Vallarta Adventures, Las Caletas Shore Excursion

Vallarta Adventures, Las Caletas Shore Excursion

Puerto Vallarta Shore Excursion – Humpback Whales

On the morning of the 3rd day of our cruise from Long Beach, we arrived in Puerto Vallarta.  The unusual types of birds circling overhead made it seem like a strange and exotic land.  I decided on Las Caletas scuba diving for a Puerto Vallarta Shore Excursion.  The trip to Las Caletas was over an hour in a Vallarta Adventures catamaran  This was a party boat with an open bar at 10:30 am.  The included free drinks were popular and readily available.  The sea breeze made it chilly, unlike the hot temperatures on shore.

The highlight of my shore excursion wasn’t the scuba dive, but humpback whales.  The catamaran cam unexpectedly alongside a baby humpback, a mother and a male escort.  We got to watch the humpback whales flip their tails at us several times.  The baby humpback looked quite large until you saw the backs of the adults roll by.

Las Caletas Beach, Puerto Vallarta Shore Excursion

Las Caletas Beach, © Can Stock / jackai

Puerto Vallarta Shore Excursion – Las Caletas Scuba Diving

The beach at Las Caletas was extremely beautiful.  Only 2 of us had signed up for Puerto Vallarta Shore Excursion Las Caletas Scuba Diving.  The scuba dive was a challenge for me as a first timer.  My breathing sounded like Darth Vader.  My vision was obscured by bubbles.  The sound of the bubbles was deafening.  I fought back the claustrophobia and started my 15 foot descent on my Las Caletas Scuba Diving.  Visibility was poor that day, but I did see angelfish and other tropical fish.  I held a pufferfish and an anemone that the instructor handed me.  Other scuba divers on the cruise ship said it was unfortunately poor conditions all over Puerto Vallarta that day.  Some had visibility of 80 feet in previous dives at this location.  Quite an experience, but one I doubt I will ever do again.  I enjoyed the beach and the buffet much more than the scuba diving.

Puerto Vallarta Beach, Puerto Vallarta Shore Excursion

Puerto Vallarta Beach

Puerto Vallarta Shore Excursion – Starbucks

In the evening sunset, we extended our Puerto Vallarta shore excursion by walking along the beach.  My wife told me about discovering a Starbucks in the sweltering heat earlier in the day.  She ordered a frapuccino and said it tasted marvelous.  Half way through her drink, she remembered the warnings about not drinking the water in Mexico.  In a panic decided, to thow out the rest of the drink.  It turned out to be a false alarm, as there is no problem with the ice at Starbucks in Puerto Vallarta.

Palapas on the Waterfront, Puerto Vallarta Shore Excursion

Palapas on the Waterfront

Puerto Vallarta Shore Excursion – Walmart

That evening we also sat in a small square by the ship and listened to a band playing soft music in the warn night air.  My wife let me know that she had navigated across 8 lanes of traffic earlier in the day.  A local women grabbed her by the arm and they ran through the lanes of the buy highway.  On the other side was a Walmart where she bought 4 outfits for our grand daughter and a few toiletries for herself.  She said she paid in pesos on her credit card and she had no idea how much that was.  She figured with Walmart, it couldn’t be too bad.  When she finally got the bill online, she found out all the purchases came to $15 US in total.