Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

I was hoping to do a post or two while I was in Mexico to avoid a long post, and also so I wouldn't forget anything. But they had horrible wi-fi access there... usually very slow, and only in a small vicinity of the lobby. So I opted to wait until I got home. Which was way late last night. So here I am! I'll start at the beginning, of course... there’s a lot!

We left Indy early on Thursday morning. I knew there were storms moving in, so I was glad we were getting out of town before they hit – last thing I wanted was to be late! Well, we weren’t delayed in Indy, or Chicago, for that matter. But the actual flight lasted longer getting to Puerto Vallarta because of storms they had to fly around. So we arrived about an hour late. The reason I’m truly starting at the beginning (the flight) is because the Puerto Vallarta airport was part of the experience. One of the excursions we booked beforehand was a sunset cruise. When Eric got the confirmation, I noticed quite a bit of language about not talking to anyone who approaches you at the airport, claiming they will get you to your destination. I found this odd… until I got there.

After going through customs and finally being done with the whole process of ‘arriving’, you get dumped into this corridor. It’s filled will people trying to get you in one of their taxis, on one of their buses to their complex (timeshares, usually), and anything else you could think of. They are as nice as can be – don’t get me wrong! But they’re devious! We didn’t get caught up in anything, though we were unsure as we tried to get to Hertz. But we made it… somehow… with incident.

So we get on the road to the hotel, which was actually a little north in Nuevo Vallarta. And it was interesting. I knew heading down there that it is a resort town. But you had to wonder when the Hertz guy gave us directions, he used a giant golf ball as a landmark. Along the way, though, we passed a couple of Wal-Marts, a bunch of Subways, and even a Church’s Chicken. And then, sure enough, a giant golf ball shaped water tower. We exited the highway and found ourselves having to quickly slow down ON THE RAMP because the road was so torn up. Not under construction, just never maintained, from the looks of it. But once we got into the resort area, it was like a completely different world. First off, it was gated. It was nothing but condos and hotels. Much better than the main highway.

The hotel itself was amazing! We stayed at the Riu Palace Pacifica, which is an all inclusive resort. We checked in, and were handed drinks as we signed the paperwork. We were also greeted by Brian and Erica (the reason for the trip – their wedding), which was nice and immediately gave me a sense of, “okay, we’ve arrived, we’re safe, I can finally relax.” Which I did do. The entire hotel was tiled with a mix of stones – no carpets except for a few throws. And surprisingly (in a good way), very energy efficient/aware. They only turn all the lights on at night during 'active' times, even in the hallways and main lobby. We got to our room, and though a little small, it was really nice! So of course, the first thing I had to do was step out onto the balcony for the view… amazing! I only hoped I had a chance to use the pool and walk on the beach enough to fulfill my craving.

Unfortunately, the weather was pretty dreary on arrival. Not raining, but no sun to be seen. Bummer. Eric and I had our sunset cruise book for Thursday night, so we figured we’d better try to find our dock so we wouldn’t miss it later. And it was a good thing we left when we did, because we got lost. And then is started raining. This definitely dampened my spirits. We finally found the dock, and it was raining even harder. The sailboat showed up and we talked to the crew – they still go out in this weather. They said there’s a 50-50 chance that’ll clear up, and often these are the best when they do clear up. The other group that was supposed to go on the cruise cancelled that morning. I really wanted to go –I thought it would be neat – but the rain was really killing it for me. So after some arm twisting, Eric got me to go. I knew he really wanted to go – this was the one thing he had talked about since booking the trip. So we headed out on what turned out to be our private sailboat cruise.

The crew was very accommodating. They got us drinks immediately and made sure we did, at least, have a dry place to sit. The boat did have a canvas awning over much of it, but it was more for the sun than rain, so there were a few drips. But the main guy on the crew was actually American, originally from Minneapolis. He had moved down to Mexico two years ago or so, and he had plenty of stories and history to share since he’d been coming to area since he was a child., so it made for a really great way to start out our trip and learn some ‘insider information’ about the area that we could use on the rest of the trip. And I think he enjoyed having us, too, because we were able to update him on the ongoing of the NFL, which he rarely gets to see highlights of. And sure enough, the weather did clear up. And we had a spectacular sunset!


