March 21 – March 28, 2015

We were lucky enough to find direct flights from London to Puerta Vallarta to celebrate with Armina and Dale. The flight was only once a week, making it an easy decision to spend a week on the beach.

Since there were seven of us, we decided to rent a house in Nuevo Vallarta, which was a great choice.  It allowed for us to BBQ, enjoy the pool, and drink margaritas in the jacuzzi after the sun went down.

Armina & Dale’s Wedding

Armina & Dale got married at Maroca Beach Garden’s (on the beach) in Bucerias, a small local town just north of Nuevo Vallarta.  It was a gorgeous wedding on the beach, with the reception to follow just in the gardens next to the beach.

Salyulita

About 45 minutes North of Puerto Vallarta is a small town called Salyulita.  The town is filled with tourists, traveling by golf cart, primarily there to indulge in sufing and paddle-boarding, but there is no shortage of yogis along the beach.

The food was cheap and great (60 pesos for an amazing Mexican lunch), and there are some great beaches. We wandered down further than the main beach, and went to La Playa del los Muertos, which was secluded and pristine – a great place to swim and hang out for the day.

Overall, a great day of food, beach, and people watching (and dog watching!)

Punta Mita

Punta Mita, meaning “gateway to paradise”, is a beach front village at the north end of Banderas Bay and is surrounded by water on three sides.  We spent the afternoon taking in the views from the local village, followed by a relaxing afternoon at the Seabreeze Beach Club at the St. Regis, which boasts pristine waters, lush tropical flora and a soft coral sand beach. An amazing afternoon of sipping rose on the beach!

 

Outdoor Adventure

We spent an afternoon with Puerta Vallarta Adventures, which was an amazing experience.  The day started with a speedboat ride from Nuevo Vallarta across the bay to Boca de Tomatlan, a secluded beach on the south end of Banderas Bay.  Once there, we jumped in a 4×4 to get into the jungle, where the mules awaited us to take us the rest of the way into the sub-tropical forest.  Then the adventure truly began – the hike in the jungle was interspersed with a series of 10 zip-lines (including a very cool stand-up “surfing” zip line and a zip line ending in a natural river pool), rappelling down waterfalls, a free-fall rappel, suspension bridges and tight ropes, as well as two water slides, one requiring a hockey mask and elbow pads to allow you to survive going down the third highest drop in the world (258 meters)!

Yelapa & Los Arcos

We hired a private taxi boat to get out to Yelapa for the day. On the way, we stopped over at Los Arcos for some snorkeling – Los Arcos is an underwater national marine park reserve, protected by the Mexican Government, making it illegal to fish there.  Therefore, there is a good amount of tropical fish and calm waters!

Following our visit to Los Arcos, we continued our journey to enjoy the beach at Yelapa, a fishing village in the sourthern most cove of Banderas Bay, nestled between jungle and ocean.  This village is famous for once being the refuge of Bob Dylan and Dennis Hopper, as they searched for secluded beaches, cheap tequilas and other substances.  The village, despite not being accessible by car, has become mainstream due to the regular boat services from Puerto Vallarta, bringing in tourists seeking refuge from the large chain stores & condo complexes in downtown Puerto Vallarta.