Escaping the Gray in Sunny Mexico

Every winter we talk about escaping the gray that is the PNW and heading somewhere warm and sunny. This year, we finally did it! Originally, I called it our makeup beach vacation from when I got sunburned and couldn’t actually have our beach time in Thailand. Turns out Puerto Vallarta has a lot more going on than just beaches and we can’t really handle more than a day or 2 of sedentary life so it worked out great!

We timed the trip over a holiday (MLK) weekend to maximize vay cay time. Took off Thursday morning with a very healthy and well-balanced breakfast. Okay, this was all me. Chris showed proper restraint and Kendra & Zach were on an earlier flight.

When you arrive in Puerto Vallarta, you can get a taxi from the airport or cross a fun pedestrian bridge over a super wide road to catch the bus or an Uber. We didn’t know it when we landed but a restaurant that would soon become an obsession has a location right there at the base of the bridge. Such a missed opportunity.

We stayed at a Maryott property in an area known as the Marina. It’s about a 20-minute drive to the city proper and is the home of a ton of big ol’ boats. It was super fun to walk along and dream of having that much wealth. Plus there are a ton of restaurants in the area. Good food but definitely catering to a largely American/English-speaking clientele. No regrets per se but Chris and I both think we’ll be better off staying closer to the city next time.

The property is great. All rooms have a balcony overlooking the pools and ocean. There are multiple pools, bars, and restaurants. We all had a great time vegging by the pool, watching the lizards, and getting served a few too many adult beverages. So fun. So chill.

Plus there were the sunsets.

One of our first adventures away from the hotel was for a food tour with Maria. She’s an absolute foodie and an expert regarding places to eat in Puerto Vallarta. Highly recommend. Everything we had was delicious plus she took us to some “secret” areas of town for some whale watching.

Maria is the one who clued us in on Tacón de Marlin, the restaurant obsession I mentioned previously. It was closed when we walked past it on our tour but she highly recommended the shrimp burrito. Chris and I took a mental note during the food tour to check it out the following day.

The food tour wet our appetites for exploration so when the sun rose the next day, we were in a car back to the city so we could climb up to the fancy cross on the top of the hill. No joke, if you build it, we will come. There were a lot of stairs but it was actually a short hike compared to some of the crazy things we do. Plus there were some great views and even more whale-watching opportunities!

We came back down the mountain and had breakfast at an amazing local place. Then it was off to explore cat island again. We’d walked through it during our food tour but it’s the home to a bunch of cats so obviously I needed to go back and make friends.

We wandered up and down the city exploring various allies, bakeries, bars, and beaches. The city is so welcoming. It’s very LGBTQ+ friendly. Men felt comfortable walking hand in hand in public plus there were tons of venues and performances targeted towards that market. So great to see! I honestly wish we’d stayed closer to this area rather than the touristy one we did but that’s something for next time.

We made our way back to Tacón de Marlin but were woefully short on cash. We had just enough for a single burrito but I couldn’t remember the word for shrimp. I panicked and ordered the first thing on the menu, marlin, which I figured couldn’t be a bad choice because it’s in the name of the restaurant! It was a delicious choice and the burritos are huge – more than plenty for Chris and I to share.

The problem was we were sold on the fact that shrimp was where it was at so we tried it again the next day. Unfortunately for us, they’re closed on Mondays. Obviously, we’re just going to have to go back next gray season to try it. Third times the charm right?!