Today we start our adventure in Puerto Vallarta with a short direct flight. In fact we spend more time in airports waiting for the plane and then through security than on the plane when all is said and done. At least our Uber to the airport is on time, not a given given the rainy weather, and we pass the security checks relatively fast allowing us quite some time to just watch the planes come in and take off.
The flight is 2:30h long and uneventful but entering Mexico is taking a long time due to customs where one of the machines that is randomizing who should be checked is malfunctioning and instead of 1 out of 10 or whatever the normal number is is assigning 9 out of 10 to be checked. In fact the officer waives a few people through as the line is held up and quite long. And we are assigned exactly to this machine but somehow are really lucky and get the green light to pass through.
Happily we search for the Arrivals Lounge – usually lounges are just for departures but here in Puerto Vallarta there is one also for arrivals which is great as we are quite famished. The food is basic but good and quite welcome but then we exit the wrong way, past all security and we find out that the car rental counter is pre security, quite weird. We return back, luckily the security guard lets us and finally are able to get to the rental counter and then get the rental car.
It takes a bit to get to the hotel as it is on the other side of town and the going is slow through the downtown area. But we make it finally and are challenged when trying to find a parking space, there doesn’t seem to be one! Asking at the reception we learn we have to go down a long and very steep ramp where there are about three parking spaces, luckily no one else is here when we arrive. The room itself is relatively basic but it has a great whirlpool on the balcony with views of the ocean and the sky – beautiful!
The view itself is quite good and we barely see a few people on the beach during our stay as the main beach is hidden from our view, luckily. What we really like is that we see quite a few birds already especially yellow crowned night herons sleeping in the palm trees.
It is already late in the day, we arrived around 3PM and then we had to get the car and then drive to the hotel, so we barely unpack before going to the beach to explore the surrounding a bit. Luckily our hotel has a direct path to the beach even though it is quite winding through the hotel itself ending at a beach restaurant. Which most definitely is not owned by the hotel as the hotel manager stressed for some reason.
The beach itself is not that impressive, it is rocky and has a few patches of sand. While not impressive for lounging it looks however quite good for snorkeling and even birdwatching. We don’t have time today for snorkeling but we want to explore the beach for a while because it looks quite wild and interesting. Soon we see a snowy egret on the prowl, it is unsual for us to see them near salt water so we watch it as it looks for crabs, likely.
One of the reasons for our walk and also why we chose this hotel is that the nature festival hotel is close by. Before the festival starts we wanted to explore if it is possible to walk to the festival hotel on the beach but even though it is quite close, about 0.1 mile, the beach becomes a cliff in that direction and therefore is unwalkable. In the other direction towards Puerto Vallarta it looks much more walkable and we decide to try it out on a different day, if we just have the time.
We continue birdwatching as we explore the shoreline and notice two more bird species, brown pelicans and magnificent frigates. We have seen them before but it is always great to watch them even though we are more stressed out by the egret which seems to be almost swept away by some waves.
It is low tide and this makes a lot of the rock visible which otherwise would be under the waves. We like the barnacles on the rocks there are millions of them it seems and they can be quite interesting to walk over as they crunch with a loud sound. We try to avoid it of course so to not impact them but it is not always possible as they are everywhere really.
Most hotels and condos on the shore have a beach access and walking next to them we can guess which are closed and which are open for business depending on whether the beach access is closed or open and what the notes next to the door are saying. Of course we also keep an eye on the tidepools and rocks and we see quite a few fish and even some surviving Sally Lightfoot Crabs running from the Snowy Egret apocalypse.
At this point we are hungry again and we have no provisions so we decide to eat at the restaurant at the bottom of the steps from our hotel, which is definitely, for certain not owned by the hotel. It is very busy but we get a good table overlooking the beach next to a sign saying that we should not feed the guacamayas (macaws). We are quite excited but unfortunately no macaws are around during our stay. We start the order with some alcoholic cocktails and then wait for the main courses.
And we wait and we wait…it is sunset already when there is some movement to bring us our plates, probably more than one hour after we ordered. Still we don’t mind sitting near the beach, watching the sun set and the pelicans flying in formations from Puerto Vallarta towards the southern protected islands.
The food when it arrives is good, maybe not so good to wait one hour plus though. It is even getting cold as it is dark outside now but we still enjoy overlooking the now lighted city of Puerto Vallarta.
To our surprise the new moon is accompanied by two planets, Jupiter and Mars according to our guesses, and those of all the tablemates that come to take photos of the moon and sunset. And then we are really surprised as the fireworks start, it seems they are everywhere up and down the coast and we really enjoy watching them.
It is quite late in the day when we retire to the hotel room but we still have one more adventure planned, taking a bath in the outdoor whirlpool while watching the moon and stars from the balcony. It is quite beautiful and we spend some time outside before returning inside and settling for the night.
