Gay Summer Getaway Puerto Vallarta 2008

Our trip started with a 6:30am wake-up call on Saturday June 21st. A half-hour later we were headed to Miami International Airport to catch our flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After roughly 9 hours of traveling we finally arrived at Puerto Vallarta Airport in the state of Jalisco. At around 4:15pm local time we made our way through the long lines at baggage claim and customs. Once outside, it was a little bit overwhelming trying to find the company that was going to take us to our hotel, among the big crowd just outside the main doors. Our driver, a handsome young local guy, greeted us with a big smile and offered to stop anywhere we needed, ATM, grocery or liquor store on the way to the hotel. His friendly side took over as he pointed out many places of interest like the marina, shopping mall, la Plaza de Toros (bull fighting arena), as well as some local taurants and attractions.

We purposely chose a gay guesthouse from previous experience in Provincetown and Key West. This time it was a top-rated gay guesthouse called Casa Cupula (CasaCupula.com). It's an exciting combination of a guesthouse and residential building perched on a mountainside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Once we arrived, Juan, the concierge, warmly greeted us and carried our luggage up 4 flights of stairs to our own penthouse suite. The beautiful suite was pleasantly cooled and music was already playing, creating a mood that reminded us that we were now officially on vacation. He showed us all the amenities in the suite and handed us the gay survival guide with all the clubs, bars, restaurants and other things to do while in Puerto Vallarta.

We quickly freshened up and headed downstairs to the main terrace for a very casual get-together hosted by the owner, complete with music, complimentary drinks and food. Once at the terrace we watched the first of several picture-perfect sunsets we would enjoy during our stay. There were about 6 other gay couples and about 7 of the Casa Cupula staff (including Oliver and Viktor, who you'll meet later). Everybody was very friendly and in a very relaxed mood. After a few hours of drinking and socializing we realized that we had not had dinner. So the hotel owner, Don Pickens, offered to take us out to a restaurant with whomever else wanted to join. A group of 10 ended up at a nearby gay-friendly Italian restaurant called Expresso. The food and service were excellent and the menu was very affordable. After dinner the whole group walked over to a cute, hip bar called La Noche, where we had a few more cocktails and mingled some more. After a while we were ready to experience the Saturday gay nightlife in Puerto Vallarta. We all headed over to Paco Paco, a 3-story nightclub with full drag show on the main floor. Did I mention it was packed? On the second floor there was a video bar and pool table and on the third floor was a dance floor. This level promised to be the highlight of the night when the male dancers made their appearance. More drinks were ordered and the conversation and alcohol flowed naturally. By 2am, after being awake 20 hours, our bodies were begging for rest. We watched one of the male performers and headed to the exit to grab a cab back to Casa Cupula.

Sunday we woke up around 10am to a beautiful sunny day. We showered and went downstairs for a fabulous complimentary brunch. A few of the other couples joined us at the indoor/outdoor dining room. After breakfast it was off to the gay beach Los Muertos, just a few blocks from the hotel. Once there, we grabbed a couple of chairs under a huge umbrella and waited a few minutes for a waiter to show up. The menu included all kinds of tropical drinks and local dishes. We swam in the pristine warm ocean and sunbathed for a couple of hours before walking back to the hotel, but not before stopping at a small local restaurant for our first authentic Mexican tacos.

Back at the hotel we decided to hang out by the clothing optional area of the main pool for about an hour or so. We then went upstairs, showered, relaxed and watched another beautiful sunset from our private rooftop deck. We got dressed and headed into town for dinner and, of course, more bar hopping.

While looking for a restaurant we ran into Oliver and Viktor, two cute, sexy and very friendly roommates. Oliver was a massage therapist from the Casa Cupula staff (we had met them the night before). They suggested Fajita Republic for dinner and offered to meet us after at Plasma, the bar to be at on Sunday night. We had a great dinner at Fajita Republic, semi-outdoor restaurant dimly lit by beautiful wooden hanging lights in the dining area.

When we arrived at Plasma Oliver and Viktor were already there, so we joined them for drinks and very entertaining conversation. Ok, and some flirting, too. After a couple of hours at Plasma we decided that we wanted to see Puerto Vallarta's newest male strip club, Anthropology. We walked there and were immediately greeted by one of the hottest men at the front door that we had seen so far. The club itself was very chic, but once upstairs we quickly realized that due to low season there were not many things to look at. We invited Oliver and Viktor back to our suite for more drinks and maybe a little bit of skinny-dipping at our rooftop pool.

When we got back to the suite we put on some music, lit some candles and changed into our bathing suits. We made some cocktails and took the guys upstairs to our private, heated rooftop pool. After some flirty conversation we decided it was time to get wet.  Moonlight, music, cocktails and four naked guys…what do you think happened next? Let's just say it was a night of HOT fun that ended around 3:45am. 

The next morning we got up around 10:30am to another warm and sunny day.  We went down to the dining room and ate a fabulous breakfast made by Casa Cupula's full-time chef. After breakfast we got ready for a four-hour tree top canopy tour that we had booked ahead of time with Los Veranos Canopy Tours (www.CanopyTours-Vallarta.com). We walked down to the tour's office and boarded a bus along with a group of 36 people and headed out.  About 30 minutes later we arrived at Juntas Los Veranos, a pristine ecological preserve tucked in the mountains just outside Vallarta.

We were immediately greeted by a group of eight very good looking young guys that were our tour guides. They gave us instructions on how to traverse the 14 cable lines covering over 2 miles. The boys suited us up with very tight harnesses, helmets and gloves. We then started the ascent to the first “training line.”  On the first line we had to pose as one of the guides took our picture. Once we made it thru that one, the rest only got more exciting. As we went higher and higher in the mountain, the zip-lines got longer and faster. Crossing over a river, at speeds of close to 30mph, is one of the most liberating experiences we've ever had.  The view of the jungle from that height was just amazing.  The guys from the tour company were professional, yet hilarious. They made it extra fun… nevermind they were all cute Latino boys.  After all this excitement, we were hungry. At the end of the tour was a great restaurant situated by a nice river. We had a light lunch and jumped on the bus back to the hotel.
Back at Casa Cupula we sun bathed for a bit at the main swimming pool and then started making plans for dinner.  We called Oliver and invited him to dinner at a restaurant called Barcelona Tapas. Unfortunately Viktor was leaving to move to Canada that morning, so he couldn't join us.

Barcelona Tapas was an excellent choice. There were four flights of stairs to climb to the roof-top dining area, but a nightly fireworks display on the bay and a breathtaking sunset made it well worth the climb. The food was excellent. We shared a pitcher of Sangria and about 8 different tapas plates. Of course we ordered the Crème brule and Chocolate Cake to wash it down.

After dinner we took a cab back to the hotel, where we said goodbye to our new friend. and started packing our bags in preparation for our early morning departure back to Miami. 

On our last day we got up early and had some coffee. We checked out and the Casa Cupula driver took us to the Puerto Vallarta Airport.

Our vacation to Puerto Vallarta was a perfect mix of sunshine, cute boys, tasty food, cocktails, excitement and relaxation.  We will definitively be back.