Well, my first trip to Puerto Vallarta will most definitely NOT be my last trip. I've been to Mazatlan, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Riviera Maya but none of those places compare to Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta sits within the Bay of Banderas surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains. The combination of the Pacific ocean, the mountains and the quaintness of Puerto Vallarta makes it a truly unique destination.
I was privileged enough to be a guest of Hard Rock resorts in Riviera Nayarit ~ which is about 15 minutes away from old town Puerto Vallarta. There are what feels like miles of sugar soft beaches in either direction from Hard Rock so needless to say, I had to discover both to the left and to the right on my morning and evening strolls on the beach. While on my beach strolls, I discovered empty baby turtle shells scattered on the beach. At first site, I thought they were ping pong balls but then quickly realized that 1.) there were no ping pong tables around, haha! and 2.) it was turtle nesting season. I was witness to one baby turtle who fought with all of his might to get to sea and with one good roll of the tide, he was washed out to sea ~ success! Along with the turtle eggs, there were a ton of birds chasing lord knows what on the shore. I'd sit and watch them and wonder what on earth they were after as they would run along the shore, stop, look at me, take off again like they had some place to go and then repeat the whole thing over again. I'm sure I looked like a crazy woman as I sat on the beach laughing to myself at the birds antics. It's the little things that make this traveling woman happy. The pelicans also were pretty fun to watch, with their fuzzy heads and their intent gaze into the water and then the quick head sling back with the trophy fish they just captured in their big mouths, they were quite entertaining.
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| my nirvana |
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| turtle egg |
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| bird friend on the beach |
Music is forefront on the agenda of Hard Rock resorts. Everywhere you go, there is music that is appropriate for creating just the right vibe. They nailed it on the pool vibe, restaurant vibe etc. Everywhere I went, I was either swaying to the music or playing my air guitars and drum set.
One of the coolest things we did while in Puerto Vallarta was to take a sail boat out to the Marieta Islands. These islands are about an hour by boat away from shore.They are a set of islands that were used as military bombing sites way back when. On our way out, the boat guys threw a line in to catch fish and once they snagged one, they let me reel in the fish. I am from Minnesota and am no novice at fishing but deep sea fishing is no joke. After having had the handle of the fishing pole dug deep into my stomach flesh, one leg up on a chair with our guides hand on my back to steady me from falling over due to waves, I finally hauled that fish in. It was a lovely Skip Jack which we later ate as ceviche. :)
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| My skip jack! |
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| Entrance to Playa Escondido |
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| Part of the Marieta Islands |
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| Sirens in the island! |
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| Inside the sea cave looking out. |
We snorkeled along the coast of the islands and saw all kinds of great fish ranging from Puffer Fish, Needle fish and lots of "Dori's!!" That's what our snorkeling guide would hollar out every time he saw them, "Dori!!!"We came upon the entrance of the Playa Escondido ( Hidden cave) and snorkeled on in. This is literally a hidden cave. Apparently, the huge hole in the top of the cave is a result of bombing practice so once inside the island, you can look up to the sky all the while being inside of an island. It's fantastic. There is a sea cave to explore once inside the island which is really cool yet treacherous with incoming tides!
Since were near the town of Puerto Vallarta, I decided to grab a taxi and go check out El Malecon ( a 1/4 mile board walk) along the Pacific Ocean. Cobble stone streets, a board walk filled with really interesting sculptures and all kinds of people really made this a great venture. There were all kinds of toursty shops and just ordinary shops for locals. I ventured up to the Iglesia de Guadalupe to see what the locals called an amazingly beautiful church. They were right. Inside the church, there were alters everywhere with locals kneeled before them and in the background, the voices of children singing. It was magical. I wandered the cobble stone streets for a while and came across this little Indian shop selling incense and Indian clothes. I'm a sucker for off the beaten path shops and clothes and found a treasure in this shop. The worker was a pierced gal with dread locks wearing the same clothes the shop sold. When I entered the shop and she saw that I was a tall, blonde woman, she looked immediately flustered as I'm sure her English was limited and she wondered how on earth she was going to communicate with me. Luckily, I speak fluent Spanish and eased her mind when I discussed the sizing of the clothes with her. She was from the Basque country of Spain ~ I love knowing Spanish because I find the most interesting people. After about 1/2 hour sweating through my clothes in this little shop, I made my purchase and said my "adios" and made my way back to the Hard Rock. Taking a taxi was easy breezy and is a super way to see the town.
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| El Malecon in Puerto Vallarta |
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| Here I am! |
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| El Malecon sculpture |
If you're ever interested in seeing a different part of Mexico, I'd highly consider Puerto Vallarta. The people are amazingly kind, the scenery is breath taking and the opportunities for adventure are limitless as are your opportunities for relaxation. I spent most of my time with other travel agents but there were two days where it was literally just me. It took me a while to get used to the idea of being a solo traveler as I typically don't travel alone but I have to tell you, it was liberating. Whether or not you're traveling with your partner, friend, a group or alone, you cannot go wrong traveling to Puerto Vallarta. Viva Mexico y Viva la Vida!
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| Riviera Nayarit |
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