar&Itemid=212"]Source:www.VallartaToday.com-by MAR Translation Services[/readon1]

Even though our USA and Canada neighbors to the north will start observing Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, March 8, at 2:00 am, Mexico, except some exceptions including Mexico-USA border municipalities, will begin DST almost a month later on April 5 and ending a week earlier on October 25.

It's the day Jesus entered Jerusalem before the Crucifixion

Puerto Vallarta, Jal.- On Sunday, Christians all over the world will be carrying palms and other branches. That’s because it’s Palm Sunday, a celebration of the day Jesus entered Jerusalem before he was crucified and then resurrected, according to the Christian faith.

Christians carry palms on Palm Sunday because according to the Gospels, Jesus’ followers covered his path in palm fronds on the day he entered Jerusalem, after the custom of placing palms in the path of a high-ranking person. The palm branch also signified victory in Greco-Roman times, so the waving palms would have resembled a triumphal procession.

In many churches, congregants twist palms into the shape of a cross to commemorate the day, or use other branches if palms are not easily accessible– in some parts of Europe, churchyards are strewn with branches and flowers. The holiday is often celebrated with a procession.

Jesus also arrived in Jerusalem on a donkey, which was considered highly symbolic. At the time, a king riding a donkey symbolized peace, while a king on a horse symbolized war — while Jesus was not technically a king, his followers considered him to be King of Israel. Palm Sunday is depicted in all four Gospels, which isn’t true of all stories about Jesus.

In some congregations, the palms are burned at the end of Palm Sunday and the ashes are saved to use on Ash Wednesday of the following year. But most of all, Palm Sunday signifies the beginning of the last week of Lent — and the beginning of Holy Week.

Puerto Vallarta, Jal.- The destination’s hotels and the Riviera Nayarit CVB set up 240 business meetings, reiterating their support and interest in the country’s most important tourism trade show, where TripAdvisor took the opportunity to award Nuevo Vallarta with the 2015 Travelers’ Choice “Best Beach” recognition.

The 2015 Tianguis Turístico in Acapulco took place from March 23-25 with the participation of more than 35 countries; the Riviera Nayarit was present during the trade show, making a big impression on attendees thanks to its recent tourism recovery.

During this, the most important tourism tradeshow in Mexico, the destination reaffirmed beyond a doubt its commitment with the Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) and the Secretariat of Tourism (SECTUR).

Governor Roberto Sandoval and Tourism Secretary Catalina Ruiz headed the Nayarit Committee. Nayarit’s four tourism brands were promoted during the event: Riviera Nayarit, Colonia Nayarit, Lagunas Encantadas and Sierra del Nayar.

The Banderas Bay Hotel and Motel Association (AHMBB) was also present, headed by its president, Fernando González Ortega and its vice-president, Abel Santos, as well as the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), led by its director, Marc Murphy.

The destination’s culture was, of course, front and center, in the form of Alejandra Ávila, Ambassador for the Pride of Nayarit; the Riviera Nayarit’s Mixology Ambassador, Israel Díaz; Wixarika artisan, Rogelio Benítez; and Café Luna—all of which contributed to the success of the event.

There were a total of 240 business meetings held, mainly with airlines and tour operators; the Riviera Nayarit CVB and the hotel sector made the most of the opportunity to do business at the Tianguis Turístico. About a dozen or so hotels from the region were also present for their own business appointments.

TripAdvisor also took the opportunity during this tourism showcase to award Nuevo Vallarta with its recognition as “Best Beach 2015.”

The Riviera Nayarit confirmed its absolute commitment to the Tianguis Turístico and reaffirmed its excellent relationship with the Federal tourism authorities.

Puerto Vallarta, Jal.- The smallest words can result in the biggest change in conversation direction with your partner. (Photo: Getty Images)

If you’re anything like me, just hearing the word “conflict” sends you running to the hills. I’m a people-pleaser to the highest degree, so dealing with folks who aren’t pleased with me causes me a lot of anxiety. Giving someone bad news, boldly stating my opinions when I know they differ from others’, and having hard conversations aren’t really strengths of mine. Usually I just fake it until I make it. Unfortunately, when it comes to marriage, one can only fake it so much.

