Adventuring in Vallarta

You guys seem to like beautiful beaches, good food and relaxation. I have no idea why... ;)

In sticking with that theme, I thought I'd cover our "adventures" in Puerto Vallarta. In PV and probably several popular travel destinations in Mexico, tourists have options to do "excursions" such as kayaking, zip-lining, swimming with dolphins, etc. 

Because I had done the zip-lining before, I knew it was a blast. It also sounded like the most adventurous and fun for the two of us and luckily, the manfriend agreed. 

We booked the outdoor adventure with Vallarta Adventures (who we HIGHLY recommend) for $94 for the two of us. 

Adventure #1

The next morning at 7:30 am we were dressed, fed and headed out on speed boats with a group of 15 others from our hotel for some fun. 

It was a short (but fast) boat ride over to Banderes Bay where we would take big yellow off road vehicles up to the zip-lining facility in the jungle of Puerto Vallarta.

Once at the location, our guides quickly got us acquainted and harnessed up, wedgie and all.

Things got a little more exciting as we were instructed about how to ride a mule, hopped on them and made our way to the top of the jungle in the Sierra Madre Mountains. There was definitely a lot of laughing during the mule ride!

After a few more instructions (safety is a high priority with these trips, as it should be), we were off, zip-lining at 3,000 ft over the tree tops. 

It was a serious adrenaline rush! We did about 9 different zip-lines, a little hiking and a few rappels (as done in rock climbing). There were a few moments where my heart was beating super fast.

There was even some zip-lining straight into ice cold water that literally took your breath away. 

The adventure portion took about 2 hrs and then we were back at the home front to purchase the professional shots above, eat snacks and wait for a few of the other groups to finish and head back. 

After a bit of basking in the sun, we were taken back to the resort around 1 pm where it was almost time for our couples massage! 

The next afternoon after several hours of laying by the pool, it was time for Adventure #2, heading into the city. The advantage of an all inclusive resort is that you really don't have to spend a lot of extra cash if you don't want to. 

We took a taxi into town and walked around for a few hours seeing Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, the malacon walkway and beach, a few flea markets on Cuale Island and general people watching. 

After a few hours of walking around in the 80 degree heat, we were more than relieved to step inside a local bar for $1 Coronas. Beer never tasted better.

Shortly after, we headed back to the main plaza and got a taxi back to our hotel for our last supper at Barcelo.

After spending nearly the entire final day in the sun, I got a major headache and case of dehydration and heat stroke. Instead of enjoying our last night in the cantina sipping on margaritas, I was in bed at 9:30 pm with Advil and lots of water in me.

But overall, a little heat exhaustion was totally worth the fun we had. With our limited time in Mexico, the manfriend and I felt like we got enough adventure in, while sticking to vacation mode and truly relaxing.

Seriously, when at home do I ever lay in one spot for hours at a time? Uh, never! Vacation is good for the soul. We will be prioritizing vacation more in the future now that we've taken this trip together.

What's one adventure on your bucket list? Our major bucket list adventure is to travel to Europe and see the Tour de France in person!!

On the running front: I clocked a 2 hr 44 min run yesterday to complete 18.5 miles. I can't believe the Eugene Marathon is a little over a month away!