Another Sunday and another change to the Sunday morning walk, bike, run, and skate Recreactiva event! Today we were back on Medina Ascencio which is the main road leading from Centro and this time we have a even longer area to bike. It has been extended all the way to the Krystal Hotel about 1/2 km further than before. This makes the one way route about 3 km, so 6 km round trip. This is much nicer as now you can veer off and pick up the path along the Pittial River and go up river all the way along the dirt then nicely pathways inside Fluvial and join up at Francisco Villa.
I am excited about this new route and hope that it stays that way for the duration. Remember the street closure begins at 8am and lasts until 1pm only on Sunday mornings. Get out and use it, so that we can show our support and it will become a permanent addition to Puerto Vallarta!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Les Violons du Roy Concert
Last night was another wonderful night at Teatro Vallarta with the presentation of the Canadian group Les Violons du Roy. With a small group of strings consisting of 9 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos, 1 bass and a harpsichord thrown in for good measure, the almost completely sold out event was not to be missed! As part of the May Cultural Festival held here in Puerto Vallarta this must have been the highlight of the month long celebration that has sponsored all types of cultural events all around Puerto Vallarta.
The first half of the concert was dedicated to the classics like Vivaldi's Four Seasons Symphony with each movement presented by a separate violinist solo. The second half of the concert was a more modern piece by Piazzolia also entitled the 'Four Seasons'. Excellent performance by all and it was amazing to watch such a small group pull off what normally one hears from an entire symphony. The natural non-amplified sound carried throughout the theater just perfectly. The conductor Eric Paetkau did an excellent job of leading the group and keeping everyone on tempo.
The group has been touring Mexico and were headed to Mexico City the next day. Great Job Puerto Vallarta Cultural Festival organizers!!
The first half of the concert was dedicated to the classics like Vivaldi's Four Seasons Symphony with each movement presented by a separate violinist solo. The second half of the concert was a more modern piece by Piazzolia also entitled the 'Four Seasons'. Excellent performance by all and it was amazing to watch such a small group pull off what normally one hears from an entire symphony. The natural non-amplified sound carried throughout the theater just perfectly. The conductor Eric Paetkau did an excellent job of leading the group and keeping everyone on tempo.
The group has been touring Mexico and were headed to Mexico City the next day. Great Job Puerto Vallarta Cultural Festival organizers!!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Puerto Vallarta Men's Chorus Fundraiser
This past Monday No Way Jose Restaurant was the host to the first benefit to raise funds for the newly formed Puerto Vallarta Men's Chorus. It was a great evening and plenty of donations came in so that the Teatro Vallarta was now able to be reserved performing their first ever show in December 2012. Based upon what we saw that evening, it will be a fantastic show!
The entire restaurant was sold out and the special limited menu donated 25 pesos per entree and 10 pesos per drink to the organization. Then a raffle was held for about 25 more donated prizes and since it was Jose the owners birthday, a 50 pesos donated cupcake could be purchased. The evening opened with about 12 of the chorus members singing a tune which was followed by 3 soloists that really demonstrated the abilities of the members. Wow! By the end of the evening well over 25,000 pesos was raised. This just happened to be the amount that the theater required as a deposit for the event in December.
If this was any indication of the beginning by Joyce Ericson and Robert Bruneau just a short 2 months ago, this will not only be the first Gay Men's Chorus in Latin America, it will be one of the best around the world. Tune in their website www.pvmenschorus.org to keep informed about the upcoming events and probably more fundraisers. This will not be a group to be missed! With already 40 members auditioned and ready to go, the chorus is certainly still looking for members. Do you have a singing voice that you wish to share? Then join the Puerto Vallarta Men's Chorus and I look forward to seeing you at their first performance in December!
The entire restaurant was sold out and the special limited menu donated 25 pesos per entree and 10 pesos per drink to the organization. Then a raffle was held for about 25 more donated prizes and since it was Jose the owners birthday, a 50 pesos donated cupcake could be purchased. The evening opened with about 12 of the chorus members singing a tune which was followed by 3 soloists that really demonstrated the abilities of the members. Wow! By the end of the evening well over 25,000 pesos was raised. This just happened to be the amount that the theater required as a deposit for the event in December.
