In March of 2016, my immediate family, maternal cousins, and I decided to spend 4 days in Puerto Vallarta to celebrate the life of our grandpa/dad who’d passed a year prior.
I’m not sure who decided we’d go to Mexico, or who picked Puerto Vallarta, but we all agreed we wanted to go to an all inclusive resort. Settling on Garza Blanca was easy once we saw photos of the resort.
Day 1 (Travel Day)
Just like I mentioned in my post about our trip to New York City, I hardly slept the day before we left. This was my first time going into another country, and I was excited to get my first passport stamp! My mom, siblings, and I flew into Mexico and met with my cousins at check in. As soon as we entered the resort, we were immediately transported to heaven!
If this isn’t a sign of heaven, I don’t know what is.
The staff was extremely friendly, the weather felt amazing, and the sun was shining through the clouds behind the resort. Check in was easy, and we were soon being taken to our separate rooms. My immediate family and I booked a two bedroom panorama suite. The room was breathtaking! The only thing that rivaled the luxury of our suite was he view from the balcony.
We all took a little bit of time to settle into our rooms and then met up to explore the resort some. Once we felt acquainted with out surroundings, we all went to the beach. I indulged in complimentary drinks and played in the sand much longer than I probably should have. Eventually we worked up an appetite, so got dressed and went to one of the restaurants at the resort. I had grilled octopus for the first time, and it tasted lovely!
Day 2
On our second day in Puerto Vallarta, we decided to take a tour around the island. Our first stop was Canopy El Eden. This destination was the site of the Predator movie set, so we saw some big Predator statues lurking in the jungle. We stopped to get lunch here before continuing our tour with some other adult activities. Tequila tasting!
Well, it was less of a tasting and more of a legitimate tequila tour, but tequila was still enjoyed. This part of the trip is when I learned tequila was made from agave. I’d only been 21 for 6 months at this point, so I was still learning about alcohol. A couple of hours and a bit of a buzz later, we made our way back to the resort for dinner.
Dinner this night was at a sushi restaurant at the resort. My mom had to be given kiddie chopsticks, to which we all, including the staff, had a laugh at. And whether or not I managed to spend half of dinner drunkenly flirting with our waiter, I’ll never say!
Day 3
Our last full day in Puerto Vallarta began with self care. We all booked hour long sessions at the spa. That was my first massage, and I wish I could experience it for the fist time all over again. My muscles are salivating for those hot stones!
Once we were all feeling soothed, we decided to go into the city, outside of the resort. Walking around Puerto Vallarta was an experience! The locals all seemed to know we’d been staying at Garza Blanca and treated us like celebrities. My sister and cousins did get the typical, “Can I touch your hair?” questioning and looks from people on the street, but for the most part, we were treated like family. We ate and drank at a local taco spot on the downtown strip. It was inexpensive, fresh, and so delicious!
We decided to continue walking around the city after lunch, and wound up coming across the town’s most popular church- Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. The church bells were ringing, and people were milling about, so we didn’t go inside. But it was a beautiful building! After a bit more walking around, we went back to the resort for our final dinner. Dinner tonight was at the steakhouse, and the tequila just kept flowing! I’d learned by now that tequila and I didn’t really get along, so I was taking it easy. My mom on the other hand? She was feeling herself and brought us (and the waiters) another night full of laughter.
Day 4 (Travel Day)
All of my vacations end with a bittersweet feeling. I definitely didn’t want to go back to every day life in the States after such a fun weekend in Mexico. Ordering room service to enjoy on our balcony helped abate the sadness a little bit, though. The view was gorgeous!
From left to right: my cousin, my sister, my brother, my cousin, me, my mom.
Before checking out, we took a group photo together. My family and I came to Mexico to celebrate and reminisce on the life of my grandpa. After 4 days of spending time together, I’d say we pulled it off. We were leaving Mexico with a renewed respect for life and memories with each other we’d remember for the rest of our lives. My grandpa would have been happy to see us having such a lovely time in his honor.
And just like that, our 4 days in Puerto Vallarta was over! We had an amazing time in the city, and I’d recommend it as a travel destination to anyone looking to get away from the typical Spring Break destinations.
