This may come as a shock since I haven't blogged in 6 months ;) but Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Viernes Santo (Good Friday) have had so much going on in PV I wanted to share it with everyone. There were two Passion Plays, one in my neighborhood (el cerro) and one on the Malecon. Ours was more homegrown- local people in our neighborhood participating. The other was larger with more elaborate costumes and horses, etc. Although I think we preferred the neighborhood.. Individuals would make their own altar for each station of the cross.
Neighborhood Stations
Malecon
Malecon
Sand Sculpture
Neighborhood
I took some photos and a video I have posted. The size of the procession was amazing. I also have added a picture of the Last Supper Sand Sculpture on the Malecon.
I wanted to share a new tourism video of Puerto Vallarta with you today. It is short but captures the feel. When you finish watching this it will also list a number of other good videos of PV.
Something that you can expect when you dine in a restaurant or even just sit down for a beer in Puerto Vallarta is to be approached by a musician or two or more who want to serenade you. Not that many years ago it was at your discretion as to how much you paid for a song request. But the last three years or so it seems to be about 50 pesos for a song- a little steep, especially if they aren't that talented. ;)
Normally you can tell in advance though as you can hear them at another table as they work their way in your direction. For the most part, unless they are quite good, it is a special occasion, or we are with a group that has had too much to drink, we say no. But it can be delightful. I've got a cute clip here when some great friends were visitng and we were having lunch on the Malecon at La Paloma. Our friend has a great voice and was singing along. :) They are singing "Guantanamera".
One of my favorite songs to request is "Cuando Calienta el Sol". At one of the best places for a fine dinner, Hacienda San Angel, a fantastic trio, Los Palomos, plays several nights week. They are paid by the restaurant and come by every table. We always give a tip, especially if I request a song or two but it is not required. I wish I had a video of them because they have beautiful voices and are really good musicians.
I have been trying to improve my Spanish and have promised myself I would memorize the lyrics before I request the song again. I already have the "oh, oh, oh" down pat. :)
Cuando Calienta el SolAmoe, estoy solo aqui en la playa,es el sol quien me acompañaY me quema, y me quema, y me quemaCuando calienta el sol aqui en la playaSiento tu cuerpo vibrar cerca de miEs tu palpitar es tu cara, es tu peloSon tu besos, me estremezco, oh, oh ,ohCuando calienta el sol aqui en la playaSiento tu cuerpo vibrar cerca de miEs tu palpitar, tu recuerdoMi locura, mi delirio, me estremezco, oh, oh, ohEs tu palpitar, tu recuerdoMi locura, mi delirio, me estremezco, oh, oh, oh
I do have a still picture of Los Palomos but unfortuantely no video. :(
This song has been around for 50 years and has been recorded by many artists
from Trini Lopez to Connie Francis!
Here is a video just so you can hear the music,
but this group is not remotely as good as Los Palomas!
A friend shared these spectacular pictures of lightening strikes over the Bay. Puerto Vallarta is known for the beauty of its summer storms and a number of people come just to witness the "show".
I have an article appearing in the Vallarta Tribune this week. This is a weekly newspaper you can pick up in Puerto Vallarta or you can also download it as a PDF file. My article is in issue 694 and appears on p. 25 with some nice color pictures. Please take a look to get an overview of what Juanita Catrina loves best about Puerto Vallarta! The Trib is a great resource for everything happening in PV and can be found at various locations such as the tourist office on the square, in art galleries, restaurants and the International Friendship Club. If you are planning a visit I would suggest reading it online a few weeks in advance to get a heads up on upcoming events. Take a look!
Just a quick blog tonight. We love Limonada in PV. It is nothing like lemonade we are used to in the US. What is different about it? Well, first of all it is made with sparkling water or mineral water as it is called in PV.
I tried making my own by squeezing fresh limes and adding sugar or Splenda. Actually the results are pretty good, but somewhat labor intensive.
When my friend Joan was down last winter she came up with the idea of using Limón Tang! Just add two liters of sparkling water to one packet. Voilà! Limonada.
