Hola!

We are back from our whirlwind trip to Mexico, and just getting settled in and returning to our normal routine. For those who aren't aware, my husband was awarded the trip for his hard work in the last year for Staples. It was a really great trip, and even though we could have used an extra day there to do everything we wanted to, it's still good to be back home! I have been wading through the hundreds of pictures (10G!) we took, getting them processed and weeding out the best ones. It's hard to narrow down which ones to share, but I'll try to contain myself...I considered splitting this into two entries, but I'd rather keep the whole summary of our trip together, and you don't have to read it all if you don't want to! :)

The weather was perfect--it had not rained there since October and the "rainy season" should start again any time now. Everything was open-air, comfortable temperatures with a nice breeze.

The all-inclusive resort was amazing! We were treated like royalty from the minute we arrived...it was very different and took some getting used to. The staff thought of everything--the resort was surrounded by flowers, palm trees, and was all absolutely beautiful. Every room had a view of the infinity pool looking out to the ocean.









Our first night there, Staples held a welcome reception, complete with music!


On Friday we lounged around the hotel all morning--me with my camera of course!--and then in the afternoon we joined a quick bus tour of Puerto Vallarta. I would have liked to see more of the city and shop, but it just didn't work out for us. The city was a completely different lifestyle than what we were seeing at the resort.



The sunsets were to die for! We had late dinner reservations every night, so at one point I snuck out just to get some pictures.















Here is the only photo of hubby and I together, which we took on the beach with the point-and-shoot, using the old "hold-your-arm-out-and-hope-everyone-is-in-the-frame" technique. :)


Saturday we spent the day at Las Caletas, a privately-owned, secluded area off the coast. We spent in excess of an hour traveling by boat to get there, and once there we went snorkeling (I'm not a fan!), kayaking around the bay (very cool, but tiring too), did some clay modeling, ate an excellent meal, met some native critters and essentially wore ourselves out running back and forth across the area, before heading back to the boat for the return trip.

Views from the boat:






Mexican Navy ship we passed


A very small portion of Las Caletas, taken from one of the walkways above.


Unfortunately I left my waterproof camera at the hotel, so we have no photos from snorkeling or kayaking. :(

While we were at Las Caletas, I got to hold a mackaw, a lorakeet (I think that's what it was anyway), and a squirrel monkey! I loved the little monkey, SO cute!



One of the animal trainers...




...and this one is of me, taken by another trainer.


It was on a trek from one end of the "village" to the other that I found this guy...at first I thought he was fake, but nope, definitely the real deal! How nice of him to pose for me to take his picture!


Here I am relaxing in a hammock next to the ocean...if only we'd *really* had time to relax; there was just so much fun stuff to do! So, I spent only one minute in the hammock just before boarding the boat to head back to the city.


Sunday we got up early again and went deep sea fishing...well, the boat did the fishing and we mostly sat around wishing the boat would stop moving! Two hours in a boat on Saturday, then FIVE hours in a much smaller boat on Sunday=too much! We got used to the rocking after awhile and I was able to get a nice nap in, but it was hard to stop the rocking once we got off! Anyway, the boat ride was worth it when we caught a 91-inch, 125-lb. sailfish! One of the others we were with reeled it in. That was pretty incredible. We also had a group of dolphins swimming and jumping alongside the boat for at least 1/2 hour, and later the crew stopped the boat so we could look at a pair of sea turtles swimming nearby.

Believe me, it was NOT easy to take pictures on a boat that was rocking and slamming around as much as this one was!


The sailfish put up quite a fight as we were bringing it in. This was a completely lucky shot--I had no idea where to point the camera, because it was impossible to tell when and where he would jump out of the water. I just got lucky enough to have it pointed at the right place at the right time!






Had trouble catching those dolphins on camera!




Sunday night was the goodbye ceremony. We said farewell to coworkers and friends we had made during the week, listened to comments and thank-yous for the great job everyone did, ate some more delicious food, listened to the band, and finally watched the surprise fireworks at the end...fireworks over palm trees--now there's something I will probably not see again in this lifetime!



The grand finale...yes, that's right: "Staples" :)


The fireworks mixed with the thatch roof of the resort restaurant led to a little bit of a problem when the roof caught on fire! Fortunately the staff were able to put it out, but the restaurant had to be closed the next morning due to the damage.


I got this from our 7th-floor room...had to leave the shutter open a long time due to the low light, so you can see the movement of the men trying to put it out.


Monday we were up bright and early (think 5 AM) to take the bus back to the airport. Before we left our room, we were able to enjoy the amazing sight of the moon over the ocean! Unfortunately not able to get a very good shot of it due to the low light and our lack of a tripod, but here is what we did get:


Hope you enjoyed the photos and recounting of our little vacation. :) Hard to believe I've been there and back already! It was fun while it lasted, but now it's back to the ol' grindstone!