Lisbon’s lovely Tagus River beckoned, so of course Bob hopped
on a boat! He was a little underwhelmed.
It was a fine tour, nothing spectacular. Bob enjoyed a relaxing
couple of hours seeing Lisbon's main monuments, such as the 25th of April
Bridge, Praça do Comércio, and the Tower of Belém, among many others. The one-and-a-half-hour
round-trip tour cost 26 euros, or about $28 US. You can also choose to go just
one way for less.
We don’t recommend it if your time in Lisbon is short.
Want to feel like you’re rich and famous? Come with us on
Part 3 of our tour of a Mexican mega-resort, the luxurious Vidanta Nayarit on
the west coast of Mexico.
We’ll tour more of enormous Vidanta, including La Cantina, Gong, and
other restaurants; the Grand Bliss; the Mayan Palace; walking on the boardwalk pathways
that connect the resort; the Plaza marketplace that carries everything you need
(groceries, bakery, froyo, flip flops, sunglasses), and everything you don't (
gourmet chocolate, jewelry); the Sanctuario entertainment hub; and many other
parts of this breathtaking resort.
Want to see what you missed? Part 1 took
us from arrival at Puerto Vallarta Airport, through transit to the resort, and
the check-in experience.
In Part 2, we took an early morning tour of Vidanta’s Grand
Mayan Hotel and beyond, including breakfast, restaurants, beach, pools, fitness
center, a lazy river, and the sky dream gondola. Soak up the lifestyle of the
rich and famous!
Thanks for joining us on this three-part
tour of this Mexican mega-resort!
When we bought a fractional ownership at Vidanta Resort in
Mexico, we had no idea the world of luxury we would soon encounter. We’re a middle-class family, not accustomed to the perks of the super-rich that we find at Vidanta. If you’re like
us, you’ll enjoy taking me take a three-part tour of this Mexican
mega-resort, and spend a few minutes feeling like one of the rich and famous.
In this Part 2 of our Mexican
Mega-Resort Experience series on the Messy Suitcase travel channel, we’ll take an early
morning tour of Vidanta’s Grand Mayan Hotel and beyond, including breakfast,
restaurants, beach, pools, fitness center, a lazy river, and the sky dream
gondola. Soak up the lifestyle of the rich and famous!
Part 1 took us from arrival at Puerto
Vallarta Airport, through transit to the resort, and the check-in experience.
Part 3 – coming soon! – will feature a tour of more of the enormous Vidanta,
including La Cantina, Gong, and other restaurants; the Grand Bliss; the Mayan
Palace; walking on the boardwalk pathways that connect the resort; the Plaza
marketplace that carries everything you need (groceries, bakery, froyo, flip
flops, sunglasses), and everything you don't ( gourmet chocolate, jewelry); the
Sanctuario entertainment hub; and many other parts of this breathtaking resort.
It’s Messy Suitcase’s first visit to Portugal, and Bob is
traveling alone! He plans to spend a few days in Lisbon courtesy of a layover
opportunity through TAP Air Portugal.
Because his flight landed at 530 AM, Bob stowed his luggage
in Lisbon through an app called Bounce so he could explore the city before he
checked into his Airbnb. He discovered amazing tilework in the cobblestones, plazas,
parks, the Marques de Pombal statue, Avenida Libertad, and a lot of truly
brilliant architecture.
Of course, he hopped onto the Hop On Hop Off Bus and gave us
his impressions from the top of the HOHO. He got on the first one of the day,
and found it to be a great way to get oriented to the city despite jetlag.
A Mexican Mega-Resort Experience, Part 1: Arrival at Vidanta
When we bought a fractional ownership at Vidanta Resort, we
had no idea about the world of luxury we would soon find ourselves wrapped in.
Two ordinary, middle-class people who allowed ourselves to get sucked into the timeshare
game, we are not accustomed to valets transporting our luggage to our room, or
giant soaking bathtubs in our bathrooms, or massive
fitness centers, or luxury spas, incredible swimming pools, a lazy river
outside the door, or countless other perks of the super-rich that we find at
Vidanta.
Come take a three-part tour of a Mexican
mega-resort, and spend a few minutes feeling like one of the rich and famous.
Part 1 takes us from arrival at Puerto
Vallarta Airport, through transit to the resort, and the check-in experience.
Part 2 takes us on an early morning tour of the Grand Mayan
and beyond, including breakfast, restaurants, beach, pools, fitness center, a
lazy river, and the sky dream gondola
Part 3 takes us on a tour of more parts of enormous Vidanta,
including La Cantina, Gong, and other restaurants: the Grand Bliss, the Mayan
Palace, walking on the pathways, the Plaza marketplace that carries everything
you need (groceries, bakery, froyo, flip flops, sunglasses),and everything you
don't ( gourmet chocolate, jewelry), the Sanctuario entertainment hub, and many
other parts of the resort.
