I typically save my international trips to just once per year so I can take an extended trip at least two weeks long. But after my last trip to Mexico for Dia de Los Muertos, I realized how quick and easy it is to go to Mexico, and cheaper than traveling in the US. I decided a couple months ago to treat myself to a shorter trip this year for my birthday and was initially looking at Miami. I haven’t been to Miami yet, but I am interested in checking it out as a potential place to live one day. After pricing out the flights and AirBnb, I realized it would be faster to travel to certain parts of Mexico, and I could get more for my money for a short trip. Miami will still happen eventually but will have to wait a bit longer. I chose Puerto Vallarta, because it’s one of the easiest places to get to from Denver, just a three-hour direct flight, and the beach is easily accessible from the center of town. I have actually been to PV once before, about seven years ago. It wasn’t the best experience for several reasons, but I decided to give it another try.
Timeshares are the thing in Puerto Vallarta. There is a room you have to walk through when exiting the airport that is full of a bunch of people that are strategically placed to suck people into timeshare presentations. They make it seem like they are going to set you up with a taxi, then offer you a bunch of free experiences to sacrifice just “an hour” of your vacation for their timeshare presentations. I was naïve enough on my first trip to get sucked in, and I’ll just say it was not an experience I want to repeat. Thankfully this time around I knew what to expect and beelined it through that horrible room while people were shouting at me about taxis and prearranged shuttles. I did almost get sucked in later on in my trip when I was walking around the Malecon, a boardwalk along the beach with bars, restaurants, shops and art sculptures. I had just left a restaurant and a man from a tequila shop approached me and offered me some free tequila tasters. I know now that nothing is free. After tasting some delicious tequilas, he brought me to his “office” to show me what his “real” job was. I knew right away what was going on. Still, they can be quite convincing with all of the free excursions and future trips they try to throw into the deal, especially after a couple shots of tequila. The guy was relentless, but I eventually walked out of the shop. This is an unattractive part of PV that seems to be unavoidable- so be aware if you plan to travel here, and learn to say no firmly.
Despite the constant selling, this experience was definitely better than the first. I stayed in an AirBnb condo that was within walking distance of the airport which made things simple for me for arrival and departure. Not only that, but the condo was located on the top floor of a large plaza that had essentially everything I needed- restaurants, shops, convenience store, liquor store, foreign currency exchange and ATMs. It made my life so much easier not having to fumble my way through and find these things. There was also a rooftop pool that I could walk out to from my room. Unfortunately I didn’t really end up using it- the weather was cooler than I expected and the pool was not heated.
I only really had three full days for this trip not counting travel days, so I didn’t do a whole lot other than walk around the city center (which was a $5 Uber ride from my condo), hang out at the beach, eat and drink. I ate so much delicious food, and drank a bit too much tequila, but I figured “when in Mexico…” I recently reintroduced eggs and fish back into my diet, which made my life so much easier when looking for places to eat. I ended up eating a lot of fish on this trip- including sushi, ceviche, oysters on the half shell and poke bowls. The fish was delicious and affordable- although I will say that the restaurant prices were higher in the city center than where I was staying away from the tourism.
On one of the days, I took a day trip to Sayulita, which is a little hippie surf town that’s about an hour outside of PV. I had heard of it because there are a lot of yoga retreats held in Sayulita. It was very crowded with tourists, but is a super cute town with good vibes, and that little trip was definitely a highlight of the entire trip. The beach is absolutely stunning, though most of it is packed with umbrellas and chairs outside of the resorts. I ended up getting an hour-long full body massage right on the beach for only $20. After that I was able to find a spot to lay out on the beach that was away from the noise and crowds. I spent a couple of hours lying there, and came to the conclusion that I need to live closer to the ocean. The ocean is incredibly healing for me and brings me to a place of feeling connected and present and free of the burdens that typically weigh on my mind. 
The mountains can have a similar affect but at least for me it is quite a bit more intense with the ocean. It’s not just the ocean alone, it’s also the sun, the sand and the wind…all of these elements coming together in one place. I suspect that my connection to the ocean has a lot to do with the fact that I am a Pisces, the most watery and emotional sign of the zodiac, so there’s something about water that soothes my soul. I’ve been landlocked in Colorado basically my entire life, and only get to go the ocean once a year or so when I travel. I recently decided (again, but for real this time) to go to grad school for accounting which I will begin this summer. So my new plan is to check out some potential places to relocate to over the next couple of years while I’m in school, to hopefully have a destination in mind by the time I graduate.
