My alarm was set to go off at 6:30 this morning but I woke up sometime in the 5 o’clock hour and saw land peaking out the verandah curtains. I got up and went out onto the balcony and saw that we were approaching Puerto Vallarta. It was definitely not a picturesque port- very industrial and across from us was a Walmart and Sam’s Club. It was already much warmer though- highs expected in the low 80’s!
We all slowly got ready and Matt and I got packed for our excursion today. We were booked for Vallarta Adventures “Outdoor Adventure”. It entails multiple zip lines, rappels, bridge crossings, etc. We were excited but I was really nervous about leaving Piper in the clubs for 6-7 hours after her iffy experience the day before. She also was being really cranky this morning.
We went up to eat breakfast at the buffet which was ok- same food though pretty much each day so we prob will start eating in the dining rooms for breakfast from now on. Matt then took Aidan back to the room to take his meds and I took P to play some air hockey in the arcade (which put her in a good mood). We then dropped the kids off at the clubs with no tears or irritations so I was happy to leave (but still obv concerned as we were going to be without contact with them all day).
Matt and I headed down to the meeting place (a bar on the ship) and left with about 20 other people from our ship to do this excursion. We were well prepared with a whole change of clothes and shoes- which we would be thankful for later!). We walked off the boat and around the pier area to board this zodiac type boats which scared the crap out of me. I have an extreme fear of natural water and esp small fast boats. We all donned our lifejackets and off we went on our 20 minute boat ride. About half way through (as I am gripping Matt and barely looking up) we came to a complete stop. About 20 feet from us was a humpback whale and her baby. It was amazing for sure, but I was also now about a million more times scared. Images of it bumping us and flipping our boat was freaking me out, even if it would never happen. We stayed there for a few minutes to get pictures and then off we went again.
When we docked it was at this gorgeous very rural beach. We all got into 10 person Unimogs (big 4x4 things) and off we went to “base camp”. The ride up was pretty smooth - a little bumpy at the end but since we were in a 4x4 it was fun. We rode for about 25 minutes to the base camp where we hopped off and came to a very pretty outdoor snack/bar area, bathrooms, lockers and area to get instructions. We all had put all our personal belongings away (including cameras), go to the bathroom and get suited up in a harness and helmet.
We then walked over to the mule area where we each were assigned a mule to ride up the mountain on. I got one of three brother mules- to say the ride up was interesting would be an understatement. Him and his brother mules were VERY competitive. There was at times a 3 foot wide path (with rocks and a drop off on the other side) and they were trying to push their way past to lead the pack (matt had one, I had one and another girl we met had one). It had a couple of scary moments when they didn’t want to listen to us, but it was still really fun.
We then walked a little uphill to the first zipline and put our gloves on. I was the 4th person or so to go and it did not go well. I braked too hard and got stuck about 20 ft from the end which really sucked as you have to use your arms to pull you in. I was really discouraged. Matt had the same issue as I did (spinning and going backwards) but didn’t get stuck. The second zip line went a little better- I spun around but made it to the end. It wasn’t super fun though as I was paying so much attention to how to control myself up there that I wasn’t enjoying the scenery. Luckily though, all my focus on that also made it so I wasn’t scared that I was 500 feet off the ground!
I got the hang of it after about 4 zip lines and was able to go straight, brake properly and look around at the waterfalls we went over and other great scenery. Matt still was spinning though. Lol. After about 5 zip lines we came to our first rappel. The extreme heights up to this point hadn’t caused me issue but the waterfall rapel was straight down and was 100 feet up. It was really scary and they just basically put you in and you go. I went down a couple feet and lost my footing and crashed into the front of the rock. I figured out after about 10 feet or so (and people yelling at me from below) that I needed to sit lower and get my feet higher and planted more solidly and then I was fine after that. We landed in about 2 feet of water at the bottom in the river in front of the waterfall. I then went over to talk to Matt (who went before me and I hadn’t seen him) and apparently he also slipped a couple times as well which made me feel better.
We then ziplined into the river- completely getting soaked and having to pull yourself to shore with the rope- I was up to my neck in freezing water and it took me a second to catch my breath but the water felt good.
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We zip lined some more which I had a blast doing as I knew what I was doing at that point, and then came to some rope bridges to cross- all really easy, even ones where it was just two ropes that you had to traverse (going sideways- one for your hands, one for your feet). Thank god for good balance!
Our second rappel was next which was far scarier looking than the first- it was just straight down 75 feet. No rocks, nothing for your feet. You just had to sit and lower yourself with your rope. As scary as it looked it was far easier than the first and I even let myself go down really fast. This one also landed us in water.
We did a couple more zip lines- the fastest one which I had good control over, and then a race with your partner. I totally beat Matt. Lol. We did some hiking and more bridge crossings back to base camp.
We then got de-harnessed, changed our clothes and shoes, got a snack and bought out photo cd before our Unimog left. We then rode down the mountain (it was way bumpier- think Indiana Jones from Disneyland but worse) and had to wait at the beach for the other group before our zodiac boat left. It didn’t take too long but us with kids on the boat just wanted to get back. Our boat left and a few minutes later the most annoying woman on our excursion asked to go back because she forgot her photo cd. The driver agreed and we turned around. Again, us with kids were really really annoyed.
We then finally were on our way and we passed these gigantic rocks (think a couple stories high) covered with birds. I mean like a thousand birds flying, sitting, etc everywhere. The driver stopped the boat to let people watch for a few minutes. The boat was really rocking and I was starting to get a little sea sick, I am scared of open water, and birds so this was the low point of the day for me. We got on our way again, and back to the pier about 20 minutes later. We were back on the cruise boat in about 5 minutes.
We went to get the kids and after 7 hours of us gone they were both completely content. They had a very activity filled day and neither had been shy or quiet which made me happy. It was now 5:00 and we went up on deck to get some food, went back to the room to all eat. Matt and I also had some paperwork to fill out for getting our boarding passes delivered to our cabin the day before we leave, as well as have our luggage delivered to LAX for us which is really convenient. We decided to skip our main dining room tonight, as we had a long day and wanted a relaxed evening. We headed to the early nightly show (we usually go to the 8:30 showing) which was Toy Story the Musical. A very cute, condensed, music added show.
We then played in the arcade a bit, got her ice cream and came back to the stateroom. Matt went to get coffee for us and get Aidan out of the clubs and P almost threw up- I think from overeating junk food. She crashed really early and Aidan crashed an hour later or so. Matt and I ordered room service (yay for more all included food!) and are winding down.
I am also nursing all my injuries from today. I have cuts on both knees from the waterfall rappel, a bleeding cut on my ankle from a rock moving in the water and my slipping, a swollen cut on my thigh from who knows what, bug bites, bruises on the inside of my leg from the mules, and a slight sunburn. I am in rough shape!
Tomorrow we dock in Cabo San Lucas and we have a free day planned- hopefully hitting the town and the beach and enjoying the weather!
PHOTOS FROM TODAY (#7-#41) at http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj194/mom2aidannpiper/Disney%20Cruise%20Days%203%20and%204/
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