| Links we like Index of Our Travel Pictures Back to Home Page Web Cams
Index of web camsWorldwide Index South Padre Island Glacier National Park Texas Traffic Special Info
5th wheel ownersReviews of RV's List of TT Manufacturers Various Stuff
Microsoft
Office too expensive?Vietnam in 1999 with a friend of mine Want more details on these sites before you visit? Click Here |
Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, 2007We were in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, for two weeks in 2007, extending from late October until early November. We flew straight thru to PV from Dallas. It is about a 2 1/2 hrs. flight. We couldn't get reservations using air miles in coach so we went first class. That is the only way to fly if you have the air miles to get you there. The seats are larger. They serve you like queens and kings. All you do is eat and drink! We had to go on Friday although our condo reservations started on Saturday because of seat availability using air miles. The first night, a Friday, we stayed in a condo with our friends Shirley and Len who would be with us the rest of the two weeks. As they had been there since the prior Saturday they offered us that option so we didn't have to get a room elsewhere. Their condo this was at a Westin so you know it was nice. The pools and grounds were very nice as was the room. Their room overlooked the ocean and the pools. They had a large bedroom, 2 full baths, a jacuzzi out on the patio so you could sit in it and look at the water, a kitchen and living area so we slept on the couch. When we got up in the morning we packed, put on our swim suits and checked out. Turned our baggage over to the concierge and went to the pool until later in the morning since we couldn't check into the other place until a little later. We sat under a palapa which is a covered roof and under that are chairs in the sand. We played in the water and people watched. The second place was on the beach and a large resort area, however, it was several miles from the city center so we only went into town once. They had 3 pools plus a kid pool. We could sit on our balcony and look at the biggest pool area.
The large pool area is where they held their "special nights" like Mexican Fiesta and Italian nite so we could sit out on the patio and watch and not have to pay the entrance fee. The entire place had lots of palm trees and sculpted greenery as well as hibiscus and other blooming plants. They had 2 restaurants but we only ate at one and a couple nites we had room service....yes, very decadent and something I have done only 2 other times in my life. This place had the most wonderful pizza. I ordered one that had 4 cheeses and one of those was blue cheese. You can't imagine how yummy it was! The 4 of us sat in front of the TV and watched Dancing With The Stars and ate pizza. How crazy is that when you are in a beautiful resort in MX? The answer is simple...we wanted to watch it and we had been out all day and were interested in relaxing. We would get up in the morning and then usually follow the same routine. The first morning we were there three of us walked to the huge grocery store about 3 blocks away and picked up everything we would need for breakfast and lunch for the week. Thereafter Al would get up at his usual early hour, eat and then go to the pool we preferred and guard 4 chairs in the shade and a table. Sometime after that, Len would arrive. Usually between 10-11 Shirl and I would haul ourselves out and join them. Sometime around noon or early afternoon we had lunch and then returned to the pool. I have never sat by a pool so much except the last time we were in PV and that was different because we had a table that overlooked the ocean. At this place the chairs in the shade were few and far between and we preferred a pool a little out of the way where the kids were few and far between and it was mostly folks like us........geriatric. We read a lot, talked even more and laughed. I must say I did get quite a bit of exercise in the pool. I don't swim well but I did lots of exercises in the water. Around 4 we would hobble up to the room, shower and decide where to go for dinner. A couple times we walked to the nearby marina where all of the restaurants are nestled around the big yachts. I can't imagine having enough money to own one of those babies! The following Saturday we did the same as the first. We got to the Villa about noon. We had adjoining rooms so kept the door open between. Al and I took the one bedroom which had a queen bed, bathroom with jacuzzi, tiny kitchen, dining table and living room. The only a.c. was in the bedroom and we used that at night. Other than that we left all the windows open all the time as did Shirley and Len. They had a 2 bedroom as her sister arrived the following Monday. Theirs was very big. It had a larger kitchen, washer and dryer, large living area, and a large dining table. All of these places had cable TV that had several English language channels so we could keep up with what was going on the world. Our room had a huge window that opened with a view of the city and bay. Theirs had that plus one that opened floor to ceiling (with guardrail) and one that overlooked the garden area. We were on the 4th floor and were on a hillside so the view was spectacular. We could watch the cruise ships come in and out, the sailboats, parasails etc.
