Puerto Vallarta Anew
I’ve been to Puerto Vallarta 3 times. I have always had a nice time, but never
quite understood why my late friend, Richard, said it was his favorite place
for escape. Each time I’ve been here,
it’s been for a week, and I’ve done many of the usual tourist activities, such
as snorkeling, going to recommended restaurants, and being besieged by street
peddlars.
This time the changed experience is perhaps a tribute to my
best golfing buddy, Karen, because, like Richard, she is a walker. We walk, and that’s really the best way to
see any city. But since unlike Richard,
she’s also a golfer, the fun has been magnified.
We arrived on a Saturday at the very end of the rainy
season, so everything was very green. We
had one night of rain, and then days of bright sunshine with temperatures of 87 degrees fahrenheit. We first decided to play golf at Marina
Vallarta, about a 10 minute drive from our condo at the Sheraton Vacation Club. They gave us a slight discount on the green
fee. It’s a cute course, designed by
American designer Joe Finger, taking advantage of the local flora and in some
cases, the fauna. All of the courses
near the lowest elevation have the possibility of crocodiles, and we saw one.
In addition, there is an amazing variety of
birds, including egrets, cranes, and seabirds flying over, such as pelicans or
shearwaters. The course is not fancy,
though there is a small pro shop and restaurant, but it was our first taste of
the warmth of the people. Norma, the
lady in the pro shop, was so welcoming we lingered, and that is when we saw the
ad for the upcoming 10th anniversity tournament at their sister
course, Vista Vallarta, about a 15 minute drive out of town from the Marina
(about 25 minutes from downtown).
Vista Vallarta has two courses, one by Tom Weiskopf and one
by Jack Nicklaus. The tournament was on
the Weiskopf course, and was a scramble format.
We’ve played in scrambles before, and enjoy it in this type of social
tournament. (A scramble is a succession of foursomes in which everyone hits the
first shot, then team members hit each successive shot from the position of
whoever makes the best shot). While I
could describe the wonders of the course, suffice it to say it was in great
condition, was imaginative, and everyone had a fun time getting to know each
other. Ours was a team of leftovers, as
Karen and I were the only ones previously acquainted. We ended up playing the Nicklaus course a few
days later with one of our team members, Bob, who is from Chicago, but lives in
Puerto Vallarta several months a year.
At the end of the round, there was a great Mexican buffet,
awards for the winners, and rounds of
margaritas. Somewhat amazingly, we
didn’t win anything (ok, not so amazingly).
The contestants were a mix of locals, vacationers and snowbirds. One would think everyone was old
friends.
In between rounds of golf, we picked out a favorite local
restaurant close to the condo (El Andariega)which had the best sauce on their
chilequiles, which included avocado in the tomatillo sauce. The service was also very friendly and the
food reasonably priced. Exploring the
Centro is a tourist’s delight. The old
Malecon (seaside walkway) has been replaced with a beautiful new broad walkway
with trees, benches and an excellent collection of sculpture. There is also a 3-4 block area with a
collection of art galleries, and we did the Wednesday evening Art Walk. Because Karen is enamored with Mata Ortiz
pottery, I have developed an appreciation also.
Just south of the Centro is the Zona Romantica, still walkable, with
more shops, restaurants, and the gay section of town. The string of restaurants and cafes on the
beach have a fairly standard variety of food, mixing regional Mexican cuisine
with American, all well-prepared. All of
the popular beaches have the requisite number of vendors, but I’ll admit, I
finally just got used to them and politely declined their wares.
The architecture and history of Puerto Vallarta is worth
looking at. It is a fairly small city
that mostly came about as a port for inland agricultural products. But over the years, the farms have faded
somewhat, while PV became famous as a tourist destination, especially after the
filming of “Night of the Iguana” with Richard Burton and Ava Gardner. Now the large Bay of Bandaras has a long
string of resorts, from relatively inexpensive to very luxurious, and is a
place that many people come to year after year.
The weather was very humid when we first arrived, but as the end of
October came, it started to become less noticeable. There is available a wide selection of
watersports, including snorkeling, diving, and parasailing. The beaches are lovely with coarse golden
sand.
We took a day trip on the “jungle tour.” It was much more fun than we
anticipated. We went to a botanical
garden about 10 miles out of town, and saw huge white butterflies and jungle
foliage. We then went to a place called
Chico’s, which is a local picnic area on the river, with huge rocks and some
rapids. One performer was taking running
jumps off the rocks to dive into the rapids, just in the right place. It was fun, and the restaurant there had
exceptional seafood. I even got Karen to
drink a margarita, an unusual even indeed.
The last stop was a family run small tequila distillary, and it was
truly delightful. After going through
the process of making tequila the old way, they provided an exceptional
tasting. By the time we all got back on
the bus to head back to town, everyone was a friend and the trip back was
pretty jovial.
There is an easyness to Puerto Vallarta. Strolling the Malecon just before sunset with
lights of the shops and restaurants spilling out with the warm breeze is refreshing,
and if with a partner, quite romantic.
Since Karen and I are just friends, we could only dream. While there are hawkers trying to entice you
into their shops, light banter with them is the most effective way of only entering those places where you have some
interest. The restaurants on the Malecon
itself are a bit more pricey than elsewhere, more like the cost of moderate
American restaurants. Off the Malecon are
both the few more expensive restaurants, along with many inexpensive places
with good food. Explore, look at the
menus, and note where some of the locals are eating. And, by the way, look at the sunsets:
When Karen left, I spent a week at the Mayan Palace in the
Marina. It is a charming small resort,
not real fancy, but with excellent service, and a very nice restaurant,
Bakal. The Marina is pretty, and has a
“restaurant row” with a nice variety of cuisines, from Argentinian steakhouse
to Indian. We had had the special at the
Rincon de Buenos Aires before Karen left, where for $15 each, we had a
perfectly cooked small filet of beef, potatoes, salad and beer. The service was friendly and quick, with an
encouragement for us to linger as long as we wanted.
I played golf several times at the Grand Mayan in Nuevo
Vallarta, about a 15 minute taxi ride north into the state of Nayarit. It is a Jack Nicklaus design, and the final
three holes have recently been completed.
It is a fantastic course, with one hole, #7, of which I especially came
to appreciate the design, and hated (for obvious reasons) at the same
time. I played with a number of very
nice people, one of whom, surprisingly, lives about 6 blocks from my home. I also once got stuck with a young couple who
were each beginners, and I heaved a slight sigh of relief when they decided to
play only nine holes. I know I will play
this course many times in the future, and really look forward to it.
When the time came to pack up and head to Cabo San Lucas, I
had warm thoughts of wanting to return to Puerto Vallarta. I like Cabo, but there is more history here,
a wider variety of things to do, and a feeling of a bit more substance.