Then we carried it a step farther by adding chopped apples, oranges, maybe a squeezed lime or two. Now pour in some red wine and you have made some great Sangria! Or white wine if that is your preference, but not as pretty. ;) Sometimes I just make the pitcher of limonada, then let guests add red or white wine to their individual glass as they prefer, or leave it virgin. Try it when you are really hot! Amazingly refreshing!
I have been meaning to blog about the excellent drinking water in Puerto Vallarta but haven't gotten around to it yet. Then yesterday a friend mentioned they have never been to Mexico because they worry about getting sick.
Mexico certainly has a reputation for Montezuma's Revenge and normally the culprit is water. Puerto Vallarta, however, is the exception to the rule. They continue to win awards for their clean water and it is perfectly safe to brush your teeth with it. My husband even drinks from the bathroom faucet which I don't even do at home in the States! But I think the reason is more because we have all become accustomed to the taste of purified or bottled water, much to the detriment of our planet. :(
That being said, everyone drinks water that either comes from a purifier in your residence or hotel, or from the huge jugs that are sold off a truck that goes by shouting, "Agua!". You won't find a single restaurant that does not serve their "tap" water from a jug and ice normally comes from bags as well. There is no need at all to buy bottled water in a restaurant as it all comes from a bottle anyway. The last thing the City wants is for anyone to get sick!
I always order "agua con hielo, por favor" or ice water, please and there is no extra charge like there is when you buy a bottle.
I wanted to show a picture of us in a restaurant with ice water but just about every picture I have looks like this. ;) ha, ha.
Almost every day someone we know complains about the stock market, the decline in value of their investments, how everything is so expensive. If you were planning a trip and someone told you where you could get 25% off I'll bet you would look into it right away! Well that is the case with everything in Mexico. Every day. Every item. That's right, Mexico is having a 25% off sale!
For the last three years the peso has slipped against the US dollar, the Canadian dollar and the Euro. That means that on average by converting our dollars to pesos while in Mexico we are saving at LEAST 25% and many times considerably more than that. We give them a dollar they give us the equivalent in pesos of roughly $1.25. As I write this the exchange rate for the US dollar is $12.76 and for the Canadian dollar $12.34. As you can see in both cases this is around 25%. Because 10 pesos roughly equals a dollar assuming an even exchange rate you should divide by 10 as your base then anything over 1 is your discount percent. I give them $1 USD they give me 127 pesos. Of course those with Euros to spend really make out. They get 161 pesos for 1 Euro!
Two years ago the USD dollar-peso exchange rate hit 15 pesos to the dollar at one point and I think the average for the high season was over 13. This past year is has has been more stable hovering between 12. 25 and 13 for some months.Even as the cost of items goes up the exchange rate continues to provide a nice bargain for those of us with our income based on these currencies.
An ice cold Pacifico, our favorite cerveza ;)
Then on top of that there are a number of items that are a great buy even without the added exchange value. Fresh produce is cheap and plentiful. Beers such as Corona, Pacifico and Dos Equis are usually between $1 and two dollars! Of course at home these are the imported beers that usually cost between $4 and $6! Margaritas are usually 2 for one during Happy Hour and that can last all afternoon in many establishments! :)
My Ya-Ya Diane and her friend Bob enjoy Margaritas as big as your head!
And yes, a room or condo with an ocean view can be pricey but try and find a place in Florida that has access to the ocean within a few blocks from anywhere in town, 250 fine restaurants, most within walking distance, no need for a car and I will assure you Puerto Vallarta is a bargain every time. Not to mention they throw in the mountain view for free! ;)
The open market on Lazaro Cardenas on the south side is worth a trip even if you eat every meal out.
