viva travel

VIVA T R A V E L
Riviera Nayarit
Mexico’s new holiday destination on the Pacific Coast that’s
attracting the well-heeled stars and socialites alike.
W
ith year round sunshine,
luxury hotels and thrilling
activities Riviera Nayarit is
the hottest new beach destination to escape the British weather.
Just minutes north of Puerto Vallarta International Airport, where Thompson (TUI)
has been flying its new Dreamliner service
from Manchester since early this year, the
region attracts a diverse cross-section of
travellers.
Well-heeled superstars jetting-in to ‘vacay’ include ‘Kim-ye,’ Gwyneth Paltrow
and Jessica Simpson, whose credibility has
been helping to secure ‘world-class’ investments to the area more recently.
Although you don’t have to be a VIP to
experience the new, modern – yet truly authentic beach destinations that this part of
Mexico has to offer. It will satisfy vacationers of all tastes and budgets with its wide
range of accommodations including chic
luxury resorts, eco-tourism boutique hotels
and quaint B and B inns.
Stretching along one hundred and ninety-two miles of pristine coast - framed by
the majestic Sierra Madre Mountains - the
region includes the resorts of Nuevo Val-
larta, the historic colonial town of San Blas,
exclusive Punta Mita, (where the stars holiday) picturesque fishing villages, miles of
serene beaches and spectacular Banderas
Bay.
Visitors fly in from all over the world for
activities such as; PGA golf courses, whalewatching, turtle release, zip lining, surfing,
bird watching, international cuisine and the
traditional artwork from the local Huichol
tribe.
Never did we believe what was planned
could be experienced in just eight days. Follow VIVA’s itinerary and you can’t go wrong!
Thursday 14th August: Within forty-five
minutes of landing, we arrived at Hard Rock
Hotel Vallarta. A four diamond award property which is a part of the TUI product.
We relaxed with a Sunset Cocktail before
freshening after checking-in to our very
own ‘Rock-Star’ Suites. This is a luxury allinclusive resort and all rooms have private
spa tubs, include ‘premium beds’ nowhere
near the size of a pint sized pop star, (these
beds are big enough for three large bears)
with views across the bay. We were, however, more interested in the fully-stocked bar
and the musical instruments for hire from
reception to play on your very own stage
in the room. Service is on demand in this
place and we really were treated like rock
stars.
Friday, 15th August, 8am: The next day,
the schedule included a visit to San Francisco which is better-known as ‘San Pancho.’ Surprisingly we were up early given
the jet-lag. Home of the famous Polo Club,
the town comes alive during polo season
between November and May. This place
has an old-world Mexican charm and offers
horseback riding, diving, climbing, yoga,
seasonal turtle rescue programmes and jungle excursions.
Its beach is like those in Jamaica, white
sand where waves crash on the shore, with
lush vegetation just a stone’s throw from
the tide and laid-back sounds and vibes
echo from the beach bars. There are several
small boutique hotels, B and Bs and charming restaurants as well as a thriving expat
community.
After a tour of the colourful town, we had
breakfast at the Bistro Organico at Hotel
Cielo Rojo. Food served across the kitchen
pass in the establishment is healthy, organic
and delicious. Food that pays tribute to the
Left to right: Hard Rock Hotel, Rock Star suite | Hard Rock Hotel poolside | San Francisco | Bistro Organico breakfast.
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VIVA T R A V E L
area’s abundance of fresh seafood and
indigenous produce. Breakfast was,
quite simply, delicious.
12:00pm: By lunchtime, we were
already in nearby town of Sayulita.
Internationally recognized for surfing
and water sports. Sayulita is a somewhat bohemian art colony – a hippiechic town!
Visitors enjoy browsing the fine art
galleries and stylish, colourful shops
with clothing, handicrafts, decorative
items, handmade cosmetics and jewellery. Huichol Indians display their
colourful art in the plaza in the heart
of town. There are also several beachfront restaurants. We had lunch at Don
Pedros, overlooking the beach where
they serve real Mexican soft-shell fish
tacos along with fresh local ceviche.
It’s fair to say our guide, Richard - who
has more knowledge about the region
that the Hiuchol Indians - helped us
to relax allowing us to sample local
beers. Well needed following our paddle-boarding lesson. Costing £25 for
an hour, paddle-boarding is more difficult than it looks and was even more
difficult after beer!
