Vacationing in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

It was time for our Spring Break trip to Puerto Vallarta! 

I initially considered canceling our trip due to Alex and Inna contracting the flu, but they convinced me to continue with the trip since they were feeling much better. I contacted Costco Travel to double-check my severe penalties. If I canceled the trip, I would lose 60% of the hotel fees and pay $375 to reschedule Alaska Airlines. Next time, I will purchase trip insurance.

Since Inna and Alex were feeling well enough to travel, I set the alarm clock for 5:00 a.m. Friday morning for our early flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles (LAX) aboard Alaska Airlines #1930. Once we woke up and dressed, I ordered UberX (which was unusually expensive – i.e., $75) for the 35-minute ride to SFO. Our UberX arrived at 5:45 a.m., and we arrived at SFO's International Terminal at approximately 6:25 a.m.

Since our flight was destined for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, we thought we might need the Alaska Airlines booth at the International Terminal – but we were wrong. I checked my flight status, and the Airbus departed from Terminal 1, Gate 47. We took the inter-terminal shuttle to Terminal 1 but could not find an Alaska booth to check-in. We walked over to Terminal 2 but were a bit confused. Our flight was by Alaska, operated by Virgin America Airlines. First, we tried to check in at the Alaska booth but were told we must do so at the Virgin America booth instead. We walked to the Virgin America booth, but there were two separate lines: one said International and had a Puerto Vallarta sign, but the other had Full Service.

At first, we followed the Puerto Vallarta sign. Still, the Virgin representative eventually said that since we were flying to Los Angeles first, we had to be in the Full-Service line for domestic flights (the automated booth told us that it could not be used). This was quite frustrating, as we waited in three separate lines before we found one that processed our tickets. Thankfully, our flight to Los Angeles was delayed (due to runway closure in LAX) to 8:50 a.m., so the rush was unnecessary. We were worried about our connecting flight to Puerto Vallarta. When we landed in Los Angeles at 10:30 a.m., we rushed to the Alaska #218 Flight (which was delayed for 40 minutes), which was scheduled to depart at 11:15 a.m. We made it to the flight on time, with 30 minutes to spare.

The flight to Puerto Vallarta was uneventful, except that Alex had a severe migraine due to his cold, and Inna was also unwell. We landed in Puerto Vallarta around 3:15 p.m. and proceeded through Mexican customs, which were relatively fast and efficient (much quicker than US customs!)

Walking out of the airport, we eventually found the Costco Travel rep (Grey Line), and he immediately put us into a car and sent us to our Villa La Estancia Beach Resort and Spa in Riviera Nayarit, in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. We arrived at Villa La Estancia in about 30 minutes. Our amiable Mexican taxi driver provided lots of stories about the area. He showed us a whole family of coats next to our hotel.

We arrived at our Villa La Estancia hotel at around 4:00 p.m. We waited to get checked in and then walked to our room 1704B.

Our reserved deluxe room was quite spacious but was missing a bed for Alex. We told our bellman to order us one (but nothing happened). We called service multiple times and spoke to the front desk (which often would not pick up the phone). Eventually, the second bed for Alex was delivered, but it was disappointing that so much effort was needed, especially since the hotel knew that 3 persons were staying in the room.

Villa La Estancia Report Card

Positives

• The beach is beautiful and sandy, without any weeds (unlike some beaches in Cancun) 
• SUPs and Kayaks are free to rent for one hour at the sister property (Villa del Palmar Flamingos) 
• Beach towels do not require deposits (like in Marriott on Maui)
• Beach umbrellas are free, but you had to ask to get one setup
• Employees are amiable 