Dental and Medical care are of a quality that will surprise you and the cost is a fraction of what we pay in the States. For those of us without dental insurance a cleaning can cost well over $100 at home and can be had for $400 pesos by an English speaking dentist in a new building with state of the art equipment. That is about $32 my friends. Everyone we know is having their beautiful porcelain crowns done or replaced in PV. The cost last season was $4500 pesos for an Empress crown- the best quality. At the time the exchange rate equaled a cost in USD of $350. At home my dentist charges $1500 and if I pay in cash he discounts it to $1350 so I saved a full thousand dollars! Please don't show this to our wonderful Puerto Vallarta dentists! ;)
We had been coming to PV for a number of years before we had the nerve to eat at a taco stand. Our friend Daniel says he has a few favorites but we never got around to going with him. Finally our buddy, Fred, who has never met a stranger and seems to know everyone in Vallarta, took us to lunch at a little stand on Aquiles Serdan called Tacos de Mariscos Vallartawith a pretty green and white striped awning right down the block from Rizo's grocery in Zona Romantica. As the names implies they specialize in seafood and their shrimp tacos are delicious and only cost 20 pesos! If you go you should know it is a family run place, has a nice little inside seating area, and is only open for lunch.
Now if you want to go for dinner and have the best quesadillas and burritos in town you will want to try Tacos con Leony on 31 de Octubre #384 (street at the north end of the Malecon) at the top of the hill. A little hike but well worth it. Leony's is also a family affair. I think you will find this the norm in PV. Leony, her sister and daughter all work there 6 days a week. They don't get started until around 6:30 pm and are usually open until 11:30 pm. Again the prices are muy barato or very cheap as we would say. :) The quesadillas are only 20 pesos and include your choice of meat: res, carne arrachera or cerdo. They chop the steak into tiny little pieces and it is all cooked right there in front of you on the grill. The tortillas are also made right there. Fred asks Leony to leave ours on a little longer so they are browned and the cheese is really melted. Yum! I can taste them now. If you call ahead a day or two you can request that Leony make shrimp burritos. These are enormous and are 65 pesos. For the truly budget minded the soft tacos are just 9 pesos. :) Leony's cell # is 044-322-116-8671. Her husband runs the abarrotes or carryout there and Leony sets up shop in front daily except Monday with a pretty tiled counter and cute little tree stump bar stools to which she recently added cushions. :) I am telling you it is not to be missed.
When I blogged about cabs in PV I said I would save buses for another blog. Buses are called camions and are very old, almost school bus style vehicles. In PV they were mostly blue and white but they have a program now to get them all painted green and white. We will see. The fare is 6.5 pesos or abut 50 cents. There are no transfers but buses will take you just about anywhere you want to go. You should get a small ticket stub when you pay. Upon occasion an official will get on the bus and collect them so hang on to it until you exit. The people on the bus are mostly locals. They have a habit of sitting on the aisle so if you want a seat you may have to climb over someone. No one moves in by the window. Don't ask me why. :)
The people are clean and you feel very safe unless you get a crazy driver. Unfortunately the system promotes this because there are way too many buses and the driver must get a bonus if he drives a full bus. They pass each other trying to be the first to a stop so they can get the most passengers! We have found it makes more sense to let the first bus pass by and wait a minute or two - sometimes it is even the next bus- and get on one where the driver does not speed to the stop. It is also likely to be less crowded. Many school children take the bus so you will see lots of kids in their school uniforms. And most locals go to and from work on the bus so around 9am and after 6pm the buses can be standing room only. There are specific stops (although not necessarily marked) and buses will not normally stop if you hail them from other locations. Some stops have a covered bench. For the others look to see a crowd standing on the sidewalk and you will know that is a bus stop. :) On the front window of every bus is a list of stops. Going out of the city you need to select a stop you know is beyond where you are going. Coming back in from the north and heading downtown you need to make sure the bus says Centro. Buses coming from the south shore only go as far as the Zona Romantica at which point you will need to get another bus and pay again to go north. We usually take the bus to Sam's Club or one of the nicer groceries like Soriana, Mega or WalMart to stock up and then take a taxi home. Probably 3 out of 4 times we are on the bus we will have entertainment. A local will get on with his guitar and sing a song then try and collect a few pesos from the passengers and get off. Sometimes they are so bad you want to pay him mid-song so he will leave. ;) This guy was pretty good though. Cute too. ;)
One sunday afternoon we were on our way for lunch and Mariachi with friends to a little suburb called Paso Ancho. The bus stopped and a man with a breathalyzer jumped on, tested our driver, gave a thumbs up and got off!! It happened so fast I couldn't get my camera out in time! We all gave the driver a round of applause. ;)
Besides the local buses you can also get a bus to Sayulita or Bucerias or other points north, or going south to El Tuito or the Botanical Gardens for about 25 pesos or roughly $2. These buses look about the same on the outside but have padded and, in some cases, reclining seats. The northbound buses leave from Walmart and the southbound from the corner of Aguacate and Lazaro Cardenas in Colonia Emiliano Zapata on the south side. You never know what you might see. This is a picture I took on the bus when we were going to the Botanical Gardens. An old man held him on his lap the entire way. The bus trips are part of the local color and I highly recommend you take a ride when in PV.
