Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
October 2022
Monday:
Our first couple’s trip in almost 2 decades is to Puerto Vallarta!
PV has been a go to destination with the kids for years so now well give it a
spin as just the adults. It feels like the perfect spot for this trip. It is close
to home, there is some culture to enjoy, we love the food, a relaxing beach style
vacation sounds just about right and we know the area well.
The morning started early and we were in PV before we knew it. We are staying at the Vallarta Shores. It’s a smaller building with something more along the lines of an apartment than a hotel room. It is at the very south end of the Zona Romantico and right on the beach. We were upgraded and now have our own private pool which makes it feel very posh for just $125 per night. They have a big penthouse with its own pool and an incredible view that Cindy wants to stay at some time as family. Sleepy would normally describe it if it weren’t for the thumping beach bar neighbors. For a visual, it’s 3 in the afternoon, there is a meat market of buff dudes, no girls, no shirts and a lot of alcohol being consumed. Looks like they are having a fabulous time. The see thru pool was something new.
We arrived early enough for a late lunch at Swell. This is
one of a half a dozen restaurants with chairs and tables directly on the beach.
We’ve eaten at some of the others on previous trips and they are all about the
same. For today this one looked right and besides we weren’t in the mood to
walk or hunt further. Cocktails, a beach chair in the sand looking out to the ocean
and some eats official kickoff vacation. A dip in the ocean and then again in our
pool were the finishing touches on our afternoon.
For dinner we double dipped with two stops. Joe Jacks is a
sentimental favorite from trips with the kids, for its chilled shrimp and the
unexpected. On one visit, a mystic and his entourage shared their wisdoms
with us. On another a drunk elder gentleman cartwheeled backwards down the
stairs. On this visit it was just cold shrimp and a beer. Hard to describe it other
than tropical, almost Louisiana like and a place that Hemingway would have
liked. BTW – we were worried the elder gymnast may not be seen ever again.
Fortunately, a few months after he was eventually seen at the bar again.
Pancho’s was the other stop which is a PV institution and
one of Andy’s favorites. Plastic tables and chairs on the cobbled street if you
are lucky, inside if you are not. Tacos El Pastur are the thing and there is
always a good chat with whoever you are standing by during the 30minute wait. Historically
this is a place that Cindy gets dragged to and Andy loves. This time however the mojo clicked and Cindy has a new favorite place! Another plus is the price, 2
plates of tacos and beers set us back just $20 with a tip.
Tuesday
The hotel offers a private chef who will do the shopping, cook whatever you would like and most importantly do the dishes. Bubbly and quirky Lulu arrived early and cooked us an authentic Mexican breakfast! She set us up with lunch fixings we could easily assemble ourselves and was on her way. All the food was great, and we especially appreciated the near bottomless bowl of guacamole she made. Disappointedly we learned her specialty was mole which is one of Andy’s favorites. For next time!
Our big event for the day was a massage at Metamorfosis.
This is a spa we heard about from friends on our last trip. A definite 10 in
our books and a place we will make sure to visit next time. It seems a massage
is hard to quantify in terms of what makes one better than another. Maybe
unless one is un-satisfying. In this case the folks were nice, the pressures were
just right and the room was blissfully cool. Maybe the best testament to a
great massage is how you feel walking out the door. We both hit the hot humid
air very wobbly and tentatively made our way back to the hotel.
We lounged our afternoon away with time in the ocean and
pool before getting ready for dinner. We chose La Cappella which is known for
Italian and some of the best views in PV. Getting there involved a taxi ride
which seemed pretty straight forward until our way was blocked by a group of four
sitting for a chat in the middle of the road. The restaurant was only two
blocks away, so we decided to walk it. As we passed by, Cindy recognized a
voice of the presenter from the Amazing Race. Phil is one of the folks in the
middle of road and he has a camera crew shooting! Too shy to say anything we
just walked by and were giggly excited to even see some of the contestants. We
overheard someone ask who is winning and heard the cagey response of we don’t
really know and are just having fun. Cindy rightfully noted it wouldn’t do to
have contestants blabbing how thing are faring in a race around the world known
for its drama.
The restaurant was a few minutes beyond and utterly
beautiful. Frescos covered the ceiling, the wall facing the water was
completely open with large Roman columns supporting the roof and a view to the
ocean over the church’s parapets. Despite all of this Cindy was disappointed we
didn’t get a photo of the amazing race set so Andy headed out for pics so that
we could enjoy dinner. 
La Capella may be the most beautiful meal we’ve ever had.
The view is from high above the old town. Overlooking all the old tile roofs
and church toward the water we watched the perfect sunset. It lasted upwards of
a half an hour and we kept taking pictures surprised that it kept getting
better. Our waiter has obviously been doing this for a very long time and couldn’t
have been more engaging and more attentive with the service. Mid meal a trio of
violinist waltz through the dining room playing music everyone knows but can’t
name. They were magical and gave us chills. Capitalizing on the mood of the
moment there was a marriage proposal at the neighboring table. And of course,
the food. Typically the food is a focus for us, in this case it was very good
but honestly somewhat overshadowed by everything else. We left smiling ear to
ear utterly grateful for the evening. There should be a rating above 5 stars!
Wed
Off to Hyatt Ziva! A four star all inclusive with a 10 star
beach. As the gates open the start of feeling like you are somewhere special
begins! We pull up and are given cold hand towels and champagne fluted drinks. We’ve
been coming for close to 20 years and seen it go through changes from quiet and
comfortable to upscale and swanky. When the kids were young we had a run of 5 years
in a row where this was our place.
Checked in and squared away in our room we immediately grabbed
a cocktail and hit the beach. Andy brought
our tubes from Seattle and we drifted down the beach with a drink in hand.
Expecting we will float every day! We
went to our favorite restaurant over the water for the first night and ate
steak at Blaze. Most of the time the food here is just pretty good. For
excellent and memorable we always find our way into town.
Next Few Days….
The next few days were a lot of the same with time at the beach,
drinking cocktails, floating in the tubes, and swimming in the pool time. We
met some folks from Canada that were fun to chat with and turned us onto summer
on Lake ShuShwap in BC. We also learned a new card game, Spite and Malice, from
two young women taking time away from their jobs at Disneyland to spend it with
their grandma. Lots of families here and a good place that works for all generations.
Typically, we see multiple weddings during a stay. This trip we saw a Mexican wedding
and an Indian wedding, both were new for us and super fun to watch. Great music
and dancing! As a last bit of nostalgia, we got to see the turtle release. In
the old days everybody was given a turtle to set free. This time it was stand back,
watch us dump this crate of turtles on the beach and contemplate how many might
actually survive. The restaurants were more mehh than usual. So disappointed one night with our dinner we went back to the room for room service. Lots of discussion
about how Pancho’s Tacos is only a $5 cab ride away. Regardless the company and
time away has been wonderful!
Sunday
All to quickly it is our last day. Enough time for another swim in the ocean, some light eats and one last cocktail. On the way to the airport we noticed huge decorations for Día de los Muertos along the waterfront. Our taxi driver obliged and let us get out to wander around for 15minutes or so. There were huge colorful displays of what looked like skeletons. As we understand these are intended to represent departed loved ones. Our taxi driver mentioned great parties were to come in the graveyards.
Would have liked to see that, something for another visit!
Everything went according to plan with travel and we were even
bumped into first class. Not sure what we did to deserve it given we were
traveling on super cheap frequent flyer tickets.
Saylor picked us up from the airport. Very sweet of her and
the first time we planned it. Much more
fun than an Uber driver. It was a nice ending to a great “parent’s trip”! Looking
forward to the next one.