Negatives

• The breakfast buffet is highly overpriced (400 pesos/per person) at the La Casona restaurant
• The pool closed at 6:00 p.m. (way too early) on some days (other days, it stayed open later)
• Only two restaurants are available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (though the nearby sister Villa del Palmar Hotel has an additional El Patron Mexican restaurant) 
• La Casona restaurant requires dinner reservations (and is highly overpriced) 
• WiFi is really slow and only works reasonably well in the lobby and the pool area (not in the room)
• The key to the room does not work reliably. It often took many tries to open the door
• The bathroom has no separate door for the toilet – so multiple people cannot use it at the same time 
• SUPs and kayaks are available only between 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 
• Boogie boards were only available for one hour (and were frequently out of stock)
• No sailboats or catamarans to rent (though a separate company rents them for $60/hour) 
• Customer Service is very inconsistent. Sometimes, it takes multiple calls to get an issue resolved. 
• No Ping-Pong, billiards, or other table games (like at other resorts like Marriott and Grand Wailea) 
• Food quality is mediocre (though prices are high) 
• The onsite ATM machine at Palmita Market was frequently out of cash
• Housekeeping comes in at odd hours; one day, they started housekeeping at 6:00 p.m. 

We walked to the beach for a quick swim but could not swim in the pool because it closed at 6:00 p.m. On arriving for dinner at La Casona Restaurant, we were told we might have problems since we did not make any particular reservations.

All went well, and a table was found for us near the piano.

We were entertained while we ate by the piano players who played through many pop standards, though the food was not particularly delicious. The menu prices were relatively high for Mexico. (We later discovered that we could eat in many fine restaurants in neighboring Bucerias for 40% less with drinks included and better quality entrees).


Saturday, March 31, 2018

Exhausted from our travels, we woke up relatively late and decided to relax on our first full day in Mexico. At first, we went to breakfast. Like our dinner experience the day before, we were a bit underwhelmed.

Since we did not purchase the all-inclusive package (to avoid paying for meals we did not need), we knew the much higher cost of most entrees. Inna ordered the Eggs Benedict, which was delicious. Alex selected the breakfast buffet at 400 pesos/person - which was average. He had to wait in line to get an omelet, which looked average.

After breakfast, we went for a swim in the ocean, which was so pleasant and warm, and then we decided to meet with our Grey Line representative to arrange our departure time and to schedule all of our activities.

We met Louis – our Grey Line rep – at 12:45 a.m. and reviewed the options. We decided to purchase 3 separate activities, one offered free (due to a promotion).

1. Las Caletas Beach Hideaway (Sunday)
2. Ecotours Swimming with Dolphins in the Wild (Tuesday)
3. Outdoor Zipline Adventure (Wednesday)
4. Rhythm of the Night - Savia (Thursday)

After scheduling these, we returned to the ocean and pool and decided to get our lunch by the pool.

The lunch was of average quality but overpriced, as usual. Inna found an excellent place to have a $20 massage on the beach and decided to try it while I rested and Alex enjoyed the hot tub.

For dinner, we decided to head to Bucerias – the nearby small town – to try eating dinner in one of the highly-rated restaurants there. For some reason, I thought that Louis mentioned Karen's Place, so I booked dinner there at 7:45 p.m. We ordered a taxi from our hotel and stopped by HSBC bank (to pick up pesos) before stopping at Karen's Place restaurant.

Inna and I really liked Karen's Place. In addition to the band, the restaurant was on the beach with multiple lights installed in a very romantic way. Inna was pleased.

We had a fantastic dinner there; we had coconut-crusted shrimp. The chips, guacamole, and all the other dishes were first-rate and inexpensive. We also liked the nearby band playing popular favorites and the whole beach scene.

After dinner, we quickly found a taxi and returned to our hotel. Why didn't we leave the resorts earlier? We found that food quality increased and prices decreased once we left the hotel sanctuary. We returned and tried the other highly-rated restaurants: Adauto's, Mar Y Sol, and The Fat Boy (Mariscos El Gordo).


Sunday, April 1, 2018

It's not April Fools' Day in Mexico, but it is a day for a time change. Thankfully, Louis warned us about this upcoming event. Our phones automatically adjusted, so I did not have to do anything.

After breakfast at the nearby El Patron Mexican restaurant in Villa del Parmar Flamingos, we boarded our taxi for a short ride to Vallarta Adventures.

I wrote a separate blog entry about Las Caletas Beach Hideaway. After returning from Las Caletas, we quickly washed up and scheduled dinner at Adauto's at 8:45 p.m.

