Mom and I before heading to dinner on our 1st Formal Night. This picture turned out almost as well as the professional one taken by the ship's photographer :) This was the night before we arrived at our first port - Puerto Vallarta. Our excursion left at 10am the next morning so it wasn't a late night for us :)
Mom and I headed out on our 1st excursion - it was in Puerto Vallarta. It was called Yelapa & Majahuitas - we went to these two small fishing villages. The first stop, Majahuitas, is a tiny, tiny village only accessible by boat. In fact we didn't even go ashore. It was just off their beach where we stopped to snorkel. The fish were amazing. So colorful. And the water so warm. There were eels and schools of fish everywhere. We also enjoyed lunch on the catamaran here.
This is Yelapa. Here we had the option to hike to a waterfall and then back to the beach. I was feeling a bit under the weather, so we opted to go directly to the beach. We got a spot between the cafe and the water. We had over an hour to just sit, relax, read, and enjoy the sun. Mom ended up purchasing necklace from one of the locals here. It is beautiful.
This is more of Yelapa - the waterfall was just to the left edge of the photo (I thought I'd gotten a shot of the waterfall!) Surprisingly there are a lot of Canadian flags flying on the homes.
This the beach we enjoyed. The sand was very coarse and dense. It made me miss the finer sand of SoCal - even the rocky shores of Capo or Dana I can deal with but this sand was extremely irrating in the sandals. But the sounds of nothing but the waves & trees around us more than made up for it.
I just love the colors of the buildings and how they are just built into the hills & jungle canopy. I was surprised at how the jungle just comes right down to the ocean. It is so beautiful. I think one of the "brochures" on this area talks about how it was the inspiration for Tennesse Williams "Night of the Iguana". Having been a part of a production of the show, I can totally understand and really see the details the area impacts on a person.
This is our main tour guide - Giovanni - he was amazing. He led the snorkeling & the hiking expedition to the waterfall. He also provided all the entertainment on the hour long ride back to Puerto Vallarta. Here he was singing his version of "Sweet Home Alabama".
This is most of the crew doing a version of "Greased Lightning", complete with a plastic 'greaser' wig worn by Giovanni. They also did a Beach Boys number & "La Bamba" & "Summer Nights" - those included sometimes reluctant passengers. Mom and I had so much fun watching these guys. They alone were worth the price of the excursion.
On our way back to the ship, the catamaran suddenly turned off course - our captain had spotted a pod of Pacific dolphins. In this picture you can see 2 of them in the upper left quadrant. There were so many dolphins, they were everywhere. Our captain was great & explained that the dolphins love to play in the wake of boats. So he created some lovely wake behind us & the dolphins were surfing it & jumping through it. It was amazing & beautiful. What wonderful and playful creatures! I wish I could've gotten some better pictures.
This is the main beach of Puerto Vallarta. Next time I'm on vacation - I'm going to try parasailing. It looks like so much fun. So much of this city is built into the hillside and the jungle. The next time I have the opportunity to visit, I'd like to explore the city.
Another shot of Puerto Vallarta - you can see one of the cathedrals in the middle. Mom (the seasoned world traveler) says that a most of the Mexican towns have a main "our lady of..." church. I would've liked to have seen it. It looks quite lovely (at least from far away).
One last shot of the city - it really shows the Sierra Madre in the distance. Our table mates at dinner did the zipline adventure at this port & loved it - they said it was very green & wet - they rappeled next to a waterfall. I think I could spend several days here exploring the city & enjoying the many excursion adventures! It just gives me motivation to come back!
Mom and I before heading to dinner on our 1st Formal Night. This picture turned out almost as well as the professional one taken by the ship's photographer :) This was the night before we arrived at our first port - Puerto Vallarta. Our excursion left at 10am the next morning so it wasn't a late night for us :)
Mom and I headed out on our 1st excursion - it was in Puerto Vallarta. It was called Yelapa & Majahuitas - we went to these two small fishing villages. The first stop, Majahuitas, is a tiny, tiny village only accessible by boat. In fact we didn't even go ashore. It was just off their beach where we stopped to snorkel. The fish were amazing. So colorful. And the water so warm. There were eels and schools of fish everywhere. We also enjoyed lunch on the catamaran here. 
This is Yelapa. Here we had the option to hike to a waterfall and then back to the beach. I was feeling a bit under the weather, so we opted to go directly to the beach. We got a spot between the cafe and the water. We had over an hour to just sit, relax, read, and enjoy the sun. Mom ended up purchasing necklace from one of the locals here. It is beautiful. 
This is more of Yelapa - the waterfall was just to the left edge of the photo (I thought I'd gotten a shot of the waterfall!) Surprisingly there are a lot of Canadian flags flying on the homes.
This the beach we enjoyed. The sand was very coarse and dense. It made me miss the finer sand of SoCal - even the rocky shores of Capo or Dana I can deal with but this sand was extremely irrating in the sandals. But the sounds of nothing but the waves & trees around us more than made up for it.
I just love the colors of the buildings and how they are just built into the hills & jungle canopy. I was surprised at how the jungle just comes right down to the ocean. It is so beautiful. I think one of the "brochures" on this area talks about how it was the inspiration for Tennesse Williams "Night of the Iguana". Having been a part of a production of the show, I can totally understand and really see the details the area impacts on a person. 
This is our main tour guide - Giovanni - he was amazing. He led the snorkeling & the hiking expedition to the waterfall. He also provided all the entertainment on the hour long ride back to Puerto Vallarta. Here he was singing his version of "Sweet Home Alabama". 
This is most of the crew doing a version of "Greased Lightning", complete with a plastic 'greaser' wig worn by Giovanni. They also did a Beach Boys number & "La Bamba" & "Summer Nights" - those included sometimes reluctant passengers. Mom and I had so much fun watching these guys. They alone were worth the price of the excursion.
On our way back to the ship, the catamaran suddenly turned off course - our captain had spotted a pod of Pacific dolphins. In this picture you can see 2 of them in the upper left quadrant. There were so many dolphins, they were everywhere. Our captain was great & explained that the dolphins love to play in the wake of boats. So he created some lovely wake behind us & the dolphins were surfing it & jumping through it. It was amazing & beautiful. What wonderful and playful creatures! I wish I could've gotten some better pictures. 
This is the main beach of Puerto Vallarta. Next time I'm on vacation - I'm going to try parasailing. It looks like so much fun. So much of this city is built into the hillside and the jungle. The next time I have the opportunity to visit, I'd like to explore the city. 
Another shot of Puerto Vallarta - you can see one of the cathedrals in the middle. Mom (the seasoned world traveler) says that a most of the Mexican towns have a main "our lady of..." church. I would've liked to have seen it. It looks quite lovely (at least from far away). 
One last shot of the city - it really shows the Sierra Madre in the distance. Our table mates at dinner did the zipline adventure at this port & loved it - they said it was very green & wet - they rappeled next to a waterfall. I think I could spend several days here exploring the city & enjoying the many excursion adventures! It just gives me motivation to come back! 