From: Rodeheaver@aol.com
Subject: Log of the Windchime - Puerto Vallarta
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 11:39:23 EDT
There are two choices for mooring in Puerto Vallarta. The marinas at Nuevo Vallarta and Paradise Village are actually so far outside Puerto Vallarta that they are situated in the neighboring state, although they set their clocks with Puerto Vallarta which uses Central Time.The least expensive of all the marinas is Nuevo Vallarta, but that is because the owning corporation has filed for bankruptcy and the facilities there have deteriorated.
The Paradise Village marina is new this year. The marina is being expanded and some of the tenants have complained on the radio about the noise from the dredging machine.
The marina is affiliated with a large five star hotel located on the beach. It has a very large swimming pool constructed to look like a natural pond with artificial rocks. At one end is a small replica of a Mayan pyramid with two huge crocodile waterslides sloping down from opposite sides. You climb up the temple to enter the slides and woosh out the crocodile's mouth. There is an exercise facility with showers as well as tennis courts and a small zoo. The zoo has monkeys, a tiger, a 4 ft. crocodile and a seal that is being trained. Marina tenants are entitled to use all of the facilities, so this is a very popular place.
The only drawback is the distance from any marine facilities and any other store, for that matter. There is a small grocery and some expensive tourist shops.
The other alternative is Marina Vallarta. There is some limited anchorage at the entrance where boats stern tie to the breakwater. It is an easy dinghy ride into the marina, but since the anchorage, called the entrada, is located right on the channel entrance, you will get rocked by all the boats going in either direction, not to mention the cruise ships which anchor on the opposite side.
Marina Vallarta is a very large marina surrounded by condominiums, restaurants, mini marts, lavanderias yeah!, miscellaneous shops selling tourist apparel, jewelry, arts and crafts, money exchange, fishing and diving excursions and marine services. There is a lighthouse replica at the head of the channel with a small aquarium at the bottom and a bar at the top. There is an internet cafe a block away and a shopping center with an ATM and large grocery store within walking distance.
The buses stop here, too and there are lots of taxis looking for business, so it is very easy to get around. It takes about ten minutes on the bus to get to the center of Puerto Vallarta.
On the negative side, there is only one shower/laundromat for the entire marina with only three showers and two washing machines and dryers. The marina was quite crowded when we first arrived as this was the week of the Banderas Bay Regatta, a week-long series of races. As a result, our assigned slip was about as far away from the showers as you could get, about a half mile walk. The marina office is even farther, so many tenants in this area use their dinghies for errands to that end of the marina. The lavanderias definitely do a brisk business in this marina.
The marina has a very nice walkway along the perimeter. There are tropical plants and flowers on the balconies and nice landscaping in front of the stores and restaurants. People jog in the early morning before it gets too hot. The humidity always seems to be in the 90% range and the temperature in the high 80's. Marina tenants may use the facilities including condominium/hotel swimming pools, so it is easy to cool off in the afternoon. The temperature drops to the low 60's at night and there are no bugs.
One of the biggest emotional challenges faced by cruisers is being away from their families. Our stay in Puerto Vallarta was enhanced by a week-long visit with our children: Terry and Gregg, Novios, and Grant and Jessica, Esposos.
Our first visit to downtown Puerto Vallarta was also their introduction to Mexican bus rides. Although the main highway is paved, the buses travel a good part of the way on lateral "feeder" lanes where passengers are picked up and dropped off and these are cobblestone. The bus drivers are intent on making very good time between stops and they swerve around other buses and any other slow or stopped traffic in the narrow "feeder" lanes and barely seem to look when they return to the main highway. Maybe the rosary swaying from the rear view mirror is supposed to hypnotize the passengers so they do not worry.
Downtown Puerto Vallarta is squeezed between the bay and the mountains which rise directly behind it. The streets in downtown Puerto Vallarta are very narrow and are also cobblestone. On these streets, traffic only travels one way. Away from the center and the highway going south to Barra de Navidad, the streets are unpaved.
We got off the bus near the beginning of the Malecon, the walkway along the beach on the north side of the Rio Cuale. The walk is very scenic with bronze statues including the famous boy riding a seahorse. There are shops, restaurants and taverns along the street, including McDonalds, Baskin Robbins and Hooters. Just click your heels like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. We stopped at a Huichol Indian art gallery/store and bought more beaded necklaces. Contrary to what we heard in San Blas, the beaded jewelry and ornaments are NOT more expensive in Puerto Vallarta. And they are for sale everywhere here.
At the end of the Malecon there is a large plaza. The main cathedral is a block away from the plaza. It has a very unusual single spire where the top is shaped like a crown, apparently in honor of the empress Carlotta, probably before her husband, Maxmillian was assassinated. The church has the typical impressive gothic architecture inside, with many statues and elaborately carved stations of the cross around the perimeter.
