On to the final part of the Mexico Trip: Puerto Vallarta!

I was a little worried about morning traffic from Chapala to the Central de Autobuses de Guadalajara in Tlaquepaque, but I needn’t have been. An acquaintance of Chris and Terry’s who drove a cab picked me at the designated time and got me there in less than half an hour.

The ETN bus ride took about 6 hours. Once in PV mid-afternoon, I called an Uber from the bus station (which is in the north of the city, not too far from the airport, actually).

In PV I also stayed at an AirBnb. (In fact the only hotel I stayed at the entire trip was the Real Maestranza in Guadalajara.) It was on a crazy hill (see photos). I can’t say that I wasn’t warned, as the place description and the all the reviews mentioned it.

Beachfront/Zona Romantica

PV is well-known as one of Mexico’s premier beach resort cities which is also extremely popular with the LGBT community (both Mexican and foreigners). The week I happened to be there coincided with Gay Pride Week there, so there was probably even more going on in that regard than usual.

You’ve Got Friends in Puerto Vallarta

It was great to end the trip in PV for a few reasons, not the least of which is that I had three friends who happened to be there: Michael, a friend from LA who lives in PV about half the year; James, another LA friend who was on vacation for a few days there; and Jim, that friend who moved to Mexico City who was also on a little vacation in PV (and who has since moved from CDMX to PV).

I have to admit that as I get older I’m becoming one of those people whose fascination with the beach ends at the edge of the sand, looking out. It’s so pretty! It smells so nice!

But I don’t really want to lie in the hot sand with my body slathered in oils (to which the sand will stick) to frolic in waves of questionable cleanliness. (I guess I’ve turned into that guy.)

But I was down for long walks along the Malecon, which was the best way to get from where I was staying, a couple of kms north of the main touristy area, the Zona Romantica (which is also the gay area).

One of the best things I did was go to dinner with James at Casa Kimberly, a fine restaurant located in Liz Taylor‘s old Puerto Vallarta house. Here’s a photo of me on the footbridge there:

Vallarta Botanical Garden

One of the days Michael took me to the Vallarta Botanical Garden (along with Billie, his pup). Well worth the trip. We walked around the grounds, looked at flowers, plants and some fauna (I saw an iguana! In the wild!) and then had lunch. A perfect activity for the men of a certain age (and dogs of a certain age). We took a cab back into town and I thought that would be the last ride of my life – the guy was constantly passing on the two lane cliffside road.

But — here I am. Adios Mexico Trip: Puerto Vallarta – till next time.