Cabo and Puerto Vallarta

 January 19, 2022.   Where does the time go.  We had a wonderful second visit to Cabo, avoiding the noisy touristy boardwalk and partaking in a whale watching cruise.  It was such a wonderful experience.  The humpback whales really put a show on for us, blowing, thrashing their flippers onto the water, leaping and breaching the water.  Our boat kept a respectable distance while others chased them.  I wondered how the whales felt about that.  Threatened??  Or just how it is.  Who knows.  I regrettably did not get any good pictures and the one good video I had I inadvertently deleted and don’t know how to get it back.  Hence I will only be able to share the iconic rock formations with its arch.  There used to be more but one crashed into the sea I think in 2016.  It was there when we cruised in 2015 and gone in 2018.  

Puerto Vallarta was a pleasant surprise.  With all the cruising I have done I never had been in Puerto Vallarta.  It is a lovely town of now some 500K people, most not native to PV.  It is situated at the base of the Sierra Madre Mountains, which are a continuation of the Rockies.  A lovely deep bay, with a huge pleasure-boart marina.  Because our itinerary took such a drastic change, subjecting us to cooler climates rather than the tropical South Pacific the cruise organized a shopping spree to Walmart.  Oh how exciting. I should clarify,  why organized?  Sadly, because of Covid protocol every place we are allowed to go  has to be risk accessed and escorted.  No independent exploration is permitted, which I truly regret, but on the other hand saves me lots of money.  Walmart was a total waste of time.  Although a Supper Walmart it unlike stateside stores had no watch/jewelry department, no home appliances, no shoe or clothing section. It did have an abundance of water shoes and flip flops, underwear, and short-sleeved T-shirts.  Margit had been in need of a battery for her watch and some warm clothing, not even a sweatshirt was to be found.  I on the other hand was not really in need of anything and just went along because I wanted to know what Walmart would look like and carry.  Though I did buy dark chocolate bars and not so ripe bananas.  So not a total waste.  FYI,  the bananas they serve on board are too ripe for my liking.   

After our less than productive Walmart trip,  we went for a scenic drive of Puerto Vallarta, both old and new, waterfront and inland and country side.  Lots of interesting architecture, more lush than Cabo, lots of ritzy vacation homes.    It is still a major tourist draw and got its fame from the movie the Night of Iguanas, with Richard Burton.   Many thought that Elizabeth Taylor was there for the movie, though she was in Puerto  Vallarta it was not the movie that attracted her but rather Richard, as the two had a secrete love affair going.  Of course it did not stay a secret long and resulted in both getting divorces and marrying each other.  A wonderful love story that continues to be told and has earned PV the nickname of “love city”.     No Richard Burton there for me!!!!  OH how sad.  

We were not totally confined to our bus and had a leisurely walk through the original town full of charming homes, boutique shops, a range of restaurants and bars.  It’s  cobblestone center is home to  a very ornate church, Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Church.  The El Malecon is a beachside promenade lined with contemporary sculptures.  Santa Barbara is PV’s sister city and Santa Barbara  donated the three-dolphins statue to PV and PV made a replica of its Sea Horse statue  and donated it to Santa Barbara.  Both are quite lovey status.  

The tour guide was quite proud of Puerto Vallarta and its surrounding communities boasting :  it’s 0 unemployment; it’s 0 crime, with the exception of an occasional brawl over a women or misunderstanding; and  it’s free schools and healthcare.   He also pointed out that  Mexico does not have Social Security or employer pension plans.  So, when someone is unable to work their family takes care of them.   What a concept.  You got to love it.    

All in all a pleasant excursion giving you a brief look at a charming beachside town. 

I’ll be back in a few days, we have 4 sea days ahead of us.