What seemed like another dinner turned into a mini-adventure, however, when we decided to stop by HSBC bank to withdraw a few pesos (many restaurants only accept cash). The HSBC terminal was out of money. We proceeded to try the other ATMs, which were all out of money! Easter weekend in Mexico! Luckily, I still had some US dollars to pay back the taxi fare, but it was a bit unnerving. Also, luckily for us, Adauto's was one of the few Mexican restaurants in Bucerias that accepted credit cards!

Dinner at Adauto's was very delicious and relatively inexpensive. Margaritas were giant, and Inna quickly got slightly drunk.

We sat on the beach, drinking our delicious margaritas and snacking on guacamole and chips. I ordered chicken fajitas and was very happy (though they came served differently than in the US). Alex selected the Bolognese pasta, but he was not feeling well (due to motion sickness from the taxi ride). He watched movies on his iPhone while the taxi was doing all sorts of maneuvers in Bucerias.

After dinner, we had another small adventure trying to find a taxi (in the late evening). We passed many small outdoor shops selling delicious food. Eventually, we found a place to pick up a cab and returned to our hotel.


Monday, April 2, 2018

In the morning, we decided to skip breakfast and head for the famous surf town of Sayulita.
I wrote another separate blog entry about surfing and dining in Sayulita.


Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Inna was looking forward to swimming with dolphins in the wild, and she scheduled a half-day session with Mexican Ecotours for Tuesday, April 2.

I wrote about our dolphin encounters in a separate blog entry.

We decided to head to "The Fat Boy" restaurant in Bucerias for dinner. We were seated on the beach, where there was a lot of activity.

Multiple bands were playing, and many vendors were selling their wares. We ordered chips and salsa and strawberry margaritas for Inna and me.

The portions of food and drink were enormous. I ordered jumbo coconut shrimp, Inna ordered jumbo scallops, and Alex ordered a whole lobster!

We barely finished half of our entrée, and I struggled to finish my shrimp. Alex finished his red lobster and even helped with the shrimp.

Unlike Adautos, The Fat Boy only takes cash (though Yelp indicated it also accepts credit cards).

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Although we had another adventure planned, we were too tired to travel. We decided to skip it and have a relaxing day at the beach.

In the morning, Alex and I went stand-up paddleboarding on the calm waters of the Bay of Banderas. Afterward, we also tried to catch some waves with boogie boards.

We really wanted to try jet skiing, but the ATM machine at the Villa del Palmar Flamingos Hotel was out of cash (and the jet ski vendor only accepted cash).

We decided to try the well-rated El Dinamita restaurant in Nuevo Vallarta for dinner. After stopping by to use the ATM machine (to retrieve Mexican pesos) at the local Bancnorte ATM, we were dropped off at El Dinamita.

For an appetizer, we ordered chips, guacamole, and salsa. They were all quite delicious, especially the tomato-based dip. We also ordered two strawberry margaritas and a lemonade.

For an appetizer, Inna selected the delicious Seafood Dynamite. Inna and I chose Molcajitas (in a sizzling lava pot) of seafood for entrees, pictured below. They were delicious! I never tried this specialty, but I will try it again.

We also selected a Seafood Casserole for a dish to share. It was also expertly prepared but not as delicious as Molcajitas.

Alex was recommended a steak – Banderas- and enjoyed it.

We had a fantastic time at El Dinamita and hope to come again (and try the sister restaurant – the Fajita Factory).


Thursday, April 5, 2018

In the morning, we decided to try jet skiing on the beach. I rented a jet ski for 30 minutes for 1100 pesos (USD 60). We had a lot of fun riding the Yamaha Waverunner in the bay! Afterward, we picked up two boogie boards and boarded the small 2-3 foot waves on our beach for another hour.

We had a lovely relaxing time. Inna even managed to get another full-body massage on the beach – all for USD 20!

In the afternoon, around 5:15 p.m., we ordered a taxi to take us to Nuevo Vallarta to watch the fantastic show Rhythm of the Night - Savia. I wrote about it in a separate blog post.


Friday, April 6, 2018

In the morning, we woke up early and started packing. It was disappointing having to leave Puerto Vallarta. We could have easily stayed another week!

To save time, we decided to skip breakfast and try kayaking. After a short kayaking excursion with Inna, Alex and I rented two boogie boards and spent an hour boogie boarding.

