Our desire to spend time in a warm place to recover from the cold and dryness of ski season took us back to lovely Puerto Vallarta (PV), Mexico. The first thing I was struck by on arrival was not just the warmth but the humidity, in a good way. My skin was so dry I could literally see it rehydrating. I had cuts on my fingers from the months of dryness that just disappeared after a few days.
We are Staying Right on the Beach
We are actually staying in Nuevo Vallarta (NV), which is about 30 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta. I heard they are changing the name to Riviera Nayarit. I must say that I do like the new name but I’m not sure it will actually stick.
When I checked out our condo back in November, I was very taken with the fact that we could hear the surf from every room. I fell asleep so happily the first night listening to the surf and woke up to a view of the beach. This feature has probably been better than any other part of our stay so far. I even downloaded a few surf noise apps on my phone so I can listen to the sound even when we have to leave here.
The place is beautiful and the furniture is comfortable, which are important considerations for us. We never close the back doors and we have the front door open most of the time, allowing for a nice cross breeze. I cannot describe how good the peacefulness of this place feels to me. Every time I walk out on the deck and watch the ocean, I feel a deep relaxation.
Our Neighborhood
We have spent quite a bit of time driving and walking around our neighborhood in NV. On one side of our complex of three buildings is a road with a double-wide walking/riding path down the median. There is also a huge amount of construction going on for miles along the beach and across the road but fortunately, we don’t hear it. Mike has spent plenty of his walking time taking pictures of the pretty flowers as well as the other buildings.
On the other side is the beach, where you can walk a long way in either direction. There are hotels, timeshares, and residential complexes in both directions. Since we can see all the way around the Bay of Banderas, we think we can walk all the way to the next town of Bucerias.
We are Mobile This Time
The last time we were here we didn’t have a car. This time we have a car and an awesome valet service at our condo. We call for the car and it appears and then we pull into the Porte Coucher of our building and just get out of the car. If we have groceries, the bellman will help load them into one of the shopping carts they keep for just this purpose and we take our groceries to our condo in the cart. I could so get used to this kind of service.
Since we have a car, we have been able to explore our local area, Bucerias to the north, and various neighborhoods in the south in PV. I’ll describe all of these places in the next article. We also spend a lot of time grocery shopping and even going to Costco. Yes, there is a Costco in PV. There are other large stores like Walmart and Target if you are so inclined. In addition to being mobile, I’ve actually been able to cook and have people over.
We have noticed that the traffic getting in and out of Puerto Vallarta is usually pretty bad and I mentioned it to one of my doctors. He said before the pandemic there wasn’t much traffic at all. But during the pandemic, many people who have second homes here came for an extended visit and decided to stay. There is also a tremendous amount of construction going on, so all of the workers are on the move every day.
Entertaining Friends and Family
We have had visitors for most of our time here in Nuevo Vallarta. So, by definition, we have been entertaining friends and family. In addition, my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew live about two miles down the road. We have had a fun time having people over and making awesome dinners for our guests. I even wound up making my fish tacos two weeks in a row, on request. It has been three years since I’ve been able to actually host a dinner for others. I guess it is one of the small things that I miss about our former life.
Taking Care of Business
Whenever we are going to be someplace for longer than a week, we try to take care of mundane tasks like going to the dentist. This time is no different. I’ve seen an orthopedist about my knee and back and the dermatologist for a little spruce up. We’ve both gotten new glasses and our teeth cleaned. The business part of our trip has taken a lot of time because the various treatments need to be a week apart and require multiple visits. Even the glasses took two visits for each of us.
The reason we are doing all of this medical stuff is that it is incredibly cheap here. For example, I had an MRI on my lumbar spine for $150. The only reason I’m sending the receipts to our international insurance is to make sure that we get our deductible filled before we head to Europe.
Working on Me
I should also mention that I have been working on myself as well. I’ve been working out regularly in a nice gym, which can be hard on the road. I have also written positive affirmations that I’m trying to say at least once a day. Years ago when I went to live in France, I learned a very important lesson: “no matter where you go, there you are.” Even though we are actually living our dream, it can be hard to be grateful and fully appreciate the wonderful life we have created for ourselves. So I have decided that we would both be happier if we focused at least once daily, on the things we are grateful for. Now, I feel happier as well as super relaxed.
What would you do if you had five weeks on the beach?
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