Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – January 17

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – January 17

We arrived in the dark and from the balcony we could see the huge mall next door and a Sam’s Club and a Walmart. The crew especially shopped for supplies at Walmart. 

 Holland America Eurodam also was in port

our ship

It’s our first visit to Puerto Vallarta and the first of many tours I set up with small to medium groups. Today we were joined by Bob & Phyllis (we met them on the 2017 WC) and a couple we didn’t know prior to this cruise; Tom & Rosemary. Great group today!

We gathered at 7:00 in hopes that the tour guide would be early or there were souvenir tents set up. (neither happened) We passed by the Mariachi band playing as passengers got off the ship. We found a bench and waited for our guide and Greg kept watch for them. They were there at 8:00 and it didn’t seem like the guide had had any contact with the tour company as they were unaware of our new all aboard time and our hoped for start time. Since we now had a 4 hour tour instead of a 6 hour tour they lowered the rate at my request. We eliminated our lunch stop to fit in as much sightseeing as possible. Starting earlier didn’t make much sense anyway since it was still dark out. It also was a cloudy day and we had a few sprinkles along the way. 

 Mariachi band greeted us as we left the ship

Since it was all 6 of us’ first time visit to Vallarta we wanted a highlights tour. The first tour operator I contacted wasn’t overly helpful, so I switched to this company and they were very responsive. I chose the Highlights of Puerto Vallarta & Surrounds with Superior Tours. http://superiortoursvallarta.com/ Our guide today was Rigo (Rigoberto Rivera). He did a great job with our shorter than planned tour.

We began in the beautiful downtown area. We stopped at a fruit and vegetable market and then the fish market. Always fun stops. We tasted something that was quite sour. The tortilla factory gave us each a freshly made tortilla to sample sprinkled with sugar.

mahi mahi (dolphin fish)

 lobster

 shrimp

 crabs

 chicharones

 tortilla factory

 masa

We walked across the street to see the cemetery. On the corner after we crossed the street was a small dead dog. I said at least he was close to the cemetery. It was a lovely cemetery and still was fairly well decorated for the Day of the Dead.

 Eurasian Collared Dove

 dead puppy - I guess he didn't make it to the cemetery

Next, we stopped and walked along the Malecon getting some photo ops of the statues and the Puerto Vallarta sign. We walked through a small plaza with a statue of the man that Puerto Vallarta was named after; Ignacio Vallarta, a former governor of Jalisco. Then visited the main Church, Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was a beautiful small church.

 plaza near the church

 Our Lady of Guadaloupe

From there we visited the “romantic zone” of Vallarta and the famous Los Muertos beach, to Conchas Chinas, their “Beverly Hills”. On the way to Los Arcos we stopped for photos and amazing views of the Bay. We saw where the famous movie, “Night of the Iguana” was filmed and put Puerto Vallarta on the map. We didn’t have time to go to the little village to see it closer. 

Iguana & young one

 Pelican in a tree

 pretty park with hand painted tiles

 Greg, Annette, Bob, Phyllis, Rosemary, Tom

We visited a Tequila learning facility to learn how tequila is made from the blue agave cactus and tasted the nectar of the gods. The small Pancho Lopez boutique tequila factory was very interesting, and he explained the process of making tequila. We then tasted 10 different ones. The first ones were more like liquors with low alcohol content and they came in flavors. We tried almond, coffee, cappuccino, pecan, coconut, and then there was the normal tequila that normally is used for margaritas etc. Then, there were 3 more that had been aged in whiskey barrels. Those were high alcohol content. At the end he mixed the almond and the coffee ones together to make a tiramisu flavor.

It was a nice presentation with each one as we had to wait until he made a toast that we repeated and then we all drank our shots. (including the owner) I didn’t care for the 3 aged ones at all or the coconut despite me liking coconut. My favorite was the pecan and we bought a bottle. (yeah, I don’t really drink so Greg will get most of it) The flavored ones really were quite nice. 

 Pancho Lopez Tequila tasting

 Annette & Bob in Tequila factory

 coffee flavored tequila

 Bob & Greg tasting tequila

 Tom & Rosemary - Phyllis in the back

 the regular tequilas

Our last stop was at a craft market and I got my token magnet. We tasted some toasted coconut. 

It was a small taste of Puerto Vallarta and it was a shame not to have more time here, but we did have a great day with our small group of 6. 

Back on board we dropped our things in the cabin and went to the dining room for lunch. 

 from the ship

At dinner we all got caught up on each other’s days. One couple only takes ships tours, but we did about the same things. The other couple so far just gets off the ship and walks around the local area. They visited Walmart.

Tonight’s show was another production show called What the World Needs Now. It’s a show we have seen many times, but again they had a whole new set and changed it up enough to be fresh and new. I can’t say enough about this particular group of singers and dancers.

We now have 2 days until the end of the first segment in Los Angeles. Oh, and we get to gain another hour of sleep tonight. We have one more time change before LA. 

photo link for Puerto Vallarta:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/biW2ueeaZZqthMoP8