Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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Geo: 20.6509, -105.215

Today was a fantastic day in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! Oddly enough, today would end up being my favorite port day of this trip. The "day" started super early as hubby and I were awakened by thunder and the boat rolling just a bit. We had noticed a lot of lightening the previous evening at dinner and intermittent showers but sometime in the middle of the night (between 2am and 3am?) this was the wind…30 NE! There were times it would flip up to 32 and 34 mph!
What did we do during the storm?? Hubby read (inside) and we ordered room service! Diet Coke and ham and cheese for me. I think hubby had pastrami. It was quick and free and we liked it. I also decided to get a bag of laundry ready for pick-up today. It was $12 for 1 bag and $50 for 5 bags. I got 2 pair of jeans, a thick sweater, 8 tops, a pair of lounge pants, pajama pants, and 5 pair of undies all in this bag by neatly rolling this! Go me!

By the way, they returned all the laundry later in the day clean & folded. We (foolishly) did not go back to bed until nearly 6:00 am! We had a tour of tequila factories scheduled to start at 7:45!! I got up at 7:00 am and took a shower and took pictures of our arrival into the port of Puerto Vallarta. It was beautiful. It also seemed to be more Americanized than the other ports. It is obvious when you get off the ship that Puerto Vallarta has been in the business of catering to tourists for a long time.

Today we had scheduled two stops… both at tequila factories. After the stops we were told we would also be stopping somewhere for a bit to shop. I like shopping so okay by me. This was an early tour and would be over by 1:00pm so we had the rest of our day in Puerto Vallarta. Today's weather forecast was for 97 degrees with 100%!h(MISSING)umidity. The storm last night had soaked the town and they had over 10 inches of rain the previous evening.

On the way to the first tequila factory (which was a very short drive away from the port) we drove by a local prison. It is called a “Rehabilitation Center” on the sign outside and according to our guide, there is a difference in Mexico between a prison and a “rehab” center. He said rehabilitation centers do not cost the taxpayers or the country any money because the inmates must work every day to pay for their time there – he said they make souvenirs, they paint, etc.

Our guide was Raul… who was hilarious and fantastic! He was the perfect guide because he told you just the facts, was funny, and moved on to the next subject quickly so we didn't get bored. He explained the production of the blue agave tequila in detail. The factory we went to first was very nice and the grounds were beautiful. After they took us through the entire manufacturing process and explained the history of tequila making, then were given tastes. They had a pretty sweet setup for the tequila demonstrations and tasting. We continued tasting… and tasting… and tasting… they would bring out a total of six or eight different tequilas for us to taste before we were done… and Raul wasn't driving so he got to taste too.. and he got silly and said we should mix the tequilas! I think Raul's shot glass was bigger than ours! My FAVORITE tequila… a chocolate, coffee, vanilla mixture that was only 18% alcohol… it was so good, in fact, I bought a big bottle!

We tasted, shopped for a bit at a place they had setup for vendors… I got some great little finds for my co-workers and two handmade salsa/guacamole dishes for me! Hubby & I have a huge Sangria pitcher we got as a wedding gift, some serving trays from Spain & Italy, and now we have the salsa dishes… I think we should have a big Mexican fiesta at our house! Ole!
We quickly drove to our next tequila factory tasting. On the short way there, we passed some dilapidated townhouses (that were probably the best thing outside of the port area) which were on sale for only $55,000. I know this because the price was written in graffiti on them.

The next tequila factory was a bit more rudementary. This “factory” used some of the older ways, for sure… like letting the bees doing the work… whatever that meant… it was getting hot and I did not pay attention very well to that part. This tequila place did not impress me like the last one. They told us to not disturb the bees and I did pay attention to that.

Earlier in the day Raul told us they would have lots of fantastic margaritas in a souvenir glass and lots of fresh, hot wonderful food here at the second factory so we should not eat or drink at the first factory, only this place. This second tequila factory seemed a little rudimentary compared to the last but with all that tequila, we decided to order two of these highly acclaimed margaritas and three tacos to share. They came out and said they couldn't serve anyone food today because they didn't know we were coming and didn't have any meat. Can you say dodged a bullet???

After the tour we were dropped-off by the ship and hubby & I decided to walk across the street to Wal-Mart, of all places. We found some really good deals at Wal-Mart and I'm glad we went! We bought 15 smallish items that I figure we would have paid $30 plus tax for in the states and we paid $16.39 tax included. We also bought two expensive and niiice bottles of 100% pure blue agave Reposado tequila as gifts…. Tequila that is not available in the states… we got for under $20 a bottle at Wal-Mart. The next day, the exact same bottle of tequila would be available in several stores in Cabo San Lucas for nearly double the price!! This tequila is said to be well beyond the quality of Patron and Patron is $80 for a regular bottle. So, if you like good tequila and/or you like margaritas, go to Wal-Mart in Mexico!

We got back to our room and stayed inside… it was hottttt outside and we had already walked to Wal-Mart in the blazing sun. Stepping on the boat was like stepping into a freezer, it felt that cold! It also felt wonderful!

So, to wrap-up today... The Tequila Factories tour was AWESOME!! LUVED IT!! I liked our day in Puerto Vallarta!

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