Puerto Vallarta Luxury and Me

Resort to the Pool

A POSTCARD FROM PARIDISE

Dear friends,

We are well.  Wish you were here in Puerto Vallarta with us.  We are in the state of Jalisco in Mexico south of Manzanillo and north of Ixtapa.  The weather is fine and the fishing is good…I think.  Having not gone fish we are not sure but all postcards say the same thing so we thought we had better include the fishing.

Our neighborhood land iguana!  

We are staying in the Grand Mayan Resort where life is slow and heavenly.  We have heard those around the pool talking about resorts in Matzalan, calling them dumps compared to this.  I can see how they might say that.

Yesterday we celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary with a day that included a time in the sun near the Bay of Banderas.  Vendors came by selling jewelry, beautiful dresses (I wish I had one right now) and statues and bowls  carved from wood.  We love to bargain and soon I will head to the beach and see what we can find. 

In the evening we caught a taxi to central Vallarta where we had a glorious dinner at a restaurant called Barcelona.  Barcelona is a restaurant that is filled with the expats that inhabit Vallarta…more that 50,000 of them…and serves the best tapas I have ever tasted!  Because it was our anniversary, we went all out and ordered the menu del dia with selections by the chef.  We ate cold and hot tapas, salad and dessert with coffee followed by a complementary drink made with irish creme and tequila!  Of course we had to have a glass of wine from Spain to accompany it all.  The back street scene for this restaurant and it’s humble appearance would make it very hard to find if you did not visit with a local.  However, it seems all the  taxi drivers know where it is.  We got the tip from a hotel employee.  From the Grand Mayan we paid $19.00 to ride in and $21.00 coming back…please don’t ask me why the difference in price!  

The seat next to the rail over looking the top of the village and the bay was fantastic even after the sun had set.  Diners were late coming and lingered over meals as though it were their living room.  We were reminded of dining in Spain. 

We have stayed at resorts around the world and I would have to say that this is among the most beautiful we have ever seen.  Grand Mayan has gone the extra mile here.  Even though they are continuing to build and each building is better than the last, they are allowing guest that bought in early to use all the amenities available in their properties here in Mexico.  We looked around at all the Grand Mayan property  in Vallarta Nuevo and the complex we actually loved the very best was the Sea Garden.  It is  very small and may have been the first complex the Grand Mayan people built.  Even though it is very intimate it is  just as beautiful as all the other facilities on this property.    We visited with sales people and they tell us that the company revamps all of their holdings every 5 years.  If that is so, I can see why everything is so perfect.

Tomorrow we will take a tour of the city.  I am looking forward to spending some time in the local market.  My husband is anxious to visit the Tequila factory.  I talked with wait people today to find out where I can buy the large mortar/pestle they would use to grind corn and make that guacamole we all love.  I think I will find what I want and my husband will find his tequila too! 

Our favorite breakfast/lunch spot! 

The flowers are beautiful.  Nature is up close and personal  (see our friendly neighborhood iguana). The climate is tropical but not hot.  Vallarta is on the same latitude as Hawaii.  Breezes off the ocean keep us cool even thought the sun is very intense and burning. 

We love you all.  See you soon.  Again…we wish you were all here!

b

If my spelling is not perfect don't blame it on me...the marguarita at my side can take all the blame!