Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Our favorite town in Mexico so far is Puerto Vallarta. We stayed at an all inclusive resort in Nuevo Vallarta for a week on our honeymoon. 10 years later we had the opportunity to go back on our first cruise on the Oosterdam with Holland America. Then we went back again for Christmas on the Royal Caribbean, Mariner of the Seas. We can easily say that Puerto Vallarta tops our list of favorite places to vacation. We highly suggest to anyone who wants to visit Puerto Vallarta to go and stay there for a week. Pick an all inclusive resort so you dont have to worry about food, and visit all the wonderful places this town has to offer.

On our cruise we hired Mazatlan Frank's associate for a city and tequila tour. The cost was $43 per person, which was a little high considering lunch is not included. We had a good time though. Our tour guide Fernando met us at the ship docks to pick us up. We had also invited our new friends Tierney and Ryan to hang out with us for the day. We got into the tour mini van and off we went for a fun filled day! Our first stop was a little part of town called El Pitillal which is the older un-modernized part of Puerto Vallarta.. No big resorts or Walmarts. We drove by major landmarks which included the Seahorse Monument, the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Main Plaza and a residential area called Las Conchas Chinas. This area overlookes the ocean and has amazing views. We got some great pictures there!! After a beautiful coastal drive we stopped at Los Arcos de Mismaloya park, which overlookes the resort where The Night of the Iguana movie was filmed. This resort looked like a great place to stay. It is nestled in it's own private cove and has a gorgeous beach with swimming and all kinds of beach activities. We might have to visit there some day. We then traveled up into the mountains where we stopped at a little family owned tequila factory called Mama Lucias for a tour and of course some sampling. They had very good tequila which came in fruit flavors and coffee flavored. They were all very good. The bottles of tequila were pretty spendy so we decided to hold of on buying any tequila here, but it was very tasty. We then headed further into the jungle towards our next stop, El Eden.  This is where the movie Predator was shot with Arnold Schwartzeneger. There were set pieces left behind which was really cool. There is a restaurant here that is built around a waterfall and a pool. There is a rope swing you can use and also the rocks in the waterfall have a natural waterslide. Alan and Ryan took advantage of both the rope swing and the waterslide. Me and Tierney enjoyed our chips and salsa but were too chicken to get into the cold water. We spent about an hour or so at El Eden then our tour guide dropped us off  at our favorite restaurant in town called PiPi's. They have the greatest food in Mexico!! Anyone who goes to PV has to stop here for lunch or dinner. The service and food is great and they even have a Mariachi band. After lunch we walked to downtown Puerto Vallarta to do some shopping and more tequila tasting. Puerto Vallarta has great shops and a wide variety of authenitic items to purchase at great prices. Of course they also have real vanilla, which we stocked up on for the year.  We walked on the beach and played in the water and just enjoyed the beautiful little town as much as we could. We grabbed a cab back to the ship docks. Try to share cabs whenever possible because the cabs are a little spendy for just 2 people. Also be preppared for a wild ride because the cab drivers here are crazy!

It was heart breaking to get back on the ship and leave PV. What a great city!! We can't wait to go back!!!

On our Oosterdam cruise we had the opportunity to take the shore excursion called Rhythm of the Nights. You climb abourd a double decker boat that is stocked with alchohol and it takes you to this island that is about an hour away from the ship docks. You get let off on the island where you get to enjoy a great show including fire dancers and great music. After the show you walk up into a little village where they have a dinner buffet set up. The food was really good and we had a great time!! The boat picks you back up for the ride back to PV. They turn up the music, start serving the drinks and the dancing begins. It was like a little booze cruise. We had such a great time. Unfortunately we did not get to do this tour this time because the Mariner of the Seas left port too early. But we highly reccomend this tour if you get the chance!!!

