The Perfect Ending to my “Winter in the Caribbean + Mexico”

Feb 164 min read

When I land home in Grand Junction late on the night of Sunday, February 16, I will have completed the longest single trip of my life—88 nights. Seven cruise ships, five hotels, Disneyland… and a bite from a jaguar.

I’ve traveled all over the Caribbean and Mexico, revisiting familiar destinations and exploring several new ones, including Dominica and Honduras—bringing my total country count to 44.

Ironically, my final stop before returning to the U.S. was Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

I’ve been visiting PV for over 20 years. It was the first foreign country I flew to back in 2003, and I’ve been going back regularly ever since.

A lot has changed over two decades. However, as I walked from the historic Centro area to the Zona Romántica—something I’ve done hundreds of times before—I was stopped in my tracks. My favorite restaurant had finally reopened after being shuttered for years due to a hurricane.

Le Bistro was as beautiful as I remembered. The service was perfect, and the cuisine was impeccable. I may have to plan a return trip just to enjoy dinner there again—it’s that good.

Nostalgia aside, PV will always have a piece of my heart, and this visit was the perfect way to end this journey.

Puerto Vallarta Photos

The Journey in Review

Over the past several weeks, I’ve explored some incredible places. I checked off first-time visits to Ensenada, Mexico; Catalina, California; La Paz, Mexico; and Disneyland, while also making return visits to Mazatlán and Cabo.

Disneyland was cold and rainy, which was a bit of a letdown, but it also kept some of the crowds at bay. I walked a lot—over 22,000 steps the first day and more than 24,000 the second.

Disney California Adventure is an incredible park, and the Incredicoaster remains my favorite ride at either of the California gates.

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure photos

La Paz instantly became a favorite—low-key, friendly, great food and coffee, and affordable. Not much more you can ask for while traveling. I was so intrigued that I even stopped by a property management office to inquire about a winter rental for a few months… more on that later.

La Paz photos

Work & Travel

Even while traveling, I’ve been busy planning trips—both for myself and for clients of my travel agency. Since leaving in November, I’ve booked at least five more cruises for 2025.

The travel agent side of my life has really taken off, and January was my busiest month yet for booked trips. I love sharing my knowledge and helping people plan and execute their dream vacations.

Mortgage has also kept me busy—not at the volume of 2020-2021, but slightly ahead of 2023 and 2024. I remain incredibly grateful for my friends, family, and clients who support me while I travel the world.

Even with all my travels, I was still the #1 loan officer in our office for volume and tied for #1 in units in 2024. Again, this isn’t for self-promotion—just to illustrate that I continue working hard for my clients alongside my team back in Colorado. And yes, I am still doing mortgages! (www.homeloansbycole.com)

Reflections

This post is filled with so many emotions. Mortgage Guy Travels the World started on January 4, 2023, and since then, I’ve shared hundreds of posts filled with self-reflection and personal growth.

The past 88 nights have been no different—so many incredible memories, but also moments of struggle, frustration, and questioning life’s choices.

Some key takeaways:

• People are the reason I travel. So many amazing people have welcomed me into their lives, and reconnecting with repeat guests and crew has made my cruise ship family feel like a second home. Happy 50th Birthday to Kyle! I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in Hawaii in 2026!

I had a chance to reconnect with several prior cruise family members and am very appreciative of their efforts to stay in touch and see each other. (Tra’a, Joshua, Thomas, Christian, David, Joseph, David, Michael + Jason to name just a few!)

• New destinations don’t always outshine the familiar ones, but they do give my camera a workout. I haven’t used it as much as I should, but I’m proud of the shots I did take when I finally pulled my trusty travel companion out of my black Tumi backpack.

• Bouncing between so many ships has been exhausting. Next time, I’ll aim to spend more time on the same ship, in the same cabin, and less time hopping around. It’s been fun—but I’m tired of packing and unpacking.

• Cruising is still my travel style of choice. While I enjoy land-based travel, the sheer number of sights I’ve seen would have been impossible without a floating home. My cabin has become my apartment—I even decorate it with magnets, paper pop-up plants, and crystals to make it feel more like home. It sounds weird, but it makes a difference.

• I haven’t touched Book Two, People N Places: The Untold Story, in two months. A message on Valentine’s Day reminded me to get back to it—thank you for the encouragement.

What’s Next

I’ll be in Colorado for three nights before heading to Arizona to celebrate Mom’s birthday. Then, I fly to Miami on a red-eye and immediately board another ship—67 more nights, mostly in Europe, with plenty of time on land. By the end of this leg, I’ll hit country number fifty!

Oh, Right—The Jaguar Bite

Yes, a literal jaguar.

While in Ensenada, Mexico, I visited the PaiPai Ecotourism Park and paid an extra $125 to hold a seven-week-old jaguar cub, play with a feisty five-month-old jaguar (where the bite happened), enter a cage and feed six-month-old tigers from a bottle, feed adult tigers raw chicken through a metal fence, and step into another enclosure with playful seven-month-old jaguars. The day ended inside an enclosure with a full-grown jaguar and a lion.

It was wild—literally and figuratively.

I feel like I cheated death. It was an unforgettable experience—one I wouldn’t trade, but maybe wouldn’t repeat. The slice in my hand is mostly healed after three weeks, but the reactions I’ve gotten when telling people it was from a jaguar bite? Priceless.

Until Next Time…

And with that, I’m signing off—for now.

Cole from the Cruise Ship

Winter in the Caribbean + Mexico = Complete