We decided to have lunch on the beach and ordered guacamole and chips around 11:00 a.m. (just when La Parilla poolside restaurant opened). After lunch, we packed our bags and tried the Tatewari Spa. It was priced at $17 per person. Since we were wet from spending time on the beach (and already checked out of our room), we decided to rest at the spa before catching our return ride to the Puerto Vallarta airport for our flight to Los Angeles and then to San Francisco.

Tatewari Spa exceeded my expectations. It was mostly empty, clean, and full of well-run treatments. The recommended order of treatments was as follows:

1. Dry Sauna (for 10-20 minutes) 
2. Quick shower
3. Steam Room (for 10 minutes) - this was excruciatingly hot
4. Quick shower
5. Whirlpool (for 10 minutes)
6. Overhead waterfall (in an enclosed room)
7. Rest and relaxation
8. Final shower

I spent an easy 90 minutes at the spa and really enjoyed it. It was such a pleasant surprise. Inna also really liked the spa and would love to come back (though their treatment and massages are incredibly overpriced - $150/hr for a massage when you can get a $20 massage on the beach!

After completing treatments, Inna and I returned to the lobby and waited for our ride to Puerto Vallarta airport. At around 2:25 p.m., we were picked up for a short taxi ride there. We arrived on time and checked into Alaska flight #273 for our return to Los Angeles.

The flight to Los Angeles proceeded on schedule, and we landed at LAX around 6:00 p.m. There, we had to go through US Customs - which went exceedingly fast (usually takes 1-2 hours in SFO or Oakland). We had to retrieve Inna's bag and pass it on to our next Virgin American flight to San Francisco.

We already had tickets for our Virgin America flight to San Francisco but were not assigned seats. Due to storms in San Francisco, Virgin America flight #1945 kept getting delayed (and gates changed). It was supposed to depart at 8:20 p.m. but was hindered by 4 hours, and we left Los Angeles at midnight (exceedingly tired). Once we picked up our luggage, we ordered a taxi home. UberX and Lyft had crazy fares indicated at 2:15 a.m. I was not sure what was happening, but fares were increasing rapidly. We decided to try the regular taxi - but this was a mistake. The taxi driver initially indicated a price of $160 (overly high) - but when we arrived home - he said that the meter - which showed $120, had to be increased by 50% for anything 15 miles beyond the SFO boundary. We ended up paying $195! What a ripoff. However, we were exhausted. We will never take taxis from SFO again.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay in Puerto Vallarta and would be happy to return.

The key learnings from our stay in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico:

1. Don't pay for an All-Inclusive resort; there are much cheaper and better-quality restaurants nearby
2. Bring plenty of pesos (as most Mexican shops do not accept credit cards)
3. Don't take a taxi from SFO. Use ride-sharing like UberX/Lyft or park nearby at the Anza Parking lot.

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Final Day of Snowboarding Kirkwood

After a long day of snowboarding at Heavenly, we decided to try snowboarding at Kirkwood - one of our favorite Lake Tahoe resorts - especially because the US-88 road was open.

To avoid parking problems, we woke up early and departed South Lake Tahoe at 7:00 am for the one-hour ride to Kirkwood. We left on time and arrived at Kirkwood at around 8:15 am. There was chain control on US-88, but being in an Audi Q5, we didn't need to put them on.

It was already quite busy, and we could not park at our favorite parking lot. However, the walk to the lodge was not too long. We grabbed our gear and walked over to the Monte Wolfe cafe. The selections were not very good, and it was already quite busy. I selected my usual chocolate chip muffin while Alex decided to eat cold cereal since the hot oatmeal was no longer available.

While eating breakfast, we ran into Dima, who was also skiing there (all by himself). After breakfast, we headed for our first run of the day (Zachary) on the Cornice Express chairlift.

I recorded a GoPro Hero4 Silver video of my ride down Zachary Trail here:



We had a fantastic time at Kirkwood, although the snow was somewhat better at Heavenly the day before. However, Kirkwood was so much fun due to the many canyons, black diamond runs, and fewer crowds.