The remarkable hike to and from
Charco El Pilón in Puerto Rico’s Maricao State Forest is a challenging rocky,
muddy 2 ½-mile scramble along -- and often through -- the "El Chorote” branch
that arrives at the El Pilón stream. The forest is lush and shady, and the terrain
is hilly and challenging. The payoff is a spectacular waterfall and swimming
hole.
You’ll find the trailhead at the end of Route 362, high in
the mountains in San Germán, Cabo Rojo, on the southwestern corner of the island. You can park in front of road barriers or alongside the road. The well-maintained trail immediately, just to the left of a
little house, takes you down and then up a steep hill, and it’s game on!
Charco El Pilón is a 30-foot-high
waterfall with a deep, clear pool beneath, perfect for swimming in (we kept our
shoes on).
Here are a few tips to enhance your
experience:
·Start early to
avoid the crowds and get a good parking spot. We encountered a guided group of
at least 50 people on our way back.
·Bring lots of
water.
·Wear a swimsuit!
·Wear shoes with
a good grip that you can get wet! I wore Hoka trail running shoes that
drained easily and could be washed afterward. Bob wore hiking boots, which were
more of a challenge to get clean.
Many have told us about the outstanding quality of the Ponce
Art Museum (Museo de Arte), but two large earthquakes in January 2020 changed
all that, when the main building was badly damaged and closed. They finally
reopened a section of the museum this year, and we decided to check it out!
After the earthquakes, the Museum displayed items at its gallery
in San Juan, and took to the streets with workshops to shelters and schools.
When COVID hit, it expanded its digital platform. Now it’s gradually opening
again while raising funds to repair the earthquake damage.
The museum still has very limited offerings, though we
really enjoyed what we saw. It costs just $6 to get in, half price for seniors.
Free guided tours are conducted at 10 AM (Spanish) and 1 PM (English).
We stumbled upon a tequila micro-distillery right next to
the Pacific Ocean, on the grounds of Restaurant Oscar’s, while we were just
bopping around Puerto Vallarta. Blue
agave plants and silver barrels beckoned us with the promise of a chance to try
Jalisco’s specialty, tequila.
This is how they describe it on their website:
“Embark on a sensory adventure with our Mexican Distilled
Spirits Tasting experience, where tradition, craftsmanship, and flavor converge
in a symphony of delightful notes. Explore the rich cultural heritage of Puerto
Vallarta through an expertly curated selection of premium distilled spirits
that capture the essence of this vibrant country. Indulge in an unforgettable
journey through the heart and soul of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico with our
Mexican Distilled Spirits Tasting.”
We got a very thorough tour and tasting experience from a
guide whose name Lisa unfortunately forgot. After giving us a quick history of
how tequila used to be made and explaining how it’s distilled now, our guide
even taught us how to drink it.
There were more types of tequila than we have seen anywhere
else, including passion fruit, kiwi, coffee, vanilla, guanabana, and even one
he described as “The Baby Maker” because it makes you “feel like a donkey from
the waist down.”
He was so funny, we walked away with an expensive bottle in
our hands and stupid smiles on our faces.
From the bus ride in, to the airport out, we bop around Puerto
Vallarta, a dynamic city on the west coast of Mexico.
Highlights include enjoying lunch and beers at Los Muertos
Brewery; wandering through Mundo de Cristal (House of Crystal), our favorite
pottery/souvenir shop; shopping and more shopping, watching a cocinero make tacos
de pastor, Bob eating ice cream made in a garafón (barrel), Lisa drinking a horchata
(flavored rice drink), walking along the Malecon (Boardwalk), dropping into a
jewelry store that feels like a mine, and ducking out of the rain into the
Huichol art store, where of course we buy a beaded mask to add to our
collection.
At the airport to head home, we decompress in the Priority
Pass Lounge, which has an excellent bar.
We donned dorky paper chef hats when Christan from the Joy
Squad took us on a 90-minute tour behind the scenes of the massive Vidanta
Resort in Nuevo Nayarit/Vallarta, Mexico. From housekeeping, to food service, to wine,
to excruciatingly delicious gourmet chocolates, we had a chance to see how a
large luxury resort is run.
Vidanta has six resorts in Mexico, and Nuevo Vallarta, just
north of Puerto Vallarta, is the flagship, with 5,000 employees trained to
serve guests with an amazing attention to detail to make their experiences at
Vidanta extraordinary.
