Birthday in Puerto Vallarta

A Bit Of Catch-up

We’ve been living in California’s Central Valley for a full year! It’s gone by so fast! Amazing, really. Aside from doing the usual new house stuff, buying new furniture (we took only a guest room bed, DH’s roll top desk, and an antique sideboard), deco, and making friends in the new, most literal sense, new neighborhood, we are also discovering a whole new coast!

Back in September, we drove south to Cambria, a very nice seaside town, and over the next days, north to Monterey via the California Coast Road, a twisty & turney & uppy & downy two lane (mostly) highway. Took in Hearst Castle, Big Sur State Park and a lot of scenery along the way. It was a very short break, and very much needed.

In October, off to Hawaii, for a very family vacation. Lots of family. My sister, son-in-law, their two children, our son, daughter, and her very significant other. Beautiful resort on Maui. Not restful, not with a very active niece - 4 years old, going on forty - and an inquisitive 18 months old nephew. They never got used to the four hour time difference. Up and about at 5 AM, and hungry! Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

To The Present

Six days in a Mexican paradise, the weather giving us the finger before getting to the airport. It almost never snows in the valley as in the last was over 20 years ago, and rarely under 1800 - 2000 feet (550 - 600m) in the Sierra Nevada foothills. But at 1000 feet in a pass in the coastal range, here we are, snow hitting the windshield (windscreen for you metric types:-)). Makes going on vacation that much sweeter.

A nice, easy flight, and towards the end, following a valley within the San Madre mountains until touchdown.

A bit of a worry in baggage claim, as our one checked bag wasn’t showing up. Turns out that the handlers shifted to a carousel halfway across the floor! And it was the last bag! Whew!

A 45 or so minute ride to the hotel, We buckled in as soon as we could, since the traffic reminded us of central Rome during rush hour! Finally get out of this automotive bullring to side streets which are cobblestone. And not one stone is level with its neighbors.

Finally, on to a pavement road, up into the foothills, and to our hotel, the Hilton Vallarta Riviera. It is an all-inclusive resort, all food and beverages included, as well as non-motorized water sports. And even better, DH has a fairy godmother in the resort’s sales management (he is a travel consultant), and we’ve been upgraded to the highest level in the resort short of a multiple room suite. Nice, huh?

Our room

The specialty restaurants are closed during the weekends, something that became very common during the pandemic, simply because if the hotel was open, it was pretty empty. So down to the buffet we go.

Sunday & Monday

Cocktails out on the balcony, and enjoying the air. Spot the fluke of a whale out of the water, feeding in shore. Whale watching season runs from Dec through March, so this is the very end of the season here, so I doubt we’ll try to go out. The tours “guarantee” seeing a whale, but you only get to repeat the trip. Sorry, no refunds!

Breakfast at the Concierge room, nice collection of fruits, pastries, made to order egg dishes, as well as various breakfast meats & desserts. Like I really need dessert at breakfast. Small and intimate,compared to the buffet where the masses eat. *Nose in air* (just kidding, really!)

Relaxing pool days. Very nice layout, with an adult side, and family pools. The beach is literally just below the infinity pool edge. Just hanging out, waiters coming by periodically to make sure we have what we need. We order pineapple juice in the morning, drinks with something stronger in the afternoon

There is evening entertainment in the lounge , Saturday was a pop singer with his own music machine backing him up. Sunday was a mute violinist,also with a backup music machine. Well, I don’t know if she was mute, but she said nothing during her performance. It was enjoyable anyhow. This morning, a resort staffer came by to tell us about the day’s activities. There’s pool volleyball, a paper airplane contest, and others. What’s intriguing is tonight’s entertainment - not sure if she said a “sex” or “sax” show. Accents can make all the difference.

Update: It was a sax player. Get your minds out of the gutter!

Tuesday, into town

Hopped a cab this morning, went to the Malecon, the boardwalk, in downtown Puerto Vallarta. More of a concrete walk, no wood that I saw. Some say it is the “heart of downtown”. Me, I’m not so sure. But it’s certainly the heart of the tourist section .

We’re dropped off at the center of the Malecon, which features Rafael Zamarripa’s “The Boy on the Seahorse” (Little Seahorse) statue which has become a symbol of Puerto Vallarta. There is another version of the statue in the Zona Romántica, a very LGBQ friendly section of the city.

There are statues all along the Malecon, I’ll highlight some of them as we go.

Walking along there are shops, cantinas, and small businesses, intermixed with second floor apartments and regular apartment buildings. Just like any city in the US. Some are new, others well worn. But unlike much of the US, it’s very clean.

This sculpture by Carlos Espino, Triton and Siren, concentrates on the human form and classical mythology, which can clearly be appreciated in this piece. (I’m quoting here). I love this one.

The Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd in Mexico. It is a day of remembrance, but also celebrations of a sort. Think major Halloween party. Costume parades, also a lot of art.

Here’s a nice article about Day of the Dead.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead#:~:text=Traditionally%2C%20families%20spend%20some%20time,dress%20up%20as%20the%20deceased

Walking past the mural we come upon the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, known locally as the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, is a Catholic place of worship in Puerto Vallarta. I’m wearing a halter and shorts, so I don’t go in out of respect but like most Catholic churches in the wealthier areas, very beautiful inside.

Of course, wherever you find a cultural landmark, you’ll find tourists (guilty), and where you find tourists, you will find souvenir vendors. I bought a sweet twirly dress for my niece, and a t-shirt for my nephew, shot glass & Christmas ornament for us.

The identifying architectural aspect is the crown on the tower.

Puerto Vallarta and Santa Barbara, California have been sister cities since 1972, Santa Barbara’s sculptor James Bottoms together with Octavio Gonzalez Gutierrez designed the Friendship Fountain (Dancing Dolphins Fountain) “La Fuente de la Amistad” with three leaping dolphins inspired by a Chumash Indian legend.

Remember what I said about cobble stones? Here’s a sample.

Returning to the Malecon, we passed a lot more sculptures and art

COVID Alert! Just kidding!

Created by the artist BLU (Maritza Vázquez) who's inspiration for the piece came from her scuba diving exploits along the coast. The iron figures resemble two rusty giant sea urchins.

Manuel Lepe created this painted tile “Sellers of Fish”

Two cruise ships were in port today, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Over 6000 passengers between them. We saw the cruise group tours, laughing a bit, since we’ve done that, and will, inevitably do again. The Norwegian ship, though had a Star Trek theme for this cruise. Folks told us that actors from the various incarnations were on board. We even saw William Shatner walk by with one of the groups!

Created by Jim Demetro, this statue of Vallarta Dancers, was placed here on the boardwalk in 2006. The artist was inspired after watching the local Xiutla Municipal Folkloric Ballet perform the "Jarabe Tapatío" (Mexican Hat Dance) on the Malecon.

Rest of the day spent at the pool, a very nice dinner, and a three piece musical group after dinner. Flute, trumpet, and bongo drums. The trumpet player also seemed to have a synthesizer of sorts, and supplemented percussion with shakers of different types. Like the other evenings’ entertainment, there was some background music, but unlike the others, very muted, and only supplied contextual fill. The best so far.

Thursday Happy Birthday to me!

Puerta Vallarta is nestled inside the Bay of Banderas on the western Mexican coastline. It’s a fairly open bay, but still protected. Our resort is a bit south of the city proper. Blue dot on the map.

There are additional resorts to the north and south, and the best view from our room is to the south.

The night view is just as nice

We’ve been spending a lot of time by the pool. There are separate adult and family oriented pools, here’s the adult pool.