Time was ticking on, it was six
o’clock and there was more to see before the end of the day.
The sun sets early in Mexico, around
7pm. We recommend watching the
sunset over dinner from the Insu Sky
Bar at the Marival Five Star Residences and World SPA. The hotel is a fifteen minute cab-ride from Hard Rock
Puerto Vallarta.
The hotel Sky Bar is well worth a
visit for the panoramic view of the bay
where you can see the famous green
flash of light [only in Mexico] as the
sun sets. In winter, you can see humpback whales jumping out of the water,
‘dancing’ apparently. After sampling
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Left to right: Paddle-boarding | La Tovara
National Park | Rincon de Guayabitos | Villa
Corona Del Mar | Sayulita town | Insu Sky
bar at Marival Five Star Residences | Pool
party at Hard Rock Hotel | Garza Canela
Hotel | Chef Betty Vazquez
sharing plates of mini-burgers, lamb cutlets, and more ceviche, the really cute manager persuaded us to try the entire cocktail
menu. How could we possibly resist? The
hibiscus martini is a must but never ask for
a strawberry in this place – it’s considered
uncouth!
Feeling intoxicated, we returned to Hard
Rock where we partied on our stages with
our musical instruments well into the early
hours.
Saturday, August 16, 2:00pm: After topping up from the night before, we joined
Johnny Depp’s pool-party – not too dissimilar to what you’d expect on ‘Spring
Break.’ Richard came to collect us for our
three hour drive to San Blas. As you can
imagine, only Team VIVA can create an after party on a bus!
San Blas is where Mexicans holiday. It’s
a small town full of character and a rapidly- growing tourism destination, thanks
to its many beaches, colonial history, Spanish fort, excellent restaurants and an abundance of migratory birds which attract ornithologists from around the world.
The La Tovara National Park nearby is
a federally-protected mangrove forest with
birds, crocodiles and turtles. According
to the World Wildlife Fund, the La Tovara
National Park and mangrove eco-region in
San Blas is “one of the most important winter habitats for birds in the Pacific, home
to eighty percent of the Pacific migratory
shore bird population.” A paradise for bird
enthusiasts, this eco-region has the highest concentration of migratory birds and
features over five hundred species, including the black-bellied tree duck, great blue
heron, roseate spoonbill, and endemic birds
like the bumblebee hummingbird and the
Mexican woodnymph.
5:00pm: We arrived at Hotel Garza Canela, our home for the next two days.
Garza Canela Hotel is a family-operated
residence – very quaint. It provides guests
with good accommodation close to the estuary and nearby beach. Betty
Vázquez, the owner and
chef of El Defin restaurant, prepares the most
exquisite dishes with
Mexican flavours, textures, scents and colours at the heart of
the cuisine. Betty runs
food masterclasses. We
learned how to make
traditional guacamole and
curried ceviche. Betty and her
sisters, who run the hotel, truly
make you feel welcome and a part of their family.
Sunday, 17th August: The following
day, feeling reinvigorated, though slightly
frightened by the captivating electrical
storm we witnessed the previous night, we
travelled to the birth place of the Aztecs;
Mexicaltitan.
Mexcaltitan is a small island – an oval
shaped village of no more than a hundred
people. It’s surrounded by floating mangroves, canals and lowlands and accessible
only by boat and, given the recent storm,
the streets can only be compared those in
Venice following wet weather.
The name of this island means “in the
house of the Moon” given its round shape.
This mythical place is considered the
‘cradle of Mexican identity,’ the ancient
Aztlan from where the Mexica or Aztec
people set out to trek to central Mexico
and where they founded the city of Tenochtitlan. It’s around an hour and a half
drive from the hotel and a day trip in itself.
Monday, 18th August 10:30am: After
checking out, there was a quick tour of
Chacala Bay in San Blas, which is filled
with British pirate stories before heading
back down the coast south to Rincón de
Guayabitos .
This area has a large bay, natural swimming pool, perfect
for families. It is one of
the favourite places for
people visiting Nayarit.
The waves are very
gentle, the waters are
warm, blue-green and
transparent. The soft,
fine golden sand is an
invitation to just lie down
and enjoy a spectacular
panoramic view of the sunset
over the Pacific. Rincón de Guayabitos is without doubt an ideal tourist stop.
