September 27-October 4, Greg and I and two of our best friends went for a much needed "sunny vacation." While we were there we enjoyed many of Mexico's finest activities including beach side laying, boogie boarding, outdoor excursions, dolphin swimming, romantic beach side dining and even a few "Umbrella Drinks."
The airport was interesting. We are very fortunate for our American luxuries as we arrive in the Puerto Vallart airport, where the ceiling had various water leaks, they don't use airconditioning, and you are bombarded with begging salesman as you try to get out the door. We literally had to push through them. It reminded us all of those annoying paper flickers that are streetside in Vegas. It reminded me a bit of what a quarterback must go through .
Our "ride" for the week was this cute little Renault Kangoo Elf. Everything is very different inMexico..for example, did you know in Mexico they make left turns from the far right lane at a traffic light? Yep.
While we enjoyed a spa day, the guys got to go out to the resort golf course, El Tigre.
Our resort was Paradise, as it advertised. Upon arrival, we were met with cold fruit drinks, ice cold wet towels for our sweaty faces and a warm, "Welcome Home!" from all of the attendants. They were very accomodating and hospitable. I'd recommend this place to any who need to be pampered. We stayed on the Marina Side of the resort in a two bedroom suite with a kitchenette.
Perhaps my favorite activity for the week was our dolphin swim. We had a baby and Mama pair of bottle nosed dolphins for our adventure. The hour and a half long experience was full with dolphin facts, mini training session, belly to belly swim with them and lots of belly petting. Dolphins are like big underwater dogs, they love attention!!
During our outdoor adventure we took a 25 minute mule ride up a very narrow and sludgy trail, zipped down 10 ziplines, rappelled down two waterfalls, trudged through some chilly rivers, across fun bridges and a tequila tasting finale, for a total of 6 hours of fun!! Needless to say, some of us (i.e. me) were very sore for the rest of the week.
We were sure to take a couple of hours to do a bit of shopping at the local flea market. The prices weren't as low as we'd hoped for, but we managed to find a few things for our kids. Wow, it was warm! This is a beautiful church near the market.
These Unimogs, used to transport us to and from our outdoor adventure were equipped with seats/seatbelts and "oh s*&^" straps to hang on to. They were made "Mercedes Tough" and we were so glad they made the choice to spend the extra money on this vehicle because the roads were a bit scary up to the mountain where we would start our adventure.
On the third night, we "shee sheed" (esp. for Sam) and headed out for a very romantic beachside dinner on a remote island about 25 minutes from the resort. We got there by boat and it was an amazing experience. This was what we saw as we approached the island we'd be having dinner on. It was beautifully lit with many torches and candles. After dinner was an amazing Mexican Heritage show, full with Mexican instrumentation, chants and music, a live python and some interpretive dance depicting the Mexican culture. It was so neat!
The sunset in Mexico is so beautiful against the water. Our boatride to our romantic dinner was 25 minutes. We were entertained with games, drinks, snacks, and performances by the funny staff. Of course, we couldn't miss out on a romantic kiss!
Among the many things we did on our vacation, we were sure to stay on our beautiful resort for a lot of the week to enjoy their pools and beach. As adults staying at Paradise Village, one of the luxuries we were granted was access to the relaxing "adult pool." Adults Only? We livened that up in a hurry.
The waves along the beach were so much fun this week. We did lots of boogie boarding and wave conquering. The last day we were there, the waves were around 10 feet tall...that was fun. We all got "bucked off" a time or two. I believe I got my allowed sodium intake for the rest of the year this week.
Law Enforcement is a bit different, as are many things in Mexico. These men look like they're back from a military tour. No. These are the "cops" in Mexico. They are all armed with, we assume, loaded giant black guns thrown over their shoulder and goodness knows what else that may be hiding. They are on street sides, outside of stores, etc.
