Christina's Blog: May 2008

Hola!

This is way overdue. We had a fantastic time in Puerto Vallarta for our wedding planning weekend. Got a lot done and things are coming together for October.

We arrived into PV on Thursday night, and our good friend, Homero, picked us up and whisked us away to the CasaMagna Marriott. Checked in and had a few cervezas in the hotel lobby. There was a large party down on the patio by the pool, in which fireworks were set off - what a way to arrive in Mexico! There were a lot of business meetings or something going on the whole time we were there - it was packed day and night - pool and bars.

Later Thursday evening, we walked up the street to a place in the marina - Beer & Tacos. Just a little place right on the street, closer to the Westin. $10 for 4 tacos, a quesadilla and two beers! Can't beat that bargain.

After a good night's beer-induced sleep, early Friday morning, we headed off to the marina to meet up with Nicole, our wedding coordinator from Las Caletas/Vallarta Adventures. (Best wedding coordinator ever! She will do it all. ) We enjoyed the boat ride - plenty of breakfast foods, coffee, water, juice, fruit.

There were controlled fires burning in the mountains, so it made things really hazy on the way to Las Caletas. I had never heard of this before, but apparently they do this all the time. But soon enough the haze burned off.

This is the beach where we will be married and the location of the dinner following is in the yellow-gold building:

Getting closer to dock the boat.

We immediately got settled into our spot on the beach while Nicole was off helping her bride-of-the-day. Chris took off for the bar shortly thereafter. Free drinks all day.

Nicole came to the beach to find us and we sat down to go over every little detail I could think of for the wedding. She then took us on a quick tour around the area just to give us an idea of what to expect on our big day. I took this of the view as we walked up to the Bridal Suite - which is where I'll get to spend the day with my girls and get ready. The water just looked so inviting - there are a few platforms out in the water in which you can swim out to and then chill on the beach chairs. Never even had time to think about that. It was a lot to pack into our day at Las Caletas.

The bride-of-the-day was settled into the suite but not around at the moment we arrived up there - it's private and high up away from all the tourists. Out back is a jacuzzi and hammock - which will be great for relaxing and hanging out.

The inside of the Bridal Suite is just as quaint and comfortable.

Just a few short steps away is the spa - mostly for massages. I highly intend to use this!

This little bridge lead to more private sitting areas - there are terraces on the hillside with beach chairs. Even further back into the woods/jungle (whatever you want to call it), is an orchid garden of some sort. I never did get to make it back there - but plan to venture there in October.

Another shot of the beach - so much space to spread out. The umbrellas in the right of the picture is where they set up lunch and there's another bar not too far from there up in the trees.

Apparently this bird was trained to be a part of a wedding. He would fly down from the hill with a little bag that included the wedding rings for the ceremony. No, I won't be doing this. Birds freak me out.

You can't see it in this picture, but there was a seal swimming with these snorkelers. Kayaking was also another activity for the tourists to participate in - a large group headed off early and they were just returning.

This is the area designated for the guys to prepare before the weddings. It's right above the dining/bar area. The hammocks look enticing.

Once we got done going over details and taking the mini-tour, I was able to relax and dive into the beer. Lunch was fantastic - Mexican buffet, of course - we sat right on the water and enjoyed the surroundings. And beer.

The day went by way too fast. Before we knew it, it was time to head back. Took some great pics along the beach as we headed to the boat. So sad to leave so soon.

And more beer back on the boat ride.

Hasta luego, Las Caletas!

What??? No more beer?

This is the marina where we left to go to Las Caletas, but it's also the port for all of the cruise ships. Interestingly enough, cruise ships only make stops here, they don't launch out of Puerto Vallarta.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off at Walmart to pick up more beer, a cooler as well as some other necessities for our stay. We took a quick cab ride back to the Marriott to hang at the pool.
Back at the room we got ready for dinner and hung out on our balcony. Another big party was being held down on the patio. You can see the pool in the background.

This is the view off to the east of our room. The haze lingered over the mountains - not sure if it's smoke or humidity.

Dinner on Friday night was at one of our favorites in the malecon, La Dolce Vita. Amazing Italian food - I had the gnocchi and Chris had the fettucine alfredo. And more beer.

Much of Saturday was spent at the pool. Working on the tan and sweating out all the beer that was consumed the day before. No beer for me that day. I had an appointment at 4pm at Salon L'ococco in the Penninsula shopping center to have my trial run for my hair and makeup for the wedding. Fortunately, Patty went with me because no one at the salon spoke English. Patty is working so hard on her English and it's really coming along well. I really need to work on my Spanish - it's not so good. While my hair turned out great, the make-up not so much. I thought I looked like a zombie, but according to Patty, it was more like a raccoon. I'd post these pics, but I'm too embarrassed! Really happy about the hair though - the same girl will come to Las Caletas the day of the wedding.

Once that was over - which took longer than expected - we headed back to the hotel to meet up with Chris & Homero. Headed to dinner at Hacienda San Angel - getting there was an adventure itself. The roads are so tight throughout the city but our cab driver was a pro. If it weren't for him we would have never found the place. Once there, you have to pull the rope to ring the bell just to enter the building. And you have to pull hard. However, it was worth the trouble! This place was absolutely spectacular - since we were waiting, we had a chance to wander a little through the hotel, which is made up of five haciendas. After the misunderstanding about our reservation was straightened out, we were seated upstairs for dinner. The views were amazing and the food was delicious.

One of the many courtyards:

Homero & Patty enjoying the view.

Me and the Walton:

View from one of the roof top terraces.

All of us enjoying the evening.

This is the main courtyard.

Sunday was much like Saturday - spent lounging at the pool absorbing the Mexico sun and relaxing. The pool was crawling with sales people from the states. Great for people watching and eavesdropping. Apparently a bunch of them had won the trip.

Sunday night we went into town again for dinner. I had read that El Arrayan was voted Best Mexican Food, so we gave it a shot. It was tucked away on a side street, had a lot of character and great food. I had the best plantain black bean empanadas ever! After dinner, we just walked around the malecon and caught this amazing sunset.

Things get crazy in the malecon at night, even on a Sunday.

Once we got back to the hotel, we just sat in the lobby doing more of our favorite - people watching. However, it was such a long day, I actually curled up on Chris's lap and fell asleep. So did he! He said he must have nodded off, because when he woke up there was a new group of people sitting on the couch across from us.

On Monday (our last day in PV), Chris had to go off with Homero over to Vista Vallarta to work on one of the computers. I briefly met with Rosario, our contact at the hotel and then went over to Marina Vallarta to meet with the photographer, Roberto. However, he never showed up because of a photo shoot he had in Nuevo Vallarta. I was quite disappointed. Will have to catch up with him another time over the phone. Once Chris and Homero returned, I did get the fun news that we will be featured in the PV newspaper.

The Casa Magna Marriott has it's own tequila - here's the agave they grow in the front yard:

One last shot from the lobby of the hotel:

We sat in the lobby watching the floor being waxed while waiting for Homero to take us back to the airport. They really take good care of the property, but am looking forward to seeing it after the renovations that begin in May.