We arrived just in time for lunch. We
stayed at Villa Corona Del Mar – a private Villa with 7 bedrooms in the main
house with three quaint bungalows . The
Villa has been converted into a fully selfcontained vacation complex without sacrificing luxury or comfort. The property
includes a tennis court, a large pool with
swim-up bar, as well as a smaller pool,
which is where we sat the whole day.
A charming bridge over the canal and
through the bird sanctuary connects the
main house to the pools and landscaped
grounds. It also boasts a restaurant-size
outdoor kitchen with breathtaking views.
That evening Richard, our tour
guide, surpirsed us with a last minute
activeity which was a once in a lifetime experience we will never forget.
We were taken down to Rincon de
Guayabitos beach front and helped
release the first of the season’s newlyhatched baby turtles safely into the
ocean.
Turtle Camps throughout Mexico play
a key roll in the survival of the turtles
with nursery facilities incubation sites.
Locally, volunteers from Los Grupos
Ecologistas de Nayarit comb the expansive length of beaches nightly looking
for nests, eggs, and mature female turtles. The eggs are collected, taken back
to protected hatcheries and, after fortyfive days of incubation, the baby turtles
hatch. The hatchlings are released into
the ocean at the water’s edge to avoid
disorientation, at night to increase the
survival rate - by reducing the number
of predators like birds, crabs and dogs
and to decrease the risk of the hatchlings
burning in the hot sun.
The general public is welcome to participate in the releases. Being able to
hold a baby turtle in your hands, seal it
with a kiss, and wish them farewell, is the
experience of a lifetime.
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VIVA T R A V E L
Tuesday, August 19th 12:00pm
Our itinerary takes us to Punta Mita,
where we check-in at the Four Seasons Punta until the end of our stay.
Punta Mita is a jagged finger of
land that juts seaward at Bandera
bay’s northern tip. It straddles the
Pacific Ocean with rocky coves and
gorgeous sandy beaches. For now,
Punta Mita is the exclusive home to
the Punta Mita development, destined to become Mexico’s leading
luxury enclave.
Access is restricted and only those
with a VIP status or a big budget are
likely to stay here. The Four Seasons
Resort Punta Mita is a one of a number of five star standard hotels in the
area which is well renowned for its
golf courses.
Here we enjoyed a spacious casitastyle luxury accommodation with an
ocean view but, if you want to live
like Jessica Simpson, you can checkin to presidential ‘Luna’ suite with
your own private beach and pool.
The resort offers a range of water
sports and activities, including flyboarding, snorkelling, scuba diving,
fishing, surfing and you can even
charter a private yacht that belongs
to the hotel.
Its restaurants capture the distinctive flavours of regional Mexican
cuisine. And what happens when
Asian cuisine meets regional Mexican cooking? Drunken antics, of
course! Away from the tequila tasting, we were treated to sample menu
at Aramara restaurant. Its chef, Jorge
Gonzalez and his team, have developed “Chino-Latino” cuisine, a
happy combination of Asian flavours
and ideas with local ingredients and
traditions.
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Left to right: Jessica Simpson’s suite at Four Seasons
Resort | Infinity pool at Four Seasons Resort | Port in
Nayarit | Cocktails at Eva Mandaria Beach Club | Beach
front at Four Seasons Resort | VIP beach pods with personal service | VIVA Ems saved turtle, ‘Little Strewberry’
To understand the concept, behold the
famous Duck Tacos: slices of duck breast,
plus a whole duck leg, (because it’s that
good) cucumber, baby onions, hoisin sauce
and cilantro leaves are presented in a bamboo container with condiment bowls and
tortillas, so guests can make their own tacos.
With Executive Chef Philippe Piel – already a big fan of native cuisines – recently
arrived from France by way of Southeast
Asia, you should seriously look for more
exploration of Chino-Latino cuisine on the
menu.
We lazed away the last few days in the
sun infinity pool and lazy river. However,
just offshore, inside Banderas Bay, rests a
group of small, volcanic islands known as
the Marietas Islands. These islands, made
famous by oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, provide the perfect environment for
an entertaining eco-adventure. Experience
wildlife above and below the water as you
kayak, snorkel and explore the unique ecosystem with its informative and fun guides
and crew. If relaxation is what you are after,
its world class spa is famous, offering a
range of pampering treatments to indulge
the senses. We chose the cacoa treatment.
