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.