Puerta Vallarta

Dan and I had the opportunity to go to Puerta Vallarta Mexico from Sept 6-11. We had a great time relaxing, sun bathing and had many adventures.

On Saturday we arrived and were checked into the hotel by 4:00. It was great to have an early flight so we could sleep on the plane and have as much time in Mexico as possible. When we got to the airport in Mexico, we hadn't pre-planned on how to get to the hotel from the airport (would highly recommend pre-planning). Normally you can take a shuttle, but we ended up needing to take an expensive taxi. We stayed in Busaras (a small fishing town 20 miles from Puerto Vallarta), It is an all inclusive resort with 6 buildings. We were in the farthest building from the ocean (about 7 min walk), but still had a great view of a pool and palm trees (that we don't see on a regular basis).

We settled in and headed to the beach. It is beautiful! Busareas/Puerto Vallarta is in a small gulf, which is why, I think, the ocean was really warm. Waves were large enough to just be relaxing (until the storms come in).

On Sunday and Monday we again relaxed, hung out at the hotel, beach and pools.

Tuesday we decided to go on the "Outdoor Adventure". This is a repelling, and zip lines adventure - through the water? They told us we would get wet...

We started at 9:30am and got onto a Speed Boat, they said we would be going fast, and boy did we. We traveled for about 20 min and arrived at a really small fishing town. - Did I mention that the scenery here is very beautiful?

Here we hopped onto a large truck with BIG wheels, we sat in the back and buckled our seat belts. Dan mentioned that this was great for show. But we soon discovered that it wasn't just for show, It was necessary. I was laughing that it was like riding an amusement park ride, very bumpy.

20 min later... We arrived at this destination we then got on our equipment, harnesses, gloves and helmets. We were each given a mule, they said they matched our personalities, but I don't think I always want to be the first in line... Dan's mule decided to take a detour or two. The guides that we had with us were so fun and energetic.

We finally got to the top of the mountain. Where we were attached to the first of about 8 zip lines, some short and some REALLY long. There is just something about flying in the air 50-100 feet above ground that is liberating, and scary!

One of the most unique and amazing things about this adventure was repelling through a waterfall. I have only been repelling once or twice before, but this was a new experience. They said we would get wet, and by the time I ended this, and zipped to the next location (into a pool of water) there wasn't a dry spot on me.

Except for the mules we got back to the resort the same way we came in (big truck, and seed boat).

To view additional unedited pictures click here.

Puerta Vallarta part 2

That last post was getting really long, so I thought I would start a new one.

On Wed we decided to go snorkeling. We signed up to go on another "adventure". This time we loaded a large flat boat at 9:oo am. I need to mention that this trip included as much alcohol as you wanted. Even though Dan and I don't drink, it got a bit crazy!

We traveled for about 45 minutes to our first destination. We had about 45 minutes to snorkle near the rocks. They warned us to not disurpt the fish,nor getting hert by not touching the rocks.

I don't know if we would disrupt the fish more by touching them, or looking at them like this...
They through out some bread for the fish to come near. These are some of the fish we were able to see...
Did I mention that I am really scared of fish? At one point I was in the water and they through a peice of bread near me, I thought I wasn't going to make it...

Once we were done at our 2 locations we went to a beach to relax and eat some home made chips and salsa, and play a bit of volleyball. Here Dan is busting out his best moves. We both realized that we miss playing volleyball.

On the way back to our port we played some games, and did some more dancing...This was a wonderful day. Very beautiful scenery.

This was our last day, so we made the most of it.

On Thursday, we played on the beach for a few hours, and grabbed a taxi to go back to the airport. - The start of our final adventure. Our initial plan was to get to the airport about 90 min early. Well apparently there was a drive by shooting by the drug dealers to the police department, cars and building, just off the highway, that was causing a MAJOR traffic jam. It took us about an hour to get to the airport when it normally takes 20 min.

We get to the airport and talking to the woman to check us in, who politly tells us we are too late and that they had already started boarding, and the gate was one of the firthest away. Needless to say we started running really fast... Out of breath, we made it to the gate and boarded the plaine, but the exictement doesn't stop there.

We landed at LAX, went through customes and headed for our next gate. We were at gate 2 and needed to be at gate 7. Side note... LAX is a LARGE airport. After we talked to customer service, we started walking... and walking... and walking... I don't know how anyone else finds their way around this airport. We decited that there must be an easier way, but we didn't find it.

We made it home and can now reflect back on our fun adventure. We can't wait until we can go on another!!

Below are the images and assignments that I did for a color photography class. I have now decided to convert this blog into something I can use for everyday use about myself. I will be adding additional pictures and information about life. STAY TUNED...

Color Photography:
Images shown are for educational purposes and are not an attempt to steal intellectual property. This is a forum to increase visual dialog and literacy.