Day 1 and 2


Nice Alaska airlines flight from John Wayne to Puerto Vallarta.  The immigration hall was jammed with arrivals and we thought it would take a long time.  However with 13 agents we cleared   In customs the line went on forever, at first we couldn’t even find where the line ended. It was just a crowd of what look like thousands. Luckily, it did get organized into two lines, and it miraculously only took 20 minutes to get through.  Our hotel/condo (Los Tules) is large – about 1200 sq. ft. and right on the beach. It has everything even though it is a little dated. At check in, a colored wrist  band is attaché to our wrist which cannot be removed. Adjacent properties have different colors. There are probably over 1000 units here.  It was a timeshare and the units maybe individually owned and furnished. There is a large shopping complex across the street (6 lanes) so we bought provisions.  For dinner we went to one of the high rated restaurants (Madelena) which was very close. The place was very attractive – modern and beautifully designed, the service was impeccable, a bit over the top with 4 waiters hovering over our table, but the food was not great.



immigration in 9 minutes.

Day 2
After our obligatory beach relaxation and lunch at a sidewalk cafe we took a bus into down town. We were not sure where to get off so we asked a fellow passenger behind us, a nice looking American guy. It turned out to be a very good move. He not only told us where to get off so we are close to Zona Romantica and the end of the malecon, but also told us about the condo he and his wife own in this area and occasionally rent. It looks amazing (the price is in Pesos)  (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/31805962?guests=1&adults=1). He also recommended some restaurants to us. (Bo googled his name later and he turned out to be a classical music host from a Minnesota public radio)When we started our walk through the old town, we could not believe the crowds. What a zoo.  Tons of big hotels and thousands of Americans and some Canadians.  Place was saturated with elderly retired couples.( There were two cruise ships in the PV harbor today so that may have been a reason for such crazy crowds.) We walked the malecon (beach promenade), which is quite long and has a lot of really interesting artworks every few steps.  We also visited the cathedral – not impressive. After walking about 6.5 miles, we took a taxi to one of the recommended restaurants -- El Barracuda.  It was right on the beach and jammed with Anglos. The atmosphere was very lively, nice contemporary décor and the food (fish) was very good.





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Day 4

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Morning on the beach. For lunch, we decided to try the “food park” nearby, with pizzeria that our Canadian friends highly recommended. On the way, we revisited an outdoor artist complex about 100 stalls of individuals selling everything.   Bo bought 2 beautiful embroideries there. The food park turned out to be closed (opens at 3 pm) so we went to the mall across from Los Tules. It is immense, but we could not find a decent restaurant, other than the one we’ve already eaten in, just tons of fast food places and a food court.   We went outside and asked a security guard if there were restaurants nearby.   He pointed us in a direction and told us around the corner. The one we chose was empty “Punto 18”. Everything was 18 pesos, about $1.   We had 4 tacos and they were great. Afternoon at the beach. We managed to get a palapa. There are only a few palapas on the beach and that’s the only shade available so people reserve them early in the morning by putting their t...
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Day 3

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Started at beach. Then we explored this complex  (Los Tules) looking for the restaurant bar. Last night we walked all around looking for it but could not find it. This complex is immense but we found it. [Sitting on our patio writing this (on day 4) I can see whale watching cruises on the bay. ] For lunch we walked across the street where there were 2 chicken rotisserie stalls selling hundreds of cooked chickens. We passed by them a couple of times before and there were lines at both places each time.   We bought half a chicken and about a pound of roast potatoes and took it home.   It was great.   The street food we have had here is better than the restaurants. In the afternoon we went downtown to the art district. We visited many art galleries and were impressed. The art district is just 3-4 blocks inland from the malecon, but we saw very few tourists. This part of town (el Centro) is also not as ritzy and polished, with a lot of old buildings in questionable ...
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