Puerto Vallarta - May 6th

Neither Michael nor I are great fans of Mexico but we are fans of shopping and Michael found a wonderful store that sold hand-painted cotton clothing online, Suscesos Art-Wear Boutique.  A quick google search once we got to the port gave us the address and a quick look on our handy little map told us that the store wasn’t too far away. 

Just across from where we docked was a large mall, The Galleria, a Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club.  Say what you will about Walmart, but we love Walmart as does the crew.  It is always a treat for the crew when there’s a Walmart nearby and it’s always fun to hear about the bargains they got.  For example, one of our waiters, Mae, was extremely excited about not only her new black shoes, but also the identical pair she bought in pink, six pairs of pantyhose, hair coloring and other essentials, all for the amazing price of $35!  She was ecstatic.  It’s always a disappointment when a crew member isn’t able to get off the ship for a quick trip to the local Walmart.   We’d actually planned on going ourselves after our shopping just to see fellow passengers and crew members but we never made it. 

After breakfast, we negotiated a price with taxi driver Raul Peña to take us to the hand-painted cotton boutique, drop us off, wait for a half hour, and then bring us back to the port.  No problem.  It’s always a good thing when Michael is able to use his Spanish – though not very often during this World Cruise, I might add.  Anyway, we got to the boutique and the clothing was exquisite.  The woman who owned the store, Irena, and the artist who was there as well, were both very gracious and friendly, and I was happy to help the economy by buying a few beautiful tops – even if Michael had to extend Raul’s waiting time by another half hour. 

On our way back to the port, we asked Raul to drop us off at a restaurant near the port, close enough to the ship so we could walk back.  He recommended El Bucañero, where we ordered margaritas – plain for Michael and peach for me.  You have to realize that I had one glass of wine during the entire cruise so when the waiter, David, served me my margarita, my eyes widened like saucers because the glass was the size of a small fishbowl.  But the taste…. oh my….it was absolutely wonderful!  I can’t say the same about the food – it was just ok – (our local Mexican restaurant, Los Cazadores is, by far, the best Mexican food I’ve ever eaten anywhere).  

While enjoying the early afternoon, music was playing over their system and a song came on which I didn’t recognize but absolutely loved.  I asked the waiter if this song was on a radio station or a CD and he said CD.  He proceeded to climb up on a chair and played it back.  Michael used his Shazam app to identify the song which turned out to be Bob Sinclar’s “Love Generation.”  Now the song is playing for the second time and I’m not the only one dancing in my chair;  I look over and the bartender and a couple of waiters are moving to the music as well.  Needless to say, David got back up on the chair and started the song over for a third time.  By this time, the peach margarita, completely gone but not forgotten, got me up off the chair and, how should I say, “encouraged” someone to dance with me – not that I really need a peach margarita to want to dance.  Our waiter, David, was kind enough to comply and, with limited space in the restaurant, we danced to “Love Generation.”  What a pleasant afternoon.

Walking back to the ship, humming that great tune, we decided we really like Puerto Vallarta and wouldn’t mind coming back – so long as the cruise ship was nearby. 

Michael’s Observations:   I found Puerto Vallarta to be a lovely city, friendly people, clean environment and, most importantly, a feeling of safety everywhere.  Speaking with our cab driver, Raul, he told us the government is very conscious of keeping the drug trafficking violence away from their city and it really shows that they are doing their best to encourage tourism.  I definitely recommend Puerto Vallarta as a wonderful vacation area.   While shopping at Sucesos, I had a chance to speak to a local resident for about twenty minutes and she definitely verified that it was a very safe city.  She, herself, lived there for over 20 years, enjoying the peace and quiet and the safety it provides both to its residents and tourists.