Mexico!!!

When we got married, we only had a few days until we moved to Colorado. So, we had a nice honeymoon in St. George, but Mike said that he was going to take us on a real honeymoon, so we went to Mexico!! We were there April 20th-27th and it was the perfect week. We got a living social deal for Puerto Vallarta, staying in the Mayan Palace, and everything just worked out great. I want to write all about it now so that none of the great memories are forgotten...

We arrived on Friday and let me tell you the airport was insane. Right after customs there are SO many people that just pound on you to get you to make deals with them, so it was a challenge to ignore all of them, but we found the taxi that our hotel sent so everything worked out well. We got checked into the beautiful resort and went straight to the beach and the pool. After hanging out there we went to the Marina. It was a short walk and we ate dinner and just walked into the different shops. That took most of the evening so then we headed back to the hotel. 

Saturday- Day 2:

The hotel wanted us to go to a timeshare presentation, and although we didn't want to go, they gave us free taxis, breakfast, half off tours, plus 2 free tours, so we figured it was worth it. We took a taxi out to the Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta, and boy was it a nice resort! Supposedly in a few years it will be the biggest resort in the world. So, we went to breakfast, and then sat through the presentation. It was pretty boring but we got an opportunity to share the gospel with our guide- and she really was interested. Even when we were leaving she stopped us and had us help her look up where churches were in the area on her ipad. So that was great :) Next we were put into another room where yet again we were pressured into buying their deals. After a few hours of saying no we were able to go and spend time at the amazing resort. We swam in the MANY pools, and spent time at the beach. It was great. 

That night we went to downtown and spent the evening at the Malecon (boardwalk). It was awesome! There were so many random entertainers vendors, plus it was right on the ocean so it was gorgeous. Mike at some corn with the mayonnaise and stuff, and I had a crepe for dinner. We later went to Walmart. Mike speaks great spanish but once he went to ask someone where the juice was but said "where is the justice", although she knew he was mistaken with the word we thought it was hilarious. It was a great day.

Sunday:

I woke up pretty sick on Sunday- I don't know what it was but maybe food poisoning. So the day was spent around the hotel and on the beach. And... there was an earthquake!! We were sitting at lunch and all of a sudden we started feeling shaking. It felt like someone was rocking my chair from side to side, I knew no one was there but I even looked behind me to check because it felt so weird. Then I looked at Mike and sure enough he felt it too- we were in an earthquake! It wasn't that long or that strong, in fact no one else even seemed to have noticed, but it is the only one I ever remember feeling, so it was pretty awesome! And I looked online, it was a 4.6 earthquake, we are lucky we survived :)

Monday:

Remember how we got 2 free tours from going to the presentation? Well we chose the most expensive one... swimming with dolphins!!! We got to pet them, ride them, get kissed by them (and sea lions), and see lots of tricks. Needless to say, it was AMAZING!

After that, we took a bus downtown again. We ate some street tacos, went to a famous church, and enjoyed the evening walking around and going to the flea market. This first picture is of a bull ring, up until this year they actually had bull fighting going on.

Tuesday:

We did another one of the Vallarta Adventures on Tuesday- the Outdoor Adventure. I was nervous for it at first but it turned out to be awesome! We took a speed boat to Boca de Tomatlan on the edge of Banderas Bay. Next, we went off-roading in a big jeep to get to the main tour site. Once there, we got all geared up and took mules to the top of the mountain where the zip lines started. There were 9 zip lines in all and they were so much fun!! We also hiked, went across rope bridges, "free fell" down a waterfall, and repelled down a waterfall! It really was an adventure!! The only had thing was after we all got down the waterfall and were taking a group picture, probably a hundred spiders jumped from the rocks on us! They were like daddy long legs, only bigger, and they were all over all of us- that was the scariest part of the whole adventure haha. Overall though, what a great time we had!

Wednesday:

This was another beach day! We couldn't get enough of hanging around the beach, so that is what we did all day long. We had fun reading and playing in the sand, and I had fun burying Michael. Then in the evening we went to a little restaurant down the street called "Tacos and Beer". We sure ate a lot of tacos and loved them all!

Thursday:

Our last full day. We had some resort credit we needed to spend so Mike arranged for me to get a massage. It was the first one i've ever had and it was amazing. Especially because it was on the beach! Then we went to breakfast at our hotel, swam in the ocean, got ready, and then we went into downtown to the flea market to get some souvenirs. We had one more tour that evening- Rhythms of the Night. We took a boat out to Las Caletas, had a romantic dinner, and watched an amazing show! 

Friday:

Time to say adios. We had to leave our hotel around 11, so we spent all morning at the beach taking it all in. Everyday had been paradise! A truly great honeymoon!!!