John Gottman, Ph.D., a world-renowned marriage researcher, theorized three types of conflict styles that people tend to exhibit when in relationships with one another: avoidance, validating, and volatile. Avoiders, like me, resist conflict like the plague. People who are volatile are highly expressive with their emotions and have no problem discussing their differences in opinion with loved ones. Lastly, validators fall somewhere in between, expressing their emotions and opinions in steady and calm ways.

I first learned about these three conflict styles in graduate school during my couples’ therapy class. Slowly I began to understand why my husband and I struggle so much during conflict: I’m a conflict avoider, and my husband is volatile, which is a significant mismatch. Any time we disagree, I want to run and hide, while he wants to talk it out—sometimes loudly. I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world we’d actually work through this and learn how to productively resolve conflict.

PHOTO: Downtown Puerto Vallarta is still reminiscent of colonial days past.

Puerto Vallarta escaped last year’s hurricane season relatively unscathed. When Hurricane Odile swept through the Pacific Coast city in mid-September, the downtown malécon, or boardwalk and its beaches were closed due to high waves and an increased water level. But the destination’s airport remained open throughout as did Puerto Vallarta’s cruise port.

Most visitors spent the time taking advantage of the indoor services and amenities at their hotels and resorts. But the minimal effects of these hurricanes are no fluke: Puerto Vallarta has been thriving since the early 19th century in part because it is protected by the Bay of Banderas and surrounded by the Sierra Madres. These natural barriers don’t always make the destination impervious to hurricanes, but they greatly helped last September.

In fact, it would seem that little can deter visitors from traveling to Puerto Vallarta. Hotel occupancy between January and June 2014 increased to 1,439,771 occupied rooms, up from 1,301,449 rooms during the same period in 2013. Overall, occupancy was up to 67.7 percent in 2014 compared with 59.8 percent in 2013.
The destination’s port also welcomed 116 cruise ships in 2014, up 43 percent over last year. As a result, the economic impact of the international cruise ships calling in Puerto Vallarta in 2014 jumped 43 percent compared to the previous year. International arrivals to Puerto Vallarta’s airport (PVR) increased by 17 percent in the first six months of 2014 compared to the previous year.

With high season now in full swing this month, Puerto Vallarta’s tourism success will likely continue to grow at a brisk pace, especially since Alaska Airlines began direct service from Portland, Ore., in early November, available through April 2015. Delta also launched service this winter from Seattle to Puerto Vallarta. The destination’s new flights, additional cruise ships and the bump in hotel occupancy all translate into more booking potential for travel agent professionals.

So it’s worth becoming a little more familiar with Puerto Vallarta’s tourism offerings, such as the historic downtown and its celebrated 12-block malécon. The beachfront, pedestrian-only boulevard is lined on one side with a variety of statues and sculptures, including Puerto Vallarta’s emblematic Seahorse by Mexican artist Rafael Zamarripa. Complementing this parade of still life workmanship, the other side of the malécon is interspersed with local artists selling their crafts and musicians strumming instruments for visitors.

Also popular is the open-air mercado or market, located on Cuale River Island between downtown Puerto Vallarta and the Zona Romantica—where a variety of souvenirs are sold, including locally crafted jewelry and Mexico’s unique Talavera pottery. Near to the market is the Cuale Archaelogical Museum, which was renovated in 2005. It houses a permanent exhibit of artifacts from Mexico’s western region, featuring tools, ceramics and jewelry from pre-Columbian times.

PHOTO: Casa Velas is an all-inclusive boutique option for travelers.

With its whitewashed buildings, red-tile rooftops and cobblestone streets, downtown Puerto Vallarta itself is a testament to the destination’s colonial past as well as Mexico’s culinary riches, if you know where to go. Of course, Mexico’s ubiquitous Señor Frog has a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta. But to eat like a local, try the intimate El Arrayán restaurant, where owner Carmen Porras is frequently on hand to recommend authentic Mexican fare like the trademark arrayán margarita made with locally grown arrayán fruit (a cousin to guava fruit) and beef barbacoa tacos. At Café des Artistes, chef-owner Thierry Blouet’s French cuisine keeps the fine-dining restaurant filled even in low season. A pianist sits near the bar while a violinist meanders between tables taking requests as guests feast upon short ribs served with cauliflower puree and classics like crème brulée for dessert.

