A Milestone Year

Mexico to Start the Year

It is becoming a tradition for us to spend New Year and my birthday in Mexico. This year, we took off on December 31 and went to Mexico City. The city was practically bouncing with excitement. The main plazas were lit up and decorated. My only real complaint is that our hotel (Santo Domingo Boutique Hotel) did not let us know that there was an all-night – I mean ALL NIGHT- party at the hotel. We had a tour planned for the morning of January 1 and the music was non-stop at deafening levels until about 5 in the morning. We had also made reservations at the hotel restaurant weeks earlier for NYE and at the last minute they cancelled on us, so we were left scrounging up street food since all the restaurants were full for the holiday. Our bike tour was great, especially since it seemed most of the city was sleeping in. (More in a minute).

On the second, we took a hot air balloon ride over the MesoAmerican ruins of Teotihuacan. We thought the morning would be chilly, but it was frigid! The view as the sun rose was amazing. That evening we had a boat ride down the river. It was very pretty, but really focused on the booze portion of the booze cruise, so was a bit tiresome as a non-drinker.

Then we made the short flight to PVR and spent three days relaxing by the pool at Villa del Palmar Flamingos in Nuevo Vallarta. One of our favorite vacation spots, it has really grown since the last visit. Once, our resort seemed to be far from anything, but it is now in a hub of development. The walk to Bucerias is now lined with multiuse condo buildings in various stages of construction.

On our bike ride in Mexico City, we stopped for a lunch break at Los Cocuyos. If you are a fan of the late Anthony Bourdaine this may seem familiar. It was one of the places he visited on his show. The tacos were cheap and delicious. The crew at the grill were pure entertainment, singing songs and shouting at each other. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area.