We decided to have lunch around 11:30 am and met up with Dima. He found a table inside Monte Wolfe's, and we ate lunch. I had a classic burger, while Alex selected chicken nuggets with french fries.

After lunch, we decided to head for the backside and had a lot of fun getting there. We took "The Wall" chairlift and headed for "Eagle Bowl." The snow was deep and light here, and we enjoyed surfing.

We took the "Caples Crest" chairlift to mid-mountain and snowboarded down to the "Sunrise" chairlift, which was extremely busy. We used the singles line to avoid a long wait, which moved somewhat faster.

Once on top, we decided to try the "Thunder Saddle" black diamond trails that are so much fun on powder days. We had to ride through some bottomless powder, through narrow openings. It was so much fun. I loved gliding on powder and maximum speed.

After riding these trails, we were both tired, so we returned to Monte Wolfe for a quick snack. Afterward, we checked into the rental shop for demos. Alex really wanted to try some of the other snowboards - but Kirkwood charges $60+ to demo a snowboard for 2 hours - too expensive! (At Whistler, the charge to demo was CAD 20 for the whole day!)

We continued riding the trees and canyons on the Zachary trail on the Cornice Express chairlift. Finding fresh powder in the trees was so much fun! We really enjoyed our last day of the season here!

Around 3:15pm, we were tired and decided to end our snowboarding excursion. We returned to our car and were quickly on our way back to San Jose. The road was clear this time, and we arrived home in 4 hours.

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Beautiful Filoli Gardens

While Alex and I were busy snowboarding at Heavenly and Kirkwood, Inna found time to visit the beautiful Filoli Gardens in Woodside.

Inna spent many hours walking around the beautiful gardens, photographing many tulips and other blooming flowers.

She saw a few beautiful peacocks wandering on the property.

With many tulips in full bloom, she took many beautiful photos.

There were hundreds of tulips all around.

Inna tried some creative photos with flowers floating in the water.

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Heavenly Powder

With another significant snowstorm approaching, Alex and I were eager to have one last go at snowboarding at Lake Tahoe's ski resorts. Checking the weather on Friday, March 16, I was concerned about the requirement for chains on Highway US-50 and US-80 and the closure of US-88 (the road to Kirkwood).

When I woke up at 4:00 am on Saturday morning, I checked the road conditions for freeways to Lake Tahoe, and US-88 was still closed. I decided to drive to South Lake Tahoe and snowboard at Heavenly on Saturday, hoping to snowboard at Kirkwood on Sunday if US-88 opens up.

The drive to South Lake Tahoe started out reasonably well. I was making a respectable time until I approached Placerville, where unusually heavy traffic began. When we arrived in the city of Strawberry, all the traffic stopped. Fresh snow on the road required many cars to be on chains. Although I had chains in my car for the Audi Q5, I did not want to deal with the hassle of putting them on (if not required). Thankfully, I was never asked and never felt like I needed them. After 30 minutes of waiting, the traffic restarted, and we slowly inched along.

After a grueling, 6-hour drive, we arrived at South Lake Tahoe around 10:00 am. I parked my car at Bluelake Inn, and Alex and I put on our snowboarding gear. We walked over to the Heavenly Gondola.

There was a lot of fresh snow on the trails (and it wasn't supposed to snow on Saturday). We were eager to snowboard on the freshly fallen snow when we arrived at the base.

We took the Tamarack Express chairlift to mid-mountain and snowboarded to the Nevada side on CosmicWavethe trail. From there, we boarded the Dipper Express and snowboarded down Dipper Line, encountering fresh powder. What joy!

As I did not have breakfast (and Alex only ate some snack bars), we got an early lunch at the East Peak Lodge. It was already crowded when we arrived at 11:30 am. Alex selected a pizza, and I chose hot soup with toppings to warm up.

After lunch, we took the Dipper Express to the top and snowboarded down to the California side, following the California Trail. On the way there, I found some deep powder in the trees.

Once near Sky Deck, we took multiple turns on Sky Express and Canyon Express, going after powder in the trees. It was so much fun, and we encountered places with bottomless powder.

Here is a GoPro Hero4 Silver video of my ride down the Express Line piste.



