Río Cuale

As I noted in the “teaser” footprint from this morning, we had a delightful day in Puerto Vallarta … PV in shorthand. Here’s the story of our day.

We were off the ship around 9:45a. Stopping to chat with the woman at the information kiosk, we picked up a map and headed out of the cruise terminal … filled with shops, for those interested … we weren’t.

Hopping on the public bus going to the Centro, which conveniently stopped at the terminal because the traffic light had turned red, we headed into Old Town PV … MXN $10 each (or USD $0.50 per person). Our original plan had been to go to a beach. But the cool morning temp changed our minds. Hence, the bus. Sure, it warmed up considerably as the day progressed, but the rough surf we spotted along the shoreline confirmed that our decision to switch plans was a good one.

We bookended our Old Town exploration with churches — Nuestra Senora del Refugio, where we got off the bus near Hotel Rosita, and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y San Jose en Marcha, near where we got on the bus at the end of our visit to the Old City. In between, we strolled the malecón; photographed the surf crashing ashore; admired the many sculptures decorating the promenade; watched the Papantla Flyers performing on the beach; window-shopped the stores lining the boardwalk; rode a horse … true, it was the rocking kind; had a delicious lunch at Xolo; and were charmed by the mosaic benches at Lazaro Cardenas Park. I even exchanged emails with a friend who sent a note to say she was on NCL Joy … docked alongside Insignia … alas, did not manage a meet up.

The return bus, conveniently marked “Walmart,” dropped us off at the mega store … overflowing with locals, crew members from two ships … and passengers, too. We needed just one thing … more disinfectant wipes to clean our shoes after we return from our day’s explorations. From there it was a short walk to the cruise terminal.

We were back onboard just in time to run up to the pool deck. Not for food. Not for a dip in the hot tub or the pool. Rather, Oceania brought aboard a mariachi group to perform for us … two shows of 45 minutes each. Simply fantastic … a band, strollers in traditional attire, dancers in colorful costumes, a lariat performer. Wish I could share a video, but the file is too large to upload into FindPenguins. No worries, though. For those embarking in San Francisco, another performance is on the docket for Acapulco.

Insignia quietly pulled away from its berth around 5:30p … ½ hour before its scheduled departure. Everyone must have returned early to catch the mariachi performances. Perfect timing, however. Had we left on time, Mui and I would not have caught the breaching whale that we saw from our veranda. What a perfect way to end our perfect day in PV.Read more