If you’ve been reading my most recent post then you know I’ve been giving you some sweet tips on how to indulge in Princess Cruises. Well beyond sea days, which you are a sweets pro at now, there were also port days.
Last Fall I took a Mexican Riviera cruise with Princess Cruises. It was 4 nights at sea with 3 port stops. The first port we landed in was Puerto Vallarta. I hadn’t been to any of our stops which is what was so exciting about taking the cruise. I loved sleeping through the night and waking up in a new location the next day.
We did not have much time to explore Puerto Vallarta because our excursions took up most of the day. We took the boat ride to a small fishing village and a hike to a waterfall. It was just as magical as it sounds. While we didn’t have much time to explore the city, some of our friends that were also on the trip were lucky enough to find freshly fried churros on their way back to the boat. I will definitely be on the look out for this when I visit again!
The next day we docked in Mazatlan. Here we had an early morning hike and plenty of time to explore the town. While this wasn’t my favorite excursion I was so excited to get some time to discover local sweets. The town center of Mazatlan was very easy to walk, it centers around the cathedral. You can also make your way back to the boat from here on foot, there are painted lines on the sidewalks that direct you back to port.
We headed straight to the cathedral because after a bit of dessert researh we discovered there was a raspados (Mexican shaved ice) truck known to park out front. We watched as the owner scrapped big blocks of ice into shavings and topped it with homemade syrups. It was sweet and refreshing!
We took our raspados for a stroll around the cathedral and stumbled upon a small ice cream cart. Two young boys were operating the cart that was filled with ice and silver canisters of homemade ice cream. How lucky were we to stumble upon this. We ordered a scoop of burnt milk (leche quemada) and roasted corn (elote). So fresh and so delicious.
Walking across the town square enjoying our ice cream, what do we see but a beautiful paleta (Mexican popsicles) shop. So naturally after some raspados and helado why not enjoy a paleta. You only live once right! We got guava paleta for the road and continued our explorations.
This story is really starting to remind me of those children’s books If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. Did you read those? Some of my favorite childhood books and the story here seems strikingly similar because right after we found the paleta low and behold we found the cutest dulceria (candy shop) right next door. On a real sugar high at this point we bought a few bags of homemade caramels and candied nuts to enjoy later on the boat. To see more about their process and a peek inside the shop check out my video below. We watched as a shop girl made the candy coating for the nuts!
Puerto Vallarta was a beautiful adventure and Mazatlan was a sweet journey. Next up Cabo San Lucas…
This post was sponsored by Princess Cruises. All opinions expressed here are my own.
Sweet Somethings: