This Jamaican decided to celebrate USA’s Independence in Mexico. So I spent the 4th of July weekend in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was overcast when we landed on the 4th of July. The area was feeling the effects of a nearby tropical depression. The first thing you notice about Puerto Vallarta is the feeling of being at a Timeshare convention. You get the feeling that everyone, including the taxi drivers at the airport, are trying to sell you a Timeshare. While a slight annoyance, you quickly get used to it and it becomes part of the Vallarta Experience.
We stayed at the Westin Resort in Marina Vallarta, where I think all the rooms have a view of the Pacific Ocean. Our 8th floor room had a spectacular view from its balcony. It started to rain that day but it eventually stopped in time for the fireworks. We watched a fairly decent fireworks show from our balcony as properties around the bay were shooting them off. (At one point they felt a little bit too close!). After midnight, we went to J&B’s Salsa Club. The intermittent rain kept most of the regular crowd away, but there was a pretty good band that played a lively mix of salsa and cumbia. The floor was one of the slickest I have ever been on though. However, since we had a large area of the dance floor to ourselves it wasn’t much of a problem.
The tropical depression and the ensuing rain did not affect us that much as it turned out. It typically only rained in the late afternoon/early evening. When it did rain it was a lot, enough that we could have used the rainwater to fill the jacuzzi on our balcony! Due to the rain the vacation pretty much followed the same daily itinerary. Sleep until the afternoon, grab something to eat at Tacos & Beer, lay out by the pool/balcony, sleep/watch tv while it rains (mostly sleep - I love those Westin Heavenly beds), once it stops around 9-10 pm hit the town. The afternoons were pretty sunny to slightly overcast. It was bright enough that so much light came through the huge skylight in the bathroom that you felt you were showering outside. The surf was pretty rough so it was not recommended to go into the ocean. The pool was huge and had a floating bar. Nikki Beach was on the same property as the Westin, so there was a DJ playing dance music that could be heard all around the beach. Saturday we went to the Malecón, which is a boardwalk that runs through downtown, to eat and check out the clubs. We ate at Mi Querencia, a delightful place where they make your guacamole dip fresh at your table and I had my first ever molcajete dish. The clubs we went to that night were The Zoo, which caters to tourists, and Christine’s, a definite local club.
On Sunday we checked out La Bodeguita del Medio, a Cuban-themed restaurant and bar. There was a Cuban salsa band in the house so I got to dance Casino even though there weren’t any Ruedas. This was a fun spot and we ended up having dinner and spending the entire night there. The folks there were friendly there were a lot more dancers than was at J&B days before. Monday night we ate at La Destileria where we had a few of their special tequila themed drinks. Our table was on the balcony giving us a view of the entire malecón. Our last night in Puerto Vallarta was spent dancing to top 40 hits at Hilo, where the bartenders make a flaming shot, followed by Spanish dance music at another club where I have completely forgotten the name.
This was my first trip south of the border and I will definitely be back very soon!
