Puerto Vallarta Adventure Guide

Puerto Vallarta & Vicinity

Vivien Lougheed

HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC,

www.hunterpublishing.com

Ulysses Travel Publications

4176 Saint-Denis, Montréal, Québec

Canada H2W 2M5

514-843-9882, ext. 2232; fax 514-843-9448

Windsor Books

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Oxford, OX44 9EJ England

01865-361122; fax 01865-361133

© 2010 Hunter Publishing, Inc.

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This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, liability for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Maps by Kim André, © 2009 Hunter Publishing, Inc.

www.hunterpublishing.com

Introduction

History

Government

Economy

People & Culture

"  Cultural Groups

"  Traditional Arts

"  Dress

"  Music

"  Dance

The Land

Climate

Plant Life

Animal Life

National Emblems

Travel Information

Facts at Your Fingertips

When to Go

What to Take

Health Concerns

Money Matters

Dangers & Annoyances

Measurements

Tourist Assistance

Communications

Culture Shock

Food

Booking a Room

Getting Here

Getting Around

Puerto Vallarta

Getting Here & Around

Sightseeing

Adventures on Foot

Adventures on Water

Adventures in Nature

Adventures on Horseback

Adventures in the Air

Adventures of the Brain

Outfitters/Tour Operators

Day Trips

Shopping

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Nightlife

North from Puerto Vallarta

San Blas

Getting Here

History

Services

Adventures on Foot

Adventures on Water

Adventures in Nature

Outfitters/Tour Operators

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Jaltemba Bay

Getting Here

Services

Fiestas

Adventures on Foot

Adventures on Water

Adventures in Nature

Adventures on Horseback

Outfitters/Tour Operators

Day Trips

Shopping

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Nightlife

Guadalajara

Getting Here & Around

Services

History

Sightseeing

Adventures on Foot

Adventures in the Suburbs

Adventures in Nature

Adventures of the Brain

Outfitters/Tour Operators

Day Trips

Shopping

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Nightlife

Laguna Chapala

Getting Here & Around

History

Services

Festivals

Sightseeing

Adventures on Foot

Adventures on Water

Outfitters/Tour Operators

Shopping

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Nightlife

South from Puerto Vallarta

Tomatlan

Adventures on Water

Adventures in Culture

Place to Stay & Eat

Quemaro

Place to Stay

Chamela Bay

Adventures on Water

Adventures in Nature

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Costa Careyes

Adventures in Nature

Adventure on Horseback

Cuitzmala

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Tenacatita

Adventures on Water

Adventures in Nature

Outfitters/Tour Operators

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Cihuatlan

Adventures on Foot

Adventures in Nature

Outfitters/Tour Operators

Playa Manzanilla

Adventures on Foot

Adventures on Water

Adventures in Nature

Adventures on Horseback

Outfitter/Tour Operator

Shopping

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Barra de Navidad/Melaque

History

Services

Adventures on Water

Adventures of the Brain

Outfitters/Tour Operators

Places to Stay

Places to Eat

Nightlife

Appendix

Recommended Reading

Glossary

Consulates

Introduction

The lure of isolated beaches rimmed with palm trees brought John Huston to Puerto Vallarta in the 1960s to film Night of the Iguana. His cast included Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. While working, the two fell in love. Richard bought Elizabeth a house similar to his own that was perched on the side of a hill overlooking Bandera Bay. The houses were across the road from each other. The couple then built a walkway between the two places so they could visit each other more discreetly. Elizabeth left Eddie Fisher, her husband at the time, and married Burton. Their story became one of the great love stories of that century.

This romance resulted in thousands of people swarming to the shores of Mexicos west coast in search of sun, sand, palm trees and love. Some even came looking for iguanas. The Mexicans soon realized the potential of tourism and, with the help of international companies, built a first-class infrastructure of hotels, shops and restaurants around the bay.

However, not all visitors wanted what had been built, so they moved up and down the coast to little villages where they could ride horses or donkeys, snorkel among the tropical fish, trek in the jungle looking for exotic birds and animals, watch cliff divers perform or just lay where it was quiet and sip on tequila.

In the jungles along the shore, Mexicans built viewing stations connected by cables where tourists could swing like monkeys while looking for exotic birds and strange amphibians. The usual adjustments took place. Some Mexicans and tourists didnt like the environmental effects caused by chasing around in motorboats looking for big fish, building hotels on the beach, and bungee jumping off bridges. Ecologically-sensitive practices were followed so that wildlife was protected. Garbage was picked up and pollution-control devices were put on vehicles. They left some of the jungle in its wild state and planted flowers in their gardens. More people came.

Today, the west coast of Mexico is as popular as ever. This is because it offers every possible recreational activity, suitable for almost any skill level and budget. The area has both economical and lush accommodations. The food is safe to eat and the bottled water, found in every hotel hallway, grocery store and café is safe to drink. The crime rate is low in tourist areas and the locals are friendly, though the usual pressures of tourism often show. But the best draw of all is that the price for a comparable vacation in any other tropical paradise is about twice what it is here.

The best time to visit the Pacific coast of Mexico is between November and May, when humidity and temperatures are down. This is when most North American and European countries are cold. It is also when the whales move south looking for warmer waters and when the migratory birds are passing by on their way to winter nesting grounds.

But Mexico also has lots to offer during the summer. The Sierra Madres butt up against the ocean, offering relief from the heat just a few hours away by car or public bus. At higher elevations, muscle-powered sports like hiking or cycling are possible any time of year. Museums in the state capitals offer endless intellectual stimulation and the live entertainment often found in towns and city plazas is enthralling. There are ruins to visit and architecture to admire, history to relive and exotic foods to taste.

The city of Puerto Vallarta is spread around the Bahai de Banderas, a sandy bay with a backdrop of the Sierra Madres. The town is divided by the Cuale River, and everything is referred to as being either north or south of the river.

The airport is about four miles/seven km north of the Cuale River. Just south of the airport, large hotels, condominiums and resorts line the beach and main drag, along with restaurants, souvenir shops, dress shops, shoe shops, Internet cafés, night clubs, juice shops, tour agencies, massage parlors, car rentals and time-share hawkers.

East of the beach, residential homes climb the hills, dotting the lush vegetation with white-plastered walls and red-tiled roofs. This is where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton first shared their love for each other. Ever since, millions of tourists have come to PV looking for the same type of romance.

WARNING: Puerto Vallarta has been a travel destination for a long time. The town has grown and changed. At one time, it wasnt safe to walk down the beach at night after youd had a couple of drinks. However, the government has made the city safe for visitors by posting tourist police around town. As tourism increased, the occasional (and it takes only one in a thousand) visitor has behaved in a way that has been anything but commendable. They have been drunk, abusive, rude or insensitive to a Catholic culture. This has resulted in some locals losing their fondness for tourists. I was called a cheap Canadian because I wouldn't pay US $20 for a childs baseball cap. Bus drivers have taken tourists on goose chases this happened to me and to others I spoke with. The timeshare salesmen are a big nuisance, though they are just trying to earn a living. If this type of treatment is going to bother you, do not go to PV; try someplace like Manzanillo or Mazatlan that hasnt been so inundated with visitors, or take an all-inclusive package and stay at your hotel.

History

Anywhere I go I want to know who was there before me. I want to know their stories.

20,000 BC Icepack in North America recedes and land bridge is formed between Asia and North America.

12,000 BC Mesoamerica is populated.

8000 BC Agriculture is practiced in Mexico.

5000 BC Corn is cultivated in Southern Mexico.

3000 BC Pit houses are constructed.

2300 BC Pottery replaces stone dishes.

1700 BC Olmecs and Totonacs become powerful. They

develop hieroglyphics.

600 BC Olmecs disappear.

700 AD Teotihuacans gain power in Mexico.

1100 AD Maya living in Mexico disappear and Aztecs

become ruling group.

1517 Diego Velasquez and Francisco Fernandez

de Cordoba start exploration of Mexico, and

were followed by Hernan Cortez.

1519 Aztec chiefs and thousands of civilians are

killed by Cortez.

1524 Francisco Cortez de San Buenaventura came

to the bay and started to explore the area.

1528 Antonio de Mendoza became the first viceroy

of New Spain.

1535 Luis de Velasco becomes a harsh ruler. This

is the beginning of 300 years of Spanish rule

in America.

1810 Miguel Hidalgo inspires peasants to start the

War of Independence and on September

16th, they succeeded.

1821 Agustine de Iturbide declares Mexico a nation

with independent rule and himself emperor.

1824 A Constitution is adopted.

1836 Antonio Lopez Santa Anna is president and

leads war against United States, but after his

capture, Texas is seceded to the US.

1841 The village of Las Peñas was founded by Don

Pedro de Alvarado, although it was habited

by locals for over 600 years before that.

1854 Benito Juarez overthrew Santa Anna from

office and made himself president.

1864 French succeed to take over Mexico and put

Maximilian into power.

1869 Juarez and followers throw Maximilian from

power.

1876 Porfirio Diaz comes to power and the econ-

omy flourishes.

1910 Francisco I. Madero overthrows Diaz.

1911 Victoriano Huerta succeeds Madero after his

death.

1914 Francisco (Pancho) Villa, Alvaro Obregon,

Venustiano Carranza and Emiliano Zapata,

with the help of the Americans, brings down

Huertas government.

1917 Present Constitution is drawn up.

1918 The name of the area is changed from Las

Piñas to Puerto Vallarta.

1928 Obregon assassinated.

1930s Lazaro Cardenas rules and implements land

reform, education for all and nationalized

petroleum industry.

1940s Pan American Highway constructed.

1982 Miguel de la Madrid comes to power but, due

to world oil crises, country falls into debt.

1988 Carlos Salinas de Gorari wins election and

signs NAFTA.

1994 Zapatistas capture many small villages in

Chiapas.

2000 Vincente Fox comes to power under the

National Action Pary (PAN), putting PRIs 71-

year rule to an end.

Political Parties

The three main parties active today are the National Action Party (PAN) headed by Vincente Fox, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) that is headed by Francisco Labastida, and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), headed by Cuauhtemoc Cardenas.

Government

The United Mexican States is the official name of the country commonly known as Mexico. The capital of the country is Mexico City. Mexico is a federal republic with 31 administrative divisions called states.

Mexican States

The following is a list of all Mexican states.

Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito Federal, Durango, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quntana Roo, Sinaloa, San Luis Potosi, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán, Zacatecas.

Officials

The government is made up of an executive branch headed by a president, who is both the chief of state and the head of government. The elected government includes a National Congress and a Federal Chamber of Deputies.

The Cabinet is appointed by the president after an election, but the assigning of an attorney general requires the consent of the Senate. The National Congress is made up of 128 seats, with 96 of those being elected by the people in each district. The 32 non-elected seats are given to members of the elected parties and are proportionally split up according to the number of votes won in the election. This provides for fairer representation. Each member serves a six-year term.

The Federal Chamber of Deputies consists of 500 seats, 300 of which are elected by popular vote. The other 200 seats are given to members of the elected parties and, as in Congress, are proportionally split according to the number of votes each party has won in the election. The deputies serve a three-year term.

The Supreme Court of Justice is appointed by the president, but must have the approval of the Senate. There are 21 judges who function as the full court or tribunal. Circuit judges and district judges are appointed by the Supreme Court and they must all have law degrees awarded from recognized law schools.

Military Service

Men and women can enter the military at the age of 18 and the forces consist of an army, navy and air force. There are presently almost 200,000 active persons in the military working under an annual expenditure of $4 billion. There are also 300,000 on reserve. It is compulsory for men at the age of 18 to enlist and those 16 years of age may volunteer to receive training as technicians. Women may volunteer at the age of 18. Conscientious objectors are not exempt from service. Which sector of the military one serves is a game of chance. Those who draw a white ball from the bag go into the army or air force, while those who get a blue ball must enter the navy. Mexico offers those in the service an opportunity for secondary education or special training in fields such as social work.

The Police Force

The Mexican police force is notorious for its corruption. Getting into trouble is usually dealt with by paying a bribe. Because of the low pay, police officers are often people with low education, and many are interested only in expanding their criminal connections. These facts were researched and reported in the World Policy Journal, Volume 17, No. 3 in the fall of 2000. The story was also published in Nexos, a monthly magazine based in Mexico City, in April and August of 1998. Andrew Reding, a director of the Americas Project at the World Policy Institute, translated the article. For a complete report, go to www.worldpolicy.org/globalrights/mexico/2000-fall-wpj-mexpolice.html.

But there is a good side to the Mexican police force. The tourist police found in areas popular with visitors dont seem too corrupt. It appears to me that they have managed to clean up most of the crime in those regions of the country. While walking around I never felt threatened or that I was being watched by potential robbers.

However, I still wouldnt take a chance of walking on the beach alone after dark. I also highly recommend that you dont wander around drunk in a public place, that you stay away from the drug trade (of which there is plenty) and that you avoid things like nude bathing except on beaches designated as such. These things are not tolerated and will get you a jail sentence.

Those driving may be stopped and asked for a small contribution, called a mordida. Whether you are guilty or not, I suggest you ask for the ticket, or boleto. The best that can happen is that the officer will walk away and let you go.The worst that can happen is you will pay a fine for the infraction you have committed. If you pay a traffic ticket within 24 hours, the cost is half.

