Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

I had no excursion planned in the port, and though I did leave the ship, I didn't spend much time off of it. However, that day I got in over 22,000 steps - just from moving around the ship for various photo opportunities!

I woke about 6 a.m., as I sensed a change in the movement of the ship. I grabbed a quick breakfast at the buffet and headed up to deck 15 to eat. A woman stopped by the table as I was eating, and I learned she lived in a community that my older brother had lived in for many years. He had left before she arrived, but she had heard his name. Small world!

My first sighting of Puerto Vallarta, still dark at the time. After breakfast I headed to the front of the ship for the sunrise.

The sunrise was pretty, but not as nice as the ones at sea. I didn't stick around to watch as the sun climbed over the hills.

The big attraction in Puerto Vallarta was the Walmart store. I'd heard several other passengers talk about making a trip to the store while they were in the port. Especially among those who were on the World Cruise (111 days). 

The store is literally down and across the street from the pier. I decided I would join the parade of passengers when the excursion crowds left the ship and look for a couple of items.

While I had thought I might walk or take a cab to the Malecon boardwalk, I knew that it would likely be very busy, and full of vendors. As I've mentioned previously, I'm not enthralled with being swarmed by the vendors so that idea was quickly rejected. One of the other single/solo members did check it out and said it was very busy so I'm glad I made the decision.

I headed off ship about 8:45. I laughed because the exit from the ship led through the duty free shop (this is often the case in Mexico) and several other shops, before one can reach the busy sidewalk. I did notice one shop in the area that I would stop at on the way back.

The street to cross was very busy, and at least a couple of vehicles took the traffic lights as mere suggestions. Most, however, did stop on the red light for pedestrians. I stayed on the outside away from the traffic and was able to safely cross. 

Walmart was....interesting. It was clear the farmacia was the most popular section and many of the shelves were well picked over. Other areas of the store had very limited selections, and some sections made me think of an old hardware store where parts and pieces of items are placed willy-nily on the shelves. One thing they had mountains of were candies and potato chips.My only purchase was a small tube of toothpaste as I was running low. 

I left the store and walked over to the nearby mall, however it wasn't open until 11. I headed back towards Walmart, as I'd noticed a small cafe (VIPs) and decided to stop in for a cup of coffee when I saw the "free WiFi" sign on the door. I ordered a cup of coffee and a pastry - basically a croissant with chocolate inside. The coffee was amazing and the pastry simply delicious! I used the free WiFi to call D before checking in on FB, my blog, and Instagram. I finished off my visit by catching up on the local (Canadian and Saskatchewan) news while enjoying my coffee refill.

On the way back to the ship I did stop at the Casa Mexican store and purchased the last of the gifts for my children. For C, I found four small bottles of hot sauce, and for D, three small bottles of Mexican vanilla and a glass dolphin. Something interesting happened there; the clerk told me the total was $44 USD - which seemed a bit high, but I couldn't see the screen. The clerk tried running through my Mastercard a couple of times and it wouldn't process. The second clerk came over and said something to her, quite sharply, and she re-ran it again and this time it went through. I glanced at the receipt and noted it read $34 USD. I suspect she was trying to put in the higher price to obtain $10 from the till for herself but Mastercard credit cards don't allow for cash back. 

I wandered around the ship for awhile, dropped off my purchases at the stateroom, dropped off a book at the library and chose another easy read, and went to the gym to stretch before going for lunch. I had been stretching each day, most often in my stateroom, but I chose the gym since there is a scale. Happy was I when I stepped on the scale to learn that I hadn't gained any weight on this cruise! After lunch I headed to Deck 7 to walk, read, and take photos.

The brown pelicans were predominant in the port. Always keeping an eye out for their next meal.

I often take photos, not necessarily knowing what I'm seeing through the lens. This is a ship from Vidanta Cruises, the first Mexican luxury cruise line that debuted in April 2022. Now that takes some courage, starting a new cruise line in the midst of what was still a pandemic. There isn't a lot of information on-line but it appears the 540 passenger ship sails along the Pacific coast of Mexico.

Looking towards the city, I noticed these workers on the top floor of the building. It looks to me that one of them is taking a photo of us.

I had noticed at the port shops, a ferry station. These two were coming and going at the same time. I've no idea where they went or where they came from. If I were to return to Puerto Vallarta, I'd probably consider the option.

There was never a time without some traffic on the water nearby.

We had company in port too, when the Royal Caribbean ship pulled into the pier nearby.

All aboard time was 4:30 p.m. I stayed on the starboard side of the ship to watch for latecomers. These fellows weren't late, but I was surprised to see the bicycles. I've never seen that on a cruise before, but it's not a bad idea if one enjoys biking. No line-up for a taxi!

We did have one late arrival. At about 4:40 there was a call on the ship for one passenger and within a couple of minutes I saw him hustling on board with a bag full of purchases. I should note, that I saw many of the crew carrying bags of groceries on board as well - not from Walmart. They do get fed on the ship, but I'm sure there are foods they prefer that they'd find in the city.

I stayed out for sail-away and watched the pelicans.

The ship stirs up the water, and I'm sure that offers the birds good fishing.

I didn't have time to clean up before the singles/solos meet-up so I went as I was. After a buffet dinner a small group of us went to see Nathan Phan's show. A magician, musician, and comedian, he was fun to watch. I was back in my stateroom by 9 and asleep not long after.

Next up - a final post on "what did I do on sea days?".