PHOTO ALBUM –>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/tHrySRhMvcDLzBAp7
Leaving ….
Time to leave Bermuda for Mexico came very quickly, and then before we knew it we were en-route along with 2 of our Grandchildren, May 9 and Quest 7, Kate and Chrissie’s littles.
1st stop was Atlanta
where I thought I had booked the airport Hilton but, no, the hotel was 18 miles away. So, it was a long ride there, followed by a hasty dinner as it was late,
a quick sleep, up real early for a long ride to Atlanta airport, a fast food breakfast and our flight to Puerto Vallarta.
Puerto Vallarta
We arrived nice and early, around noon, but got caught by the unscrupulous airport hustlers on our way out. After some 20 minutes of wasted time while they tried their time share hustle, we caught a free ride to the Paradise Marina Village, hotel and marina. The children were absolutely exhausted! And so were we!
Hotel life
Our first few days were spent staying in the hotel as I needed to clean Aeeshah, get her ready for 2 children, unpack and restock with foods.
Of course we visited Chico as soon as we arrived. He was very happy with all of the attention and relished all of the fussing, brushing and playing. But I think he thought “What the heck are they thinking???”
The 2 weeks with Quest and May staying passed very quickly. I think because there never was any down time, never a dull moment. It was go, go, go….
Everyday we would do some schoolwork that they had brought with them, plus reading for practice, and journal writing. Surprisingly, neither of them seemed to enjoy this part of the day….
Daily outing of some type
A daily outing of some type, be it just off to the mall for the playground there,
or simply watching the iguanas,
Beach swimming:
The beach was also popular with May and Quest.
They enjoyed the surf and John enjoyed not having to sit in a warm pool watching them. My knee wasn’t up to the surf unfortunately.
pool swims……
One can never have enough pool time was their philosophy!
Plus everyday there was swimming and playtime either at the pools and water slides or on the beach in the surf.. very active time. (John was mainly on pool duty)
Butterfly Sanctuary: Mariposario Jardin Magico
“Established in 2019, Mariposario Jardin Magico is the only butterfly sanctuary in Banderas Bay. Our project addresses the current challenges related to social issues that affect local biodiversity, climate change, use of pesticides, deforestation, pollution, wildlife conservation, endangered species protection and restoration, and urban development.”
We got a taxi from Paradise to the sanctuary, finding it was out in the nearby countryside.
Fabian the director was our guide and he was fabulous! He really knew how to talk to children about butterflies and their life cycle grabbing their entire attention.
We went inside the enclosure which was similar to a green house covered in a light netting. Yes, it was really hot inside.
We followed a pathway stopping at all of the exhibits of live butterflies, chrysalises, and caterpillars.
At each stop Fabian told information about the particular caterpillar, or butterfly we were watching.
There were beautiful butterflies all around we knew a few of the names and Fabian told us the names of the others. I particularly like the green/black ones that were green and brown on their undersides, Malachite butterflies.
At the end of the tour we all got to release a butterfly that had just emerged from its chrysalis. Quest and May were delighted, especially May as her butterfly stayed sitting on her hand for a while.
Fabian was a wonderful, knowledgeable guide
The Crocodile sanctuary, El Cora Crocodile Sanctuary
We again got a taxi to take us to the croc sanctuary. This time it was way out in the sticks/mangroves. Our taxi driver stayed as he knew we would never get a ride out of there.
We had a very nice tour guide who was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. She took us from exhibit to exhibit explaining about the various crocs and animals in cages.
It was more a rescue center for animals, but unfortunately it was somewhat rundown. The animals varied from crocs, raccoons, coatis, to parrots, a pelican and even wild chickens.
They were all in quite sad condition, missing a wing, or a tail or crippled so that they can’t live in the wild. We were shown croc skeleton heads and Quest and May were enthralled by them. Their size and weight are quite amazing!
The children weren’t really that enthralled, I think they were hot and sad for the animals.
(Our taxi driver hadn’t been to the sanctuary before)
Fire Dancers
“By promoting these types of shows, Puerto Vallarta strengthens its identity as a destination where nature, art and culture converge, reaffirming its position as one of the most vibrant places in Mexico.” I must agree with that statement….
The fire dancers performed on the amphitheater near the marina. It is a weekly performance at Paradise Resort. We were given drinks and snacks.
The kids loved the popcorn, John loved the swizzles.
The dancers are very colourful and theatrical. They make animal screeches, dance and leap around the stage. Fire is one of their props. Apparently the fire dancers have evolved from old indigenous traditions in the area.
Everyone enjoyed the show.
The resort has numerous pools. The 2 that the kids used and loved were right off the beach and of course popular with all the other guests too. John, was very good he took the kids most days to the pools. They both adored and never grew tired of the slides……...
I went a few times and wallowed in the warm pool water….not really my thing, but just to keep John company.
Off for a morning’s snorkeling
We set off from the resort marina onboard a boat with 2 local fellows to go snorkeling.
The 1st stop was a small rocky beach area where they had taken guests before.
Quest was happy to see the few fish
and May was over joyed to find a sea urchin’s shell.
After 3/4 of an hour we get out and headed off to another popular destination nearby.
Parque Nacional Marino Los Aros de Mismaslago.
There were several islands with caves. The fellows wanted to know if we wanted to snorkel there, but we chose not to as there were quite a number of boats and the area was restricted by buoys. We did have a close look at one of the caves which was actually a tunnel.
The kids were quite impressed.
Our second snorkeling spot was further along after we passed through a bay with brown water.
Again the children were impressed to learn the brown water was from the river that flowed into the bay. We had a look around from our boat and then were off to a nearby clean bay,
Colomitos Beach to snorkel and swim.
This time we did see different types of fish from before and I had a close up look at the shells attached to the rocks, oysters and clams.
It was a successful day, May and Quest were exhausted!
Just a few days later May and Quest were surprised to find the family had arrived!
