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Random Observations about Puerto Vallarta
Jan. 24th, 2008 01:18 pmConcluding my series of reports on my vacation in Mexico, all pre-cooked for your digestive pleasure, here are some random observations of my visit. As a reminder, the previous entry has links to pictures.
The actual city of Puerto Vallarta consists of a small, old and run-down central area, and newer areas, many of them also run down. Until the 1960s, the city was not accessible by road, and so the old town was quite small. There’s not much flat land between the ocean and the first set of quite impressive hills, which dominate the eastern horizon.
Traffic is quite “interesting.” I don’t think I got into a cab that didn’t have at least one idiot warning light on or some busted gage. My dad, when he was living in Georgia, complained often of “U-Bees.” A U-Bee is a U-turn, as in “You Be Goin’ the Wrong Way.” Well, in Puerto Vallarta, they’re called “Returnos” and are designed into the roads, including special u-turn lanes on the right-most lane of traffic! The main road, Mexico Federal Highway 200, had dozens of them.
There’s not much to see in Puerto Vallarta – it’s basically a beach town. There’s a tiny Mexican Navy museum, and a touristy area, and that’s about it. My guidebook, Moon's Handbooks - Puerto Vallarta
suggested having a drink at the Bar Oceano, the last remnant of the hotel that Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor stayed at while filming Night of the Iguana. It’s a sad, rundown dive. Skip it – the Cheeky Monkey across the street is nicer and more happening. I skipped visiting Gringo Gulch (homes of rich Americans) because the guidebook routed me up 500 stairs to get there.
I’m not that happy overall with Moon guidebooks. Besides the items noted above and mediocre maps, the book told me that Nueva Vallarta, the town I was staying on, was in a different time zone then Puerto Vallarta. Not so – both are in the Central time zone.
Lest this sound like a gripe-fest, I really did enjoy the trip. It was nice to get away, spend some quality pool-time, and I enjoyed dinking around in the city. If I go back, I’ll stay closer to town, maybe at the Marriott.
The actual city of Puerto Vallarta consists of a small, old and run-down central area, and newer areas, many of them also run down. Until the 1960s, the city was not accessible by road, and so the old town was quite small. There’s not much flat land between the ocean and the first set of quite impressive hills, which dominate the eastern horizon.
Traffic is quite “interesting.” I don’t think I got into a cab that didn’t have at least one idiot warning light on or some busted gage. My dad, when he was living in Georgia, complained often of “U-Bees.” A U-Bee is a U-turn, as in “You Be Goin’ the Wrong Way.” Well, in Puerto Vallarta, they’re called “Returnos” and are designed into the roads, including special u-turn lanes on the right-most lane of traffic! The main road, Mexico Federal Highway 200, had dozens of them.
There’s not much to see in Puerto Vallarta – it’s basically a beach town. There’s a tiny Mexican Navy museum, and a touristy area, and that’s about it. My guidebook, Moon's Handbooks - Puerto Vallarta
suggested having a drink at the Bar Oceano, the last remnant of the hotel that Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor stayed at while filming Night of the Iguana. It’s a sad, rundown dive. Skip it – the Cheeky Monkey across the street is nicer and more happening. I skipped visiting Gringo Gulch (homes of rich Americans) because the guidebook routed me up 500 stairs to get there.I’m not that happy overall with Moon guidebooks. Besides the items noted above and mediocre maps, the book told me that Nueva Vallarta, the town I was staying on, was in a different time zone then Puerto Vallarta. Not so – both are in the Central time zone.
Lest this sound like a gripe-fest, I really did enjoy the trip. It was nice to get away, spend some quality pool-time, and I enjoyed dinking around in the city. If I go back, I’ll stay closer to town, maybe at the Marriott.
