The Hotel Valencia was a perfect beach resort. Nestled on a private cove less than an hour south of Puerta Vallarta, it had all the amenities and fine dining of the most luxurious resorts in Europe. When you added the clear turquoise ocean water that was spread out below our ocean view suite, it was paradise.
The flight from the Dallas had only taken a few hours and being in the same time zone meant that there was no travel lag waking up that first morning. I headed down to the restaurant around 8:00 and let my wife Tracy sleep in.
I could see wisps of steam rising off the cup of dark-roasted coffee as I sat on the dining patio that overlooked the ocean. I savored the spiced eggs and tortillas I ordered for breakfast. This was something of a second honeymoon to celebrate our twelfth anniversary and I promised myself that I wasn't going to try and manage every minute of the vacation like I did when we traveled with the kids. With the kids now in school and Tracy's parents staying with them for the week, we took the time to get away for a week and even though it was only March, it was like taking a brief detour into Summer after the cold of Dallas in Winter.
I finished breakfast and drank coffee as I watched the colors of the Pacific change while the sun rose higher above the hills behind me. I had just begun to worry if I should check on my wife when she came through the restaurant wearing a thin wrap over her bikini, a large sun hat and an oversized pair of black sunglasses.
"Figured I find you out here," she said as she sat down beside me. "Wow", she paused to take in the view and feel the cool morning salt air wash over her. "This is gorgeous."
"The food is just as good as it was last night at dinner," I said. The waiter and the busboy stepped over as soon as she was settled.
"Buenas Dias Senora." The courtly middle aged waiter almost bowed as he greeted my wife."What can I offer you to drink this morning?" The busboy slid in beside her and filled her water glass from a bottle on the table.
"Is it too early to have a mimosa?" she asked him. He smiled and shrugged. "I'd also like coffee with cream and another order of what my husband had for breakfast."
"Of course, Senora." He smiled broadly and whisked away with the busboy in tow.
"The staff here is so nice, don't you think?" She asked as she adjusted her chair to take in the rest of the view to the South. "I got lost on the way over and the boys who rent the beach equipment were so sweet walking me over. Did you know they rent jet skis?"
"Jet skis?" I looked over at her. "We haven't done that since our honeymoon."
"Exactly!" Tracy exclaimed. "When are we ever going to do it again?!" Her drink arrived and the waiter served her coffee along with a selection of sugars and a small serving of cream. As she stirred her coffee, Tracy explained," The boy was telling me there are a whole series of coves and private beaches to the south and they are way more beautiful than the ones in town or even here at the hotel. There's no way to reach them except by boat or jet ski. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
"It actually does," I admitted. "I was figured I would just be snorkeling around here in front of the hotel today as you stayed under the umbrella or one of those palm frond huts they have down at the beach.
Even with my sandy blond hair, I was still a golden olive color but my wife was very fair. She had worked up a slight tan using the tanning booths at the club over the past few weeks but her natural complexion and blonde hair didn't lend itself to the clear tropical sun. She had a dusting of freckles over her shoulders and couldn't spend more than a few minutes at a time outdoors without heavy sunscreen.
She sipped her mimosa and explained, "The guy was saying that there are all these coves where the palms grow right over the beach and have pretty good shade until noon. We wouldn't even need an umbrella." Her food arrived and she began to eat.
I checked my watch. It was already a little before ten. "Well let me run upstairs and change while you eat. I'll meet you back here in ten minutes." I stood up and kissed her upraised lips as I left the table. I hummed in the elevator on the ride up to our room, thinking about exploring an isolated cove with my beautiful wife instead of the hustle and bustle of the hotel beach.
We found the rental booth on the way to the beach and the attendants almost cheered when they saw my wife arrive. They all greeted her like a celebrity and then turned to me in a friendly greeting.
"Si Senor, so did you want to explore the coast a little today?" One of the attendants asked. His name tag said "Ramon". "Do you prefer to hire a boat with a driver or do you feel comfortable to pilot yourself on a jet-ski?"
"Sure, what does it run to rent a jet ski?" I asked.
"It's $50.00 for the first hour, Senor"
"How much after that?" I asked.
"I don't know," he laughed and shrugged to his co-workers. "Who keeps track? Just bring it back when you're done. We just charge you an hour. The amigo price, eh?"
"In that case do you rent snorkel gear and fins too?"
"On the house, my friend" He beamed. This guy knew how to guarantee a tip.
After he took me through the instructions to run the jet ski and gave me tips about beaching and launching the large 3-seater craft from the sand, Ramon asked me. "You like the snorkeling senor? I give you my secret. The best cove on the coast. It's just about twenty minutes down the beach. You know you see it when you see a rock on the point. It looks like a hat for the witch." He pantomimed a halloween witch hat over his head. "Right around that point look for the entrance to the cove . It doesn't look big enough to go through, but it's deeper than it looks. There's a waterfall inside the cove and a very nice beach, but my favorite is the variety of tropical fish that will come in that cove. It's like swimming in your own private aquarium. So amazing. You love it!"
We grabbed some towels, the snorkeling gear and a few bottles or water to stow under the seat before Ramon and two others helped us to push the jet ski to the water line. They counted out the timing of the swells once I had fired up the engine. We launched between waves when they signaled and quickly powered out over the surf line into the deeper blue water.
With a quick look back I turned South to go around the point that framed the large cove in front of the hotel and opened the throttle all the way up as we went charging off over the glassy morning swells. The white foam sprayed away in a fan around us and the warm salty air flowed past as we reveled in the joy of traveling at speed over water.
We passed a series of beaches and coves. The coast was lined with cliffs and covered in lush vegetation. With each bend in the coast it looked increasingly remote as the number of boaters and jet skis dwindled behind us. We saw fewer houses along the cliffs but each we did see was magnificent. It didn't look like there were any high-rise resorts further south than our hotel.
I was beginning to think we had gone too far when I rounded a point and in the distance saw the witches hat framed beside the next point on the horizon. I crossed the bay and slowed down as came around the point and looked carefully as the cliff face marched back toward a line of palm trees. Looking south, a white sand beach stretching for some distance and you'd think we were the only people on the coast. Half way along the cliff to the beach, I was surprised how quickly the mouth of the cove appeared. I actually missed the chance to turn in and had to loop back out to make a new approach from the other side. If I didn't know it was there, I would have been just as surprised to see it coming the other way. It was perfectly hidden unless you were looking straight at it.
Even so, it was a narrow opening along rough rock faces and I could see the rock face continued down into the clear water on both sides. The passage curved to the right as you entered and looked barely wide enough for the jet ski to clear the cliff face on either side. I could feel Tracy clench a little tighter as I slowly powered in.
"What's this?" She asked in my ear as the sound of the wind and motor died down.