Mazatlan, Mexico

Mazatlan, Mexico

The last time we were in Mazatlan, Mexico we didn't have the opportunity to see much of the city so we decided to hire a tour guide so we could see more of the city. We hired a tour company called Mazatlan Frank. Our tour guide met us at the docks and did an amazing job of showing us around the city. The tour included a drive along The Malecon (the road which follows the ocean), the Mercado (market), The Immaculate Conception Basilica Cathedral and a drive through a very ritzy residential neighborhood named El Cid. We highly recommend using Mazatlan Frank for your tour needs . The tour guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining. He even stopped at a little tortilla factory in town and he bought us all fresh handmade torillas, which were amazing by the way. Travel tip to anyone visiting Mazatlan...The Immaculate Conception Basilica Cathedral was one of the most amazing things I have seen. It is well worth the trip into town to see it. After our wonderful little city tour, we were dropped off in the shopping district (The Golden Zone) where we met up with a couple we had made friends with on the cruise ship. We had lunch at a place called Pancho’s right on the beach in The Golden Zone. The view was great, but the food and drinks were lacking. We suggest El Gringo Lingo for lunch to anyone who is traveling there. We ate there last time we were there in 08. Amazing food and service! Also on the beach in The Golden Zone you can rent jet ski's for pretty cheap. We did some more shopping then got a taxi back to the ship. The taxi rides here are an adventure in themselves. We jammed the 4 of us into a dune buggy for 3 and headed back down the Malecon. Music blaring, racing other taxis and cars, driving through scary neighborhoods, and not always sure if we were going to make it back to the ship with the way he was driving. It was a great ride though and we made it back safely with enough time to do a little more shopping at the dock area. We enjoyed our stop to Mazatlan but I would have to say it's not one of our favorite ports, but there are some good things to see.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

We highly enjoyed our stop in Cabo while on our cruise in December. Last time we were in Cabo we has such a horrible experience due to a bad shore excursion, that we were unsure about going back again. So we decided we would just go with the flow and see where Cabo took us. When we got off the ship we ran into a bunch of vendors with water taxi's that give boat rides to Land's End and The Arch (Which we really didn't get to see last time). These are must see's for anyone visitng Cabo! The water taxi took us by Lover's Beach, Land's End, The Arch, Sea Lions and a large variety of brightly colored fish. It was an amazing adventure!!

Word of advice though: watch out for the boat captain's ...they are CRAZY driver's!!

After our great little tour our boat captain dropped us off at Medano Beach. This beach is lined with beautiful resorts, a bunch of restaurants, bars and Mucho Vendor's. We had BOGO drinks at a little place called Tabasco restaurant. Then we stopped for lunch at a place called Mango Deck, which we highly recommend!! The food was good, the drinks were great, and the waiters provided a lot of entertainment and games! Ones of the games was, Name That Tune, which we won of course and received a whole bottle of tequila, which we shared with the entire restaurant. We met a really nice guy from Canada and spent time with some a couple we met on the ship. It was fun and relaxing and we highly recommend you make a stop there when in Cabo.

We walked to the ship from Medano beach and shopped along the way. We happened upon a mall and a bunch of little shops. Cabo has 2 different shopping areas. One in old town, which has places like The Giggling Marlin, and Cabo Wabo (which we dont recommend for food...it wasn't very good); and one right by the ship tender area. Both have the usual handmade items and lots of tequila shops. The Giggling Marlin restaurant will hang you upside down and poor tequila down your throat... which would make a prefect ending to your Cabo day. Enjoy your shopping here, but watch out for the little kids selling chicklets. I will just say keep you money in a very safe place, not your back pocket. All in all we had a great visit in Cabo this time...we will definately go back!!

Cruise to the Mexican Riviera

This year for our Christmas present to each other we decided to go on another cruise to Mexico. For those of you that have never been, its a must see!! We decided on The Royal Caribbean, Mariner of the Seas cruise ship for our holiday adventure. We also decided we wanted to go back to the Mexican Riviera because we love Puerto Vallarta. We spent a week there on our honeymoon and so it holds a special place in our hearts.

Our ship left our of a town called San Pedro that is located down by LA. So we had about a 3 hour trip from here. We stayed at the Double Tree Hotel on Via Cabrillo Marina that offers a stay and park option so that you can leave your car there while you are on your cruise. It was also very reasonably priced. The morning breakfast was lacking, but we didn't care too much...we were ready for our cruise. They also shuttled us to the dock and helped us with all our luggage.

So Sunday morning Dec 13th, we head out to the docks about noon to get checked in and we are ready for our amazing trip. Tip for anyone cruising...definitely take advantage of the online check-in because it took us maybe 10 mins to get our bags checked in, get our passports verified, and our room keys and then up on the ship. We left port about 5pm Sunday evening, and enjoyed the Bon Voyage party from the front of the ship while watching the sun set.

