We're back! Got back Saturday night around midnight. I actually wrote the majority of this post on Sunday but I was waiting for my sister-in-law to send me pictures. She hasn't so I'll just post anyway.
Instead of jumbling together random highlights from our trip I thought I'd share a bit from each day.
We stayed at the Sunset Plaza Beach Resort and Spa in Puerto Vallarta and it was all inclusive. The food was really good and the people were very kind. My husband and I were saying that we would certainly visit there again and stay at the same place. The resort is about five years old so it's very new and they are planning an expansion- or so I've heard. We went at the tail end of 'low season' so we had a lot of freedom and had many things to ourselves. All the rooms come with an ocean view and we got to see beautiful sunsets, sunrises, and a fantastic lightning storm.
People kept thinking I was Mexican or at least that I spoke Spanish- neither of which is true- and they were always surprised when I couldn't understand. While I don't speak fluent french my vocabulary is still really good so I picked up on a lot of the similar words in Spanish.
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| My Thursday morning at 6:30 |
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| Friday morning around 6:50 |
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| The top one |
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| Arriving in Puerto Vallarta |
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| Ocean view from our room |
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| City view from outside our door |
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| Sunset by the pools |
Day 2- (Saturday November 5) woke up refreshed and happy. We had breakfast then my husband and I hit up the local Walmart because neither of us had bathing suits or flipflops and we wanted to get our son a floaty device.
It was a Walmart like all Walmarts we've been to. We found what we were looking for then went to pay. There was a woman bagging our purchases and I noticed money on the counter under her. I wondered if we were supposed to tip her but we didn't and I had to go to the washroom. When I came out my husband said 'I think we're supposed to tip the baggers'. There was a line of them sitting on benches wearing blue vests. I promptly went back and gave the lady all our change. We felt terrible that we hadn't tipped her right away so I ran back to her. She looked rather sad but she cheered right up when I gave her the money. My husband and I figured they make all their money from tips.
We took the taxi there and walked back- it was about ten blocks from our hotel and it was nice to leisurely walk (holding hands!) without having to wrangle our son. We sat at Starbucks (obviously) to cool down for a bit-
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| my 'I found the starbucks!' photo I sent to my dad |
There are five pools there. One little one in the children's area, one separate adult's only pool, and three of them interconnected- a children's pool, a giant pool with underwater seats and a bar, and a lower pool for lounging. The children's pool is the perfect height for our son, small enough to play in, and deep enough for any adult to sit comfortably.
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| We got our son a little jetski- he LOVES it |
Day 3- (Sunday November 6) I woke up early and tuned in live to Bible Baptist Church's morning service. I was right in time to hear the preaching. They were having their annual 'King James Jubilee' (their revival meeting) so I got to hear a different preacher preach. He preached on this passage:
It is better to go to the house of mourning,
than to go to the house of feasting: for that
is the end of all men; and the living will lay it
to his heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the
sadness of the countenance the heart is
made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of
mourning: but the heart of fools is in the
house of mirth.
Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
He spoke on verse three about how sorrow is good for your heart and the things it does to your heart. It was a good message with good food for me.
After breakfast we all got into the pool and stayed there until mid afternoon. My sister-in-law and I went to get our nails done in the Neptune Plaza. We were going to do them at the hotel spa but a lady told my sister-in-law about a great place that costs less than $10 for either a manicure or a pedicure. I ALWAYS get pedicures on vacation- or whenever I can. I just love them. The last time I had a pedicure was in Lincoln City, Oregon last year for my mother-in-law's 70th birthday. So we went and with tip and everything I spent around $10. Since we were walk-ins and it was a Sunday we had to go one after the other. I went first so while my sister-in-law was getting her nails done I explored the plaza a bit- |
| Frappucino in hand, turquoise toes |
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| The marina, just behind the plaza- really beautiful place |
After dinner we played in the pool until it was time for bed.
Day 4- (Monday November 7) After breakfast and the pool my sisters-in-law, nephew and I took a cab to 'Centro' or downtown. We walked along the pier, in and out of shops.
I bought a few t-shirts and an adorable Mexican outfit for my son-
We had lunch at a beautiful sea side restaurant then took a taxi back to the hotel. I walked into our hotel room to find my son sitting on the bed eating chocolate cake and watching a movie.
Day 4- (Monday November 7) After breakfast and the pool my sisters-in-law, nephew and I took a cab to 'Centro' or downtown. We walked along the pier, in and out of shops.