If this was any indication of the beginning by Joyce Ericson and Robert Bruneau just a short 2 months ago, this will not only be the first Gay Men's Chorus in Latin America, it will be one of the best around the world. Tune in their website www.pvmenschorus.org to keep informed about the upcoming events and probably more fundraisers. This will not be a group to be missed! With already 40 members auditioned and ready to go, the chorus is certainly still looking for members. Do you have a singing voice that you wish to share? Then join the Puerto Vallarta Men's Chorus and I look forward to seeing you at their first performance in December!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Sunday Morning Bike/Walk/Run Update #2
Seems that the Sunday morning closing of Medina Ascencio for the Recreactiva Events has been changed! Not sure why.....maybe too much police required to make it work, not enough interest to make it worthwhile, political, etc.? Who knows but do not despair, it is not gone! They have simply shortened it substantially and is now located on Francisco Villa from Libremiento to the Stadium those short 5 blocks. Hope is that it will continue to extend all the way to Pitillal, but who knows if that would happen. It would be great if it did, because you can connect to the newly renovated path along the Pitillal River and then connect into Fluvial.....now that would be an awesome path.
So now meanwhile we have to deal with the new shortened route, but the good news is that the sidewalk renovations are 95% complete on the ocean side of the main road leading into downtown Puerto Vallarta. This means that you can join up from the Reactiva area all the way to the Malecon and beyond. I began riding that route and the new sidewalks on the ocean side (west) are very wide. I believe the intention of the renovation was to create a bike path along the street edge as that 4 feet of the sidewalk is smooth concrete with ramps at each block. The rest of the sidewalk is more cobblestone and has planters interspersed. As long as the walkers can understand the purpose of that portion of the sidewalk you can ride quite nicely. The ride along the Malecon allows you to go all the way to Daiquiri Dicks before things tighten up and it is not worth the fight with pedestrian traffic beyond there. But they are finishing the renovations all the way up to Rodolfo Gomez, so maybe the wider sidewalk will work? I will update you as I try it out! Ride safe!
So now meanwhile we have to deal with the new shortened route, but the good news is that the sidewalk renovations are 95% complete on the ocean side of the main road leading into downtown Puerto Vallarta. This means that you can join up from the Reactiva area all the way to the Malecon and beyond. I began riding that route and the new sidewalks on the ocean side (west) are very wide. I believe the intention of the renovation was to create a bike path along the street edge as that 4 feet of the sidewalk is smooth concrete with ramps at each block. The rest of the sidewalk is more cobblestone and has planters interspersed. As long as the walkers can understand the purpose of that portion of the sidewalk you can ride quite nicely. The ride along the Malecon allows you to go all the way to Daiquiri Dicks before things tighten up and it is not worth the fight with pedestrian traffic beyond there. But they are finishing the renovations all the way up to Rodolfo Gomez, so maybe the wider sidewalk will work? I will update you as I try it out! Ride safe!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
La Lancha Surfing Beach
After traveling most weekends all the way over to my favorite beach at Careyeros, I decided to check out the beach at La Lancha. I had noticed in passing there were always about a dozen cars parked along the Punta Mita Highway at this location. Wondering where these surfers were going and why had always intrigued me. So yesterday I made the stop and explored the area myself. There is severely restricted access to this beach as you have to sign in with a private security guard and you cannot gain access without a surf or boogie board. I am thinking why is this so restricted, except that this must be private property along the highway. But all beaches in Mexico are accessible to the public, so the property owners must just be trying to make things as difficult as possible? We were we also informed that umbrellas, coolers, and chairs are not allowed! What??
Since we already had our arms loaded with the beach equipment, he was kind enough to allow us to gain access with of it. Then the walk is about 500 meters to beach along a dirt road, not difficult but a bit long. We arrive at the beach and quickly see there a numerous surfers here and looking out into the water you could see what this beach is a favorite! The waves roll out pretty far and allow you to ride the waves almost to shore. But these seemed to surfer waves and I could never really catch a good boogie board wave, so unless you paddle way out I would not recommend it.
The beach is accessible to the left quite a distance down until you end up into the area of another private home development and they seemed to have made things difficult for you to walk any further. Great place to surf and watch surfers, but probably not a great beach to hang out and drink beers all day!
Since we already had our arms loaded with the beach equipment, he was kind enough to allow us to gain access with of it. Then the walk is about 500 meters to beach along a dirt road, not difficult but a bit long. We arrive at the beach and quickly see there a numerous surfers here and looking out into the water you could see what this beach is a favorite! The waves roll out pretty far and allow you to ride the waves almost to shore. But these seemed to surfer waves and I could never really catch a good boogie board wave, so unless you paddle way out I would not recommend it.
