Puerto Vallarta is just beautiful! We both can “hear” in our heads, announcers on game shows of the past saying, “You have just won an all-expenses paid trip to….Puerto Vallarta!!” The city is very reminiscent of Mexican resort cities of 40+ years ago, as it is situated on the Pacific, has wide boulevards with huge hotel resorts facing the beach, and the landscaping is palm trees, palm trees, and more palm trees. We sometimes arrive in a port only to find that it disappoints, as it is not at all what we had expected. But Puerto Vallarta was a big surprise. It was filled with many shops and services, tons of restaurants (mostly Mexican), the aforementioned palm trees, gorgeous ocean views, and lots of street sculptures and street art. We didn’t know that it was a “thing,” but Mexican cuisine has attained the UNESCO status of being named an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. How cool is that?!? Our favorite foods are a cultural heritage.
The photos were taken as we walked the city, as usual. After the first two that introduced us to PV (as it is called), there is the local Catholic Church…the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of Mexico. It is the only church in the world that we have seen that is capped by a crown. The current one is a fairly recent replacement for the original, lost in a hurricane at the turn of this century. The inside was also a surprise, as with the white walls and chandeliers, it looks very colonial to us, somewhat like those that we saw in the South Pacific. We love the third of the church photos, a depiction of Our Lady of Guadalupe in metal as you walk back out into the plaza and crowds.
The main attraction in the city, always mentioned first in guides, is the Malecon, the 12-block-long boardwalk that winds along the ocean and is filled with shops, restaurants, artwork, and PEOPLE! It was very busy, very alive, and very hot…about 81 degrees F. We liked the photo of the restaurants that were located along the shady stream, and the four arches after that are called Los Arcos. They form a backdrop for an amphitheater and frame the ocean behind. As you can see, they are draped in white twinkle lights, but we departed at 4:00 pm, so it was too early to see it lit up.
The sculptures along the Malecon were just delightful, as you can see for yourself. There were also lots of feminine depictions. After the sand sculpture, you can see a cluster of fantastical metal chairs. They were huge, and they were hot to sit on! As you can see, the back sides of the chairs show spines and buttocks! There is even a bench that has ears as its backrest!
We end whenever we can with our most amusing photo of the day. A restaurant/bar called Senor Frog’s is in most Mexican ports, and its party atmosphere is legendary. But we liked their sign on the side of their building…Saving the World from Boredom.