Puerto Vallarta also has a more rugged side for those seeking adventure. In fact, the ideal way to experience this is a day trip with Vallarta Adventures (www.vallarta-adventures.com), the sister company of Cabo Adventures. The company specializes in learning experiences focused on local culture, wildlife, biodiversity and nature. Day trips can include scuba diving, surfing, flyboarding, extreme zip-lining and rappelling. You can also spend a day at Las Caletas Beach Hideaway, a secluded nature preserve that was once the private home of film director John Huston.

The excursion begins aboard one of Vallarta Adventures’ catamarans, where a continental breakfast is included and guests have the opportunity to book power snorkeling, snorkeling with sea lions, scuba diving, scuba lessons and spa treatments (which are not included in the price). Once there, guests can enjoy all of the amenities included in the ticket: stand-up paddle boarding, snorkeling, kayaking, cooking lessons, yoga classes, nature trail walks, a supervised animal encounter and a kids adventure park as well as unlimited drinks, a buffet lunch and the beautiful private beach. The cost is US$109 per adult and US$70 per child ages four to 11. Beer and cocktails are served on the return sailing at 3 p.m. as the crew entertains passengers with a small rendition of “Grease.”

Once back in Puerto Vallarta, the marina offers some of the destination’s most sumptuous accommodations. The 345-suite Velas Vallarta (www.velasvallarta.com) is a perfect beachfront option for families seeking an all-inclusive vacation. Extended families can benefit from the resort’s many adjoining suite options, complete with contemporary Mexican décor and full kitchens or kitchenettes. The kids club has dedicated spaces for video games, movies, and arts and crafts, while the free-form pool boasts a swim-up bar for adults.

Just down the street, more than 600 sea turtle egg nests remain undisturbed in the fenced-off area that serves as a protected sea turtle hatchery this season at the Marriott CasaMagna Puerto Vallarta (www.marriott.com). The property’s Ohtli Spa is the largest in the area. Along with its comprehensive menu of treatments, ranging from Swedish massage and facials to body scrubs and wraps, spa-goers can also take advantage of therapy baths, plunge pools and steam rooms before and after their treatments. Indeed, it’s hard not to relax in Puerto Vallarta when visiting these resorts.

Yelapa is only reachable by boat, which is just the start of its appeal.

Puerto Vallarta, Jal.- I’m a fan of tourist spots. I even like those roadside world’s-biggest things that exist for no reason whatsoever. Disneyland? Why not? Eiffel Tower? Go for it. But Puerto Vallarta? Yeesh. I’ll write about Puerto Vallarta someday, about how very, very awful it is. But today is not that day. Today, we will talk about the place that rescued me from my first and last trip to Puerto Vallarta. It’s a 25-minute boat ride south along the coast, a tiny place I’d never heard of called Yelapa.

The beach in front of what I was told was old Yelapa looked nice enough. Sandy, anyways, but it was only when the eight-seater motorboat, called a panga, pulled up in front of my hotel about a kilometre farther along the coast that I figured the end of my trip might just redeem the rest of it — or at least, like a good bottle of wormy mezcal, help me forget.

Casa Perico is a four-level, three-room, open-air, lobby-less hotel built onto the side of a cliff that drops right into the water. It’s owned, and was built, by Blair Shurteff, the sort of guy you’d get if you taught a cowboy how to relax and make a cocktail, and his boyfriend Shane Hayward, a former physiotherapist with the U.S. Navy.

It took them three years and what Shurteff estimates to have been 3,500 pango boat-loads of materials to build it. The steep outdoor stone stairs make it impossible for anyone with significant mobility problems. And if you’re a private sort, the open front and the occasional unfortunate sight lines from lounge area to toilet, for instance, might upset you. But if you’re staying with friends or family, this might just be the best deal on the west coast of Mexico. The views are gorgeous and unimpeded even by windows. Water access is immediate, snorkelling gear is free, the fish are plentiful and colourful, and due to the quick drop-off of the ocean floor, Shurteff tells me humpback whales come within a couple of hundred yards of the rooms during the winter.

But the deal part comes in when you check out: High-season rates range from $150 a night for the two-bed, 500 square foot first level, to $295 for the four bed, two-level penthouse, all of which come with full kitchens and four-poster, solid wood beds imported, like the rest of the solid furniture, from Bali.

The views are gorgeous and unimpeded even by windows.

