Puerto Vallarta (again)

                        As you can now tell, we survived the Great Vallartan Escapade and Land Tour.  Just for fun, go back in time to the Archives and visit January 17, 2023. That was the Post of the last time that we were here. Yesterday the weather was better, we were not on a Tour with forty of our new best friends, and we were far more confident than those Beginner Tourists that we were back then.

                        We ambled out of the Official Cruise Port, crossed the street and walked past the busy (fenced and gated) Walmart (pay for parking). Our goal was to find the local “market” that another couple had told us about. We really didn’t know exactly what kind of market we were seeking…. was it a many-vendored affair or a single tent in an abandoned lot….???  What we found was an open-sided version of a fruit stand/grocery store. It was obviously in business for the locals as it was far from the “sanitized” shops that cater to the Tourist Trade. In hindsight I should have snapped a few pics, but we felt a little conspicuous as it was. Admitting that one is just a Touron is harder than it would seem even though it was obvious that we were Gringos and that was exactly what we were!

                        Our first task was to try and figure out the local exchange rate. How many Pesos to the Dollar? We looked at the posted signs in front of the merch and were a tad puzzled. The prices were stupidly high! For example, cans of vegetables were in the $40.00 range! Being the savvy idiots that we are and sensing that this was impossible we did a little on the spot homework and found out that Pesos is a thing of the past and that the correct denomination of currency is the Mexican Dollar that uses the same symbol as ours…. $$$.

                        Then we found out that the Rate was 20/1 or Twenty Mexican Dollars equals One US Dollar. That made that can of vegetables come in at around $2.00 US…. now we’re talkin’! We didn’t even need a calculator from that point!

                        Some items were obviously similar enough in price to what we are used to until we came to the quarts of pure vanilla… here they were approximately $8.00 US and back home a bottle of just four ounces averages around $15.00, which brings the equivalent price to $60.00 a quart!

                                    We bought some.

                                    The produce was crazy big…. radishes as big as apples, giant heads of nice-looking broccoli (I’m sure that they looked good because Paula said so, I do not look at broccoli), but again, you’ll have to take my word for it because there is no photographic proof to back it up. Wait! Paula did snap a quick photo of the radishes….

                                    After we left there we stayed in the same local area and walked into a Farmacia (Pharmacy) to procure Illegal Substances that can be had for the asking down here,,,,, antibiotics and my personal fav Prednisone! These have Over-the-Counter availability, and they are not expensive either! You know…. just in case I need to get a few weeks work done in a day or two…. a few Monsters and a regime of Prednisone will do the trick! (Just kidding!)

                                    After we stashed our ill-gotten booty in a deliberately clear shopping bag (to discourage shoplifting), we decided to try our hand at going to the Centro. This is the Old City, the area that we were in the last time that we were here. Hailing a cab and finding out that our 15-minute ride would be $120.00 ($6.00 US) we clambered in and had a somewhat adequate conversation with the driver who knew a little English and I knew a little Spanish. Anyway, it was definitely satisfying on a certain level and helped pass the time until we were dropped off right where we wanted to be. This area has the older buildings and a very nice esplanade (Malecon) along the shore where seaside restaurants and shops abound. Throw in a few street entertainers and you’ve got a great spot to spend some time.

The walk along the Malecon was perfect…. fabulous weather, not too crowded, and just the right number of festivities that were ongoing, it all kept us delightfully amused. When we arrived there Paula looked down the coast and said, “Look, a parasailer!” This activity is a must in this area of the world. As we got closer and saw that this guy was not moving, we realized that it was a Spiderman doll at the end of a kite string, just suspended in the wind!

                        We found a shoreside restaurant that had everything that we wanted which really was just a few Tacos. Friendly is an understatement as we really hit it off with Alfredo, the Manager/Hawker who corralled us into his establishment.

All was good. Some (pollo) Tacos, a (strong) Margarita, and a (regular) Pepsi later, we found ourselves another (friendly!) taxi to get us back to the Port.

                        Puerto Vallarta has come a long, long, way from the mid-sixties when John Huston shot “The Night of the Iguana” here with Richard Burton. They both liked it so much that they each bought a home down here and soon the world followed. Jump another ten years and have the Love Boat make this Port one of its destinations on its weekly cruise down from Los Angeles, and you can see how, and why, this is such a popular vacation spot. There are numerous condo/hotel establishments (all the big guys are here), the weather is fantastic, and the people are genuinely nice.

And they have a Walmart.