Economy

Tourism plays a big part in the economy

Mexico is a free market economy with industry, public servi-ces and agriculture owned mostly by the private sector. Tourism is a big draw for the Mexican government and it works hard to attract investors to build the infrastructure tourists require. When visiting the resorts, you will find high-quality rooms, service, food, entertainment and security.

The signing of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, was done in the hope of improving the economy. According to The New York Times, November 19, 2003, the agreement has tripled trade with the US and Canada, but the wages of workers in the manufacturing industry, in agriculture and in the service industry have decreased. The inequality of wages between the middle class and the peasant class has increased, and immigration to the US has continued to rise. The World Bank reports that Mexico has benefitted from the agreement. The main problem seems to be that small farmers, who are no longer subsidized for growing staple crops, have left the farms for the factories, but there arent enough jobs to go around.

At present, Mexico has free trade agreements with the US, Canada, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Europe. Over 90% of the countrys trading power is under these agreements. In 2002 this increased Mexicos purchasing power to $900 billion, which resulted in a growth rate of 1%.

The GDP in 2004 was $1.006 trillion, or $9,600 per person. Of this, 4% came from agriculture, 26.6% from industry, 8.9% from manufacturing, and 69.4% from services. This results in 40% of the population living below the poverty line. Although only 3% of the population is unemployed, there is a huge underemployed group. But its not all bad. The inflation rate dropped from 52% in 1995 to 6.4% in 2002, the lowest rate in 30 years.

The Maquiladoras

An unpredicted result of the free trade agreements and foreign investment was the emergence of the Maquiladora. Maquiladoras are towns along the Mexican/American border where there are no tariffs on exports. Mexico has few ecological restraints in these areas, so cheap construction and operation costs are also a big draw. Additionally, the companies can hire cheap labor. The results are cheap goods going back into the rest of North America with no tariffs attached. The backlash of this is that the people of United States and Canada have lost millions of jobs and, in turn, millions of dollars in tax revenue. The Mexican workers living in these towns are underpaid. The results are that the Maquiladoras are huge slums.

People & Culture

Cultural Groups

After the Spanish came, it took just two generations to depopulate Mexico of its indigenous peoples. This happened through disease, war and intermarriage. The population is now predominantly mestizo, people with a mixture of Spanish and Indian or Negro blood. Today, this group makes up about 60% of the total population. Pure indigenous people are 30% of the population, and whites are about 9%.

There is an unspoken class system that puts the pure European white person at the top. These are the Creoles, those born in the country but originating from unmixed European stock. The first Creoles to populate Mexico were the children of the Spanish settlers. Later, they came as refugees from the Spanish Civil War.

Beneath the Creoles on the class scale are the mestizos and beneath them are the pure Amerindians.

There are also a number of Asians in the country, who arrived after they were refused entry into the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This group shares equal status with the Amerindians.

Traditional Arts

As of late, a resurgence of cultural pride among cultural groups has resulted in shows of traditional art, theater and dance.

Mexican art includes everything from painted wild fig tree bark to black Oaxaca pottery. Silver and gold have always been a popular medium and the quality of workmanship now found in Mexico is world class. Weavings and carpets have been finding their way into visitors homes for half a century and the embroidered pieces that can be used as place mats, pillowcases or framed pictures come in colors and designs to accent any décor. Prices for these art pieces are less than half of what you would pay for comparable art in the States.

Embroidery & Weavings

Cotton rebozos (ray-BO-zoz), which are handwoven shawls, originated in the Oaxaca area, but can be purchased throughout the western states. This style of weaving, which is rather loose and usually of cotton, is now also being used to make dresses and skirts in fashionable designs that are especially attractive to visitors.

There are embroidered pillowcases or dresser scarves. Some are unique and of high quality, but you must usually hunt for those. Factory-made pieces are far more common and cost much less.

Wool and cotton are used to make the Zapotec handwoven carpets. The better ones are made with natural dyes that come from pomegranate, bark, nuts and flowers. They feature intricate geometric designs similar to those on Navajo rugs. The ubiquitous cotton blankets woven in simple stripes come in every color and quality.

The weaving of reeds, straw, needles and leaves has been tradition for about 5,000 years. Weavers make things like small mats that are far better for lying upon in the sand than towels.

Pine needle baskets have been used as containers for everything from food to babies and can be plain, or with geometric, floral or other intricate designs. Though these pieces are not colorful, their beauty lies in the design. Reeds, on the other hand, are often colored and woven into geometric designs, usually for baskets.

Huichol Art

Huichol art, made with beads, is seen in the shops throughout western Mexico. Some pieces are life-size replicas of animals; others