Rene Cizio's Blog, page 16

Stories Behind My Top 10 Travel Photos of 2021

Each year on Instagram, users share their top 9 most liked photos, and these are mine, plus a bonus that should’ve made the list. They’re all travel photos from my year traveling solo across the United States. Like my top photos from last year, most of these feature isolated, solitary landscapes. I only use my iPhone, snapping perspectives that give me pause. Sometimes I’ll be walking, or more often hiking, and in a glimpse, I see the image and must stop. It’s awkward when I’m walking with others, but that is rare and my friends are accustomed to this practice. This year, many of these images were part of a series, so the photos shared here are just the first one that shows up in the feed. You can click the image to see the post or go to my Instagram at @renecizio. My favorite photo, of a sunset in Death Valley National Park, didn’t make the list, but you’ll find it at the link. Except for my #1 photo of the bees, I was alone when I took each of these travel photos. 9. Redwood Forest I spent several weeks of 2021 in Northern California hiking in as many redwood […]

The post Stories Behind My Top 10 Travel Photos of 2021 appeared first on Middle Journey.

Five things you’ll find in San Sebastián including Tequila, Coffee and History

Our van rumbled up the mountain 4,800 feet above sea level, to San Sebastian del Oeste in the mountains of the Sierra Madre on a quest to find tequila, coffee and Mexican history. It took two hours to drive from Puerto Vallarta to San Sebastien. The tourism group touts it as a historic mining town where you can explore local food, architecture, and culture, so it seemed worth spending a day exploring it. There were 10 of us in the tour group. We’d been passing rural homes, reminiscent of American garages and roadside businesses made of tarps and pallets, but eventually, those tapered off and the trees and mountains took over.   Finally, our little group neared San Sebastián. 1. San Sebastian Tequila Distillery Three quarters of the way into the Sierra Madre mountains, on the other side of a famous bridge, we stopped at a tequila distillery. The blue agave plants grew around the property in perfect diagonal rows overlooking the bridge and the mountain. There, just like I did in Sayulita, I learned of the tequila-making process. Everyone on their way to San Sebastian stops at this distillery – it’s part of the experience. At the distillery, they […]

The post Five things you’ll find in San Sebastián including Tequila, Coffee and History appeared first on Middle Journey.

Top Activities to Do at Marietas Islands

The Marietas Islands hidden beach is off the coast of Puerto Vallarta. It’s so exclusive the national guard only allows a few people a day to set foot on it – and that’s after you swim through a cave just to do it. The clincher for me was that the Marieta Islands hidden beach is also called “playa del Amor” or lover’s beach. I mean, come on. So, I booked a boat and traveled to the islands to see it for myself. Visiting the Marietas Islands After booking a hard-to-get date to visit the beach (they’re hard to come by, so plan), I was worried I wouldn’t make my boat to get to the islands at all. I made it to the boat port in time, paid the port fee, got in a long line, and waited for 15 minutes only to learn I was in the wrong line. By now, I was 15 minutes late and had to sprint across the port to the correct place. Oi. As I sprinted through the terminal, I was distracted by the giant macaw parrots you could pose with and those people dressed as Aztec dancers who seem to be everywhere in Mexico. […]

The post Top Activities to Do at Marietas Islands appeared first on Middle Journey.

Finding the Hidden Yelapa Waterfall

In Yelapa, near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, there are two waterfalls, but one is secret. Everyone will tell you about the Yelapa waterfall, but they’re all talking about the one in town. There’s another bigger, better waterfall if you dare to hike to it. I didn’t learn about the secret waterfall until after I met my Airbnb group at the Malecon pier to tour Yelapa. It was just me, the guide, Carla, and two Americans from Colorado as we made our way through town to the bus stop. We all hit it off right away and the conversation flowed easily the entire way on the bus to the small fishing village, Boca de Tomatlan. There, while we waited for a water taxi, we watched a group of women prepare the beach for a wedding that was set to take place that night. By the time we caught our boat, we were great friends, and the wedding looked like it was going to be spectacular. Panga Boat Rides The boat ride to Yelapa was on a small rowboat-type boat called a panga. These boats hold about 20 people. Rules and regulations in Mexico aren’t like the United States (There is no place […]

The post Finding the Hidden Yelapa Waterfall appeared first on Middle Journey.

Snorkeling at Los Arcos in Puerto Vallarta

There’s an entire underwater world just waiting when you go snorkeling at Los Arcos in Puerto Vallarta. I was relocated into its mysterious depths after a walk, a ride in a Volkswagen bus, and a short hike. Then: transcendence. A few guides in town will loan you equipment and take you to Los Arcos, but there’s also one that brings his underwater camera. I found Sebastian through Airbnb experiences and we met in old town Puerto Vallarta at the bus stop.   Once I arrived, an older Spanish-speaking woman was waiting to go on the tour with us. (She gave me a good opportunity to practice my Spanish/sign language!) Much to my surprise, we didn’t catch a bus but instead hopped in a Volkswagen MicroBus Sebastian had parked around the corner. The van was a classic, with original brown and once white bench seats. It took the phrase “shabby sheik” to a new level but added novelty to our ride down to Los Arcos. He drove us speaking Spanish and English (for me) to Mismaloya – a former fishing village in a remote cove surrounded by jungle. This is where you’ll find Los Arcos in the Banderas Bay in Puerto Vallarta. […]

The post Snorkeling at Los Arcos in Puerto Vallarta appeared first on Middle Journey.

