Our First Ever Real Vacation, Mexican Riviera Cruise June 1-8, 2008 - Page 9 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Glad you're feeling better!
Great update! The show looked like fun!
An impromptu PP meet, how cool is that!?
Palo looks so good!
Can't wait for more...!
Sue, I'm hanging on your every word!! We leave SUNDAY (I can't believe it's so close!), and I've enjoyed reading your trip report so much. Thanks for taking the time to give such a thorough re-cap!! The photos are driving us crazy with excitement to see it for ourselves. GREAT JOB!
Sue!!!! I'm so glad to hear you are feeling better!! DD is just now getting better, but she is anxious to write your DD really soon! Love the update, and while we did a slightly different shore excursion, I am fascinated by how similar ours really were, even to the dancing performance. We had a buffet lunch, however, and were on our own getting back to the ship. Your recollection of us meeting up in Twice Charmed seems so long ago! Still wishing we had had a pic taken of the two of us......keep up the great TR!
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**TRACEY**
Last edited by YoHoTales40; 07-30-2008 at 08:53 PM..
Reason: typo
Sue, I'm hanging on your every word!! We leave SUNDAY (I can't believe it's so close!), and I've enjoyed reading your trip report so much. Thanks for taking the time to give such a thorough re-cap!! The photos are driving us crazy with excitement to see it for ourselves. GREAT JOB!
I'm glad you've been enjoying it. I'll try to get the next installment before you go.
Quote:
Sue!!!! I'm so glad to hear you are feeling better!! DD is just now getting better, but she is anxious to write your DD really soon! Love the update, and while we did a slightly different shore excursion, I am fascinated by how similar ours really were, even to the dancing performance. We had a buffet lunch, however, and were on our own getting back to the ship. Your recollection of us meeting up in Twice Charmed seems so long ago! Still wishing we had had a pic taken of the two of us......keep up the great TR!
That does seem like forever ago.
Now that I think about it, the bus didn't take us back to the ship, but to the port entrance where we caught a tram back to the ship.
We woke up at 8:00am, but we crossed a time zone during the night and lost an hour so it felt like 7:00am. I was tired but very excited for today's excursion, the “Outdoor Adventure,” described on the DCL website as “Embark on a thrilling ecological adventure that includes riding a mule, zip-lining, climbing, hiking and more amidst the unspoiled splendor of the Sierra Madre mountains.”
I quickly showered, dressed, and skipped up to Topsiders for some breakfast goodies while Theo tried to drag the girls out of bed. At the buffet I filled a tray as high as I dared with cereal, muffins, bacon, eggs, hash browns, bagels, and fruit. I was glad that the milk came in cartons because I don't think I could have made it back without spilling otherwise!
The food was good and I really appreciated being able to have a hot breakfast while we got ready so we didn't have to get up any earlier.
At 9:45 we took the kids to their clubs, informed the counselors we would be gone all day, and headed to Sessions for our 10:00am departure. Our DCL tour guide was just as excited as we were. She said she'd begged, bargained, and finagled to get this excursion. Among the group was another DCL employee who was going on her day off, and two of the DVC reps.
Our DCL guide
When everyone was checked in and ready she lead us down to the Forward Tender Lobby and off the ship. I was surprised and impressed by the dock and port here. For a port, it was quite lovely! Right off the ship was a beautiful green lawn and clean sidewalks. The weather was about 70 F, and a little overcast...just the way I like it! There was hardly any walk at all to get to where the speedboat was waiting for us just up the dock.
There were 30 of us in the group, and the boat (hard bottom, soft sides) fit exactly 30. Before getting on, we were instructed to take off our shoes and socks and drop them into a canvas bag because at our destination we would be disembarking right onto the beach.
On the speedboat, waiting to go.
Once out of the harbor we could see just how large and magnificent this bay was. Banderas Bay is largest bay in North America. This horse shoe shaped bay is about 20 miles across and nearly 30 wide at it's most inward point. This morning the bay was very smooth, hardly a ripple. On the way to our destination, the driver took a few detour to show us the sites.