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| Pretty walk on the pier |
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| I loved how it looked up the alley. I love the architecture and how many people have plants spilling from their windows and balcony's. |
I bought a few t-shirts and an adorable Mexican outfit for my son-
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| This picture was taken our last day there. |
It was late afternoon so I brought him down to the pool to swim and promptly dropped my phone in the water. Up until this point I had mostly left my phone in the room so the one time I actually brought it out I drop it -.-
My phone didn't suffer the effects of being dropped in water until the day after. My home button doesn't work, and my lock button is kind of shoddy but everything else seems fine. The home button makes a big difference so I'm going to have to fix it somehow and at some point.
We played in the pool then took a walk down the beach where my sister-in-law was playing beach volleyball. The waves were huge so my son and I stood in the water and let the waves splash us. I had to hold him with both hands to keep him from getting pulled in.
After we got back to our room we got a call saying they were releasing turtles on the beach.
These sea turtles are extinct so scientists keep track of them and watch the mothers lay their eggs. Once shes done and leaves the nest the scientists take the eggs from their nests to a nursery to protect them. Once the turtles hatch they release them into the sea. The hotel we stayed at has their own nursery and there were more than 100 baby turtles so everyone on the beach who wanted to got to place a turtle on the beach and watch them crawl toward the water.
My phone died just as I was taking this video.
After this we ate dinner and spent the rest of the evening in the pool.
We played in the pool then took a walk down the beach where my sister-in-law was playing beach volleyball. The waves were huge so my son and I stood in the water and let the waves splash us. I had to hold him with both hands to keep him from getting pulled in.
After we got back to our room we got a call saying they were releasing turtles on the beach.
These sea turtles are extinct so scientists keep track of them and watch the mothers lay their eggs. Once shes done and leaves the nest the scientists take the eggs from their nests to a nursery to protect them. Once the turtles hatch they release them into the sea. The hotel we stayed at has their own nursery and there were more than 100 baby turtles so everyone on the beach who wanted to got to place a turtle on the beach and watch them crawl toward the water.
Day 5- (Monday November 7) I woke up really bummed about my phone so my husband took my son down to breakfast and I was able to get a few minutes to myself. I finally felt better and went down for breakfast and some pool time.
It was this day they told me that they ran out of strawberry syrup for my virgin daiquiris so I tried the tamarind and got hooked. This was mostly a pool day. My husband got a bad headache near the end of the day so I kept my son occupied out of our hotel room for the most of the day.
Day 6- (Tuesday November 8) Election day was bright and beautiful in Puerto Vallarta. Everyone was a little on edge.
We spent the morning in the pool and went up to our room after lunch. We wound up falling asleep waking just in time for dinner.
After dinner I was anxious to watch my favorite political commentators live stream election coverage. I'm not that into politics but this election cycle was a good distraction for me and I learned a lot from the people I listen to. As a Canadian I can look at the US election with amused indifference. That's all I'll say.
After dinner I was anxious to watch my favorite political commentators live stream election coverage. I'm not that into politics but this election cycle was a good distraction for me and I learned a lot from the people I listen to. As a Canadian I can look at the US election with amused indifference. That's all I'll say.
Day 7- (Wednesday November 9) We got up late, picked up pastries at the hotel deli and took the bus to Sayulita, Nayriat. It was about an hours bus ride up through the city then into the jungle. I'm not that fond of the city but I loved how a short bus ride took us into a jungle.
That video is a little bit of the drive- when it started getting really scenic. Outside our hotel room I could see lots of green mountains and I wondered what they were like up close. I got to see what they are like on the road to Sayulita. I didn't get any pictures of it but there was lush green foliage all along the road and branches reaching over the road creating a beautiful green drive along a dusty road.
We finally got to Sayulita- a beautiful little sea side surf town. The bus dropped us off by this random fork in the road so we walked two or so blocks along a dirt road into Sayulita. In the town itself are small rocky streets with close shops. I could see houses along the slopes from the beach- big beautiful sanctuaries overlook the hippy beach town that is Sayulita.
I feel like there were more tourists there than were staying at the resort I was staying at. I could see many tanned locals who looked like they came from another part of the world to settle there. The tourists were one thing and the locals were quite another. There was a distinct style among them- a kind of yogi, beach, hippy, artist style that was being promoted and sold at almost every shop.
The artistry there is beautiful. We went into many shops where the owners made everything themselves from clothes to jewellery to tiles to dishes to accessories and more. There was lots of embroidery, pompoms, beads, and so many clothes- all of which I love. The exorbitant prices (in my opinion) told me that these people weren't just selling their art, they are selling a life style and a culture. There were bits and pieces I would have loved to purchase but they were all things that would be odd one ofs. I left Sayulita to Sayulita. Maybe one day I'll go back and create something in my own life from there.