After a few more runs, we stopped for another lunch at the Sky Deck Lodge. I was really ravenous and ate a chicken sandwich.

We snowboarded the "High Five" trail using the Canyon Express chairlift (as it was least busy) for a few more runs. The trees were the most fun as we found lots of deep powder there.

By now, we were both tired and decided to return to the Bluelake Inn for rest and dinner at our favorite Applebee's. Alex had his usual steak, while I had a Pomegranate Margarita, Bourbon Chicken, and Shrimp.

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Fresh Powder at Kirkwood

Time to make fresh tracks!

When a vast snowstorm appeared on the horizon, Alex and I began to track it using OnTheSnow and OpenSnow apps on our iPhones. Hoping for some fresh, light powder at Lake Tahoe ski resorts, we eagerly anticipated its arrival.

As expected, the storm deposited 30+ inches of fresh snow at Kirkwood, Heavenly, Northstar, and other nearby ski resorts during heavy periods of snowfall on Thursday, March 1, and Friday, March 2. Since the roads were snowed on Saturday, we decided to try snowboarding at Kirkwood on Sunday, March - expecting most of the streets to be clear by then.

Waking up at 4:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, we quickly dressed and started our drive. Since I was unsure about road conditions, I drove the Audi Q5 with a set of chains in the trunk (just in case). The drive to Kirkwood proceeded smoothly until we hit the snowed-in/iced roads on the last stretch of Highway 88. I tried to drive carefully since I'd seen cars crash and flip over on this road. We arrived at Kirkwood around 8:00 a.m. and parked in the best parking spot.

We quickly dressed and walked to Monte Wolfe's Mountain Kitchen for breakfast. There was not much edible on the menu (this isn't Whistler), so Alex chose some oatmeal, and I selected a muffin. After a short breakfast, we headed to the Cornice Express chairlift for the day's first run. The snow looked beautiful, and we saw lots of fresh powder! Mamma mia!

We quickly boarded the Cornice Express chairlift and were whisked away to the top. On this cold, sunny day, the air was clear and out, and the view from the top was magnificent. We quickly strapped on our snowboards and headed down the "Zachary" black diamond trail, weaving in and out of the trees.

The fresh powder underneath the board felt fantastic despite the many moguls on the piste. I felt like surfing downhill, a giant wave of snow. It was an indescribable feeling of enjoyment. Surfing through many canyons (like miniature half-pipes), we attempted many freestyle tricks (180's & ollies). When we finally made it back to Cornice Express, Alex was exhausted. Riding on powder takes a lot of effort - since balancing oneself is much more complicated.

Alex felt a bit nauseous from all the effort but felt better after a bit of rest.

Here is a GoPro Hero4 Silver video I recorded with my selfie-stick:



We did another run from Cornice Express and then headed to "The Wall" to try double black diamond runs. On the way there, we were led to the "Wagon Wheel Bowl," where Alex got stuck behind a cliff - for which he needed to take off his board, walk down, and remount. The snow was intense here. We headed down a delightful run.

We boarded "The Wall" chairlift but decided to head to the backside - as it had just opened, and we were eager to try deep powder there. We snowboarded down "Eagle Bowl" from here to the Caples Crest chairlift. We continued to the bottom of Kirkwood's backside, to the Sunrise chairlift.

Sunrise was overrun by skiers - I have never seen such a crowded chairlift line - so Alex and I decided to return to our favorite Cornice Express chairlift. From the backside, we skied down to "Thunder Saddle," where Alex and I lost sight of each other. I went ahead and skied down part of the way down but had a fall, where my proper binding broke.

The snow was so deep here - I had to dig myself out multiple times!

I snowboarded down to the lodge (with the half-broken binding). It was not very comfortable. When I returned to the lodge, I tried to call Alex, but my AT&T iPhone was not working well at Kirkwood. Eventually, I texted him my location, and we reunited at the Monte Wolfe Mountain kitchen for lunch. We had a couple of burgers - Alex had an Epic burger, and I had a classic. We were so hungry!

Fortunately, my binding was easily repaired with one screw for $2. I was so happy (and relieved).
After lunch, we continued to snowboard at Cornice Express, though, by this time, we were exhausted.

What a fantastic powder day!

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