Relaxation...
Well I have been back to work since Tuesday and it has been totally crazy! It barely seems like we went to Mexico at all. But tonight I finally was to upload my photos tonight so I can re-cap the trip.
Day 1
We started out early on Thursday morning. I took dad as my guest. Its fun to be able to do something for him, since he does so much for me. Flying is not my favorite thing but I did better this time. That is until the return trip from Denver to Sioux Falls. Horrible turbulence. I was never so ready to get off of an airplane.
We arrived in sunny, humid Mexico at around 1:00 pm (I hate what Mexico does to my hair!). Gathered our luggage and headed to the resort. Of course it was beautiful. Everything there is. Since we started going to Mexico a couple of years ago, we have discovered that they have the hardest beds there. We have named them the "Mayan Beds". When we arrived at our room we found our comfy "Mayan Beds" waiting for us. We quickly put on the summer clothing and went to the beach.
Day 2
On day 2 we got up early and headed to a little town down the beach called Bucerias. It is about a 45 minute walk down the beach. It was really fun. We ate at a cool restaurant on the beach, went shopping in all the little Mexican shops and had a great time. I bought a really cool silver ring. While we were eating lunch a little Mexican guy with a creepy puppet and a creepy singing voice came into the restaurant. We paid him to sing to one of our co-workers who is deathly afraid of puppets. It could not have been better!
We then headed back to the resort and sat on the beach for the rest of the day. Oh, the life.
Day 3
We decided this would be our excursion day. They usually have quite a few to pick from and they usually are not cheap. A group of 10 Paulsenites chose to go Whale watching and snorkeling. I was so looking forward to this. We boarded a 60 ft. sailboat and left the marina.
The first thing we saw was a huge group of dolphins. They were swimming around the boat. They were beautiful. Next we spotted whales. They turned the boat toward them so we could get a better look. One of the whales started slapping his tail against the water. I have a not so great video of that. I will try to post it here...
The voyage took about 3 hours to get to the island where we were going to snorkel. We should have all taken a hint when the first thing the guys told us about was Draminine. I was feeling ok until we got closer to the island. The waves were bigger and the boat was bouncing around a lot more. The island was supposed to be a place where you could snorkel or soak up the rays on a white sandy beach. In reality the island was a rocky place covered in bird shit. The smell was so bad that if you were not sick from the boat already you were now. It also turned out that there was not a white sandy beach in sight. I was feeling not so great and it was cold so I decided not to snorkel and stay on the rocking boat.
After snorkeling the guys fed us lunch and we took the 3 hour trip back to the marina. On the way back they decided to put up the sails. Oh this will be cool. Well...the problem was we were not moving anymore all we were doing was bobbing up and down. And that is when I fed the fishes. I was not alone. Since we are all creative people we like to give creative titles to things. This trip quickly because known as "The Vomit Voyage to Bird Shit Island".
We did actually get to see the whales and they are amazing! And we have a really great story to tell. I am not sure I want to be on a boat for 8 hours again. But time will tell.
Day 4
Our relaxation day. We got up early and went to the beach. Dad and I went kayaking to try to get closer to the dolphins. Of course they did not seem to be around when we went out. After our kayaking adventure we relaxed on the beach.
It is Paulsen tradition to play volleyball and group game on the Sunday of the trip. Volleyball started and the guys were so competitive and rabid that the girls just ended up watching. Next was Paulsen Family Feud. It was actually pretty fun. I was #1 to bring an extra suitcase for shopping, #1 for being the most burned on the first day (I wasn't at all. SPF50) and #1 for complaining about the food (the food was much better this time). All in all it was a fun day.
That night a group of us decided to go into Puerto Vallarta for dinner. The resort gave us some suggestions and made us a reservation. We were all feeling brave for going out at night. When the cab arrived we found out it was going to be a lot more expensive then we thought. So we had him take us to the boardwalk. Its where all the tourists go to shop and eat. When we got there someone told the driver to take us to a good restaurant. We then went up the biggest hill ever. The van we were in barely made it up. It was a little scary. When we arrive at the location, the driver gets out and we all follow. Although some of us were a little unsure about where we were. We went in and down a flight of stairs and out onto a deck with the most amazing view. We were over looking the town, the bay and all the lights. This was the restaurant. It was beautiful!
We had a great dinner there and lots of fun. It turned out that the people at the next table were from South Dakota also. And we were soon connected. We knew the same people and one of the guys sells some of the products our client makes. It really is a small world!
Day 5
Time to go home: the day we had to pack our bags and fly back to the cold weather :(
It was a long travel day and we were all so tired afterwards. It was a great trip! And now we are back in reality.
I have posted all my photos on my flickr site. Enjoy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristieweiberg/