The beach is accessible to the left quite a distance down until you end up into the area of another private home development and they seemed to have made things difficult for you to walk any further. Great place to surf and watch surfers, but probably not a great beach to hang out and drink beers all day!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunday Morning Bike/Walk/Run on the Main Road in Puerto Vallarta
A little while ago, on February 12th, the City of Puerto Vallarta began to close the main road Medina Ascencio Blvd from the turn off to Centro (near the Main Sports Stadium) all the way to the entrance to Fluvial so that citizens and visitors can enjoy walking, running, jogging, or bike riding. Today was my first day to ride the new open road area. The traffic is re-routed along the laterals and the center is open to ride, walk, skip, jump, jog, run, sit, skate, and anything else you wish to do! The road is closed to traffic every Sunday from 8am-1pm, and the route is 2.5km each way so a round trip is about 5km, perfect for that warm-up to run a 5km race if you are so inclined to do some day.
Modeled after the same program in Guadalajara and since last year in the Marina area, it is great to see the same thing happen in Puerto Vallarta. Maybe one day it will be expanded and the route will be lengthened? I hope that one day bicycle lanes can be added to the roads around Puerto Vallarta as is so common in the USA, but these things always take time and the support of the community. As the sidewalks are being replaced around the area, I see that small ramps are being installed not only for bicyclists, but for the handicapped as well.
I am sure part of that will be dependent on the number of people using the route, so get out there and enjoy it!!!
Modeled after the same program in Guadalajara and since last year in the Marina area, it is great to see the same thing happen in Puerto Vallarta. Maybe one day it will be expanded and the route will be lengthened? I hope that one day bicycle lanes can be added to the roads around Puerto Vallarta as is so common in the USA, but these things always take time and the support of the community. As the sidewalks are being replaced around the area, I see that small ramps are being installed not only for bicyclists, but for the handicapped as well.
I am sure part of that will be dependent on the number of people using the route, so get out there and enjoy it!!!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Guadalajara, Mexico- My 6th Trip!
Once again I was off to Guadalajara (GDL) last week for my 6th trip to this wonderful city since I moved to Mexico in December of 2009. This trip was to visit the sons of my friend Pablo as well as do some shopping and the usual sight seeing of our favorite places. We brought along another friend from the US who was a "virgin" visitor to GDL. Upon arrival we checked into the Dali Plaza Hotel which has become my new favorite hotel at the right price of 475 pesos including breakfast for 1 person. The room was similar to last time and on the 8th floor it was a great view of the city below. The hotel is located right in the heart of the shopping area and about 1 1/2 blocks from the Main Cathedral of GDL.
After a quick lunch at the corner taco stand, we were off to orient our friend Andy and walked to the Main Cathedral, along the plazas all the way to San Juan de Dios (Indoor Flea Market) where we made some great purchases of shoes and leather products, and then finally over to Plaza Los Mariachis for a bucket of beers and a little rest. We headed back to the hotel to freshen up, as dinner would be at my favorite restaurant 9 Esquinas (9 Corners) that have written about before here in my blog. They specialize in traditional Mexican style of food preparation and their specialty is Goat and Lamb. Great meal as always and even Andy decided to try the goat (chivo), and of course he loved it!
On uur next day Andy decided to do a double decker city bus tour, while Pablo and I went to visit an ex-coworker from Puerto Vallarta who had moved to GDL last year. He was managing a small coffee bar/restaurant in Colonia Bugambillas inside a new shopping mall called Plaza Panoramica. It is located high up the hill in the western part of GDL and has fantastic views of the city from high above. The Plaza was built by a local developer and he built the shopping mall as a service to the surrounding community by offering all the things you would need when living around the area including 9 restaurants, bowling alley, laundry/dry cleaner, children's day care, movie theater (opening soon), spa, grocery, roof top amusement park, and underground parking! It was all on 5 levels serviced by escalators and elevator......very nice!
We re-connected with Andy at the hotel and headed over to Tlaquepaque to do some shopping for items he was interested in bringing back to the USA and I found some wonderful handmade loafers for myself.
We had a great lunch at El Patio, another favorite restaurant of mine, as it has a great menu and always some entertainment including an all female Mariachi group. After shopping and getting tired we enjoyed a few cocktails in the center square where there are many restaurants around a main raised patio. Back to the hotel for a refresh and we are back out to check out the night life around the area including a gay bar.
