We were glad to have a kitchen in our condo, and we used the blender to make the most incredible smoothies with fruit from the local market.
We went on a pirate ship adventure. It sounded kind of cheesy, but I read a ton of reviews that said it was fantastic, and not at all cheesy, even for adults. The ship was really cool and looked very much like an old pirate ship. As we sailed south to a private beach, we heard the creaking of the sails and the ropes. The crew did a really acrobatic, entertaining pirate show. The ship was boarded by “pirates” and people were forced to walk the plank. There was a mutiny, cannons fired, and more people were dramatically tossed overboard.
The ship took us to a private beach, where they had drinks, banana boat rides, and games for the kids. River won a chocolate coin.
We went out for Al pastor from a street cart, then back to the condo to play some games.
The next day, we went back to cat island and found an area where the locals feed the cats regularly. They had a whole obstacle course setup, but of course most of the cats were just lazing around.
We really enjoyed just exploring the area on foot. There were some pretty trails, and some interesting street art.
That evening, we went to the Rythms of the Night show. The evening started with a boat ride down the coast to get to the location; then we walked along the beach and through the woods to dinner. We met up with friends who were also in town and had dinner by candlelight, overlooking the ocean at sunset. There was a musician playing guitar, and it felt magical.
The show itself was incredible. It wasn’t quite cirque du soleil, but it was really close to that level. We were so impressed by the performances, and we oohed and aahed the whole time.
On the boat ride back, we met a couple of really sweet guys who told us that one day, they hoped to have kids and parent them like we we parenting ours. Apparently they had seen Liam offering his seat to an older woman, and River and Willow being sweet. We assured them that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but the conversation left us with a warm glow.
The next day was our last full day in Puerto Vallarta. Liam had been dying to learn to scuba dive for some time, and I found a tour that offered a “Discover Scuba” dive that didn’t require certification. It only went to 25’ and it seemed like a great opportunity to try it out before committing to the certification process. It started, of course, with a boat ride.
When we got to the beach south of the city, we spent some time learning the basics of scuba diving and getting fitted with our equipment. We learned hand signs to communicate with our guides under water, how to check our remaining air, and how to clear water from our masks. They took us down in groups of 2-3 per guide. Because River was only ten, he had a guide right next to him all the time. The water wasn’t super clear, but we did get to see some things. At one point, the guide set a pufferfish on my hand and I could see its fins fluttering. It was so cool, and Bill, Liam and I decided that we really want to get certified.
After the dive, we went ashore to explore the beach club. There was lunch available, which we ate at tables overlooking the ocean.
We explored the area, which had several little coves, a zip line and ropes course for the kids, hammocks on the beach where the waves rollled in beneath us, and beautiful forest all around. Even the bathrooms were pretty!
We had dinner from a street cart again – we just could not get enough of the al pastor. Street meat might seem like an unwise choice, but we just looked for the stands that had a lot of locals eating at them and we knew they were safe.
The last morning, we had breakfast at a nice restaurant near our place. The food was great, with super fresh, ripe fruit.
some time before our flight. We explored the malecon, the main boardwalk in town.
We were sad to leave, and we decided that we will definitely be back!