Downtown Puerto Vallarta is divided by the Rio Cuale. There is a bridge with steps leading down to an island which has more shops and restaurants. Next to the bridge is a large mercado selling arts and crafts tourist stuff: sarapes, jewelry, dishes, glasses, leather goods, etc. Cross the bridge, on the south side there are high rise hotels along the beach called the Play Los Muertos. Behind the hotels is another plaza with vendors along the perimeter and an elementary school on one side. The classrooms were right along the sidewalk with the handwriting cards arranged above the chalkboards-"ll for llama" and "y for yo-yo."
We headed for the beach to find a restaurant recommended in one our travel guides. The restaurant was right on the beach with palm leaves over a more substantial waterproof roof and lots of tropical decorations. We enjoyed the large strawberry margaritas, though some people stuck to cervesa, and a very tasty lunch ranging from Mexican fare to hamberguesas. The beach was crowded with people soaking up the sun and multitudes of vendors plying their wares to one and all. They came by the restaurant, too, and one selling boxes hand carved from lemon wood attracted some attention at our table. After much deliberation and negotiating, the vendor managed to sell a couple of these boxes.
After much arm twisting, Jim did relent and agree to a sail on Banderas Bay. Our destination was Los Arcos, several small rock islands on the south side of the bay. Several of the islands have tunnel arches in them and they are a favorite diving and snorkeling spot. We anchored near one of the arches by an island that was a large Pelican rookery with many nests and baby birds visible from the boat through the binoculars. A group on personal watercraft were snorkeling in the area and feeding the fish, so we were able to see some fish, although the visibility was poor, apparently because the water is about ten degrees colder than normal this year. We were glad we took the time for a snorkeling excursion before committing to a dive trip as this is definitely not a good year for diving and snorkeling here.
Our next eating adventure in downtown Puerto Vallarta was for dinner at El Palomar de los Gonzales. This restaurant is in a very large home run by the Gonzales family up on the hillside behind the town. Our intention was to walk to the restaurant from the bus stop, but we decided we were going in the wrong direction on the narrow winding highway, so we hailed two taxis, they are all small cars, and hoped that the drivers understood where we wanted to go. El Palomar? No problema.
We made a reservation so that we could enjoy the sunset from the alcony dining area. The view from the balcony is really spectacular overlooking Banderas Bay and the town. After sunset, the lights from across the bay, the downtown area and the cross on top of the cathedral's "crown" sparkled on the ground and the stars lit up the sky. Later some fireworks were set off in the marina area, perhaps to celebrate the beginning of spring. Although we have had better margaritas, the food, wine, and service were excellent. We were entertained by the preparation of a flaming banana dessert and a neighboring table having a flaming Spanish coffee, as well as by geckos celebrating when the patio lights were turned on where they parked themselves for their turn to feast.
Our description of the jungle tour in San Blas garnered unanimous votes for a day trip. Jessica found the best deal for a van with a driver. We were picked up at 6:00 a.m. in order to arrive at the jungle ride at 8:00 a.m.. At this time of day, it was still dark primarily because Puerto Vallarta is at the extreme west end of the central time zone. San Blas is on mountain time, so we gained an hour during the three hour trip. It was a good thing we had a driver, because the road to San Blas passes through many very small towns. In order to prevent speeding through these towns, the roads have substantial "topas", speed bumps, spaced at frequent intervals within these villages which would have been a big surprise to us in the dark.
Our driver accompanied us on the jungle tour. He did not speak English, and the guide knew a little, but they could talk to each other, so the driver got an excellent version of the tour. We were on one of the first boats, so there were lots of birds, turtles and a few small crocodiles and iguanas. A young boy who spoke English very well explained the activities undertaken at the crocodile farm.
At the restaurant Grant and Terry and Gregg swung out on the trapeze and dropped into the pool while "Pancho," the resident crocodile, slept in a shady spot by the old wading pool. Grant swam across the pool to check out the turtles and fish with his mask and snorkel, but the turtles proved to be very shy and hustled away. As he was returning, Pancho decided to get back in the water. Apparently he has a favorite spot in the pond and fortunately Grant was not in it. Jessica had intended to have a turn with the snorkel, but not with the crocodile back in the water. End of swimming session.
We enjoyed lunch with Horacio, our driver, and had fun practicing our limited Spanish learning about him and his family and the places he had lived in Mexico. He had been on the jungle tour before and said it was a favorite family trip. He recommended the seafood cocktail for lunch and Jim and Gregg followed his recommendation. The cocktails came in very large glasses and included oysters and octopus, in addition to the usual ingredients, but in a watery solution which Terry said looked like something for an Adams family dinner. But they added the fresh salsa and squeezed the fresh limes and assured the rest of us that it was not bad. Horacio ordered his without oysters and Gregg passed his on to Jim, which may have been the smartest thing he did all day.