We traveled through 1.7 kilometers of tunnels in an open-air
van escorted by a staff member on a segway. In the huge bowels of the complex,
we found administrative offices, carpentry, laundry, vehicle repair, electrical
repair, spare parts, supplies management, bakery, ice cream factory, homemade
jams, grocery store, trash and recycling (11 tons of recycling per day!). We
saw one of the employee cafeterias, the staff gym, shuttle buses for employees,
a hospitality training classroom, and a simulator in which staffers learn to
serve meals, clean and prepare bedrooms, and more. We were treated to bread,
jams, charcuterie, chocolate, and – the best surprise of all – discovered a
wine cave for tasting!
The Heart of the House Tour runs once a week, on Wednesdays,
and is limited to ten people. It’s worth a few hours in the morning if you’re
curious about how Vidanta is run. And it’s worth it to see chocolate
high-heeled shoes!
Vidanta Nueva Vallarta is giving tours as it soft opens its
long-promised "VidantaWorld Park" -- for a fee. Is it worth $100?
Come along and see! Vidanta describes this theme park as “a space that defies
all the rules of time, gravity, and even reality. A vacation taken to the
limits of your imagination.” I don’t know if it’s all that, but we paid $100
for the opportunity to find out, which we could put toward food and drinks in
the park.
We boarded the “SkyDream Parks Gondola” from Vidanta, which
gave us a nice aerial view of the complex, including its new pickleball courts
in the middle of nowhere. We were also treated to lovely views of Banderas Bay
on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and the mountains beyond. Vidanta says the
SkyDream is the first cable car system in the world in a beach development.
The park is opulent and lovely, with spectacular fountains,
beautifully designed restaurants, shaded spaces for relaxation, fountain
light-and-fire shows, music, and more. However, the park is not yet not fully
operating, and was still in “tour” mode as opposed to “use” mode. There is not
a lot of THERE there.
We rode the Vista Wheel (the only other ride was not
working) – slow and a little boring, with literally no view -- checked out the
carnival games and enjoyed our pick of fantastic food.
In the future, Vidanta is promising a jungle park, “ruins”
to explore, a water park, and all kinds of “thrilling attractions.” But this is
Vidanta, so who knows when or if this will happen? As of now, there is no firm
opening date, and a lot of staff members on hand to serve very few guests. But
it looks good
Vallarta Food Tours’ “Experience Mexology” Food and Drink
tour was one of the absolute best tours we have ever taken in all of our
travels. Over the course of 4 hours, we
wandered around Puerto Vallarta’s Romantic Zone with an incredibly
knowledgeable, English-fluent guide named Luis Alba, experiencing 6 handcrafted
cocktails and enjoying 6 scrumptious food tastings.
We met Luis in Lazaro Cardenas Park, also known as “The Mosaic Park” because of its incredible tile work. Luis promised – and
delivered – on a comprehensive and scrumptious eating, learning, drinking experience, as he took us
to a variety of places, from holes in the wall to fine restaurants. It was a
fantastic way to get to know Puerto Vallarta, feel connected to the culture,
and get some restaurant recommendations.
The tour is described on the website this way:
Enjoy 6 handcrafted cocktails and 6 food tastings!
Drink And Eat Your Way Through Downtown Vallarta. Tacos and
Tequila are at the top of everyone’s list when they come to PV. This tour gives
you both in one fun and food-filled evening. This 4 hours walking, drinking and
eating tour has no less than 6 cocktails including tequila, pulque, mezcal and
local agave spirit: racilla. Eat tacos, drink tequila, learn about the
differences in the spirits, laugh and just have an amazing afternoon with a
group of like-minded travelers on this insider experience around the Romanic
zone!
We are so proud of this awesome new intro for Messy Suitcase videos that we simply HAVE to share it! It's a collaboration between Hamburg, Germany-based musician/composer Patrick Hamm and Champlain College Filmmaking student Gavin Greenawalt.
Bob needed major dental work done, so we took a Mexican
vacation!
Getting crowns and eating tacos may not go together in your
mind, but here’s the dirt: Dental work is way cheaper in Mexico than in the
United States. The dentists are just as qualified, often US-educated, and it’s easy
to find one that speaks English.
We discovered this when we were living in Guanajuato,
Mexico, in 2019 and the whole family needed our teeth cleaned. We went to an
ex-pats’ Facebook page and discovered that Mexico has a thriving cottage
industry of dental tourism. The cost for dental care is so much less than in
the States, that you can use the money you save to enjoy a lovely holiday. If
you’re going to endure the pain and stress of dental care, wouldn’t you prefer
to spend the rest of the day lying on a beach or drinking tequila?
