Starting out with the first of many posts from Mark &Pam’s wedding weekend in Puerto Vallarta! I love traveling with friends- it’s so much more fun! Landing in PV, the mountains and lush forests are so different than you expect & we had fun testing out the new snack boxes they sell on the short flights. Since I can take 6 bags at 70 lbs each, we volunteered to transport all the decorations and accessories for the wedding so Mark & Pam didn’t have to worry about them.
It was so great to be back in Puerto Vallarta! We rented a car on our first trip & it was a dangerous adventure navigating the crazy streets & insane drivers. I love authentic feel that the cobblestone streets give the city & cruising down the Malecon (boardwalk) checking out all the great sculptures. There are several rivers that flow from the mountains into Banderas Bay & then you cross the main one into old town where the green hills beckon you to retreat from the crazy hustle of the city.
The Malecon was pretty quiet around lunchtime on Thursday as we made our way through town towards Dreams resort. There are so many restaurants and clubs that open up onto the street & have a great view of the waterfront. Mandelas (in the photo above) is the club where we ended up later that evening- dancing & partying on our first night of vacation.
Friday morning we headed into town to re-visit some of the places where we’d taken our wedding photos in 2007. I love seeing the slower pace of life- newspapers still being sold, people sitting around visiting, the gorgeous Our Lady of Guadalupe church that is the focal point of the skyline, the tranquility of the trees in a busy town square.
We ran into some of our friends & they were kind enough to take our picture under Los Arcos at the ampitheatre.
We walked out towards the Malecon & then south along the water’s edge enjoying the perfect weather & visiting the same painter stand that’s probably been there for years.
We found this great area filled with tons of shops & local craft dealers. So many textiles in all shapes, colors and sizes.
So much to see & do- we found a little enclave of shops & a flea market sitting alongside the Cuale River where you could stroll in the shade through dozens of stores.
I love everything about this picture! The sales, the stuff, the people, the shops, the workers, the cobbletone, the giant curb, the roofs.
We also discovered a crazy wobbly bridge that connect the Isla Cuale in the river. I though people were just playing around on it, shaking it. But NOPE! It’s really almost impossible to walk across without stumbling all over the place.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Got suite tickets to Cirque de Soleil Alegria for Sunday- can’t wait to go!
“The Love Boat, soon we’ll be making another run …”