For our first trip together we wanted to do something that neither one of us had done before and we wanted to go someplace neither one of us had gone before. After lots of looking at TripAdvisor, Westways Magazine and Instagram for inspo we decided to cruise Mexico! This was Richie's first time out of the country! And even though I had been to Mexico many times before, I had never been to any of the ports where the ship was stopping, so it was perfect! My travel bug was already full-blown at this point and I really hoped that our trip would spark Richie's travel bug as well.
First port of call... Cabo!
Cabo was a blast! We booked a snorkeling tour through the cruise line (Carnival) because we enjoy having the peace of mind that if anything goes wrong with our tour (i.e. we miss the ship) they (Carnival) will organize and pay for a way to get us back on the ship at the next port. The company they worked with was awesome! The two guides were friendly, knowledgeable and made us feel safe the entire time. After visiting the world famous "El Arco" we got to snorkel in the Santa Maria area and it was the best first experience for Richie. The water was lukewarm and clear and there were fish everywhere. Sadly, we did not have an underwater camera at the time and so we didn't get photos of them to share with y'all. After the snorkel tour, which lasted about 2 1/2 hours, we walked around the small town and bought snacks for the afternoon. We discovered our favorite chips EVER during this little snack haul. They are literally called "Chips"! They're kettle-cooked potato chips with a Flaming Hot Cheetos type of seasoning... AMAZING!
Port numero dos... Mazatlan!
For our Mazatlan adventure we chose zip-lining. Once again, the tour was booked through the cruise line for the same reason mentioned above. The company was great, the guide was friendly and very funny. He took the time to let us know that regardless of what one might hear in the news about this part of Mexico, everyone here makes tourist safety a priority because tourism is how a lot of people in the area make a living. Knowing this definitely put our minds at ease. The zip-line was a ton of fun and had a very different ending to other zip-lines I'd done before... but I won't say too much in case you decide to try it out for yourself someday. After the zip-lining we were taken to a local tequila distillery where we learned about the tequila-making process and got to do a tequila tasting... Los Osuna Tequila is probably the best I've ever had, specially their vanilla infused tequila. But the real highlight was once again food. As we got back to the port the guide said to the group, "If you want to taste the best ceviche in the world, there's a little place right outside the port, I suggest you check it out." We decided to give it a try so we asked the guide how to get to it. He said, "You see that little red cart? That's it." Yup, we ate ceviche from a roadside cart, and let me tell you, IT IS the best we've ever had!!! To this day, whenever we eat anything at all, we always say, "Do you remember the ceviche from Mazatlan?"
El puerto final... Puerto Vallarta!
Of all our ports of call, Puerto Vallarta was definitely the most beautiful of all. For this shore excursion (guess how we booked it) we opted to visit the small fishing town of Yelapa, which is only accessible by boat. Man, did we make the right choice! The tour started on a huge catamaran where we were given snorkel equipment for a quick stop at a local snorkeling spot. After the snorkeling they provided a delicious brunch, served buffet style with all the alcoholic drinks you want! After about 40 minutes of smooth sailing we arrived in beautiful Yelapa. It is a tiny town secretly nestled in tree covered hills. Some of us chose to skip the sun bathing and instead went on a hike through the entire town to get to the waterfall you see here. The walk took us through a very hilly but picturesque town full of only locals and donkeys. Richie was kind enough to buy me a gorgeous strand of pink river pearls from one of the locals, it started a tradition of us always buying each other a special gift when we go on a trip. After exploring the waterfall and taking pictures with the town iguana (yes, you read that right) we headed down to the beach for a little R&R and ceviche. The ceviche was delicious but when you've had Mazatlan roadside cart ceviche, nothing else compares... Once the tour was over (its a long one, about 6 hours) we headed to the local Walmart to pick up more "chips" since we'd become addicted, then to the mall for froyo. As we headed out of Puerto Vallarta mother earth put on an incredible lightning show, the perfect end to our perfect trip... or so I thought.
Our trip was perfect, except for the fact that I dislocated a knee on our last day on the ship, OUCH! It was all Richie's fault...
All in all our first trip was a wonderful bonding experience that allowed us to get to know one another on a much deeper level. We got to see more of each other's quirks, faults, peeves... but we also got to see child-like joy in each other's eyes, the smile you get when you experience something new, and we realized that we love being around each other as much as possible, wonky knees and all. But the best part? As we were waiting to get off the ship, Richie turned to me and said, "So, where we going next?!"
Xoxo- V