Layne and I departed for Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday, October 7 and arrived back in Las Vegas on Sunday, October 12. The resort wasn't terribly fancy, but it was nice and attracted a pretty low-key, tame crowd. It is right on the beach, but the water is really rough on that beach and not good for swimming or other water activities. Thus, the resort organizes trips every day to various beaches and other activities (snorkeling, hiking, surfing, boat trips, etc.). Layne and I quickly got into a routine: every morning we would wake up about 7 or so head out around 8 for the morning activity. We usually returned sometime between 12 and 2, had a nice lunch, and then either spent the rest of the afternoon by/in the pool reading and napping, or else showered and spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool reading and napping. We often had a sunset walk and then a late dinner. Of course, we spent the rest of the evening reading and relaxing. We loved falling asleep and waking up to the sound of waves and the sight of palm trees swaying right outside the window. It was fabulous. Here is a sunset view from our balcony.
And Layne doing what we did best. . .
Layne and I were so fond of snorkeling, we went twice. The resort arranged for us to take a boat out to a series of islands in Banderas Bay. Apparently these islands are a national park, and there was good snorkeling all around the islands. There were lots of smallish caves around the base of the island and we had a lot of fun poking in and out of the caves and chasing fish.
We were also had a great time on the "hike" they took us on (more like a brisk walk, but whatever). There was another nationally protected area nearby at the base of an inactive volcano. It had lots of petroglyphs from an extinct native people. No one quite knows what the petroglyphs mean, but they were cool to look at. Our walk ended at a really lovely waterfall and swimming hole. It was so beautiful and green! And humid! We quite enjoyed our tromp through the jungle, even the near first-hand encounter with Mexican poison ivy (thank heavens for guides, or we all would have gone tromping through it, unawares).
It really was a wonderful trip. I wish we had more time to do some exploring and get a better flavor of the areas and towns we were in. I would love to go back to Mexico again, and spend some time traveling around and exploring. There is so much to see there, and everywhere we went people were SO friendly. Although I have traveled many places in the world, I am now wondering why it took me so long to become aware of a fabulous place just a few hours south of our border!
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