Sports Equipment–Rent or Bring, part 1, Golf
First off, I need to say I’m not a golfer. But having spoken to golfers, I’ve been told that they choose their clubs specifically for their strengths, gender, and even height. It’s definitely NOT a one size fits all here. Even though all the courses have pro shops and rentals available, avid golfers probably plan on bringing their own clubs. I did some searching to find out the various costs of getting a bag, clubs and shoes to your vacation location.
At all the Mayan resorts, golf is a BIG draw. For instance Read more »
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Massages in Mexico and our last full day
A chunk was taken out of our last day in Mexico by a meeting regarding our business. Later we wandered over to the Luxxe pools for a quieter environment to read and relax. We had Luxxe bands because our Grand Bliss was booked with a Luxxe contract. For our last night we decided to eat at our favorite on site restaurant, the Epazote. You can find more details on our trip report from Christmas 2010.
Massages on the beach in Mexico
Since our last day was dull I will use this space to talk about Massages on a mexican vacation. I have had 3 massages in my life and they were all in Mexico.
Mexico Massage #1
The first one was part of a timeshare tour incentive in Los Cabos. I asked for a deep tissue massage. It had the expected new age music and aroma therapy. It was just a bit intense in some spots, but really i had been on vacation a week and wasn’t all that tense.Mexico Massage #2
The second one was at the Riviera Maya Grand Mayan and (I know, it’s shameful) was another timeshare incentive. This time (in my foolish ignorance) i requested a Swedish Massage. This something my wife would like, but for me it was so gentle it didn’t do any good. It was a pleasant relaxing hour, but not really worth the time. Surely glad I didn’t pay the going rate of $100. So ladies (or men I suppose) with sensitive muscles, go Swedish. The third time was the charm. As mentioned earlier, we were walking around Bucerias (small town North of Puerto Vallarta) and took a small walk down the beach. I spotted the classic white tent and a, how can I say it…umm…. hearty Mexican woman standing outside. It was only $60 for an hour and $30 for a half hour.
Nohemi was a wonderful, friendly person. She explained that a deep tissue massage was just like it sounded and a “Sports Massage” had more fo the karate chop / pummeling action. I asked for a 30 minute combination, mentioning that my calves were especially tight. After 20 minutes or so I asked her how much for an hour and she said 450 pesos !! What a deal !! That is less than $38 dollars for an hour massage on a sunny beach. She even wafted a little lavendar under my nose to start. The ocean waves were one step better than the New Age music of previous times.
Getting down to my skivvies was a bit of challenge that the big towels overcame pretty well. “It’s OK, I no care” was Nohemi’s reassurance technique.
This was right on the beach near the Plaza and it is called Blue Sky Massage. Nohemi and Laura are the two women that do the massages. The owners full name is Mireida Nohemi Ramirez Torres. Mexican folks sure can put a string of names together !!
I should mention, you can get an excellent and more private massage at the Mayan Resort spa , but it will be a bit more than $38.There are many phrases that have brought people here, such as....
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Grand Bliss Nuevo Vallarta Part Two
Day Three and Four
After I took a morning run around the whole resort, day three was pool day. We hung out by the pool, Linda in the sun with a book, me in the shade with my kindle. It really does work in bright daylight. We took an occasional break from reading to take a couple laps in the lazy river on tubes. Why is that so incredibly relaxing?
ATV Tour
One day around the pool and we are now ready for a little light adventure. We signed up for an ATV tour into the Sierra Madre mountains. It took a $20 cab ride to get to Old Town in Puerto Vallarta. We went with Unique ATV tours. This tour takes you on dirt roads through villages. No off road. Things went fairly smoothly except for a small altercation I had with the guide who was going around corners literally balancing on two wheels and then told me i had to stop gassing it and sliding occasionally. I took great exception to this hypocrisy and after a bit of heated discussion a compromise was reached. I would bring up the rear where I wouldn’t affect anyone else. I could slide around to my heart’s content. We visited the River Canopy zip line and had a introduction to Tequila making and also Tequila tasting. Tequila tasting in the middle of driving a fairly powerful motorized toy….. only in Mexico.
The tour ended at a small open air restaurant by a river. We met a couple from northern california who were on the tour with us. They were singing the praises of JoJack’s Fish Shack and their two for one Mojito’s in the afternoon. Soon we were discussing every topic imaginable over said Mojito’s . After the second Mojito, they let out that they didn’t like me at first due to the episode with the tour guide. Guess my sparkling personality won out in the end because that was just the beginning. From the mojito’s, they took us to places they had discovered in Old Town. First a bakery that didn’t open until 7PM and we got fresh baked loaves right out of the oven . Next a classic taco stand with 6 or 7 different salsa choices. I am proud to say I tried one or two from the hot side. In a store front next to the taco stand they made crepes !! We split one filled with banana and nutella. Basic. And delicious. Finally our new found friends helped us sort out which bus went to Walmart (the cental hub for all busses in the area). From there we chose the convenience of a taxi back to the resort.
