Interim Post: Vallarta Sunsets

 

Nuevo Vallarta- Absolutely No Filter

I've done a lot of flying lately.  There's been a fair amount of business trips, mostly hauling back and forth between LAX and Houston on E175s (the biggest of the regional jets, or the smallest of the twin, under the wing jet engine planes, depending on how you look at it.  Around this has been a couple trips to end all mileage runs, which I'm currently working my way through writing up.  Some of them are shamefully late at this point, but real life has been crazy, and since I don't know that I'll get the chance to do trips as memorable in the future, I want to take time to do those reviews justice. 

 

This weekend, however, is different.  It's flying the way the average American thinks it should be- traveling to an exotic, yet accessible, local to meet up with family, sleep late, eat too much, and knowingly get taken advantage of by savvy locals.  

 

 

I'm currently taking a moment outside of tonights's resident entertainment- mariachi bands, way too much food on the buffet, and bottom shelf tequila disguised as free flowing Margaritas.  Nuevo Vallarta (20 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta and 10 minutes south of Bucereias, MX) is at its best in the Summer.  This is, however, because it's the low season, and there's no fighting over beach chairs, or ridiculous crowds clamoring for tickets to swim with dolphins.  Seriously- in the holiday weeks, alarms are set for 5 am to claim prime poolside real estate, and battles rage on.

 

Occasionally, this time of year a summer rain squall blows through, but it just adds to the enjoyment for me.  Living in SoCal, actual storms are all too rare.   You need to count the time from lightening to thunder, to feel nature's power, now and then.

 

Mrs. CruisingAltitude's family has become well versed over the years at home timeshare politics and strategy, and we've been lucky enough to come along for the ride when schedules work out.  They alternate their reservations between Nuevo Vallarta, Cabo, and Cancun or Loreto (though some hair raising flights on -6's with Horizon air have put a hold on that location for the time being.) 

 

We all acknowledge that this is its own type of vacation.  As a family, we fancy ourselves explorers- seeking out good deals to new places, and looking for the bits of culture you can grasp as your trip rolls though.  However, we are also busy, hard working types, with a newly upcoming next generation.  Sometimes we need an excuse to take a trip with just one destination, and to stay awhile.  It's an almost guilty luxury, but we love it, and make no apologies. 

 

So, now, back to my thesis for this post, which I'm just going to assume hasn't been stated yet- Sunset over Nuevo Vallarta is stunning, any time of year.  What's better, it's proceeded most nights by the reflection of the sun on the hills around the bay as the sun lowers for the night. 

 

Of the destinations we have been to with this family timeshare, Nuevo Vallarta is the most naturally dramatic.  It encroaches on the rainforest covered green mountains, rather than the desert of the Baja.  Agave grows in the hills, and enough sea life abounds to keep your correspondent out of the ocean in favor of the pools.

 

 

I could go on in detail about our accommodations, but I'm sure I've done something similar in the past since we've been coming here off and on for the better part of 10 years.  Suffice to say, they're more than adequate, luxury by all accounts, and if I'm honest, give us more space than our actual home.  Thousands of feet of marble, and 180degrees of endless ocean views.  It's hard to go home.  

 

Luckily though, I have another night here before coming into contact with real life.  Even more luckily, it's time for tequila tasting before dinner, and I must go.

 

Travel well, relax often,

~CruisingAltitude

Happy New Year from the 100,000th mile...

                                                             - View of the Caribbean from Villa Del Palmar, Cancun

Well, here it is again- I’m passing the 100,000^th qualifying mile mark on AA flight No. 1692 as we fly over the Gulf of Mexico.  This goes along with about 45 hotel nights, and 5 nights spent sleeping on planes.  That’s a lot of time actually, or figuratively up in the air.  Today though, I’m on my return flight from a fantastic, if short, holiday in Cancun.  I’m returning with some beautiful pictures and memories, including climbing (mostly all the way…no insurance in Mexico) up a Mayan temple, and relaxing days by the white sands and Caribbean blue water of Qunitana Roo.  It’s the last day of 2012, cutting it close for those qualifying miles…I know, I know.  However, I’d rather think of it as ‘expert planning.’ 

2012 has been a good one in many ways for me personally, though it seems it was a trying one for the world.  At least that’s the sense I get after having time to comb through this week’s Economist, Newsweek & Time poolside.  It’s one more reminder of how everything in life can be seen as a mix of good and challenging fortune.  This at least, you can count on.

A sentiment I try to keep close is that there is a big difference between ‘problems’ and ‘inconveniences.’  Recognize what is what.  Delays, setbacks, annoyances…flat tires, lost baggage, are the latter.  If you’re lucky, very few things you routinely encounter will manage to get into the former category.  (Trust me, all it takes is flipping though the ‘Middle East and Africa section of The Economist for me to realize I have very few actual problems)  Maybe for all of our collective psyches, the news could find a way to better delineate between the two?

Back to the present, it’s been a smooth flight so far with a strong tailwind that promises to get us to the gate 20 minutes early.  This (hopefully) should put us on schedule to get through customs and to our connecting flight in plenty of time.  Maybe even with a chance to make it home before the last minutes of the year tick away.  Don’t worry though, we have a plan-b involving the LAX Admiral’s Club, their complimentary Champaign, and a toast with a view of the runways.  Honestly, to send off 2012, it might make perfect sense.

Wishing anyone who might stumble upon this and actually read it a happy and rewarding New Year,

Fly Safe,

~CruisingAAltitude