A Whale of aTime

We started off on the wrong foot, so to speak. We went to Nuevo Vallarta for Christmas week after spending the previous two weeks in Mazatlan. We had taken the bus from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta and it took extra hours because of roadwork delays. We were very tired by the time we arrived at the Mayan Palace in Nuevo Vallarta and found out there was a mix up in our reservation. We had to wait for another unit to be made ready before we could check in. Our main reason for wanting to be there at that time of year was to see the whales. We were able to do that easily and it was definitely a highlight of the trip. An unexpected bonus was being able to share the holiday season with people who really know how to share the Christmas spirit. The locals welcomed us with open hearts and arms and made us feel truly at home. The downtown area was beautifully decorated, as were the resorts and hotels. If you are fortunate enough to be there during Christmas week, look forward to taking part in a posada, or two. We had so much fun; we are looking forward to returning soon.

Quick Tips:

Bring your passport with you for boarding your flights, exchanging money, and checking into the resort. Leave it in a safe at the resort and carry a photocopy of it and your driver’s license on your person. Most resorts use purified water in restaurants and bars and for making ice in the machines on-site. You can purchase bottled water for drinking and brushing teeth. We felt very safe here. Prices were very reasonable. Lunches were under and dinners were usually under . When shopping, most prices are negotiable and some good-natured bartering is expected. Bring plenty of suntan lotion. The beaches are great and all are open to the public.

Best Way To Get Around:

Rental cars are available, but if you’re involved in an accident, it is your fault: end of story. The bus service between Nuevo Vallarta and Puerto Vallarta is good enough to eliminate the necessity of a rental car. However, busses can be crowded and you may have to stand most of the way for approximately 20 minutes if you happen to be traveling during the resort employees' commute times. Walking around downtown Puerto Vallarta is a real treat, offering you a chance to get to know the locals while having fun shopping and dining. Local busses will take you to nearby suburbs worth visiting to see how the locals live.

Best Things Nearby:
Whale watching tours on Banderas Bay are best between December and March. This resort, with its own beautiful beach, also boasts the second largest swimming pool in Latin America.

Best Things About the Resort:
If you're the type to just stay at a resort, relax, and get pampered, this is a wonderful place to do it. Try kayaking on the inner lagoon, or be transported around the property on the miniature train or in one of the piloted electric boats.

Resort Experience:
It took about 20 minutes to travel from the airport to the resort. As we entered the property, we saw the beautiful lush, colorful landscaping, which was a pleasant surprise considering we were arriving for Christmas week. The reception staff were very pleasant and helpful in locating a very spacious, one bedroom, non smoking unit, with a king sized bed and a great view facing the bay and overlooking the lagoon and swimming pool. What more could a person want?

If you're thinking good food, they have two restaurants and a poolside snack bar on site. If you prefer to fix some of your own meals, you can get all the ingredients, as well as various vacation necessities at a small store located near the entrance to the property. As for the pool, it is the second largest in Latin America. The resort has its own beautiful, private (no venders) white sand beach. The resort staff will transport you around the grounds on a miniature railroad train or around their private lagoon in comfortable, shaded electric boats. You can spend time and exercise in the gym, or relax and be pampered at Kaana Spa with its' steam room, sauna, complete workout room and Jacuzzi.

Enjoy a romantic evening on the patio lounge overlooking the lagoon and listening to the live musical performances. You could enjoy a wonderful vacation without ever leaving the resort, but you'd miss seeing some of the best sights and pleasures Mexico has to offer.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Excellent