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Because we had meetings and we were only there for 6 days, we didn’t rent a car this time. That gave us a chance to try some different things. I’ll tell you about the best two. One in this post and one in the next.
Whale Watching
HUmp Back Whale Up Close and Personal
We did the Vallarta adventures whale watching trip. We walked over to the nearby Vallarta Adventures Nuevo Vallarta location. You can click here to see our Whale Watching in Vallarta Photos. We stopped at a restuarant overlooking the marina and had a lovely late breakfast. When we got there we found out that we were in the swim with dolphins area and the whale watching went out of the dock on the opposite side of the marina. Fortunately, they have a pontoon boat for just such an occasiona and they cheerfully ferried us over. Vallarta Adventures www.vallarta-adventures.com is a bit of a tourist tour machine. but they really do proviide very nice, well organized excursions. The trip is 4 hours in a 20 person inflatable raft. They are fast and smooth. December is a bit on the cool side in the morning, especially at 20 miles an hour, so we had wisely chosen to do the afternoon trip. We don’t always think this clearly.
The guide was a total ham and kept us entertained between pods of whales, but he really was very knowledgable and provided a monologue of humpback whale information that didn’t sound like the tourist drivel that you are sometimes fed on, well… tourist trips. Because they are very concientious, you don’t get close enough to the whales to look them in the eye, but you do get close enough to a WHOLE LOT of humpback whales to really make it worthwhile and get some excellent photos. We will post photos soon and put a link here.
There are many phrases that have brought people here, such as....
nuevo vallarta/christmas, vallarta adventures photosPorto Bello Restaurant
PORTO BELLO – - Italian. In the Marina Vallarta.
We have had a great meal here, everything fresh and great service, so good that we had to go back again. The second visit was later in the evening and it was cold, the breeze off the water made the food cold.
I would try this place again, it has a great reputation.
09 UPDATE – dined once again at Porto Bello, good food and good service but not outstanding enough to put it on a top five list, maybe a top ten ?
Ambiance C+ Food B+ $$$ under $40 with one drink
Review by Paul Gousset
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Five star French in the Grand Velas Resort. This restaurant is located in the Grand Velas resort in Nuevo Vallarta. Reservation required and one of the few restaurants that require a dress code. The Service is exquisite, white table cloth’s. The escargot may be the best in the world. The meal and evening were just beautiful. This is a place to take someone to impress them. All meals were memorable. A Top Five !
$$$$$- over 50$ – might as well have two drinks 
Ambiance A Food A
Review provided by one of our owners – Paul Gousset
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Grand Velas flickr, pief restJoe Jack’s Fish Shack
located in Old Town, this restaurant quickly became one of our favorites. Great variety, owner is the cook, and the price can’t be beat! They make a five pepper steak for about 120 pesos that you would not mind paying $35.00 for in the states. The girls love his fish and chips and the burgers are huge and delicious. May be close to my top five for food, pricing and over-all quality. Dined there 10 times.
09 update – about four more meals there, try the whole fish or garlic shrimp !
Ambiance C+ Food A
$$- under $30 with one drink
Review provided by one of our owners – Paul Gousset
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joe jack\s fish shack, joe jacks fish shack, joe jack\s fish shack mexico, joe jacks fish shack mexico, www joejacksfishshack comRestaurants You Can Skip
I have been happily publishing Paul Gousset’s restaurant reviews and realized there were too many to be useful AND there were several where the conclusion was “give it a miss”
So…. at some personal risk , here is a simple list of restaurants you can avoid in favor of all the good ones we have reviewed. (More to come !! )
CAFÉ DE OLLA – $$ Bucerias
EL BRUJO – $$
El ARRAYAN- $$
LAS PALOMAS DORADAS – $$ – Authentic Mexican in the Marina.
MEZZOGIORNO – Italian – $$$ – In Bucerias. beautiful setting, not beautiful food
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el brujo bucerias, brujo maya riviera, funsunmexico comblog grand luxe riviera maya photosHacienda San Angel
Mexican contemporary This is the most beautiful Luxury Boutique Hotel and restaurant that I have ever seen. It is a culmination of five old Mexican Villas combined. The owner, Janice Chatterton, a transplant from San Francisco has been building this beautiful resort for the last 15 years. If ever there was a five star resort/restaurant in Mexico, this is it. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor once owned two of the Villas that now make up a part of this resort. The food and service are excellent. Can’t say enough, see for yourself. www.haciendasanangel.com/index.html
09 update, once again Excellence !
Ambiance A+ Food A-
$$$$ – Under $50 with one drink
Fajita Banana
In the Marina Vallarta. Lunch here three times, great BBQ ribs and the BEST FRIES !! Third time our ribs were not enjoyable, overcooked and dry but we ate them anyway, good flavor.
09 update – Ribs still hit and miss – order them only when they’re being grilled in the front of the place. Excellent MIXED MOLCAJETE served in hot lava pot.
Ambiance C Food B-
$- under $20 with one drink