Travelors: Jim and Donna, Jackie and Billy, Gaynel and Scott and us (Susan and Greg).
Our direct flight from DFW to Puerto Vallarta left 2 hours late. After arriving in Puerto Vallarta we went through immigration, picked up luggage and went through customs. Our transfer was with Amstar which is part of Apple Vacations.It was a bit confusing finding Amstar but once we did, luggage was loaded and we were on our way. Checking in at Secrets was slow. We were helped one at a time and then taken upstairs to be given “group information”. Apple Vacations was trying to get us to commit to a 1.5 hour long presentation at breakfast the next morning. We finally managed to get away from the hard sell and met our butler, Carlos. He was a lifesaver, made golf reservations, spa appointments, dinner reservations, and any other things we need. No doubt being in the Preferred Area with a Concierge was the way to go.
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| Our very nice, large rooms |
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| View from our room |
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| Loved the swim out pool |
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| Bar in our Preferred Lounge |
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| our bartender |
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| lobby bar |
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| Pool area |
Our luggage arrived as we were headed for a drink. No Jameson as promised. So, Carlos to the rescue. He directed a taxi driver to take Greg and Jim to a liquor store where they bought Jameson, Makers Mark, and Johnny Walker Black.
After a drink we went back to our rooms and unpacked. Dinner was at the Mexican restaurant, Tamarindo. We all had an excellent meal.
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| Table side Guacamole |
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| Hard work! |
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| Cheers to the start of a fun week |
As we left we watched a bit of the entertainment show right outside the restaurant. Everyone were tired, so we all turned in early.
Sunday
We all met at 9 am for breakfast at Market Cafe. It’s buffet with 2 omelette stations. Service was quick all week and servers were very attentive and food was good. We all headed to the beach for the morning.
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| Our hotel from the beach |
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| beach volleyball was popular |
Greg and I ate lunch at Oceania. We both had flank steak, Greg had fajitas and I had the steak. Very tender and very tasty.
Our rooms have a swim out pool so we hung out there most afternoons. Really was nice. The only way to go!! The waiters even come by offering drink service. Pretty sweet!
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| Bar service |
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| Gangs all here |
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| Who's counting |
We tried to make a reservation at Bordeaux, the French restaurant. Hostess said they don’t take reservations and only have one table for 8. A waiter told us later in the day that we could make a reservation if we order 3 bottles of wine or one bottle of champagne. We thought no big deal, but it was. The price on the wine was ridiculously stupid. A bottle that is usually $100 in a restaurant was $400. Won’t make that mistake again. The food was excellent. From Escargot, Oysters Rockefeller, French Onion Soup, Tenderloin, Shrimp and Scallops, to Apple Dumplings, it was all yummy.
After dinner, we went looking a place to sit where we could get a drink and the guys could smoke their cigars. Lots of loungers but no tables. We finally found seats in Dreams at their outside bar area. Server helped us move seats and was very attentive.
Monday
We went to breakfast at 9 again at Market Place. Our city tour started at 10. Our guide AZ was awesome.
We started with a drive through the neighborhoods, with a quick stop at a tortilla factory. AZ bought tortillas for everyone and they were awesome.
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| cemetary |
Next, we stopped at the boardwalk and then walked to the cathedral. The boardwalk (The Malecon) has evolved since the 1980's into a long promenade with sculptures on almost every block. The most famous is a boy with a sombrero riding a seahorse.
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| Entrance to the main plaza (Plaza de Armas) |
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| The Malecon Arches by Aquiles Serdan amphitheater and the Naval Museum |
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| The Naval Museum |
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| Puerto Vallarta was originally founded on December 12, 1851 by Don Guadalupe Sanchez Torres. The village’s original name was “Pierto Las Penas”, meaning “Port of the Rocks”. The village was established initially as a port for the transportation of silver from mines in the area. In 1918, the peaceful fishing village was made into a municipality and renamed Puerto Vallarta after Ignacio Vallarta, a former governor of the state. |
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| Art by Manuel Lepe depicting life in 1851 |
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| located on the second floor of City Hall |
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| Ignacio Vallarta |
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| Street entertainment |
Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe began as a small chapel in 1883. The foundation of a new church begain in 1903. In 1915, the building was demolished and a bigger temple was started. The first mass was in 1921. The dome was finally finished in 1930. The crown was added in 1965.
We made a stop at a pharmacy. AZ said the pharmacies aren’t going to be able to sell medicine without a prescription in the future. Next stop was the market. A much cleaner, more calm market than we have visited in other Mexican cities. We bought vanilla, chocolates, and cigars.
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| A blast from the past. |
Last stop before the Tequila tasting was to drive by the former home of Richanrd Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Puerto Vallarta was a sleepy village until the movie "Night of the Iguana" by John Huston starring Burton and Taylor was filmed here. They fell in love with the village. Burton and Taylor each rented a villa across from each other and later built a bridge connecting the two villas. Burton bought the villa for Taylor and is was called Casa Kimberly. So many other expats from America bought in the same neighbor that it was called Gringo Gulch. Casa Kimberly later became a B&B, and is now a luxury hotel.