The two hour therapy begins with a scrub
using grains of chocolate before showering
in chocolate and finishing with a chocolate
massage. Heaven! Staying true to Mexico,
VIVA Ems chose the tequila massage –
where mescal was used as an oil to condition the skin. She was slightly inebriated
after leaving the treatment room. You literally don’t have to lift a finger, or even move
without help from staff at this hotel. You can
even opt for your own in room butler for additional extravagance.
Final Thought: For us, it felt like we had
made a conscious decision to leave the rest
of the world behind when we checked in to
this resort and you will truly feel that removal from life’s pace with everything you
do in Riviera Nayarit. Well, until you have
to step back to Blighty, that is!
P.S Don’t forget to stop by the Eva Mandaria Beach Club in Cruz de
Huanacaxtle, Nayarit for the
ultimate cocktails on the
beach. We could have
stayed there all day but
had to catch a flight
back to rainy Manchester!
What the website say
Festivals: This season
is also a perfect time to
embrace the vibrant street
scene and soak up the electric
atmosphere at one of the many
fiestas.
Celebrate Puerto Vallarta’s ‘birthday’
during the Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe which sees the town come to life in
religious celebrations, in particular at the
cathedral downtown that bears the name
of the patron saint.
Food enthusiasts from all over the world
go to the Pacific Coast of Mexico, from the
13th-23rd November to take part in the
International Gourmet Festival, located in
Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit and Tepic.
Visitors can get involved in cookery classes
and wine tasting, as well as attending the
grand, concluding polo tournament, hosted in Riviera Nayarit.
For keen surfers and lovers of Mexican
food and drink, music and film, the Sayulita Festival (January 14th-18th) is a top
attraction.
Those with an appreciation of 60’s, 70’s
and 80’s music are also in for a treat at the
Vallarta-Nayarit Classic Rock Festival. The
event is the first of its kind, with big name
acts in the industry rocking the sound
waves all weekend long (December 11th14th) at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera
Nayarit.
Wildlife: Animal life thrives in the winter season, both on land and in the water.
Whale watching season starts in December
and these majestic creatures can be seen
diving gracefully out of the water on tours
that run around the iconic Banderas Bay.
Visitors can also experience a memorable
journey by taking part in one of
the area’s Sea Turtle release
programmes, as the last Olive Ridley turtles are released back into the sea
in December. Over 315
different species of rare
birds also reside in the
regions, making them
prime locations for bird
watching enthusiasts.
Crafts:
Craftsmanship
that can be found in Riviera
Nayarit is elaborated by Huichol
and Coras who dwell in the Sierra Madre
Occidental. Beautiful figures representing the gods, of the sun, rain, and
others, are common from the zone.
These ethnic groups are distinguished
by their colourful clothing, embroidered manta garments, hats crowned
with feathers, as well as wrist bands,
rings and collars of crystal beads
with which they express their beliefs.
In images colourful and dramatic,
the Huichol Indians of the Sierra
Madre Mountains depict their spiritual reality. It wasn’t until sometime after
mid-century that many of the works of
art began to filter into the Mexican and
foreign communities. In time, more
members of the Huichol communities,
one of the few tribes that has retained
original customs and traditions, began
to migrate toward cities such as Tepic,
Guadalajara and Mexico City and locally in Puerto Vallarta.
Food: At the Nayarit Riviera, visitors
will find exquisite oyster sopes (fried
gorditas with different toppings) and
enchiladas, shrimp tamales, grilled
fish, which is one of the delicious specialties within the region, as well as the
Tlaxtihuilli, (shrimp soup) aguachile
,(seafood served with a spicy lemon
mix) fish rinds, the famous grey mullet grilled on mangrove wood, among
other delicacies.
Grilled fish is the most traditional
dish in the Nayarit Riviera, and its
origin comes from Mexcaltitan Island. This Nahuatl delicacy is preferably prepared with snapper fish since
it contains little fat, which keeps the
meat from becoming dry when exposed to heat.
For more information about this
holiday destination, and for all hotel
contacts visit: rivieranayarit.com
word & photos: Sam Bramwell
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