After the cruise, we went back to the hotel and crashed. It was a long day, and there was a lot ahead of us for the weekend. But the cruise made for a great start and the perfect opportunity to unwind and say, “We’re on vacation!”

Friday we decided to hit a small surf town our guide the night before had told us about – Sayulita. It was a little further north of us, up and over one of the mountains. So we drove the little winding mountain road and came to the little town. For me, I was not surprised by it. It was not there for the tourists (though they are there) – it’s there for locals and other to come to when the waves are good. The sand on the beach was black since it was sand from a volcanic mountain. The beach, itself, was not perfectly groomed. There were even dogs running around on the beach. And even the town, itself, was more rundown than most. I would’ve liked to explore it a bit more. But Eric expected something quite different and more tourist friendly, so he was disappointed. So we headed back to the hotel and I just hit the beach there for a couple hours, instead. Which was fine – same sun, just different location.

That evening, we had the rehearsal dinner for the wedding. The hotel had a number of restaurants, including a fancy Mexican restaurant, called Guacamole. That’s where the dinner was. But first, we all met in the bar, had a few drinks, and the bride a groom thanked their wedding party and all of their friends/family for attending. I really enjoyed the food at the restaurant there. It may have not be true, authentic Mexican food (as I’m sure it was ‘dressed to impress’ the tourists that frequent it), but it was good, none the less! Afterwards, Eric and I headed back to the room to relax by ourselves, for a bit. Time seemed to go by so slow here – I liked it and enjoyed every minute of it.

Saturday was the day of the wedding. But it wasn’t until 3pm, so we had quite a bit of time to kill. We decided to go hit downtown Puerto Vallarta, which we had only seen from the sailboat thus far. Again, our guide was telling us of a few things to check out there, including a historic church and the art walk along the water. So we drove into downtown and found a place to park not far from the church. It was amazing the detail it had. And it was open air – no doors, just gates. I would’ve loved to take some pictures inside, but there were people praying and such, so I did not was to be disrespectful. So I just got some from the outside. Then we walked along the waterfront for awhile, checking out some of the art and such. It was quite the quaint little downtown area, though you could tell the town, as a whole, was a cruise port – very tourist directing storefronts. But nice, none the less. So Eric and I stopped for a drink and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding. I’ve always loved the idea of a beach wedding, though this was not my first beach wedding. It was hot – yes. But there was just enough of a breeze blowing to keep the sweat from dripping off of you. Plus, the ceremony was relatively brief. But it was beautiful and the bride and groom were glowing with happiness. I was so glad I could be there to witness it. They did the sand ceremony, which I’ve also always thought was a neat idea (though I’m not sure how you secure and transport it back home). And when all the “I Do’s” were done, we had the opportunity to go back inside and cool off before having the reception at one of the other restaurants, Krystal, which was the hotels high end restaurant. So Eric and I actually changed and just watched a little TV in our room… actually, I think I even took a nap.

I thought Krystal was a really nice place with really good food. For those down south reading this, this is nothing like the Krystal’s down there… not unless they serve lamb and champagne now. After dinner, Brian and Erica cut their cake and there were toasts from the wedding party. You could tell it had been a long day for all those directly involved. After the meal, though, we went into the bar, cleared some space, did some more toasts, and played some music so the bride and groom could have a first dance. It was all very sweet.

That night, a few people who still had some energy after the long day (including myself) walked down the beach to another Riu resort. We heard they had a ‘Discotheque’ at this one, and figured a little dancing could be fun. Let me just say it was interesting. Mexican techno dance music is a little different than what we’re used to in the US. Still danceable, but different. The club, itself, was tiny… and HOT! It had a/c, but it couldn’t handle the number of people there. So we didn’t last very long inside. Ultimately, we all gave up and sat outside, for a bit, before heading back to our own hotel.