You can get your dental work done anywhere in Mexico. All it
takes is a Google search to find a facility. There are countless choices. We
chose Puerto Vallarta because it’s one of our favorite Mexican cities. Bob
found PV Smile in a convenient residential neighborhood, on the route to the
Romantic Zone from our resort. Over the course of four visits, he had four
fillings, two crowns and an inlay replaced. He was very pleased with the
quality of the work and the professionalism of the office. Total cost was $1,856,
plus a few taxi rides. Bob just used a credit card to pay, though if you are
able to pay in Mexican pesos, you get a 10% discount.
The estimate to have the same work done at Allen Pond Dental
in Rutland, VT, was $3,400. With almost 50% savings, we could spend a week in
Mexico! Obviously, Lisa enjoyed it a little more than Bob, because she had more
time free. But Bob still enjoyed himself, and we took advantage of the trips to
the dentist to explore some new neighborhoods of the city. We spent the time
Bob wasn’t lying back in a dental chair doing a food and drink tour of Puerto
Vallarta, enjoying the resort where we stayed, and exploring the region.
On our way to Mexico last summer, we had a few hours to kill
and spent them exploring Boston. Join us as Bob attempts to annoy everyone in
Beantown with his observations about Sam Adams, Faneuil Hall, the original
State House, Quincy Market, and even the Boston Tea Party. We’ll also take a
stroll through Boston Public Garden, and Lisa finally gets to ride in a Swan
Boat!
This video debuts our awesome new original theme music, The
Messy Suitcase Theme, composed by Patrick Hamm, a guitar player/singer/composer
based in Hamburg, Germany. Thank you, Pat! Check out his YouTube channel.
The new introduction was created by Champlain College film student Gavin Greenawalt.
Looking for serenity? Or a party? Depending on the day, you
can find either at La Playita, one of our favorite local beaches. La Playita,
found at the end of a dirt road tucked among the mangroves near Puerto Real, is
just a mile or two from our home in Cabo Rojo.
The beach can be completely deserted, offering a serenity
that’s hard to find anywhere else. But a holiday weekend can bring entire
families partying for the day, and even overnight campers, though there are no
facilities.
This picturesque stretch of white sand offers shallow
waters, palm trees, and mangroves. You’ll see fish and even rays jumping out of
the water, pelicans flying by, and sand crabs scurrying around. Unfortunately,
you will also encounter some trash, and maybe meet a stray dog or two. People
park their cars right on the beach, so it’s not a bad place for people with
accessibility issues. The water is calm, warm, and fairly shallow – perfect for
swimming, splashing, lounging in the water sipping a drink, fishing, or
kayaking.
So grab your beach chairs, pack a cooler with drinks and
some frozen Gasolinas (party in a pouch!), stop into Mercado’s Bakery to get
sandwiches and chips and use the bathroom– remember, no facilities – and settle
on in under a sea grape tree with a good book. Enjoy!
We spent a sweet morning at a beach in south Rincon that is
popular with local swimmers and snorkelers. It’s a quiet beach with soft golden sand,
but not a lot of shade. A reef can be found about 50 meters from the coastline.
Unfortunately, the water kicked up a bit and kept us out of the water. Next
time!
There are no amenities and no services, but the village of
Rincon is a couple of miles away. Bring a cooler and your lunch.
The mountain village of Las Marias, Puerto Rico, throws a
huge block party every March, the Festival de las Chinas Dulces, to celebrate
the abundant variety of sweet oranges that grow on the island.
They call oranges “chinas” (pronounced CHEE-nahs) in Puerto Rico,
though the Spanish word for “orange” is “naranja” (pronounced nah-RAHN-hah).
We spent a sweet afternoon drinking
china coladas and orange juice, eating china bread and other Puerto Rican
delicacies, sipping Puerto Rican coffee, learning about island agriculture, and
perusing the products of a myriad of artisans. The music was traditional,
colorful, and energetic, coming from two main bandstands, and the crowds
extended for blocks in several directions. We even took home an orange tree to
plant in our Cabo Rojo yard!
The Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge bursts with
birds year-round, but also offers hiking and mountain biking trails and some
pretty spectacular scenery. Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this
wetland is one of the most important freshwater habitats for migrating and
resident aquatic birds in Puerto Rico.
Almost half the birds recorded in Puerto Rico have been
observed in the lagoon and its nearby hills. Visitors have a good chance of
seeing a Magnificent Frigatebird, several species of herons, smooth-billed ani,
the common moorhen, and occasionally the yellow-shouldered blackbird. I even
saw white egrets and an osprey.
