This is the first afternoon for a few days without a festival commitment and we decide to start it with a leisurely lunch at the hotel restaurant. Then we plan to take a swim at the hotel beach and then explore the beaches towards Puerto Vallarta until the sun sets. The food is again reasonably good and we enjoy not being in a hurry for once.
Unfortunately all seats near the beach are occupied so we have to sit on the sand as we are preparing to identify the best entry point. Unfortunately the water is quite choppy today so we decide to not enter too deep, everyone else at the resort has made the same calculation actually.
Even close to the shore and while we can touch the ground we see a few interesting fish. The most interesting thing we find is a stingray really close to the shore. It seems to enjoy the shallow area and we take a few photos of it from a respectful distance.
After drying out it is time for the second part of our program, the walk to Playa Los Muertos. Google Maps shows it is doable but we are not certain as there are multiple headlands on the way, how are we going to make our way around them? The start however is easy as it is across a couple nice beaches with lots of locals suntanning.
Afterwards the trail is actually quite well maintained with stairs across headlands and clear paths so we have no trouble following it past mansions and hotels.
In some areas we assume we already arrived on the Malecon but those well build areas quickly give way to the usual well worn paths along beaches or rocky areas.
One area especially is a bit iffy as the trail is very narrow and when we meet other people we have to somehow shimmy along a wall so they can pass…a bit scary. And then right before Playa los Muertos is a climb over a headland that claims a few falls including from us as we try to reach the top. The other side has stairs, go figure.
Finally on the Playa Los Muertos we make good time passing the many condos and hotels, with the only difficulty being the deep sand. Still we see our goal, the pier, approaching so we are pushing forward.
And then we finally are there. Here there are lots and lots of people, both locals and tourists waiting for the sunset or simply enjoying a day out at the beach.
The view from the pier is quite beautiful especially with the many boats anchored nearby. We enjoy it for a while ignoring the other hundred of people doing the same thing.
Before returning we go inland a bit to find an ice cream stand to treat ourselves after our almost two mile hike. And then it is time to return back towards the hotel following the same route.
On the way we stop often to enjoy the sunset. It is one of the more scenic ones we have seen here but almost all of them have been very scenic with the blood red sun shing through the clouds.
The return is uneventful, the only thing that has changed on the beaches is that they are slightly more empty and there are a lot more romantic couples along the beach. They are taking photos for wedding or even sitting in a tent which at the entrance has spelled “Ti Amo” in candles. Quite romantic! Back at the hotel it is time to back as the next day it is time to relocate to Rancho Primavera for our last two nights in Mexico.
