#TBT | Puerto Vallarta

This week's #ThrowBackTravel is Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! My mama, sister and I traveled to Puerto Vallarta in April 2011 - right after I graduated from college! We chose PV because we have family that lives there and they've insisted for the longest time for us to come down and we finally took them up on the offer. This was my first trip to Mexico and I was so excited to dust of my Spanish speaking skills and play tour guide for my mom and sister.

We flew into PV in the AM. Our family picked us up and took us to our villa and we  freshened up. We hit the town to explore PV and walked El Malecon. We visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, walked the beach, and watched the sunset. Pretty low key for the first day. 

Taylor Burton Bridge

Los Arcos de Mismaloya

Predator Set

The 2nd Day was spent exploring around PV. We drove around the coast and explored the history of PV. We drove by the famous Richard Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor love bridge. Later in the day we ended up at Canopy El Eden where we went zip lining. El Eden is the former movie set for the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Predator which was shot in PV. A lot of the set stuff are still there and it's pretty neat! In the evening we went to El Faro Lighthouse to view the sunset and have fruity drinks with the family. 

The third day we spent quality time lounging around on the beach and soaking up some sun. For dinner we went to La Leche Restaurant. The food was delicious! The entire restaurant is all white - hence la leche - and the menu is divine!

The fourth day we did some shopping during the day and went to the beach - again! In the evening we went on a Rhythms of the Night cruise. It was a won of fun! We boarded the boat just before sunset. Once on the island we were greeted by song, dance, and music. First there was a live performance which involved fire, acrobats, music, and dance - so much fun! Afterward we had a buffet dinner which involved more food that I could handle! It was a wonderful evening and a ton of fun! 

On the last day we went on another boat excursion that involved snorkeling and island hopping - our family organized this for us and it was a ton of fun! In the evening we had dinner with the family at Pan y Que and walked the Malecon to catch a glimpse of the nightlife. We also did some last minute souvenir shopping at Señor Frogs - and I opted for a photo session with Señor!

Puerto Vallarta was a ton of fun! I know many people (especially hijabis) don't think about traveling to Mexico - but honestly it is doable! Everyone is super nice and there are ton of activities to do that don't involve just laying on a beach! I'm sure I will be back to PV since we have our lovely family there and I miss them all oh so much!

Happy Thursday!

Riviera Maya - Day 5

I have a slight obsession with sunrise & sunsets. Therefore I had to wake up early one morning and watch the sunrise. It was very peaceful and extraordinary to watch the sunrise on the beach. 

We spent our last afternoon in Mexico being beach bums and relaxing.

Later we walked over to the Hacienda at our resort to do some last minute shopping. They had some interesting and rather unique souvenirs! 

The resort went all out for the Christmas Eve dinner!! There was so much food I didn't know where to begin!

Afterward we attended the Christmas Show at the Hacienda. There was some lip synching, a little latin gangnam style dance, and lots of dancing! Very entertaining! 

I had a fabulous time vacationing in the Riviera Maya! A great location to soak up some sun, relax, see some history, and have a ton of fun!!

Riviera Maya - Day 4

First thing in the morning we checked out the Dolphin show at our resort. They offer packages to swim with dolphins and be a trainer for a day. It was fun seeing the dolphins perform all their tricks. However after watching the CNN film Blackfish the whole dolphins, whales, and animals in captivity thing doesn't sit well with me.

After the dolphin show we soaked up some sun on the beach and got out tan on!

In the afternoon we drove to Playa Del Carmen to do some shopping on Fifth Avenue also known as Avenida Cinco. We were able to get all of our souvenir shopping done in two hours. Playa del Carmen is a major party scene and it was super busy and the streets were filled with interesting characters. 

We had dinner at Don Pablo at our resort. This restaurant was by far my favorite! The food was spectacular!!! I had a fig salad, cream of celery soup, and roasted gulf sea bass fillet. Everything was divine!