But what really makes Yelapa a place you might want to spend a week is Yelapa itself, which you get to from Casa Perico, and many of the other hotels and inns along the coast, by a narrow but perfectly navigable dirt path, populated by crabs, geckos, the occasional black iguana and burros delivering supplies to the hoteliers and guests from the shops in town. Though there are 15 hotels, as well as about 35 restaurants in this tiny place, as I walked around Yelapa at 8 on my only morning there, I saw mostly locals hanging out in front of the grocery store, walking by the hardware store, and gossiping about the several small construction sites scattered about the place. This isn’t a resort town so much as a village with visitors.

Yelapa, which had been there for centuries before its now overgrown neighbour, and is even mentioned by name — and protected — in Mexico’s constitution, was put on a quite different sort of tourist’s radar after Bob Dylan, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson and a few friends rented a house there in the mid-’60s. The result, whether it was the cause behind their choosing Yelapa in the first place, or the effect of their having done so, is a laid-back, up-beat, drop-out kind of a vibe that suits the climate and topography of this rightfully famous stretch of coastline far better than its frenetic, ziplining, I-heart-PV-T-shirt-vending neighbour.

Just before I caught my pango back to PV to catch my flight out, I had breakfast at Cafe Bahia, a few yards from the pango pier. It’s run by chef Susan Pasko, formerly of Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse, who dropped out and opened her café in 2007. It was opening day of her six-month season, and the tamarind Margarita, the Bloody Mary, the eggs Florentine and Benedict, as well as the stuffed French toast with banana and three-berry sauce (I was hungry) all bore the marks of a genuine talent applied to perfecting the crowd-pleasing basics. Even the coffee, grown in the nearby province of Nayarit and roasted in PV, showed the sort of un-flashy care and pride that permeates this town, founded by the Yelapa people, who remain the only ones able to own land here. Everyone else is a tenant, just passing through, and apparently happy to co-exist with
Yelapa on its own terms.

Follow Bert Archer on Twitter @BertArcher and subscribe to his travel newsletter at mindmarket.com.

Puerto Vallarta.- Anxious to find out who will be YOPO-ing on Bachelor in Paradise Season 2 this summer? Now that filming for the Bachelorette is underway, fans are wondering who will join Ashley S. and her famous onion in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico this summer.

Earlier this month on the live Bachelor finale, Chris Harrison all but confirmed that Ashley S. would be part of the upcoming BIP cast. Weeks later, he chatted with After Buzz TV about the other Bachelor Nation cast-offs who may end up on the second season of the popular reality show spinoff.

It looks like fans will have to wait a bit longer to get a full cast list — Chris isn’t spilling the beans yet because the Bachelorette is still filming, and some of the cast may come from guys that are rejected this season. There are also rumors that Britt Nilsson was already rejected on the Bachelorette, so she may be heading to Paradise when taping begins in a few months.

Chris dropped some hints about a few of the ladies from Chris Soules’ season, stating that Kelsey Poe and Ashley Iaconetti are both on his BIP wish list. Don’t be surprised if there are also a few Bach-alum from the previous season of BIP (Michelle Money? Chris Bukowski?) cast for the show as well.

“I’d like to see some older people come back as well. I kind of like it when they’re mixed in… like we did with Michelle Money who was from years ago. From Andi’s season we have a bunch of good guys. And from Chris’s season… I would love to see Ashley I…. and Kelsey would be great out there. There’s a lot of friends out there who I would like to see find love.”

According to the Vallarta Daily, Season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise will be filmed in Puerto Vallarta and will most likely air in August. If that seems like a long wait, fans still have the Bachelorette to look forward to.

WetPaint reports that the Bachelorette Season 11 two-night premiere begins on Monday, May 18 at 9 p.m. ET. Britt Nilsson and Kaitlyn Bristowe will meet 25 guys on night one, but rumor has it that guys picked Kaitlyn to be the leading lady. Fans of Britt will be happy to know that she may end up having a role on the show, despite being rejected. That sounds like must-see TV, doesn’t it?

So, clear your Monday night schedule starting this May when the Bachelorette 2015 premieres, and again in August when BIP returns for another season full of drama, hookups, and perhaps a love story or two.

Who do you want to see cast for Bachelor in Paradise Season 2?

IFC Presents Grant for Dental Clinic