So if you’re anywhere near the southwest coast of the
island, you should put on your hiking shoes, grab a pair of binoculars, a
bottle of water, and a good camera, and spend a morning watching the avian
activity and enjoying the birdsongs.
The trails are closed during nesting season – early March
to late August – so time your visit well.
Balneario (Public Beach) Boquerón is one of our favorite
beaches, and we showed it to you in an earlier video. But now Beto has a drone,
and you’ll find the view is even better from the sky!
The view of the crystal-clear
water and the reefs and rocks below is astounding, with the stunning mountains
in the distance. And Boquerón, which is a national park, features many facilities you can’t see from
the beach, including beach volleyball, a tennis court, a basketball court, a
camping area (with cabins still being restored after damage from Hurricane
Maria in 2018), and more.
You feel as though you’ve gone to the end of the earth when
you stand atop the stunning cliffs rimming the peninsula beyond pristine Playa
Sucia, the beach at the extreme southwest corner of Puerto Rico, and look out
across the vast turquoise sea.
Most hikers who come here take the breathtaking 1 ½ mile trail
that encircles the iconic lighthouse Los Morrillos. We did it, ourselves, a
couple of years ago. (Here's the video) It was amazing!
But if you sneak off to the very left side of Playa Sucia
(also known as Playuela), you’ll find a billy goat trail of about 2 ½ miles
that gives you devastating beautiful views of the lighthouse from across the
bay, with waves crashing into the cliffs below. You’ll also take in the crescent
beach and the vast ocean beyond. The area is called Acantilados de Cabo Rojo,
which translates to the Cliffs of Cabo Rojo. If you’re afraid of heights, don’t
go too close to the edge! Otherwise, prepare to be blown away, by both wind and
natural beauty.
There’s no shade, so wear sunscreen and a sunhat, and bring
water to drink. But the most important accessory is your camera! We suggest you
drop your beach chairs and swimsuits under a seagrape tree on the beach before
hiking so you can cool off afterward with a dip in the warmwaves.
Playa Tres Tubos is a cozy
neighborhood beach just a few short miles up the road from us in Joyuda, Cabo
Rojo. There’s parking along the main road, but finding the pedestrian entryway
was a bit of a challenge. The short path to the beach offered lovely mural art
and shady trees.
Tres Tubos itself was a little gem of a beach, with soft
sand; clear, calm water; but no shade. There are no facilities or shops nearby,
so we brought our own lunch, and took the opportunity to test out our new shade
tent for the beach.
INFO
Playa Tres Tubos – Sorry, no links to provide, there is no official
info. Consider yourself scooped by an insider!
Amil Droz, an artisanal mask maker based in Boquerón, Puerto Rico, took us for a walk through his
rustic wooden home and art studio to see his vejigante masks and other 3D works
of art he has created. Amil (pronounced Ay-MEEL) is originally from Puerto
Rico, but spent most of his life living in New York, which you will be able to
tell from his accent. He calls his business Tuntuneco Arts. His masks are mostly
made out of coconuts in the style found in Loiza, Puerto Rico. We purchased one
to display above the bar of our Cabo Rojo home.
Amil Droz Torres is a certified cultural Artisan whose art
studio and shop, Tuntuneco Arte Taino, is located above the Copy Hamburger bar in
Boqueron, Puerto Rico. His masks sculptures and painting are found in museums,
schools, and corporations in New York and PR. He also teaches and presents as a
guest artist. We were lucky to meet him in a Cabo Rojo sports bar while
watching the AFC Championship Game! He’s also a NY Yankees fan, but we can
forgive him for that.
La Poza del Obispo in Arecibo is widely considered to be one
of the most beautiful beaches on the North Coast of Puerto Rico. We wanted
to know why so many people recommend it!
Here’s why: Lots of parking right by the beach. Deep, soft
golden sand. A few shady palm trees perfect for hanging hammocks. Incredible
views of cliffs and turquoise sea in every shade imaginable. Food trucks nearby
along the road to the beach. A “poza” (pool) of calm water protected by rocks
from the jaw-dropping waves, which creates a perfect pool for kiddies to safely
swim.
What’s not to love?
La Poza is also located right in the shadow of the beautiful
Arecibo Lighthouse, so we hiked up a small mountain into a brisk wind to get a
better view. Definitely worth it!
Traveling can be so much fun …
until disaster strikes. You get sick. You break your leg skiing. Your pocket
gets picked. Then what do you do?
This video will help you manage
your money when traveling overseas in the safest, easiest way. We’ll cover how
to handle cash, the credit cards with the best benefits for travel, the
cheapest way to rent a car while being fully protected, and more.
It will also help answer the
question: do you need travel insurance?