Here is a stock photo of the bay I bought from Shutters
This is Puerto Vallarta's version of Los Arcos, an underwater national park protected by the government of Mexico.
A snorkeling excursion
This area is home to the endangered Blue-Footed Booby. There were hundreds all around here. Unfortunately my disposable camera didn't do a very good job of photographing them.
This is the area where the Night of the Iguana and the Predator movies were filmed.
After 45 minutes we arrived at Boca de Tomatlan, a secluded fishing village at the edge of the Sierra Madre jungle. It looked like paradise!
Okay, Sue, at least I've gotten a taste of all 3 ports! Keep up the good work, and then I'll be racin' to catch up with you on my OWN trip report when I get back!
We're LA-bound this morning, and will be thinking of you as we sail away tomorrow!!
WAH-HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Arriving at Boca de Tomatlan, the speed boat pulled right up to the beach (see photos in Day 5, Part 1). We jumped down from the boat into the shallow water. Since I am quite familiar with the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, I expected the water to be cold. So I was quite surprised that here, at least, it wasn't. It was more like cool swimming pool temperature.
We made our way through the sand to a covered sidewalk area with chairs and several vendors hoping to sell us silver jewelry. We were given back our shoes but my feet were absolutely caked with sand. I wadded up one of my wool socks, used it to brush the worst of the sand off my feet, and put on my boots.
The fifteen of us who were ready first were led to an all-terrain yellow Mercedes jeep-like truck. The back had a long bench on each side and strap handles (like one might use to keep from falling down on a bus or subway) hanging from the ceiling. We squeezed in and took off through the village, which was old and rustic, but in a clean and picturesque way.
The roads were narrow and winding. I was so glad I had taken a Bonine tablet before I left! I watched the scenery, eager to see the Puerto Vallarta jungle/rainforest up close. In Southern California we have plenty of beautiful terrain...mountains, desserts, beaches, and fertile plains...but no jungles or rainforests. Getting to see a jungle up close was a highly anticipated part of trip for me. So I was somewhat surprised that the Puerto Vallarta jungle looked incredibly like the terrain near where I used to live in Ojai, California, just with slightly different plants and trees. But the shape of the mountains, the color of the dirt, and the smell were the same.
Afterward I figured out that the reason the mountains looked so similar to me is that (although they are over 1,000 miles apart) they are all part of the same mountain range. Only by us the mountains are called the Los Padres National Forest. So although I didn't get to see the incredibly wet, lush, jungle of my mind's eye, I did get a renewed sense of what a beautiful part of the world I am lucky enough to live in!
At noon, after a bumpy 45-minute ride, we arrived at the Vallarta Adventures facility. This “base camp” for the Outdoor adventures consisted a few Spanish hacienda-type buildings and two covered gazebo-type areas, one with benches and dozens of harnesses, and the other larger one with t-shirts, etc. for sale and computer terminals that I assumed were for purchasing pictures. (I was right). It was really pretty with lots of shade and tons of fresh air. The weather was perfect, not too hot or too cold.
We were met by a guide who brought us to the harness gazebo and instructed us to put all our backpacks and changes of clothes (Why did we need a change of clothes! Nobody told me to bring a change of clothes!) in a huge duffle, and all our watches, sunglasses, wallets and other valuables into a lock box. For safety reasons (things getting caught, in the way, or falling off), we were to bring nothing with us. I reapplied sunscreen and packed away my stuff. I was somewhat reluctant to relinquish my sunglasses because I have really sensitive eyes, but I took their word for it and handed them over. Fortunately the day wasn't too bright and the trails were well shaded by trees.
Next we were fitted with harnesses and helmets, and then clipped a pair sopping wet, thick, leather gloves onto the harness. There were about five guides working with us, so it all went very quickly. When we were all equipped, they led us to the corral where we sat on a big long bench and were each matched up with an appropriately sized mule. The photographer assigned to our group was snapping away the whole time. You will be disappointed, I know, that neither Theo nor I opted to purchase the humiliating pictures of us on on those poor mules valiantly lugging us up the mountain.
After an enjoyable 20-minute ride up we arrived at the first zip line. I dismounted as gracefully as I could (read nearly fell off), thanked the mule, and went to a shaded area where we were given zip line instructions.