We had gone to a timeshare presentation at another resort to check it out in case we might want to stay there on a future visit to Puerto Vallarta. One of the "gifts" we were given was a pair of tickets on Vallarta Adventures' Whale Watching cruise. We boarded their catamaran in the marina in Nuevo Vallarta and rode to the marina in Puerto Vallarta where more adventure seekers came onboard. Then we headed out into the Bay of Banderas, the winter home for the Humpback Whales. Between mid-October and mid-March, approximately 300 humpback whales visit Banderas Bay before starting back to their feeding grounds in Alaskan waters. They stay in Banderas Bay for a minimum of one day to a maximum of thirty-six days, most averaging about 11.4 days. Mothers with calves tend to stay within one to four kilometers from shore while the rest tend to stay farther out in the ocean. We were fortunate enough to spot about twenty different whales, including some calves, during our two and a half hours on the bay. There were several companies represented, all with smaller boats than the catamaran we were aboard. Our captain was able to get close enough for us to get good pictures without causing undue stress to the whales. However, some of the smaller boats were crowding too close to the whales with little or no concern for safety. Our crew members were courteous and helpful throughout the trip, providing a light buffet and humorous entertainment. The catamaran was in excellent condition and the crew were well-trained to take care of their passengers, especially the younger ones. We enjoyed seeing the whales and meeting many other vacationers from all over the USA and Canada. The weather was sunny and clear with smooth seas providing a perfect day for whale watching. One of the crew members was an experienced marine biologist and, with the help of a loudspeaker system, shared his extensive knowledge of humpback whales and other creatures found in the bay of Banderas. When we returned to the Puerto Vallarta marina, we chose to disembark and head to the downtown area for sightseeing and dinner before returning to Nuevo Vallarta for the night.

Having never been to Puerto Vallarta before, we weren't sure what to expect. We had heard that a hurricane had "destroyed" the malecon the year before and many of the businesses and resorts along the beach were not repaired yet. We had come to see the whales, and having done that, we wanted to see the downtown area. We were pleased to discover that downtown Puerto Vallarta is quite different from other towns we have visited in Mexico. With its cobblestone streets, it is like Mexico of olden days, yet it also has many signs of modern day, too. They have a Hooters, a Hard Rock Cafe, McDonalds, and Baskin Robbins, to name a few, mixed in with many wonderful Mexican restaurants, some with spectacular views. There are many unique stores selling silver jewelry, beachwear, pottery, T-shirts of all descriptions, and many arts and crafts, typically Mexican in nature. There are three movie theatres showing current releases, some in Spanish and some in English with Spanish subtitles. There is a daily flea market along a small river that flows through town and into the bay. All this is very pleasant for sightseeing in the daytime, but the town comes alive in the evenings, when tourists join the locals along the Malecon to watch and become part of the entertainment. There are many statues and sculptures to be admired and photographed, as well as different forms of live entertainment, depending on the season. Being there at Christmastime, we saw many religious displays, too. We enjoyed mingling with the Mexican people, with their friendly, bright-eyed children, and their family pets. Puerto Vallarta is a fun place to visit for people of all ages and has not become overrun with college-age kids yet. This is a destination to return to often.

Having only seen bullfights on television, I hadn't realized that what I had seen were the highlights of the "contest" between man and beast. Judging from the experience we had watching in person in Puerto Vallarta, the reality of the "sport" is that there is very little sportsmanship involved. The bull was teased and aggravated by a number of men who hid behind walls and briefly exposed themselves to taunt the bull until he raced toward them. At that time, they quickly turned and hightailed it behind the wall again. After tiring the bull in this manner, one "brave" matador came forward and addressed the bull from a safe distance. He waved his cape at the bull and stepped aside in plenty of time to avoid being struck by the bull, each time looking to the crowd for applause and admiration. After a little while, riders on horses with extensive padding entered the bullring and proceeded to wound the bull with sharp instruments designed to stick in the bull's upper back and slowly bleed and thus weaken the animal. When the matador believes the bull is sufficiently weakened, he returns to the ring to challenge the bull to a fight to the death. We were there on a day when four such matches were scheduled. At this point of the first match, the matador had underestimated the strength of the bull. The matador approached to taunt the bull with his cape as before, but this time the bull hooked the matador's legs and threw him into the air over the bull's head. Immediately, several other matadors came to the fallen gladiator's rescue, drawing the bull's attention away without getting very close themselves. Eventually the original matador regained his composure and tentatively resumed his place in the arena. Unfortunately, so much time had elapsed and so much of the bull's blood had been lost that the "contest" was all but over. The matador attempted to slay the bull with a long sword and missed the mark twice before finally sinking it into the bull's body up to the hilt. The bull staggered briefly, refusing to fall before finally collapsing in a heap. The proud matador bowed to the crowd, expecting much applause, but had to settle for a very small amount of praise. What we witnessed that day was very disappointing for us, although we realize that it may have been the exception to the rule. We left before the second "contest" began.