At The Beach

We were usually up by sunrise, shortly after seven, and would head out to the beach for our early morning walk. The air was cool and the beaches were not so busy. What a delight to watch the sky lighten and cast a warm glow on the day.

Above, the tracks in the sand are from a Police ATV that patrolled the beach day and night. This stretch of beach is a turtle reserve for the giant Sea Turtles that come up to the sand to lay their eggs. There will be no resorts built here and so the Decameron will always be somewhat isolated, which is a good thing.  

Walking south from our resort one soon comes to this impressive building, the Riu Palace, a five star resort. Beside it is an abandoned old beach house covered in graffiti. This is typical of Mexico, juxtaposition of old and new, the tawdry next door to the palace.

Long pants in Puerto Vallarta? Although the early mornings were cool, by the time the sun was up, you did not want to be in anything but shorts.

The flag on the beach was always yellow which meant caution was the order of the day. If it was not jelly fish, it was pounding surf.

The village of Bucerias is accessible by beach or road and we prefer the beach. These three photos are typical scenes along the way. We walked both routes several times.

Lazing on the beach is much warmer and stickier that relaxing beside one of the pools. The hard core tanners were at the beach, as well as the French Canadian smokers. There is more action on the beach and one cannot really get bored there. The last two days we were treated to some pounding surf. What great fun to watch unsuspecting snow birds turn their back to the rogue wave and get pummelled into the sand.

This is walking in the heat of the day(facing south) with the tide out. It makes for easier walking but beware the sun burn. If you walk a half hour south you get into some heavy duty resort areas.

Looking north. The sky does not appear to be blue because it was not. There was a sea fog on the edges of the sky most days, but the sun overhead was usually brilliant.

'Our' beach. It is always interesting to talk to the folks around you. You learn all kinds of things about them and the latest gossip about back home, the resort, or Mexican culture in general. There is always someone who has just texted* their kids and received the latest weather report. When we hear "snow", as we did on the 18th, we break out into great big smiles.

*If texted is not a word, it is now.