Puerto Vallarta is a great cab town. There are over one thousand yellow taxis; most are pretty bright and shiny. The cab drivers, known as taxistas, are usually friendly and most speak some English, at least enough to communicate with the Gringos. :) They normally wear a uniform white shirt that says "taxista". It is easy to hail a cab night or day, especially if you are in a popular area. Cabs are regulated and safe in PV.
Here our friends Sandy & Jeff are leaving in a taxi.
I took this picture because Jeff owns
the Yellow Cabs in Columbus Ohio!
I am sure he had a good conversation with the driver. :)
There are a few tips that you should know though. First of all, when you arrive at the airport you do not take a regular yellow taxi. Instead there are white cars and vans, depending on the size of your group. There are set fares depending on the zone where you are going. Right now I think the rate for a car to el centro (the city center or downtown) is $23 usd and about $40 usd for a van. ALWAYS agree on the fare before you get in a taxi. Cabs are not metered so it is important to know what you are paying in advance. Rates are supposed to be fixed by zone but it is always best to negotiate before getting in the taxi. This goes for the white taxis at the airport and the yellow ones everywhere else. And by the way, when you return to the airport, you will pay the yellow cab about half of what is cost in the white cab when you arrived. Airport fees I suspect. Crazy but good.
The next thing you need to know is that the fare INCLUDES your tip. No additional tip is required unless the driver performs an extra service such as bag handling. This is similar to the US where you might tip a dollar or in this case 10 pesos a bag. Other times if he is extra friendly or gives you some good information you might add an extra 10 pesos.
Another thing to know is that cabs are very inexpensive. Unless you are staying outside of Vallarta in Nuevo Vallarta or Bucerias or somewhere on the North Shore, everything from the Marina to town will cost you less than $10, and in most cases a lot less. There is rarely a need for a car. It is difficult to find a place to park on the street and the garages are rather expensive. You might also take the bus. That is another blog, but know they are cheap and plentiful and safe as well.
This driver received an extra tip because he posed with our little "friend" Baldy.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a beautiful church and a central landmark in Puerto Vallarta.Located right behind the main plaza, it is a great meeting place. It is beautiful night and day and from any location. They worked on cleaning the corona for the last two years and now that is finally done the angels that hold the corona are a sight to behold!
And the bells are amazing. They ring every fifteen minutes to mark the quarter hours and more often when it is time for mass. There are a number of different bells, with differing tones. For the last three years we have lived right above them so I speak with some authority on the subject. :) Periodically though, there is a completely different set of bells in the tower that ring every fifteen minutes for one full minute at a time, four times during the hour. These bells are much louder and you can physically see them going around and around. I have asked but no one seems to know why. They might ring 3 times in a day and they might ring once. They might do it three days in a row and they might not do it again for 3 weeks. They might do this at noon or it might be 7 pm. I cannot find a pattern. It does not seem to relate to a Holy Day...if anyone knows, please tell me!!
Mariachi music was born in the state of Jalisco where Puerto Vallarta is located. It is very common and quite a treat to see 10 or more mariachis perform in their colorful costumes and distinctive hats. The picture above was taken at a fabulous boutique hotel with an equally fine restaurant,Hacienda San Angel. Below is a video clip from Tlaquepaque, of the well known all female mariachi group, Mujer Latina.
Try it when you are really hot! Amazingly refreshing!
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