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Puerto Vallarta (31 May - 5 June 2017)

That time of year again: wedding anniversary and my birthday - time for another trip away! Three years ago we spent our first anniversary in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, and this year we headed back to Mexico again. This time it was the coastal resort city of Puerto Vallarta, centrally located on Mexico's west coast on the Pacific Ocean. Just like last time, and as is the case with many of our trips, Kristina managed to get us some sweet hook ups thanks to being a travel agent. The last nine months have been extremely busy with buying and renovating our first house (inside and out), and all I really wanted to do on this trip was... nothing, except sit in the pool or on the beach, eat, drink, and gain weight. And that's exactly what we did :)

Our five-night stay was split between two all-inclusive resorts, the first of which was the adults-only Grand Fiesta Americana. Pretty damn nice!

Kristina told them in advance that it was our anniversary and my birthday (to grease them up a little), and this was waiting for us in our room when we arrived hehe. Spot the hot tub on the balcony - excellent :)				It was mid-afternoon by the time we arrived, so we headed straight down to the pools and drank the rest of the day away. While skimming the pool rules (because I always read the rules, even if I don't follow them) I noticed CD players are prohibited hahaha! Good thing we left ours at home.

The next morning we checked out the beach for a bit. While the Atlantic Ocean coast on the other side of Mexico and in the Caribbean is renowned for its beautiful turquoise-blue water and stunning beaches, the Pacific side is not. In fact, it's rather rocky and comparatively unimpressive, and potentially dangerous for swimming. It's also colder, but that does keep the humidity (and the bugs) under control.				The resort has cleared away a large area of beach out the front and prettied it up a bit, however.

This resort is located a ways south of the city center, and backs up to lush mountainous jungle.		After a bit of beach bumming we returned to our room to find a little birthday cake for me hehe. These places really do pull out all the stops!		The view from our balcony (and hot tub). We saw a lot of boats passing by, probably beach hopping, which gave me some ideas for retirement :)

While arranging our stay, the resort's sales representative told Kristina that we should ask for the off-menu "Mexican coffee" at the on-site Mexican restaurant, but didn't say why. Well it turns out the Mexican coffee is a hot cocktail that entails quite an impressive show of preparation. First, coffee liqueur (Kahlua in this case) is set aflame and poured back and forth to heat it through before being poured into a glass. Hot coffee is then added along with a scoop of melted vanilla ice cream. Next, tequila is set alight and goes through the same process, with cinnamon dusted on as it's also poured into the glass (have you ever seen cinnamon ignite?).						Finally, we have the finished product, and it was fucking good! :) I found a similar recipe here, if anyone is brave enough to try it.

Several nights a week there is some entertainment either in or by the pools. This was a tropical dance group, and the next night we had a bunch of water-based circus acts in the pool. Something to enjoy over a Mexican coffee.		The resort also has a martini lounge, a mojito lounge, and (of course) a tequila lounge. While knocking back a few martinis, a bunch of serious fireworks got let off from the beach. I'm not sure what that was all about, but the same thing happened the following night too from elsewhere on the beach while I was knocking back a few tequilas.		So that was the Grand Fiesta Americana. We were impressed :)

Our second resort was in the heart of the city, which has an awesome mountainous backdrop. This was the view from the back of the resort, behind our room.		After arriving early afternoon, we left the resort to scope out the city a little (the only we wanted to do that didn't involve doing nothing).

Looks very Mexican :) Puerto Vallarta is home to about 250,000 and was a thriving Mexican village long before it became an international tourist destination (for better or worse). Today, about 50% of the city's workforce is employed in tourist related industries, and a bunch more drive taxis (like they stole them).				Bustling boardwalk along the coastline, full of gift shops, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues. Despite how it looks, it was actually very busy along here with locals and tourists alike.

Again, not the greatest beaches you'll ever see, but rough enough. There were a lot more locals in the water than tourists I noticed.		"The Boy on the Seahorse" is a symbol of Puerto Vallarta, because, why not.

Tucked away from the coastline is the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe.		I'd seen several photos of the church shot from above and behind looking out over the ocean, and I went exploring to find the same shot without luck (I'm guessing it was taken from a private residence). I got a good look around the surrounding neighborhood, however, which was interesting in itself.

Back to the resort for another day and a half of doing very little (view from our room on the left). This is the Secrets adults-only resort, which seemed to attract a more rowdy crowd than where we'd just come from. When we arrived there was a foam party going on in one of the pools, complete with horrible techno music hehe.				Certainly can't knock the Pacific Coast for its stunning sunsets!

This resort also had some anniversary and birthday goodies waiting for us. Good way to watch the sun go down :)		So that was pretty much that for a much-needed break away!		Our flight back to Austin via Houston was delayed due to the typically wild weather that Texas gets around this time of year. It made for an impressive show at the airport though!

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