10-29-08 Puerto Vallarta:
Here we did the ship sponsored town, country and tequila tour. I believe
it was $39, too. We traveled by air conditioned bus to Puerto
Vallarta’s centro, where we visited the main points of interest such as
El Palacio Municipal (City Hall), the main plaza and other city
landmarks, such as the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (the
Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe), Gringo Gulch, and the boardwalk, or
malecon. This malecon area was really pretty impressive. Would have
liked to spend more time there.
heading out to our city tour.
looks like a shopping mall is close by, too.
our ship
and more American influence.
narrow streets
and a beautiful rock lined coastline!
There's a Malecon along the waterfront in Old Town with lots of interesting sculptures.
We got off here and were led through town for awhile.
views across the bay from old town
some of the neat condos
Then we boarded the bus again and headed on to the southside, or the
"famous" Romantic Zone, for a 25-minute shopping & bathroom stop
at a jewelry and tile store, where they offered us a free drink and
salemen followed us around trying to sell us stuff. All I can say about
this stop is, "Why?"
some of the neat Malecon.
and benches.
Lots of vendors, with some pretty neat art.
that's quite a hill
heading inland from the Malecon
our guide pointing out stuff
like these----almonds
I noticed all the pretty flowers, too.
loved the beach here.
even had an amphitheatre.
and more neat art.
and more sculptures.
on our way to the church
ornate steeple on the church
bell tower
love the Natilus design. Looks like an info station.
a guy feeding the pigeons.
continuing to the church. Neat brickwork and stained glass window.
and ironwork
love the design!
They sure have pretty churches in Mexico!
Leaving Vallarta, we continued south along the Bay and up to the
residential zone of Conchas Chinas, overlooking Los Arcos and the town
of Mismaloya, famous for the filming of “The Night of the Iguana”
starring Richard Burton.
another neat minimalist view.
Soon we were in the state of Jalisco, the small volcano town called Tequila cultivates
the precious blue agave plant from which their Tequila comes from.
Each
hand picked plant takes 8-14 years to mature.
The sweet nectar is
extracted from the large heart of these pure agave plants.
I don't know if I've ever had tequila straight before,
but it isn't too bad---especially the orange flavored one. There were
also a few little shops and a little restaurant by the factory. They
also gave us free soda or water before starting our trip back.
Heading back down to our ship. More cool condos.
I believe this was on the back of an ambulance! Not what I'd want to see on an ambulance picking me up!
This was another fun port. I think I liked it better then Cabo or Mazatlan.
