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 10^th 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.