Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 2009

We had such a great trip! I know this post is long and there is a lot in there, but there were so many details, etc... that we wanted to share, that it was difficult to condense. Enjoy!

Day 1- Sunday It Starts Here
We had a great flight down and arrived safe and sound to the beautiful Villa del Palmer. We were so impressed by our accommodations, but there are a few things to mention, specifically. First, the bath tubs were huge! (as you can see by Beau fitting quite comfortably) We had an awesome view of the inner court of the hotel as well as the beach and downtown PV and loved the extra space that we had in our suite. (Having our own kitchen helped too). We immediately went down to the pool and even stayed through a rainstorm. SO fun!




Day 2- Monday MexiCAN SHOPping
We decided to do some standard grocery shopping since we were staying in suites with kitchens. It was a little different than what we're used to, but cool at the same time. First, I was a little hesitant about the milk. They don't refrigerate their milk (or eggs, for that matter), however, I found out that it's ultra pasteurized for safe drinking. They have the most wonderful bakery in the grocery store with a plethora of goods to eat. It was difficult for us to choose exactly what we wanted.


Day 3- Tuesday Life IN the city
We took a trip via bus (remember me telling you about the buses last year?) downtown. Always an adventure! Since it was so hot, we didn't spend as much time enjoying downtown as we have in the past, however we did get to see the inside of the cathedral this go around and it is much more beautiful than the neon cross atop it.










Day 4- Wednesday The Dreaded Walk to Nuevo Vallarta
We went to another hotel associated with the time share to check out their pool while Jim & Bonnie sat through an update on their member options. The pool was really nice, but not nearly as fun as the pool at our hotel with the slide. Afterward we took a '15 minute' walk up the beach (it ended up being more like 45 minutes) to Nuevo Vallarta, a newly developed area to check out the flea market and grab some lunch. We saw several jelly fish along the beach and had our feet exfoliated severely by the rocky shore. We ate at this little cantina where they purposely moved all the fans in the place to accommodate us while we ate. (They must have noticed that the white people were melting.) Cole gave us all a good laugh by ordering a cheeseburger instead of the 'best tacos' that he's been talking about for the last 6 months. We were so tired by the time we made it back that we had to take a nap.



Day 5- Thursday Los Calitas Here We Come!
We spent the day at a private beach called Los Calitas. We did a ton of fun things. First, snorkeling (we were both stung by jelly fish), but we saw a few rays and some cool fish, like puffers. They had crabs everywhere (ew), but most of them were small hermit crabs that I could handle. Kellie and I took a crazy hike around the mountain in search of some adventure in the rain and found some pretty interesting things. Thank goodness for codes in the U.S. that keep us safe.




Day 6- Friday SeXy LeG!!!
We FINALLY got to do the canopy zip line tour. Beau, Kellie and I started our adventure in the back of a 1 Ton truck that would drive us to the top of the mountain. The heat was sweltering and the driving awful (as usual) so we were a little sweaty/nauseated (me especially) by the time we got there. The guides were hysterical and kept referring to our little Mexican-looking sister as 'Princess', which was totally cracking us up. The most interesting thing about the zip line, however, was the braking system. Since we were zipping from tree to tree down a mountain, speed becomes an issue, so they give you a glove with a Brillo pad (more or less) glued to it for you to place on the wire to slow you down. It worked, but I doubt NASA would be impressed. As you'd clip onto the rope the tour guides would ask you to lift your leg(sexy leg) high so that you could reach. So funny!




Day 7- Saturday SCUBA STEVE... or Beau
Beau and the guys had the opportunity to go scuba diving. Their first dive was back in Los Calitas. It was amazing. It was every one's first dive in the ocean, except for Jim. Truly unbelievable. They saw so much wildlife, including a turtle. Next they went to Los Arcos.It's a state park and they got to swim through this cave that had a glow about it when you got out of the sunlight. Both dives were about 30 minutes each and it was truly magical under there. Later that night we headed into the city for dinner and to try and catch some of the Gloria Estefan concert. The place was packed and required us to get through a mile long line of security, so we opted for dinner outside of the inner city. We ate at a place called Pepe's Tacos. HIGHLY recommend it. The food was excellent and left us all wanting it later on. Afterward we were bombarded by this HUGE storm that emptied out the city and left rivers in the street. I have never seen it rain so hard!

Day 8- Sunday/Monday the BLASTED airport
This was not our favorite day of the trip. We ended up spending a good 9 hours in the airport due to our plane having mechanical problems. Once we made it to L.A. all flights were gone, so we got to spend a full night in the airport until the next available flight at 6:00 AM, only it was delayed until 10:00 AM due to mechanical problems. We were not impressed with Delta, or their lack of accommodations, but we all made it home safe and sound and if nothing else was learned, I'm sure we'll all be carrying a deck of cards/book in our carry-on from now on.


Top Ten
1. Rainstorms
2. Pepe's Tacos
3. Scuba Diving
4. Dolphin pods
5. Fireworks on the beach
6. The pool slide
7. Sunsets
8. Our own suite
9. Phase 10
10. Chicken dance music