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| I loved these colourful banners but they were mostly decorated with skeletons |
Day 8- (Thursday November 10) After breakfast my sisters-in-law kindly watched our son while my husband and I went to shop for things. I wanted to get a Mexican dress but I couldn't find any that I loved. I got two dresses- one an off white linen dress with crocheted details, the other a yellow maxi. My husband got a Mexican shirt that matches my son's and I got some little souvenirs for some people back home. We were able to shop within four blocks of the hotel so even though it was hot and sunny, we were very relaxed. I did sort of wind up with a Mexican dress but it was bought by my father-in-law for his wife and it's too big for her so she gave it to me. I would only change the embroidery on the front and it would be absolutely perfect but I'm grateful for it anyways.
We got back and I went to play beach volleyball with my sister-in-law while my husband took our son out of the sun for a while. Beach is my favorite form of volleyball and I can't remember the last time I played it. It was fun and I wish I could've gotten out for it a few more times.
Day 9- (Friday November 11) At 7:30am we were in a taxi and on our way to the marina to take a boat to a beautiful private island called Las Caletas. The boat ride was about an hour and the day was cloudy so we got a nice breeze as we travelled.
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| There were caves in these islands and blue footed boobies flying over top |
We went with a tour group so they provided us with breakfast and lunch. We were able to explore a bit of the island and we had activities like snorkeling, paddle boarding, zip lining, kayaking, and many more available to us. There were lots of hammocks swinging over the water which we promptly took advantage of.
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| Screen shot of a pic my sis-in-law took |
For the first little bit I collected lots and lots of shells.
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| Some of the shells I brought home |
I decided to go paddle boarding- I've always wanted to try it. I loved it and its one of those things I think I'll always do whenever I get the chance. My husband, son and I went in a kayak after that and saw beautiful little fish in the water.
While all this was going on the tour group has photographers taking pictures of you. By the end of our day there they had taken 131 pictures of us- they loved our son- and we all chipped in to purchase a USB of all of them ($80).
After kayaking my son and I played in the water for a while
Then it was lunch time and we were served a buffet of authentic Mexican food. The spicy salsa was actually spicy, and we got to see our tortillas hand pressed. They were probably the best tortillas I've ever had.
Once lunch was over we walked around and got to see some of the animals that live there- monkeys, macaws, hawks, flamingos, parakeets, and snakes. I got to hold a monkey and a parakeet. My husband got to hold and kiss a macaw.
My son and I went straight into the pool when we got back then we had a leisurley dinner for our final night.
Day 10- (Saturday November 12) Woke up bright and early, finished packing, had breakfast then spent an hour and a half in the pool with my son. We checked out around noon and flew out of Puerto Vallarta around 2pm local time. It was a smooth trip and we got home around midnight.
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| From Puerto Vallarta to LAX |
Neither my husband nor myself had ever had a vacation like that before- to a tropical place, staying in a hotel with everything provided. We agreed we'd definitely go there again and stay at the same place. Almost every night we went for family swims in the pool. All the things I wanted to do I didn't do because I was mostly playing with my son. I didn't take many pictures because I didn't want to feel obligated to. We took a break from pretty much everything.
I think we probably had the best time of everyone who went with us and I think it's because we went just to be happy and free and enjoy the blessing of being able to go. We had no burdens on us- we left those at home. The lust of the flesh and the pride of life that enslaved others and made them miserable did not have power over us. Even though going away meant we were away from our troubles and free from our usual restraint we did not have the means to let our flesh run rampant and control us. We did not have the flesh to take over and ruin the things God has done. This trip showed me how God has worked on us and the things that we unknowingly have become under the pressure we have faced.
Everything God does is for our good and His glory. I don't think I could have had the time I had and the satisfaction I continue to enjoy from it if it wasn't for the past few months we've had.
People at work today kept saying, 'I'm so jealous you got to go away'. I doubt they're serious but it made me think about something I always think about when it comes to jealousy and envy: you don't know the cost.
Sure I got to go away on an all inclusive vacation to a tropical place but would you be willing to go through the last six months of my life to be able to do that? If I described those six months to you, I bet you wouldn't.
During this time of pressure and change I've often looked at others- like in Costco sometimes when people's carts are bursting with food, books, and toys- and envied them for a moment. Then I remember that I don't know what they are going home to, what they will face tomorrow, what they have faced, and whether or not they will go to heaven. Even though our cart has just the basic necessities in it, I wouldn't trade places with them for the world because I am right where God wants me and I am going to heaven for sure.