Sunday night we participated in the Mystery Dinner Theater. It started in the Ellington's bar where we had appetizers and champagne then moved into the Portofino Restaurant for dinner and the rest of the dinner show. The theater was great and the food was amazing!!!! The Filet Mignon was the best I have ever had! The cost was $49.50 a person and was worth the cost! After dinner it was hot tub time. They have a place called the Solarium pool area which is an adults only pool and spa area. It was great end to the evening.

Monday was a day at sea. We spent most of the day checking out the ship and trying to find our way around. We attended the port and shopping show at noon and purchased a shopping coupon book which also gave us two for one "drinks of the day: on the ship. (Everyday on the ship they have a new tropical drink of the day) This is well worth it. Each drink is $7 a piece. So we proceeded to the bar and got our drinks and headed off to the Learn to Salsa class. Which was a blast. I think we did a pretty good job making fools of ourselves but have a great time!

Anyone taking a cruise make sure to take advantage of all the different games and classes and shows they have to offer. They are worth it and really add to your vacation experience. We ate dinner in the main dinning room which we rated about a 6 on a scale of 1-10. After dinner and drinks we headed back to the hot tub. Which is also a great place to meet new people on the ship and enjoy your drinks of the day.

Tuesday was Cabo San Lucas day. We arrived at 9:30am and departed at 5:30pm. When booking a cruise we suggest a cruise ship that stays in port the longest so that you can really enjoy what each town has to offer. We ate dinner at the Windjammer Cafe, which we rated about a 4 on a scale of 1-10. This is the buffet, but the food was lacking every time we ate there. After dinner we got our BOGO drinks and headed back to the hot tub....do you see a pattern here?

Wednesday was Maztalan. We arrived at 8:00 and departed at 5:00pm. Which we find to be plenty of time to see the area. We didn't find that there was a whole lot to do here. Mainly shopping and water sports. On the ship we attended the Ice Under The Big Top Ice Show, which was amazing!!! You have to see it! The ice rink on the ship is pretty small and it was astonishing the stunts they did in that little space. We also went to The Love and Marriage game show which was hilarious!! I laughed so hard my face hurt at the end of the show!! Another highly recommended show!

Thursday was Puerto Vallarta day. The best port of the trip!! We arrived at 8:00am and departed at 6:30. There are so many things to do here that it is impossible to see everything here in a few hours. We suggest spending a week at some point, but for a cruise we suggest you do a tour that takes you into the jungle and also takes you downtown for some shopping. They have great shopping here! On the ship we attended the Pure Energy Production Show which was pretty good. Not highly recommended though. It was kinda boring. Later we participated in a game show they call The Quest Game Show. It's hard to explain, but its like a scavenger hunt but you cant leave the room. It has to be stuff that you have with. Things like; dentures, a guy dressed up in women's clothing, women's things, etc.... it was one of the most hilarious things we have ever seen!!! A definite must see!!

Friday and Saturday are both days at sea. So to keep from going ship crazy, we took advantage of the fun things the ship has to offer. We ate at the specialty restaurant Johnny Rockets (great food), played mini golf, laid in the sun, swam in the pool, watched the belly flop contests, gambled in the casino, took a nap, vegged on our balcony. It was great!! We spent a lot of time in the hot tub these 2 days and drank too many "drinks of the day". It was the perfect end to our Mexico cruise!

We arrived back in San Pedro at 7am on Sunday the 20th. We got up ate some breakfast and finished packing up our stuff. We had a late departure off the ship so we wandered the ship again and watched some TV in the room waiting to be called. One thing to remember if you used a hotel park and cruise is to call the hotel and let them know you need to be picked up. Other wise you might have to wait for a bit. Departure was pretty easy. We located our bags, hired a porter to help with our bags, went through customs and all this took about 15 mins. The process was fast and harmless.

We highly suggest taking a cruise with Royal Caribbean. It was a great experience. We hope we offered some handy tips and we hope you enjoy your next trip. Wherever you might be going. Just remember to have fun! and try things you normally wouldn't do.

So now we have to decide where to go for our next trip? Cancun maybe? We will see :)

Disneyland for Halloween

Being the crazy Disney people that we are, we decided that we would go to Disneyland for Halloween. It won't be too busy. People will be with their children trick-or-treating. Ya right!!