Sunday came along and Eric and I had nothing planned, though there were things I wanted to do. I heard a few people talk highly of the canopy tours (zip-lines). Eric even liked the sound of it. So we headed down to where all of the ‘trip coordinators’ (excursion/travel agents) hung out in the hotel to see if we could book one. The first guy we talked to said they were booked through Wednesday. This totally bummed me out! Then Eric mentioned a tour booklet that was slid under our door from the Expedia rep who was onsite. So we went back to the room and looked at it – there were a few more possibilities. We found the rep in the lobby and he got us right in to the first one he called. But we had to leave immediately! Not a problem – I anticipated that would the case.

Our destination was called Canopy River, which did multiple ‘adventure’ tours aside from the zip-lines. But we were going for the zip-lines. Though our adventure began on the trek up there! We met at their little downtown office in Puerto Vallarta. Eric and I jumped in one of their little Nissan trucks with no idea what we were in for! We knew we had to drive to the top of one of the mountains, but didn’t realize the areas we’d go through… true, low class little Mexican communities. They were swimming and doing laundry in the river, they lived in shacks with no windows, unpaved roads… it was eye-opening!! But everyone we saw on the street looked completely content and happy. They had family and friends with them and it was all about community. Then as we got further up, we realize, this is truly the jungle!

We finally made it to the top and jumped right into things. They geared us up and gave us a quick safety lesson, and then we were off! We had a couple of ‘practice line’ first, but I didn’t see where it was any different from the rest of the lines. Maybe a little slower? Who knows... They were fun. They even have the area’s (country’s, maybe??) LONGEST zip-line, which was like 800 meters! Our guides for this were local, but they put you right at ease with all their commentary. It made it more fun. After 13 zip-lines back and forth across the valley, we were finally down by the river. So how do we make it back to the top? Mules, of course!! So yep… I even rode a mule!

After the mule trek up the mountain, we cooled off with a couple of cool drinks and then laid in the shade on some hammocks. The views from the top were great! But our adventure wasn’t over! We still had to get down the mountain! Ah yes… and how did we do this? In the back of a pick-up truck with two other couples holding onto the some rope-holds. It was a trip! And now I understand why you see so many people traveling in the back of trucks down there – the breeze is awesome when you’re driving!

We finally made it back to the hotel and we were both beat! We grabbed some food at the hotel’s buffet restaurant and then went back to the room. I was out pretty quickly – Eric watched some TV, but wasn’t far behind me.

Monday. The day we go home. I didn’t want to leave yet. After breakfast, I went down to the pool for about an hour. All I could think was, “I didn’t spend nearly enough time here!” After getting some sun, one last time, I headed back to the room to pack. *sigh* Around 11:30am, Eric and I headed off to the airport. We figured it’d take some time, but it really didn’t… so we ended up with a couple hours to kill at the airport. We grabbed a little lunch, but finally, we boarded. Bye-bye, Mexico!

Some oddities I found while in Mexico… first of all, NO MOUTAIN DEW, of any kind!! This about killed me when I realized this. When it wasn’t at the hotel, I didn’t think much of it. I’ve had that happen before. But then we went to a local grocery store… and even a Wal-Mart! Still none!! I managed to survive the weekend, but I was glad to see Mountain Dew again in Chicago O’Hare! Another oddity… they are very protective of their HBC (Health and Beauty Care) products, especially make-up! Make-up aisles/sections actually have their own secure entry/exit point, like you’d find in some electronics departments in the US. You had to buy it in the section! Then I realized even further when the alarm went off on me in Wal-Mart – they had a magnetic security tag on a $6 (USD) bottle of Nivea face wash! I never came to understand this security issue. A double aisle of deodorant I understood. Security on blush… didn’t get. I’m sure I could list out some other things I learned in Mexico, but those were the big ones for me. If anyone has insight, feel free to share.

That’s it!! That was my trip to Mexico! I said it’d be long, and it was. All in all, it was an awesome trip! I’d go back. Maybe later in the year, but then it’d be high season and more crowded. Either way, it was nice. And more importantly, it was nice to have a real vacation, even if it was all in thanks to a wedding.

To see A LOT more photos, go to my Fotki page. I got a few good ones in there.