Cashin’ in the travel voucher to return to Puerto Vallarta

BY KARON SINNING

Sept 8

Well here I go again! Having spent the month of August in the Florida heat (and a slight brush with Hurricane Idalia) I’m off to Mexico! Yes, there have been comments asking if I ever stay home.

My quick trip to Mexico is more about getting my money's worth than the need to travel again. I still had a pre-pandemic voucher with Aeromexico and it was “use it or lose it” time. Fares had increased a great deal since then and my $750 credit didn’t even cover the cost of the return flight. I topped up another $350 and chose Puerto Vallarta; somewhere I haven’t been before

A surprise on this trip is the fact you can no longer get an “out of country” phone plan. We discovered this when we were heading to the states for the month of August. Previously, you could get an overpriced plan for one month at $80, but that has now been changed. Now it’s $13 per day for the US and $15 per day for any international destination. So, for our time in the states, it would have cost us $520 each! A $32 US SIM card fixed that problem. It also doesn’t matter which phone carrier you’re using; they have all changed As I was only in Mexico for a week, I chose to keep the phone on wifi only, leaving airplane mode on and data roaming off. Worked great for me!

I’ve also developed “old people’s hip” otherwise known as bursitis, so I bit the pride bullet and requested wheelchair service. I was pleasantly surprised how seamless the process was. On the flight out of Toronto there were 7 requests for chair service, plus one fellow who only requested it from Mexico City on.

In a chair, you are positioned at the front of the gate, close to the service desk. This can be a learning opportunity if you listen to the staff It seems the pilots checked in, or almost did Later, the female staff asked the fellow at the desk to log the captain in; and he said, the pilots were already logged in. A little back and forth between them and it turned out the captain had left briefly after checking in the first time. She said to note it in their log. Interesting! A little disconcerting for anyone with an imagination.

Paris resident, and Paris Independent travel columnist Karon Sinning travelled to Puerto Vallarta; somewhere she hasn’t been before. This was the spectacular sunset by the restaurant at her resort.

Mexico City airport is huge and there are no announcements in English. I very nearly missed my flight going home through here last time I came to Mexico So having someone to take you where you need to go was a blessing It was a long day of travel using Aeromexico as all flights connect through Mexico City. My day started at 4:30 am until I arrived at the hotel at 7pm However, there is a 2hr time difference between Mexico and home; so, it was 9pm for me. I had a friend join me and Faye was flying WestJet direct from Toronto to Puerto Vallarta, on Saturday. While she would be up early, it would be a much shorter day for her. Cont’d on Pg 21

The tour was a fun day out The staff on the boat kept us well fed and very entertained The crew did a Latin dance show in the morning and an impersonation show in the afternoon (the Rolling Stones, Van Halen and Christina Agulera) The tour director also involved the Mexican guests in a couple of their traditional dances. I’d liken them to “the chicken dance,” very fun for the participants and the audience.

The scenery was gorgeous and plunging in the ocean cove was almost cooling. The water was a reported 80F, but with the air and humidity approaching 100F, it was the best show in town The option of trekking through the jungle to the waterfall lost its shine as it was explained by the director This is a very mountainous area and the up and down, up and down through the jungle in the heat, lost out to a tranquil couple of hours under the umbrella on the beach. Our group divided here some hiking and some, like us, not.

Usually when I travel, I have a private residence to stay in: Malta, England and most recently the states, so being in an all-inclusive hotel is definitely a different experience The rooms are a generous size, if somewhat plain The common areas and rooms of the hotel were all clean, the staff was friendly and very hardworking.

I will say the rooms can be quite noisy though. The room has an adjoining door and at night, this single door is no noise barrier to the room beside you In all, the hotel was a disappointment, the food was not good, and the wine was un-drinkable It was still a vacation,

So We Made The Best Of It

By mid-afternoon the temperature was sizzling, but early morning was beautiful for a walk around the grounds. Coffee starts at 7, so I’m there for the first pot!

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