Since this was Andy's first trip to GDL we let him decide if we would go back to Lake Chapala or enjoy the GDL Zoo that my ex-coworker had recommended to us the day before. Since Pablo and I had not been to the Zoo, we all decided to make the visit on our final day. For about 145 pesos we gained entrance to all parts of the Zoo including the train ride, safari excursion, the aquarium, and the Australian Outback area. We oriented ourselves with the train ride around the park and I was immediately impressed with the cleanliness and upkeep of the Zoo. Certainly as nice as any North American or European Zoo that I have been to....just smaller and not of such a grand scale. Some of the most interesting aspects was the Monkey Land area where you were allowed inside a small spider monkey habitat and the monkeys interacted with the zoo visitors; the Safari Jeep ride where African animals were in an open range and you were allowed to hand-feed the Giraffes with carrots given to you by the guide; the Aquarium where you could feed the stingrays; and the Australian Outback area where Kangaroos were allowed to roam free in the area. Well worth the visit and I will be going back to see it again when I have more time.
We are off back home to Puerto Vallarta around 2pm and make a quick stop in Tequila for a first time visit there. It was also an interesting place as many of the Tequila manufacturers allow sampling of their tequilas and it is certainly the best place to buy tequila for the discounted prices offered there.
Back in PV, I began to think about the wonderful few days in GDL (as always) and how there seems to always be something new and interesting to see while I am visiting there. Looking forward to trip #7 in the fall!
After a quick lunch at the corner taco stand, we were off to orient our friend Andy and walked to the Main Cathedral, along the plazas all the way to San Juan de Dios (Indoor Flea Market) where we made some great purchases of shoes and leather products, and then finally over to Plaza Los Mariachis for a bucket of beers and a little rest. We headed back to the hotel to freshen up, as dinner would be at my favorite restaurant 9 Esquinas (9 Corners) that have written about before here in my blog. They specialize in traditional Mexican style of food preparation and their specialty is Goat and Lamb. Great meal as always and even Andy decided to try the goat (chivo), and of course he loved it!
On uur next day Andy decided to do a double decker city bus tour, while Pablo and I went to visit an ex-coworker from Puerto Vallarta who had moved to GDL last year. He was managing a small coffee bar/restaurant in Colonia Bugambillas inside a new shopping mall called Plaza Panoramica. It is located high up the hill in the western part of GDL and has fantastic views of the city from high above. The Plaza was built by a local developer and he built the shopping mall as a service to the surrounding community by offering all the things you would need when living around the area including 9 restaurants, bowling alley, laundry/dry cleaner, children's day care, movie theater (opening soon), spa, grocery, roof top amusement park, and underground parking! It was all on 5 levels serviced by escalators and elevator......very nice!
We re-connected with Andy at the hotel and headed over to Tlaquepaque to do some shopping for items he was interested in bringing back to the USA and I found some wonderful handmade loafers for myself.
We had a great lunch at El Patio, another favorite restaurant of mine, as it has a great menu and always some entertainment including an all female Mariachi group. After shopping and getting tired we enjoyed a few cocktails in the center square where there are many restaurants around a main raised patio. Back to the hotel for a refresh and we are back out to check out the night life around the area including a gay bar.
Since this was Andy's first trip to GDL we let him decide if we would go back to Lake Chapala or enjoy the GDL Zoo that my ex-coworker had recommended to us the day before. Since Pablo and I had not been to the Zoo, we all decided to make the visit on our final day. For about 145 pesos we gained entrance to all parts of the Zoo including the train ride, safari excursion, the aquarium, and the Australian Outback area. We oriented ourselves with the train ride around the park and I was immediately impressed with the cleanliness and upkeep of the Zoo. Certainly as nice as any North American or European Zoo that I have been to....just smaller and not of such a grand scale. Some of the most interesting aspects was the Monkey Land area where you were allowed inside a small spider monkey habitat and the monkeys interacted with the zoo visitors; the Safari Jeep ride where African animals were in an open range and you were allowed to hand-feed the Giraffes with carrots given to you by the guide; the Aquarium where you could feed the stingrays; and the Australian Outback area where Kangaroos were allowed to roam free in the area. Well worth the visit and I will be going back to see it again when I have more time.
We are off back home to Puerto Vallarta around 2pm and make a quick stop in Tequila for a first time visit there. It was also an interesting place as many of the Tequila manufacturers allow sampling of their tequilas and it is certainly the best place to buy tequila for the discounted prices offered there.
Back in PV, I began to think about the wonderful few days in GDL (as always) and how there seems to always be something new and interesting to see while I am visiting there. Looking forward to trip #7 in the fall!
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