Following the jungle cruise, we went into San Blas for a quick look at a small Mexican town. We toured the plaza where Terry and Jessica purchased more Huichol beaded necklaces and Grant purchased an iron wood turtle. We also quickly toured the public market and took pictures in front of the dentist office with bright pictures of marine animals in various states of dental distress. Everyone picked their favorite color from the unlabeled ice cream containers at the corner helado vendor and returned to the van for a quick trip to the remains of the old Spanish fort and cathedral. We ran into some young cruising friends, Debbie and Jay from Mirage, and gave them a ride back to Mantanchen Bay where we all purchased drinks for the trip home and were very appreciative of the air conditioning.
On the return trip, we were able to enjoy the pastoral scenery in daylight. The road followed along Mantanchen Bay, passing numerous palapa restaurants and campgrounds as well as a few beach front homes. The little villages all had their small plazas and churches, tiendas and escuelas with children out for the day, some still with their backpacks and wearing their uniforms. The road climbed away from Mantanchen Bay, the only view out to sea before turning south through banana and mango plantations and later through fields of tobacco with large barns for drying the leaves.
The road, although a principal coastal highway, is only two lanes with no shoulder. Many of the turns, as well as other spots, have small white cement monuments with crosses to mark the sites of fatal accidents. And many of the places available to get off the road have piles of garbage. Unfortunately, we got to see many of these spots a lot closer than we would have liked because Jim became extremely ill on the return trip. Luckily we had purchased some bottled water and Terry had some travel wipes and each time we stopped I would survey the spot and guide him away from the really bad stuff like dead dogs.
The driver had a hard time understanding that we wanted to go directly back to the hotel and he stopped at the La Cruz beach. The rest room here was incredibly dirty. Poor Jim! I finally made the driver understand that he was muy infermo and that we needed to go back right away. We are not sure what the cause was, but the only thing that Jim ate that no one else did was the oysters in the shrimp cocktail. Quien sabe!
Jim felt much better the following day, but he was willing to stay by the pool while everyone else piled on the bus for one last round of souvenir shopping in Puerto Vallarta. Although we did not find an ironwood manta ray, everyone managed to find their quota of goodies and T-shirts at prices we are sure were negotiated to rock bottom after much wheeling and dealing. One vendor said we should not be "so Mexican."
We have encountered musicians on the bus here, although this may be common in other places as well. I am not sure if it was on this return bus trip or a later one that a young boy got on the bus and started singing. Actually, yelling is a better description. He was so terrible that you could barely tell he was singing. The only clue was that he kept repeating "La Bamba" at the top of his lungs. His audience was very relieved to have him exit the bus.
On another trip, two young men got on the bus, one with an old guitar and the other with a tambourine. They were very good singers and I was sorry I had to get off the bus.
I do not know how the musicians with instruments play on the bus. With the buses swerving and going as fast as possible between stops and braking at the last minute, it is hard enough when you are actually seated.
After our last family dinner, we ventured up to the bar at the top of the marina "lighthouse" and I learned that those drinks made in the tall shot glasses and pounded on the table are called "tequila poppers." The things you learn from your kids. No one ordered a tequila popper. We just enjoyed the view overlooking the main channel into the marina.
We escorted the four jovens back to the airport, looking much more colorful than when they arrived. We will savor all the fond memories as we prepare for the next leg of our journey. Hasta luego!
We had almost decided not to go to these islands and head straight for the Marquesas, but then we thought that this might be our best opportunity since there is a very strong west setting current between Panama and the Galapagos, so once you are west of them that is where you will stay. And besides every good biology major needs to make the pilgrimage to the Darwin Research Center, right? So we will head 1,500 miles southeast after exiting Banderas Bay, being careful to keep 300 miles west of the Gulf of Tehuantepec, possibly heading as far east as Cocos Island, Costa Rican territory, in order to approach the Galapagos from the west.
From there, the strong west setting current should pull us out into the southeast trades for the long haul to the Marquesas. We will be checking into the Seafarers' HAM net at 0200 Zulu time, with roll call beginning at 0250 Zulu on frequency 14.313.0. This net will ask for each vessel's position and weather and will post this information on the following website:
http://www.bitwrangler.com/yotreps/
The website has a map which will show the positions of vessels checking into the net. The map may cite HAM call signs instead of boat names, although there should be a schedule of boat names with corresponding calls signs provided in addition to the map.
Our call signs are as follows:
Jim KC7IFP
Lynn KJ7UU
We expect to depart on Thursday, April 8 and may be enroute to the Galapagos for up to two weeks, then three or four weeks to the Marquesas. So, since you may not hear from us for a while, you can check the Yotreps website if you want to keep track of our progress.
Adios
Jim and Lynn, Windchime