The road going to this place was straight up hill, built of cobblestones. Most of the roads in the area are cobblestone. There is lots of construction going on above our place so the road was busy with cement trucks etc. and they had just chewed up the road. Twice, because the road is so steep, the cab driver had to back down several feet and try again. The first time we sat there with our eyes wide open and prayed! After that it was just plain funny. This villa is older and obviously was in need of repair in some places but it is small. There are 10 units in this place and when we registered were told that there would be 12 guests this week, however, the most we ever saw was 4 and they were gone most of the time so it was like having a villa to ourselves. We never were at the pool with anyone either. The pools were cascading so you could choose one and make it your own. They even had a hot tub so you could sit it in it and look out on the bay and city.
We followed the same routine here except that we took a cab into town each night for dinner. There are so many awesome restaurants that it is hard to choose. For the most part we ate at places we had liked the last time we were there. Near the end of our stay we did go to one down on the beach that was completely open air. There was one a small boardwalk separating our table from the sand and surf. Len had a friend from work in town so we all ate together. Shirley and Len had celebrated their 40th anniversary in June and ours is coming up shortly so we celebrated new friendships and anniversaries. It was so awesome. A good portion of the restaurants are open air to some extent. One night we ate at a table that sat on the sidewalk. Felt like I was in Italy!...in fact, it was an Italian restaurant. We were there for Halloween so took candy and pesos and went to the Malecon which is the boardwalk like area downtown. That place is always busy. Families are there in the evenings. Entertainment is provided so they sit in a small amphitheater and watch the clowns, jugglers etc. Thursday and Sunday there is a band at the gazebo in the evening and people dance. Back to Halloween. The kids dress up and walk up and down the malecon. They say "Halloween" rather than "Trick or Treat". Some of the adults even ask if they can have candy. It seems like the people giving out candy are the tourists so they swamp you if they see you. Len gave out most of the candy in a hurry so if we go again we will have to get lots more! We were also there for Day of the Dead which is Nov. 2. It is in remembrance for those who have passed away during the prior year. There were 3 or 4 of these remembrance displays in our hotel and someone had taken different spaces and set up a memorial to each. They included favorite foods, drinks,pictures, candles, clothes, trinkets etc. It was most interesting.
Al went on a canopy tour which is a zip line up in the jungle. Those of you have watched Amazing Race have seen people doing zip lines and Al regretted not doing this last time we were in Puerta Vallarta. I was going to go but wasn't convinced that the concierge was telling the truth about what you would have to do, so I told Al that I would go at a later time if he thought I could manage it. He had a marvelous time but said I wouldn't like it. There was hike further up the hill after each zip (there were a total of 12 zip lines in sets of two, and you have to climb up to the next one after each group) and the group he was put with was all 20 somethings who were in a hurry. It was all he could do to keep up, and it was a very warm day.
We did keep up on news at home via our email. Downtown internet access was pretty cheap but at the first hotel it seemed to us it was a rip off ($4 for 30 minutes vs $1 for 30 minutes downtown). We did laundry once at the hotel and it was $3 American. At the second week's condo there was no on site internet access, so we had to go downtown each day. So, we had a marvelous time and hope we are fortunate enough to do it again sometime. Just a note: We always try to put appropriate flags with our pages. Thus we have the flag of Mexico and the unofficial flag of Puerta Vallarta's State, Jalisco. Mexican states do not actually have flags, just coats of arms which appear normally on a white background |
||||||||||||||
| Return
to Pix Index Return Home |
