I’m back today with Part II of my travel guide to Punta de Mita, Mexico. I closed out part I with our first night at the resort, and our fabulous dinner at Mesa 1. In case you missed it, here’s a photo:
As I mentioned before, I was in charge of planning the excursions. Now, Aaron and I are fairly adventurous people, we like to hike, bike, zipline, kayak – you name it, and we probably enjoy doing it. But, I also appreciate those who don’t share the same type of vacation style, and it’s nice to relax a bit. So, I thought I’d pick an activity that could be adventurous for those who wanted to partake. But, I also wanted an activity that could be relaxing for those who opted for the latter.
Day 2
I started doing research, and our resort is located very near the famed “Bahia de Banderas” – or Banderas Bay – off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, which is home to the blue-footed booby (a type of bird that has aqua blue feet) and the Marietas Islands.
I began researching tours that would take us out for a couple of hours, but we didn’t want to spend the entire day on the water because we had dinner reservations that were about an hour away. So, I found AllyCat Tours, and I began emailing them to see if we could discuss some options. After a couple of back and forth emails, to which they responded right away, we decided that we would do a four-hour private tour for four people. We would be sailing on the AllyCat Too, which is a trimaran. The price was fairly reasonable when it was split between four people, and they did ask that we tip the crew at least $150 USD, which we were happy to do.
Our day on the AllyCat Too
We arranged for the car to take us from the hotel to drop us off at the La Cruz Marina Yacht Club, which is about a 15-minute drive from our hotel. We had a crew of three people on board with us, and they were so much fun. And, while the tour was not going to take us to the Marietas Islands, we were going to a semi-private beach area to have some fun in the water.
They provided a light breakfast, open bar, lunch – and even a birthday cake for my husband and Blair. The trimaran was equipped with the nets on the front of the boat, so we could sit and enjoy while the crew took us to our spot. They chef on board made us breakfast tacos and mimosas – and they kept the drinks coming all day!
Before we arrived, they did take us to a spot to see some of the blue-footed boobies, which I was excited to see. After about 45 minutes, we arrived at the spot where we could get in the water. They had all kinds of water toys: a lily pad, kayaks, paddle boards, a high dive – you name it, they had it.
One of the crew members taught me how to paddle board, which was so much fun. Aaron got on one as well. Then, I spent the rest of my time in the water, with a spicy watermelon margarita on the Lily Pad. I love those things. They let us play in the water for about an hour, and they had lunch ready for us when we got back on the boat. Jorge made us delicious chicken and shrimp fajitas, and his homemade guacamole was so good.
After lunch, I thought we were headed back to the marina, but they let us get back in the water one more time for a little bit. At the end, they brought out a birthday cake for the two birthday boys, which was so nice of them. All in all, we spent a little more than 4 hours on the water, and we had the best time. The trimaran with the AllyCat crew was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
La Leche
Blair made reservations for us in advance for La Leche. And, it was the meal I was most looking forward to. La Leche is famed in Puerto Vallarta for its all white interior – and it’s progressive menu. It was about an hour-drive away from our resort, so we arranged for a car to take us from the hotel to dinner – and the driver waited for us while we ate.
We went with the 7-course tasting menu, and it was absolutely delicious. They are well known for their cocktails, but I opted for a glass of red wine, which is usually my go-to with a nice dinner. We ordered the oysters to start, which arrived on a block of ice shaped like a hand.
The first course was a tuna sashimi, some salmon, there was a delicious soup, a fish with the most delicious butter and carrot sauce, their signature duck (which was probably my favorite), a short rib taco and a chocolate brownie to finished the meal. Every aspect of the meal was presented in the most fabulous way, and this ranks up there as one of the top five meals I’ve eaten! If you are in Puerto Vallarta, a reservation is a must!
We were full and happy at the end of the evening. I’ll be back tomorrow sharing Day 3 of our trip to Punta de Mita, Mexico.
