Relaxing into Puerto Vallarta

My days are hot, unstructured and relaxing. We have been in Puerto Vallarta almost a week and today was the first time I’ve touched the laptop. Wonderful!

View from The Blue Shrimp

Our first three nights were spent in a cheap hotel until our condo was available. The hotel was okay, better once we changed rooms but not great. The doors were thin and free of deadlocks, the pool small and uninviting, and overall the place was deserted. The highlight was the little patio overlooking the street. Watching traffic and the coming and goings of locals was endlessly fascinating. When the rain fell, and wow did it fall the first two days, carefully placing ourselves at the center by the door we could sit in shelter and watch in amazement at the downpour.

Rainy street view of Puerto Vallarta

Coming back from dinner on our second day we were caught in the rain. I had tried to explain tropical rain to B but obviously failed. Perhaps once can’t properly describe it, not to someone (myself included) who has grown up with temperate climates. We know rain as cold, something that raincoats and umbrellas can protect you from. Not this rain. It was heavier and longer than any I experienced in Jamaica. Over the course of dinner the light rain had turned to a downpour. The cobbled streets became formidable rivers to be crossed. In flip-flops I waded through but his shoes were sponges before he took them off. Within two blocks of running from cover to cover we’d given up. Wet through there was no point avoiding the rain other than to keep it from your eyes. And yet only slightly cool in the final block of our walk and as soon as inside the heat was overwhelming again.

The hotel was so humid that our clothes weren’t dry till we moved to our condo on the 28th.

Oh, how everything changed the moment we walked through those doors! We knew from the listing online that it was beautiful, right on the beach with a terrace perfect for sunsets. It is so much better than imagined. I was near tears with joy. Both of us walked through with the biggest goofy smiles on our faces, taking everything in. Stress melted out of my body and hasn’t been heard from since. The condo in Plaza Dorada is stunning. The stained glass windows, large tiled kitchen, the bathroom with large blue and white painted tiles and window that opens to the bedroom. The bedroom that opens to living room, and living room that extends to terrace. And the sound of waves crashing on the sandy shore. Perfect, every last detail. Within minutes we were discussing booking it for next year.

On entering Casa Beverly (Plaza Dorada)

Opening the terrace doors

First drink on the terrace

Beautiful sunsets everynight

Me, melting in the sun

Another night, another stunning sunset

Three nights in the condo now, and we still catch ourselves staring off the terrace to the ocean wondering what we came in the room for. It makes it hard to do anything but we have lots of time to explore. My priority now is unwinding, relaxing and not worrying about anything.