Puerta Vallerta

Our first port of call was Puerta Vallerta, a small city nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains along the edge of Banderas Bay. We walked off the gangway to be greeted by a barrage of taxi drivers wating to take us places, but we managed to make our way through them to see a bit of the town and then to the beach.



After several days on board, it felt great to walk on solid ground,

 even that of shifting sand and feeling the swirl in the rush of the changing ebb and flow of the tide.

We walked a long stretch of the beach ...



enjoying the crash of waves on rocks jutting out . . .

and traces of footprints washed away to leave a blanket of perfect sand once again.

We peeked into some of the hotels with their beautiful beachfront amenities . . .

such as day beds, complete with sheer curtains,

an arbor inviting guests to an outdoor massage parlor,

parasailing opportunities to view the scene from above

and sailing expeditions on the ocean.

It was a peek into another world. I loved it . . . just the looking . . . and then getting back to our floating hotel to eat from menus without prices, to  enjoy musicals and comedy shows without tickets and finally to be gently rocked to sleep at night.