Leaving behind our friends in Denver, we made our way to the airport for the beginning of our new travel chapter! My parents, Mark and Cheryl, invited us to join them on their vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, so we decided to make that the first stop on the Latin American leg of our journey.
On the flight down, we practiced Spanish on Duolingo — we plan on really diving into the language since we’ll be in Spanish-speaking countries for the next while. Wini doesn’t help matters by looking ethnically ambiguous; we’ve had troubles all throughout our travels with locals assuming she knows the language (especially in the Philippines, Indonesia, and now Mexico). Hopefully, we’ll be able to pick up the language quickly so we can actually keep up!
Touching down, the immigration line was a breeze, but customs was a madhouse. Splitting up, I held the place in the line, while Wini grabbed our bags. My dad met us at the airport, and after a quick reunion, we grabbed an Uber to our Puerto Vallarta apartment.
The place was unreal! Absolutely huge and pristine, with insane views on both sides of the apartment. Our budget travel vibe is very different than the ‘Parent-Grade’ apartments that get sprinkled in here and there!
My parents use a platform called HomeExchange, which facilitates home swapping between people looking to travel and stay in accommodation without the cost of traditional lodging. They’ve been able to stay in incredible places all over the world (for free!), by putting their own home up for people to stay in while they’re away.
Once settled, we caught up with my parents over chips and salsa and spent the day relaxing by the pool. In the evening Wini whipped up a delicious homemade dinner of blackened mahi-mahi and cilantro-lime rice, which we enjoyed on the balcony overlooking the ocean.
The next day, we hopped on a crowded bus to downtown Puerto Vallarta. It’s such a vibrant little downtown core, with a lot of public art, so we enjoyed strolling along the ocean, stopping for lunch, and poking into local shops.
When we got home, we went down to the pool area for another relaxed day. We went up to the apartment and when we got inside, we were immediately like… wait. Where is all this water from?? The floor was flooded! This started a mad scramble to locate the source: had it come from the bathroom? the laundry machines?? But then we looked up and realized it was coming from above!
We alerted the building manager and the upstairs neighbour about the leak, and they were already on it. So we notified the owner, cleaned up the excess water, and carried on with our evening.
We took the next day to simply bask in the sun and float in the ocean. The perfect beach vacation day!
Feeling more adventurous the next day, we rented a car to go hike in a nearby town, Boca de Tomatlan. The hike unfolded along the edges of the quaint town, taking us up and down along the ocean’s edge.
As pretty as it was, we were lowkey on the struggle bus. Yesterday, we spent hours floating in the ocean, and didn’t get much sleep that night, so only a few minutes in, we were already feeling spent!
The gorgeous views and some cute animal sightings kept us going (and it was honestly not a very long hike, though it felt like one)! We reached our final destination, a serene beach with turquoise waters, drenched in sweat. We made the unanimous decision to not hike back, and hire a boat for the return journey instead.
Knowing we wouldn’t have to struggle back, we hopped into the waves to cool off. It was a peaceful spot to swim and read on the beach for a couple hours. When we were ready to leave, a boat picked us up and took us back to our starting point.
That evening, we took advantage of our rental car by driving to Nuevo Vallarta for dinner. We went to La Cavernita, which ended up being fire!
We spent another day by the beach and pool, and in the evening my mom told Wini and I that she wanted to gift us with an ‘experience’ as an early Christmas present. We decided we would go skydiving the next day! Wini had gone skydiving before in 2013, but it would be my first time! Naturally, I was petrified but excited. The landing spot for SkyDive Vallarta was directly in front of our hotel, so we had spent the last few days seeing parachute-after-parachute come down.
Anticipation built on the morning of our skydiving adventure. I woke up with clammy hands, and spent the morning pacing around the apartment.
SkyDive Vallarta was a nearby, so just before our scheduled time, we walked over and checked-in. They put on an instructional video that did little to quiet the butterflies in my stomach. I held onto the fact that this company has 2600+ reviews and 5.0 stars on Google, so they must be pretty good!
Laika, the owner’s golden retriever came over to welcome us, and Wini’s guide’s sweet daughter shared stories about her own numerous jumps, which provided some much needed distraction. There was high air traffic that afternoon, which meant our jump kept getting postponed, heightening the suspense.
Boarding the small plane, the reality of the impending free fall set in. The tight quarters had us sitting practically on our instructors’ laps, with Bertin with me and Fernando accompanying Wini. As the plane ascended, the picturesque views of the ocean and mountains added a surreal beauty to the nervous excitement.
Reaching 10,000 feet, the moment of truth arrived, I was going first. Bertin opened the door allowing in a gust of cold air. I didn’t have too much time to panic, strapped to my instructor, goggles on, we crouched on a small step outside the plane door, the wind roaring in our ears. The first few seconds of free fall felt like an exhilarating blur, my screams muffled by the rushing wind.
As Bertin deployed the parachute, the abrupt change from free fall to a controlled descent offered a chance to take in the breathtaking views – Puerto Vallarta, the city, the ocean, and the nearby mountains. Spinning around as Bertin tugged on the ropes, we marvelled at the scenery below, and peeked up to see Wini and Fernando circling above.
The descent over the ocean brought us next to our hotel, where my parents were looking to the sky for us with their cameras ready (mom on our balcony, dad on the beach). We landed softly in the sand, breathless, exhilarated, and forever grateful for the experience of skydiving in Puerto Vallarta. It’s one we will never forget!
We spent the rest of the day enjoying the beach, pool, and hot tub, and not shutting up about the fact that we just leapt from a moving plane!
On our last day with my parents, we packed up the beautiful apartment and rode with my parents to the airport. We said our goodbyes and thanked them for an unbelievable vacation as they headed back to the snowy conditions of their Canadian home.
We would be staying nearby at the Container Inn (a cute but basic apartment) for the next couple days, before continuing our Mexican adventure by bussing to the nearby city of Guadalajara!