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| Gringo Gulch neighborhood. Former Casa Kimberly is on the left. |
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| statue in the entrance to the hotel |
Next destination was the tequila distillery. It was about a 30 minute drive outside of the city. The distillery, Rancho Verano, was in a small village. There wasn’t a tour of the faculty. They went straight to the tasting. 6 different tequilas. The favorite was the red label which is aged in port barrels. Next favorite was a tequila with coffee flavor. We all made purchases and probably consumed more than we should have!
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| Agave plants |
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| Paying $$$$$ |
We then went to a restaurant in the village, Chico Paradise. We ordered guacamole followed by 3 seafood platters for the table which contained lobster, crab, shrimp, and grilled fish. The restaurant was on a hill overlooking the river with lots of rocks. View was impressive and we watched young men jumping from the boulders into a small pool of water. Braver than me.
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| interesting plant |
We arrived back at the hotel at 4:30. Greg and I changed and hung out in our pool. We were all so stuffed that we decided to skip dinner. Guys met later for drinks and cigars.
Tuesday
Guys played golf today. They had a 9:00 tee time at Vista Vallarta Golf Club, a Nicklaus Signature Course. The course opened in 2001. Carlos had a taxi ready for them. After the round they had snacks and drinks before returning.
The girls met at 9:30 for breakfast. We ate at Market Cafe and then headed to the beach. The morning was cloudy but warm. We ate a late lunch at Oceania. The flank steak was so good before that I had the flank steak fajitas. Others had tacos and surprise, surprise, Donna had fish and chips. After lunch we hit the stores in the resort and then headed to our swim out pool. The boys made it home about 4 and joined us in the pool. Dinner tonight was at Oceania. Greg had yellowtail tuna and I had surf and turf. The tenderloin was excellent, the lobster a bit dry. The girls had scoped out a place where we thought the guys could smoke their cigars. We asked and they said that was fine. The sunset was spectacular.
We were going to call it a night but heard the band playing and stopped to listen. They were pretty good.
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| Lights in the reflecting pool |
Wed
A lazy start to the day, the group decided to do breakfast on our own. Greg and I went back to the buffet. After breakfast we put our towels on two chairs by the pool and read. Not a lot of sunshine, so we went back to the room. Greg grabbed a hamburger and I read some more. Now I was hungry so I picked up tacos from the beach restaurant with lots of guacamole. The sun peaked out for a bit so we jumped in the pool but it was a tease. Tonight we did the Rhythms of the Night dinner cruise. We were supposed to be there by 5:30. Lots of waiting around with guys trying to sell memberships to something. We escaped the sales pitch. It was a 50 min ride to the island through the Bay of Banderas but with the clouds definitely not a sunset cruise. Also, it was very windy so not sure why I bothered doing my hair.
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| Our ride to the island |
After arriving at the island we were sent to the restaurant on the very top so we could get a table for 8. The food was buffet but there was a large selection and we had paid for open bar.
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| It was a long walk to the restaurant |
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| mermaid along the walk |
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| musical entertainment along the walk |
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| Our restaurant |
After dinner we went to the theater.
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| Waiting for the theater to open |
By this time it was a heavy mist. We grabbed raincoats which were very hot. Luckily the drizzle quit and we shed the coats.
The show was a Circus Soleil type acrobatic show. The acts were very well done.
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| Our emcee/comedian |
On the ride back the music was blaring and lots of youngsters gyrating. Then the crew started doing impersonations, starting with Elvis.
It was funny and passed the time. We were able to snag a taxi for 10, sharing with a couple from Sherman Texas. What are the odds? Time we hit the sack it was midnight.
Thursday
Guys were up and off to golf at 9 for a 10:00 tee time, playing the Tom Weiskopf course this time.
Girls ate breakfast in the Preferred Lounge and headed to the beach. It’s still cloudy but warm. Lunch was at the pool grill but we went back to the Preferred Lounge to eat because there are no tables or chairs around the pool area. Something they need.
After lunch we went to our rooms. I sat on the balcony but without the sun, the pool was chilly.
We met in the preferred bar and then Carlos escorted us to the Italian restaurant, Capers. A lot easier to get a table for 8 when Carlos is with us. After dinner we all went back to our rooms. The golfing had wiped the boys out.
Friday
Carlos met us 9 and walked us over to get our Covid test. They took 10 at a time and set us in a semicircle, swabbing noses. We waited for results and everyone was negative. We aren’t sure they knew whose swab was whose. We were the last group that had to have a negative test to fly home. I think they were going to make sure we were negative!
Random pictures:
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| He hung around our pool all week, |
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| I called it the watermelon plant |
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| reflecting poolin the main lobby |
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| reflecting pool at night |
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| We saw this lady all week. Her hair was interesting |
It was a great week and highly recommend Secrets in Puerto Vallarta. Thank you Donna and Jim for inviting us to celebrate 40 years of marriage.!!
