Travel.Run.Live.Love: Vamos a Mexico! (Post 1 of 2!)

Mexico. Land of limitless tacos, salsa, margaritas, and beer. Need I say more?

Happy Jake.

Jake and I embarked on our 10 day vacation to paradise after what was a very busy "vacation" in Alaska. Jake and I both slept 13-14 hours/night for the first few nights when we arrived! (Note- clearly we are party animals). Jake has family friends that live in a little town in the Nayarit district of Mexico, and we are so fortunate that they let us come stay in their beautiful home on the beach! The town is true Mexico with only a handful of "gringos" including Jake and I. It is a place I could stay forever and savor the white sand beaches, blue ocean, friendly people, and the best pico de gallo that has ever entered your mouth. YUM.

Mi Playa.

Four choices? I've just died and gone to salsa Heaven.

The trip started off with a fishing adventure with Paul, aka Pablo. Although the 5-6 foot seas weren't ideal, that didn't stop us from leaving at 5am to go to a special spot that Pablo claimed has been bringing in big fish. 2.5 hours later we set our lines and began our hunt for "the big one." Jake and I have been fishing with him about 6 times and have brought in some nice size Dorado (Mahi Mahi), but of course we both wanted to get a big Marlin or Sail Fish on the line.

About an hour into our fishing adventure, we got a bite... a bigggg bite! And I thought Halibut fishing was a lot of work... Blue Marlin are not kidding! This bad boy took the line and swam for what felt like miles! It would slow for a little while and I would gain back my line, only to have it swim another 10 miles! (slight exaggeration).

Don't let those wimpy arms fool you!

After 45 minutes or so, my fingers started to go numb from my death grip on the pole, so Jake took over for a while! We alternated back and forth until eventually the fish tuckered out. (No doubt from our massive muscles and strength ;) ). It truly is a team effort to get that big of a fish in the boat! I left the boys to the big job of pulling it on board - which, by the way, Mr. Pescado took up the whole length of the boat! Crazy!

Muscle Man!

What an adventure!

After our 2.5 hour fight with the fish, the rookies - aka Jake and I - both fell asleep on the ride home. The ride took a couple of hours, but it gave us (okay, maybe just Jake and Pablo) a chance to recover for the next job: getting it off the boat, cleaning the meat, and packaging.

It took 5 grown men to get it off the boat!

So proud!

Holy Guacamole, that's a big fishie.

Many people asked me, "Why didn't you mount it?" and while that did cross our minds, Jake concluded the Blue Marlin bill was enough.

Sorry Fishie.

If you were wondering, my hands were locked in death grip position and I could not move my arms for a couple days. Definitely worth the pain! We had Marlin for dinner the next day and it was DELICIOUS. A cross between Halibut and Chicken. Very mild, incredibly tender, and melts in your mouth.

Jake and I were party animals each day- we would wake up around 8 and go to bed around 8. We went on Morning runs followed by Yoga, then packed up for a day at the beach. I read 5 books (for PLEASURE! Crazy, I know!) and took frequent cat naps on the beach. It was a wild and crazy vacation, but truly, it was what we needed.

On December 30th, we celebrated one year of being Mr. and Mrs.!. It was definitely not the typical 1st year "honeymoon phase" since we were 3500 miles apart, but I love this guy more and more each day. Exciting news- we are starting to plan a true wedding ceremony with all of our friends and family that will hopefully take place in the fall/winter!

Romantic Dinner with a great view!

Here's to the next 50+ years!

My birthday was perfect in every way - running with my best friend, laying on the beach, and a low-key dinner party with friends. We even made it to midnight which was a huge accomplishment!