Puerto Vallarta

It’s very scenic there.  This is what you see as you disembark from the ship:

Beauty; unlike anywhere else.

But we didn’t sightsee too much. This is what we did
for most of our Puerto Vallarta visit.

Call us crazy for getting off one boat, only to board another, but we did.  And it was crazy. But also, it was kind of fun.  Kind of. 

This was our view from our seats aboard the Jolly Roger.  Here, we were treated to some first class pirate shows, face painting, singing, and swordfights all on our way to the beautiful Majahuitas Beach. 

During our 90 minute boat ride (yes, it took 90 minutes…EACH WAY), we also went down under the main deck and ate a really authentic Mexican breakfast:

It was delicious.  I totally love Mexican food.

Finally, we made it to the beach.  It was beautiful.  Really.
Once there, you could do snorkeling (but not really as jellyfish were supposedly lurking nearby), beach volleyball, banana boat rides, and kayaking. 

Me, Dave, Ryan, Shane, and Svet opted for the water weenie.  It was my first time riding one out on the ocean, which was kind of a thrill.  And I’m pretty certain, we were the only riders to get dumped on our way back in.

They also provided a treasure hunt for the kids.

Kate listened very intently as they explained how to find the treasure.  She’s gorgeous I think:

After repeated diggings (and dirty hands)
the treasure was found.  Not by Kate, but by another little boy who decided to share the treasure with the rest of the kids.

Kate with her cut of the booty

But aside from all the organized activities, we all really just enjoyed the sun, sand, and water.

Our sweet little Cole Baby napped angelically under an umbrella for most of our time there. I think he liked the beach.
After Majahuitas, we boarded the ship.  We had a chicken cordon bleu lunch with spaghetti and salad (as well as a very refreshing and icy pina colada beverage), all of which I was sure was going to give me a case of the Mexican Poops.  I was fine, my friends, but others of our party were not so lucky:) We had to sit through a little more pirating brouhaha and we were back.  In synopsis: too much time on the boat, not enough time on the beach.

We changed our clothes back on the Disney ship, and then came back out to visit the Mercado, or Market, for the unilingualists.

It was here that we picked up some very important souvenirs:  Kate got her bongo drums; Dave, his Nacho Libre luchador mask; and I (well, I kind of wound up with the loser souvenir)…a magnet, but it was handmade from clay and kind of cute. Kind of.