We were so excited to head to the park on Halloween day. We got up and put on our Disneyworld Halloween t-shirts, grabbed our camera and off we went.
It was a sight to see. All decorated up for the Halloween season. Pumpkins and lights and ghosts. Oh Yes!! Ghosts. Haunted Mansion had been changed to a cross between the regular Haunted Mansion theme and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The regular line was an hour and half long. The fast pass line was about 20 mins. Well worth the wait though. For any Tim Burton fan's I highly suggest going on this ride for Halloween next year!
We did manage to ride Soarin in California Adventure by using another fast pass, and happened to luck into a short line on Pirates of the Caribbean (Our fav ride of course). Unfortunately though, those were pretty much the only rides we got on. The park was so packed full of people you could barely walk. So being the people watcher's that we are. We parked ourselves in the middle of Adventureland and watched all the cute girls in their princess outfits, the billion Jack Sparrows running around, and then of course all the freaks. We had so much fun watching all the crazyness that we didnt even mind not being able to get on the rides. So we head back to our room after hours of laughing, sitting and walking and crash. We vow to ourselves to never go back to Disneyland for another holiday. But you know us... we never remember those things for next year!! But we had a great time and that's the important thing right? Next trip... our cruise is just a few weeks away!! Mexico here we come!!

Whales in Avila Beach

Saturday night we got dressed and headed towards Avila Beach (a cute little town just north of us). We heard that one of the bars had a live band so off we went. We got to the bar about an hour before the band was suppossed to start so we wondered a bit and decided to walk down the pier and see if anyone was catching anything. In California you can fish off a pier and not have a fishing license, and you can use as many poles as you want, andyou can fish all day and night long. We found one family that had caught a sand shark. We contiuned to walk until we reached the end of the pier. It was a beautiful night! Pretty warm and a very slight breeze. With the sun down and just a hint off orange still showing off in the distance it was like a scene out of a movie. Wow! we live here!! Pinch me!

So we were basking in the georgous evening when we heard this sound out in the water. Almost sounded like a seal lion splashing in the water. So of course our interest was peaked. We were squinting to see out into the night. It just seemed to be too big to be a seal splash. I just knew it had to be a whale. Then there was another one and this time we could see the spray shoot up into the air. Looking closely we saw the shadow of an enormous whale! Could this night get any better?! I was following the shadow under the water when this whale so graciously came out of the water and splashed the water with his tail right in the moonlight. I have to tell you it gave me chills to be able to see such a magestic creature swimming out in the ocean right in front of me. Me and Alan watched and listened to about 8 whales that night. Some were too far out that we couldn't see them but we could hear them blowin water. I wish it had been during the day so we could have taken pictures for proof. So you guys are just going to have to trust us! It was one of the most amazing things to witness. Such graceful and amazing creatures!

It reminded us of when we were on the cruise ship last October and there was a very large school of Dolphins following the boat. Of course I didnt have my camera with me when we realized they were there. We are hoping that we will be able to see whales on the cruise ship in December. I promise I will have a camera with me at all times on this cruise!!

So after we were sidetracked by the whales and they were done playing in front of the pier. we headed back to the bar to listen to some music. The bar's name is Rick's and the band was really good. The bands name was Triple Threat and played mostly older rock. The bar is pretty nice. Seating inside and outside and you can hear the band really well out on their patio. Definately a place we will visit again!

Stay tuned for our next adventure!

PS

the picture is of the pier in Avila Beach taken on a different day

Kayak Trip to Morro Bay

On October 10th we embarked on our first Kayaking Trip. Since I am the token sea sick person of the family, so I insisted on wearing my Sea Bands and going to the bay instead of the open ocean. So we got up early on a Saturday and made the drive to Morro Bay, Ca. We decided on a place called the Sub Sea Tours. Where you can rent kayak's, take wildlife tours (he said they have been seeing whales lately) and a sub sea tour which has windows under the water for watching wildlife. We were there strictly for the kayak rentals so we paid our rental fee, which was reasonably priced at $20.00 for 2 hours for 2 people. We got situated in our sit on top kayak and pushed off. For those of you that have never kayaked before, you must try it! It was a great little trip! We paddled around Morro Bay watchin Sea Lions, checking out the sail boats and just enjoying the peace and quiet of the water. I was the one screwing up the paddling so a lot of the time we were heading right, but we enjoyed ourselves. I didnt even need the sea bands. I actually didnt feel sea sick at all, which was a plus.
So next time we are thinking of getting a kayak and visiting Shell Beach. Which we hear has more Sea Lions and a cave you can kayak into. Not too sure about the cave part but I will try it once.

Next trip... Disneyland for Halloween.