Puerto Vallarta Mexico Day 1

Well, here we are on our first day in beautiful Puerto Vallarta.

Blair has been trying to get us to go here for years, and we

now understand why! It is truly peaceful and beautiful. Our

direct flight from SLC took 3 hours and 15 minutes. Customs

and immigration was interesting, but no problems. After you get

through customs there are many, many people trying to sell you their

services, hotels, condos, taxis, etc.. We had arranged for Marriott to

pick us up. They have an office after customs to go to.

Here's the view out of our balcony. Very nice, but we do not

want to stay in the room! Too much to see and do

on the beach. Our room is very nice with king size bed, and

all the modern features of the U.S. It isn't the best ocean view, but

very nice.

Here we are walking on the beach in the evening. The sand

is much coarser than the beaches in Hawaii, but it is fun to walk and hear

the ocean crash. There are many large yachts in the harbor,

jet skis, fishing boats, parasailing etc.. It is beautiful. Different than Hawaii in many ways.

Our hotel has this huge open-air atrium and is open through out.  It has waterfalls everywhere.

The ocean breeze gently blows through and is very pleasant. Every where

you sit, people are asking if you want food, or drink. Of course we have an

open tab so it's convenient to simply charge things to the room. It's funny

to buy things with hundreds of pesos. Lunch was 483 pesos, about 35 $ U.S.!!.

It was very good as I will explain below.

Several shots in the evening beach walking. Very pleasant temperatures

in the evening of high 70s with a ocean breeze gently blowing that I love.

The flowers are in full bloom everywhere and very beautiful.

There are many varietys, and very fragrant. Heidi noted

as we walked down to the pool how you could smell all the sun lotion!

I could smell all kinds of things.

More of evening beach walk in the other direction.

Shooting back at the hotel. Ours is on the left, the tall buildings are

a different place.

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Lunch next to the ocean..  We had a wonderful nacho beef / chicken combo

and Heidi had Civichi for her entre'. I had a burger and fries. 

They have weird tasting pickles, but everything else seems the same.

The hamburger has the same consistency as I get in Canada.

The hotel has four wonderful restaurants, and a great deli with hand dipped ice cream cones.

Heidi ended the day with her favorite.  Pralines and Cream.  I had to watch.  Too much

sugar for me!  I got some pringles chips.

Beautiful palms and other trees adorn the hotel area. They have a wonderful

spa and gym. There is a seperate pool and play area for children.  Many whirlpools, etc.

The spa is 15 $ / day to use, and massages are about 60 $ U.S. Heidi is

thinking about getting a foot massage! 

The gym of course comes with the room fee.  Full nice nautilus facility. Weights and every

kind of exercise equipment.  We will work out everyday.

After a nice walk on the beach, they have showers for your feet and

body. I made a mistake the first night, and did not get it all off. Ever had

sand in your bed! Not very pleasant, but quickly swept away. Could not figure out

why it felt like I had cracker crumbs in the bed. HaHa! Will not happen again.

Shower before bed after being on the beach!

Of course, we lounged around the pool. I will get pictures of it today. It is enormous and

butts right up the ocean. The waves come crashing in, and it's great to hear. Water temp in the pool

is very nice and warm. Ocean is pretty warm too. Day time temps are in the low to mid 80s!

And of course, the sunsets are magnificent. I took this picture on our walk back

on the beach to the hotel. The one below is my screen saver now.

A great first day! More to come!! Golf, food, touring, food, more food, and of course

a little exercise too!