Year 3 Day 2(+2) – “Living the Dream”. Wednesday, 5/03/2023. Day 19 (Puerto Vallarta. Mexico) of 21-night Radiance of the Seas Galveston TX to Los Angeles, CA cruise. We are in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico today. Puerto Vallarta has the largest bay in Mexico. This is a new port for us. We are doing an excursion from 1pm to 5:30 called Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Top 5 Vallarta Highlights and Shopping.
We will be late getting back for the first dinner seating and therefore will be hitting the Windjammer Buffet for dinner tonight. This will be the first time we have had dinner at the buffet this holiday. We have had the best table mates this cruise. We have not been as lucky on other cruises. Puerto Vallarta is located in the state of Jalisco. It started as a fishing village on the Pacific Ocean’s Bay of Banderas. Due to its tropical climate, pristine beaches, and rich culture, Puerto Vallarta has become one of Mexico’s top resort areas. The Windjammer Buffet greeters are pretty annoying on this cruise. So funny I usually love them. These guys are way too much in your face. We are very close to shore this morning and there are mountains on the starboard side of the ship. We will not be in Port until 12:30pm. The pilot boarded our ship at 11:30am. It is a cooler day with a low cloud formation. There are lots of houses and hotels clustered along the shoreline.
The Celebrity Millenium is already docked as we enter the harbor. The mountains are a nice background. Across the street is a Walmart which many ship employees are heading to.
I am amazed at the number of people sitting around playing games and doing puzzles on the ship on this cruise.
Puerto Vallarta. Mexico was a disappointment to me. Maybe it was the tour we took or the tour guide. I actually feel asleep on the bus while the tour guide was talking. Kind of like blah, blah, blah, blah. He was boring and arrogant.
Again, we are told that Mexican Independence is celebrated the 15th and 16th of September. They do not celebrate Cinco De Mayo. I think it is kind of offensive that we celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the United States. Crocodiles here are 12 feet long and they are overloaded with them.
They drive us through the homes of the very rich.
Then to Malecon (boardwalk) where we saw some statues. The Malecón is a mile-long beach boardwalk and open-air art gallery in the heart of Puerto Vallarta. We saw Triton and Siren. This is one of the most recognized sculptures in Puerto Vallarta, it depicts Triton—one of the ancient Greek gods of the sea—reaching for a Siren, which are creatures of Greek mythology that notoriously lured sailors with their song.
There were even big rocking horses that you can ride.
The open-air amphitheater hosts free performances and live musicians nearly every night of the year. The problem was the guide put so much emphasize on the time. He kept telling us he would leave us if we weren’t at the designated meeting spot in time. It was hard to enjoy yourself with that threat over our heads. I kept checking my watch.
There were some local vendors set up here offering some really nice artwork.
From there, we walked over to the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a catholic Church known as Nuestra Seora de Guadalupe by locals. We were rushed through the church with the threat that the guide would leave us if we loitered too long. It was beautiful here. I could have spent a lot more time here and at the Malecon (boardwalk).
After the church we walked to a Jewlery shop. The whole walk it was like hurry up don’t look around or anything. We have a schedule to keep. Hey, look at this electrical box we passed. Can you imagine Steve doing something like that. Keep your hands away from the walls.
At the jewelry shop we were basically locked in for at least a half hour. This was hard selling.
Then we got back on the bus and headed to a market where a young woman and a child sold us some magnetic butterflies. She said she made them. I felt sorry for her, so I bought two. The little girl was so cute and was about two. Sad she was being taught to sell on the streets like that. How could you refuse though when she held them out to you. We gave them to a taxi driver for his kids. He told us he had twelve.
Puerta Vallarta is a place where you see the very poor and the very rich living so close together. We ended the tour where else but in a restaurant. The ride back to the ship was through the main city and the traffic was horrendous. Look at these electrical poles. They don’t look really safe to me.
After getting back to the ship I started reading about where we were, and I learned a lot more than what the guide told us. I would not recommend this tour. Even though I was disappointed with the excursion, I am glad we went. I always want to get an idea of the area. We ate dinner siting on the back of the ship. The view is beautiful.
Today’s product recommendations are for keeping your skin looking its best at sea and in the sun. My favorite skin care products are made by Elemis. Although I do sometimes try a new product here and there. I actually find myself going back to Elemis. 1) I start my morning in the shower with a face wash. Currently I am using ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash https://amzn.to/3qZkwqC 2) After showering I am currently using ELEMIS Superfood Facial Oil https://amzn.to/3XvfUVu 3) Then the Elemis Pro-Collagen Maine Cream with spf30 gets applied. It is the best. It costs a little more than the drug store creams but wow it works. Whenever I decide I want to buy another less expensive brand I am sorry and head right back to this cream. https://amzn.to/46sJZsH 4) Steve also uses an Elemis product. He tends to break out when he uses sunscreen often. He finds the ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads excellent to use. It cleans that sunscreen out of his pores. When he uses these pads to cleanse his face he does not break out. https://amzn.to/3px1oQn
To see more about Radiance of the Seas, click here: Radiance of the Seas – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count
To view the complete daily diary, click here: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count