Then just like that it was time for our first ride! Each of the zip lines had a sign with a nickname. I forget which was which but I have pictures of two of them (two stock photos we decided to get instead of the humiliating mule pictures).
Although I have a heights phobia, I had a feeling that I would be OK with ziplining and repelling. The thought of getting too close to the banister on the second story of the mall makes me queasy, the thought of being near the edge of the grand canyon – panic inducing, but ziplining and repelling – exciting! After some introspection I came to the conclusion that the difference is the harness. If I'm strapped to something I feel safe. And I was right. I wasn't scared at all. It was fantastic. I loved the view from above.
Between the first and second zip line was a 15-minute steep hike that was kind of difficult (but it was the only difficult hike; the rest were mostly flat or downhill). Just as my legs were about to give out we reached the top I was grateful to see a station with water and gatorade in thermal cooler drink dispenser things. Theo didn't want to take any because he was worried that the water (being from Mexico) would make him sick. I figured, this is a Disney approved excursion by a company that makes its living off tourists. If people repeatedly got sick from the water they served, they wouldn't stay in business very long. And I was goshdarn thirsty, so I took the risk (and I did NOT get sick, BTW).
After a couple more zip lines we got to our first rappel. These aren't the bouncy kind of rappels. For this one we walked down the rock face beside a waterfall.
A quick hike brought us to the next rappel. This was a straight rappel, (i.e. Just sliding down the rope), next to a waterfall into a pool of water about six feet deep. Now I understood why they thought we might like a change of clothes!
The water was cold, but I was hot so it felt great! Of course, now I was totally soaked and my water-logged wool socks squished with every step.
After a couple more zip lines we began a very pleasant 15 minute hike back to the base camp. During this hike we crossed two short rope bridges and stomped through a stream or two, ensuring that my socks continued to squish merrily away.
Upon arrival at the base camp we were helped out of our harnesses and directed toward the photo/souvenir/snack shop kiosk and an area with complimentary snacks (water, apples, pears, chips & salsa).
We purchased a $79 photo package that included 8 photos we could download back at home. The souvenirs were fairly reasonably priced. For a total of $32, I got a bandanna, we each got a t-shirt, and Theo got a Gatorade and a Snickers. We also gave our guides a big tip because they really did an outstanding job. They were nice, competent, efficient, and funny.
After we all made our purchases and rested a bit, we got back in the jeep for the return ride down the mountain. The ride down was much, much faster and crazier than the ride up. The vehicle was going so fast that I couldn't take get any pictures and had to hold on tight. Back in Boca de Tomatlan we waited about 10 minutes for the other group of 15 from our boat. It was nice to have a chance to explore the beautiful beach there and I didn't mind the wait at all.
When the second group arrived we compared notes with them about the excursion. They were not as happy with their guides as we were with ours. They said their guides were highly capable, but a little grumpy. However they still really enjoyed the the excursion and would highly recommend it.
It was kind of hard to get back into the boat and very few of us were able to accomplish it gracefully. With a semi-humiliating roll and a flop, I was back on the boat, and we took off. The ride back was quite different from the ride over. The pilot took no detours for sightseeing and drove much faster. Also the water was now a little choppy and several times the boat caught air. It was fun, but I definitely held on tight and hoped I wouldn't bounce out of the boat.
We were brought back to the dock close to the ship.
We went straight to the cabin to change out of our soggy things, then fetched the kids from the clubs to get ready for dinner.
Summing up: This excursion was fantastic! Theo and I both felt it was the highlight of the whole cruise. I wholeheartedly recommend it and the Vallarta Adventures excursion company to anyone who might be interested in this sort of thing. One thing to note however, although it was advertised as a 5.5 hour excursion, we were gone closer to 7 hours.
Coming soon: Pirates in the Carri bean in the Pacific
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I wholeheartedly recommend it and the Vallarta Adventures excursion company to anyone who might be interested in this sort of thing. One thing to note however, although it was advertised as a 5.5 hour excursion, we were gone closer to 7 hours.
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