Visiting Sayulita and San Pancho from Puerto Vallarta

When in Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita and San Pancho are two awesome places to take a day trip. These two beautiful beach towns in the Riviera Nayarit offer old-school culture and new wave hipster vibes with amazing waves perfect for surfing or a hefty dose of culture for hanging out. The two towns are very close and can be visited on the same day as I did. What you’ll find there that you won’t find in Puerto Vallarta are more bespoke shops and restaurants and thousands of surfers from all over the world who visit these destinations all year long. Because I don’t have transportation, I visited these towns on a guided tour with several other people. Sometimes, I prefer to pay a guide and join a group instead of doing it myself and this was one of those occasions. My guide, Adam, picked me up at 8 am in a big van and we continued to a few other stops until we had eight people total before making the 45-minute drive to San Pancho. Along the way, we passed about 20 street vendors selling fruits and roadside tacos. We stopped at a fruit stand where I discovered Jackfruit and bought […]

The post Visiting Sayulita and San Pancho from Puerto Vallarta appeared first on Middle Journey.

What to Know When Visiting the Puerto Vallarta Botanic Gardens

If you’re debating whether a trip to the Puerto Vallarta Botanic Garden is worthwhile, the answer is: yes, just go. I caught the bus in old town and headed toward the Puerto Vallarta Botanic Garden. Well, it wasn’t quite that easy. I wasn’t sure which bus I should take, but there are only a few main roads and in and out of the city, so I figured I’d be ok. I headed to the bus area and I asked one of the drivers, “Botanica?” He nodded and gestured for me to get on board. After a few minutes, we pulled out and, much to my relief, headed in the correct direction. The bus wound its way up the south shore and the Horcones Canyon, where there was the ocean on the right and jungle on the left heading into the Sierra Madre mountains. After about 40 minutes, the bus pulled up in front of the Vallarta Botanical Garden and I got off (see below for how not to be overcharged on transportation). The Vallarta Botanical Gardens encompass a 74-acre area of various garden trails, conservatories, and exhibits. It’s also a bird reserve with over 250 native species in the area, […]

The post What to Know When Visiting the Puerto Vallarta Botanic Gardens appeared first on Middle Journey.

Hiking to a Puerto Vallarta Waterfall in Quimixto

Finding a Puerto Vallarta waterfall isn’t that hard, but getting there can be an adventure. And that’s where the fun is. In the jungle, waterfalls are pretty common, but they’re not always easy to get to. The Quimixto waterfall, however, is one of the most popular and easiest to see. I use the term “easiest” relatively. If you’re staying in Puerto Vallarta, you must take a bus, a boat and maybe a mule or a hike to get there, but it could be worse. The hike only takes about 30 minutes, and that’s not so bad, all things considered (I once hiked hours looking for a waterfall in Costa Rica!) Journey to the falls I met my tour group and the bus on a street corner in the old town of Puerto Vallarta at 10 am. We piled on the crowded city bus and headed south along the main road. On the road, there is the ocean on the right and the jungle on the left. Hotels, their windows filled with colorful flowers streaming over the balcony sides, obscured the ocean view every few miles. We rode about 25 minutes to the last stop on the route in the town […]

The post Hiking to a Puerto Vallarta Waterfall in Quimixto appeared first on Middle Journey.

Day of the Dead in Puerto Vallarta

Celebrating Day of the Dead in Puerto Vallarta brought an unfamiliar perspective to death for me. Celebrating death is not the American way. We mourn it, curse death for it takes from us. We rage against the very idea of it. But not in Mexico. Here, death is only a part of life. I arrived in Puerto Vallarta on Oct. 30, just in time for the beginning of Dia de los Muertos or as we Americans call it: Day of the Dead. Right away, I saw the ofrendas set up around town, alerting me that something was different here. The colorful altars were stacked high and filled with marigold flowers, bread and food, candles, and pictures of loved ones gone beyond. There were several elaborate ofrendas in the town square near my apartment. I looked at the pictures and listened as the families setting them up talked. There wasn’t any overt sadness; not really. Their talk was around fun “remember when” stories about their deceased family members and friends. I wanted my family to be represented that way. It made me wonder if, instead of avoiding talking about loved ones who have died, we took pleasure in intentionally coming together […]

The post Day of the Dead in Puerto Vallarta appeared first on Middle Journey.

A Day and Night in Death Valley

On my way to Death Valley, there were palm trees and then Joshua Trees. After that, there was nothing except desert sage covered in dust, making everything a monotone beige. Then there wasn’t even that. One can’t help but think of the famous Christian biblical passage when driving into Death Valley, “…into the valley of the shadow of death….” Or is that just me? My drive into Death Valley National Park was about five hours long through the Mohave Desert, so the roads were lined with desert vistas. Wide open, sandy spaces with random Joshua Trees, sage brush, creosote, cactus and rocks. I debated my fear of the park in the previous days, nearly talking myself out of the trip. But a name is just a name, surely and I was no more likely to die there than anywhere. At least that’s what I told myself. Death Valley National Park Once I neared the park, the landscape became more desolate. It didn’t seem possible, but I watched it happen—the thought of turning around at the top of my mind. The space between developments and people became wider apart until there was no more developed space, just an open desert. It […]

The post A Day and Night in Death Valley appeared first on Middle Journey.