Puerto Vallarta's Malecon: Boardwalk life, Mexican style
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico - If you come to this once sleepy, now bustling resort community, you will definitely end up at the Malecon.
It's this town's version of a seaside boardwalk, minus the boards.
The Malecon "is the heart of Puerto Vallarta," says Alberto Garcia, who ought to know.
He spends six days a week on the Malecon, rounding up visitors for time-share presentations.
But don't hold that against him.
He's proud of his city (approx. 300,000 residents) and the waterfront esplanade, which was renovated to make it more pedestrian-friendly in 2011.
“You come to Puerto Vallarta and don’t come to the Malecon, you haven’t been to Puerto Vallarta,” he says.
On that we agree.
Located on the edge of a historic section of Puerto Vallarta, with cobblestone streets climbing into steep hillsides with a mosaic of both elegant and modest homes piled seemingly at random, the Malecon begins just a few miles south of the modern multistory resorts in the new section of town known as Nuevo Vallarta, a planned community specifically designed for tourists. This is where you find those big, all-inclusive resorts, surrounded by shopping and bustling traffic.
The Malacon is considered more classic Mexico, also filled with tourists, especially from the U.S. and Canada, as well as a large community of mostly English-speaking expats who appear to be very happy permanent residents here. The wide sidewalks wind around and among outdoor cafes, gift shops filled with the predictable--cheap sombreros, t-shirts and trinkets as well as local arts and crafts.
Many of the Puerto Vallarta’s most popular restaurants are here—or just a few streets away.
Located at the same latitude as Hawaii, the weather in Puerto Vallarta is similar (mostly in the 80s from about December to April) with much more reasonable prices for lodging and restaurants. The current exchange
rate, about 17 pesos to the American dollar, is even better than a few years ago. Most nights, two of us dined for around $20 to $30 (though, since Mexicans express pesos in dollars, the final bill—say $450--would sometimes make us jump).
We stayed at a bed-and-breakfast in the heart of town called Casa Amorita. From the living room, pool deck and some of the rooms, visitors have a killer view of the ocean and the iconic Church of Our Lady Guadalupe, which dominates the city’s skyline and is a favorite of tourists.
Its bells are hard to miss, clanging the hours, the quarter hours, masses, weddings, fiestas and at many other inexplicable moments. Our B&B provided earplugs just in case we were bothered, but we never were.
Our favorite restaurant from our visit: Casa Tradicional, a classic Mexican restaurant with potted flowers in the windows, just a block from the church. A young woman personally makes the salsa at your table and the guitar duo Gamaliel Rios sing classic Mexican folk songs for you in exchange for a few pesos.
There are also dozens of beachside restaurants of all stripes, usually offering $1 margaritas and/or guacamole, delectable buttered shrimp and the latest ocean catch. One memorable highlight: the Los Abuelos beachside hut, where we had fajitas set alight with a generous sprinkle of tequila on our last day.
But watch out for the seaside vendors, who are out in force trying to sell you rugs, hats, cigars, food, you name it.
When you first arrive in Puerto Vallarta, you’re urged to sign up for massages, tequila tours, whale watching trips and more, but our best memories are of the moments that didn’t have a price tag: Strolling in the morning, the late afternoon or at sunset on the Malecon watching the waves, the people and life unfolding around us. In any currency, that’s a bargain!
Follow Jefferson Graham on Twitter: @jeffersongraham