Things To Do In Puerto Vallarta #3

#3: Enjoy Public Art

One of the things I love most about Puerto Vallarta is the Malecon. The Malecon is a mile long walkway along the oceanfront in downtown Puerto Vallarta. That in itself would be gorgeous, but the city planners really got it right with the 10 or so installations of bronze sculpture by various artists spanning the length of the Malecon. The image above is a portion of a sculpture by Sergio Bustamante. This gentelman(?) stands before a very tall ladder on which two similar figures are ascending to an unknown destination. It really is quite stunning. What makes all these public sculptures really fun though is that the public is allowed to interact with them. On the ladder sculpture there is enough room below the two climbing figures for visitors to climb up a few rungs and pose. Another sculpture features a council of odd sea creatures that also happen to be chairs. Another features a mermaid whose whole body has acquired a lovely patina, all except her breasts, which are fondled so often they are bright shiny bronze.
Sunday night is the big night on the Malecon. It is the night when all the locals and visitors come out with their loved ones to walk up and down, enjoying a variety of food and craft vendors as well as local entertainment. No one is in a hurry and the atmosphere is that of a very mellow carnival. Very nice.

Things To Do In Puerto Vallarta #2

#2: Fly Through The Air With the Greatest of Ease

See the tiny grey dot? That is me zipping from one tree to another across a canyon. What you can't see is the river about 400 feet below me or the expression of sheer exhilaration on my face. On Monday last week, we took a bus about 15 miles south along Banderas Bay to do the Los Veranos Canopy Tour. This isn't so much about learning about trees and wildlife as it is about zipping from place to place at high rates of speed. Fun! I highly recommend Los Veranos if you're considering a tour. Everyone we asked said it was the safest and best of the four tours offered in Puerto Vallarta. Safety, a good thing. A little tip- sign up for the 9:00 a.m. Monday tour. Most visitors arrive on the weekend and haven't had time to think about what they want to do yet, so the Monday morning tour is smaller. We met a really fun couple from Chicago, another from L.A., a nice family from Montreal, and three 20 year old gals from San Francisco one of whom recovered from puking out the bus window on the ride out just to flirt with all the cute tour guides. Would y'all like a mint?

But wait, it gets better. At the end of the canopy tour, you can go play with MONKEYS!! I heart monkeys! These are little cute things of a variety I can't recall that climb all over you with their cold little toes and fingers in their enclosure as you feed them bits of salad. Then they go face first into your pockets looking for stuff to steal. You are instructed to empty your pockets, but some dude had an unopened granola bar that was instantly pilfered by a clever monkey. The keeper retrieved the granola bar, which sort of pissed of the monkey since possession is the law in monkey land.

What To Do In Puerto Vallarta #1

#1: Buy Pretty Things

Puerto Vallarta has some great little galleries tucked away in the Old Town, and even in downtown, which is otherwise dominated by flea market stuff. The galleries range from higher end fine art to galleries featuring traditional folk art. Every Wednesday evening, the fine art galleries host an art walk from 6 - 10 pm, which can be fun with free snacks and drinks, and good people watching.
When I'm in Mexico, I love shopping for things Mexican. For a pasty boy of Scandinavian descent, I'm unusually drawn to Mexican folk art, particularly images associated with Dia de los Muertos. There are tons of folk art shops, but you need to shop around to find the quality of work that tickles your fancy. I was thrilled to find these three lovely Catrinas by local artist Tadeo Cruz. (Actually, the Frida representation wouldn't technically be a Catrina, but we won't get into that here.) They are delicate little clay beauties, standing only about six inches tall. Clearly they love to have their photos taken, even though my photography doesn't do them justice.
One shop we always visit is The Puerco Azul (The Blue Pig), owned by Nancy & Lee Chapman. Nancy writes children's books and Lee illustrates them. Their shop is filled with very lighthearted, endearing prints, books, objects and general curiosities. It is in Old Town just off of the great restaurant street, Basilio Badillo (more on that later).

And We're Back!

We're back from another great trip to Puerto Vallarta! I've missed reading your blogs and need to get that done before updating you with some highlights of our trip.