Sunday, April 1, 2012

Day 11- Puerto Vallarta!

April 4th

So today we docked bright and early at Puerto Vallarta. I woke up ally early and we were still moving, but I could see land! I had room service ordered for breakfast (as did Sarah and the kids for their room) because we had to all be up and ready to go by 7:20. I had Piper come over early in our room right when we were docking.



Our excursion today was to go to Las Caletas island- a private island about an hour boat ride away from Puerto Vallarta across Banderas Bay. This was going to be our only official excursion of the cruise so we felt like it was a good splurge! It was a little pricey but it included lunch, open bar, activities, etc- plus the benefit of no vendors and calmer waters than in Cabo.

We met up for our excursion at 7:30 in an adult bar area and waited probably about a half an hour while everyone got all checked in. We headed out sometime in the 8 o’clock hour and then it took about another half an hour to walk to the pier and board the catamaran. The ride over to the island was pretty uneventful- it was quiet since it was so early- and the seas were pretty calm (though we had given Piper Bonine just in case). There were a ton of activities to sign up for on the boat (kids zip-line adventure, swimming with sea lions, spa treatments, scuba diving, etc) but we chose to just have a relaxing beach day and not worry about the schedule at all.

When we got to Las Caletas we went over to the main beach area and got lounge chairs right on the beach front so we could keep an eye on the kids in the water. The set up on the island was great- many hammocks, beach chairs, tables, etc for people, along with a large beach (it never felt crowded) and water rentals.






We spent most of the morning just lounging while the kids played (and took turns going down there to play with them) and ordering drinks- though poor Matt still had a cold and didn’t want alcohol. The service was great- our waiter just kept bringing us drinks and water without us having to track him down!










Mid morning Piper wanted to go to the clay activity so Sarah and I went and did that with her. Piper got done making her piece first (a cupcake) so Matt came and got her to wash her up while Sarah and I finished ours (I made a little dish to put our wedding rings in along with an ornament and Sarah made lots of Mickey ornaments).





We had lunch in the early afternoon (1 I think?) which was an open buffet of a mix of Mexican and American food. We sat under shade which was really nice as today was HOT!






After lunch we went to go back to get our clay pieces that had been drying and then head to see the animals. They had a parrot, monkey and snake that you could hold. Pretty fun!













We caught the boat back at 2:30 (after hitting up the gift shop for a nice handmade photo album for our Hawaii photos and a sweatshirt for Matt), and were back onboard around 3:20.  The ride back was fun- the Vallarta Adventures crew was great and entertaining the whole way back singing and dancing.









Matt wanted some cold meds from Walmart and Sarah and I wanted to find a Starbucks (right next to Walmart in the mall) to get mugs to add to our City Mug collection that we have so we dropped the kids off at the kids club and then went back out. It was about a 10 minute walk to so to get there but in the heat it felt way longer! But we got everything we needed and then got back onboard.

Dinner tonight was at Parrot Cay- an island style restaurant.



For our appetizers, Sarah got the St. Maarten stack (Grilled Calabaza and Mozzarella with Tomato and Basil Vinaigrette), Matt got the Jamaican chicken strips and I got the Ahi tuna. We also ordered the Crab dip for everyone to share- all were very good but the dips never come with enough bread/crackers/etc to dip. We end up having to use the regular bread from the table which is kinda annoying.








Right about now Piper fell asleep. No whining or anything, just put her head on the table and crashed..



For our entrees I got the grilled portabella mushrooms with sun dried tomato sauce (good!), Matt got the island spiced rib-eye (he kinda picked at it but I think it’s just cause his throat was still bugging him) and Sarah got the grouper over saffron rice (good!).





For dessert Sarah and I both got the Smores cake (good!) and Matt got an ice cream sundae (which made his throat feel way better).



After dinner we knew that Piper would not be able to get through the nightly show (Toy Story the Musical) so Matt and I offered to take her for the evening while she and Aidan went to the show. On the way to Toy Story, Aidan and Sarah ran into Mexican Mickey and Minnie! Piper took a bath in our room and then curled up in bed and watched the show on the tv instead After that it was bed for everyone!



Coming up, our first day in Cabo!





No comments:

Post a Comment