Puerto Vallarta

Mexico

The Bahia de banderas

Between jungle and ocean, the Bahia de Banderas stretches over more than 100 kilometers. From a few buildings on the seafront to multiple rows of buildings and hotels, the expansion of Puerto Vallarta has been dazzling in the last forty years.
Today, Puerto Vallarta is a large seaside resort very popular with American and Mexican customers.

Thursday, July 2, 2020

To discover the city, I let myself be guided by Aude, the daughter of Jean Marc, a friend of the paddle club. Coming to Puerto Vallarta to do her final year internship, this young French girl fell in love with both the place and a Mexican. Aude suggested me to go up to the Mirador: “an unmistakable place at sunset” she told me.
Paved alleys then stairs, we sweat in big drops on the way up, almost 7 pm but it is still more than 35 degrees.
From the top of the Mirador, the Bahia de Banderas reveals itself in all its diversity: a jungle of greenery on the mountain side and a concrete forest on the sea side. To the south are the green slopes of the ancient volcanoes, and as you go northwards you can see the silhouettes of the buildings of Nuevo Vallarta.
The sky is adorned with pink and purple. We go down towards the Malecon lined with sculptures facing the sea, a real open-air gallery. Usually crowded, the large promenade along the ocean is almost empty. A few rare tourists are sitting on the terrace. The shadow of the coronavirus is hovering.
Aude speaks to me about the dramatic situation in which the inhabitants of Puerto Vallarta find themselves following the confinemt. More than 95% work in tourism. The big hotels are closed, the nautical activities have stopped, the restaurants are idling. Unemployment does not exist in Mexico. Aid comes from the family and religious communities.

STROLL THROUGH THE STREETS

Saturday, July 4, 2020

The seafront concentrates modern buildings reserved for tourists, apartments and hotel rooms with a breathtaking view of the bay.
I enjoy a cappucino in the shade of tall palm trees.
Just a short distance from the ocean reigns a completely different atmosphere. The paved streets are lined with small buildings of two or three floors. Tortilleria, fruteria, pescaderia and carniceria follow one another. A radio plays at the top of its voice a catchy chorus giving the rhythm to the car washers. I go up to the cemetery whose enclosure is covered with amazing murals.

WATER TRUNKS

Friday, July 3, 2020

The rainy season has begun. Water downpours fell all night, flooding the roadway. The streets turned into a torrent. The river carries brown water that flows into the ocean.

DINNER ON THE BEACH

The Baracuda, some tables directly on the sand. An umbrella as useful for the sun as for the rain.
I order the house cocktail: Mezcal pineapple.
On the menu: tacos de camarones al pastor (marinated shrimps). I sip my Mezcal, melancholically admiring the sun dipped in the ocean.
My next stop is Yelapa, a small village in the jungle south of the Bahia de Banderas, only accessible by boat.
To live my adventures in the jungle, it’s this way
To explore the Bahia de Banderas with your paddle board, click here cool
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Follow me on social media, share and write me from time to time, it could be worth more than what you can imagine …
… When you spend hours paddling and you’re on the other side of the world. embarassed

Follow me on social media, share and write me from time to time, it could be worth more than what you can imagine …
… When you spend hours paddling and you’re on the other side of the world.embarassed