Puerto Vallarta is filled with Iguanas. Everywhere you turn, there’s another one. This very large iguana is the most recent one I have encountered.
Fortunately, I had my camera with me to get the shot. It must be used to people because it allowed me to get very close.
More Cool Iguana Pictures:
f you like to participate in sports, Puerto Vallarta’s municipal stadium is for you. Thousands of people – locals and tourists – use the facilities every day. All is open to the public at no cost.
The stadium’s facilities include:
There really is something for everyone. Activities continue throughout the day starting at 7:00am to 11;00pm.
Puerto Vallarta residents can sign up to play in any of the active sports leagues which include soccer, softball, baseball, and basketball. I play in the softball league which is really well run and has more than 700 participants.
While we ate our tacos at our favorite taco stand – El Carboncito, we were serenaded by a saxaphone player.
Street musicians are common throughout Puerto Vallarta, but this is the first time I have seen someone playing the saxaphone.
Tacos and the saxaphone were actually a really good combination. Everyone else seemed to think so too.
We tipped him for his music and for allowing me to take his picture. I hope he is there the next time we go.
Anna from Davannayoga invites everyone to a yogic arts session with Duncan Wong this Wednesday from 7:00pm to 9:30pm. The cost is a very reasonable $250 pesos. If you have never been the the Davannayoga studio you should make the effort. The view from the roof terrace is amazing.
Here is a copy of the invitation that she sent me.
Dear Friends,
Imagine yourself dancing, practicing yoga and kicking your feet up a bit with a Yoga Master and a 360 degree view of the bay and the mountains soaring above the tile roofs of the historic downtown Puerto Vallarta.Master Wong will be here December 3rd on davannayoga’s rooftop yoga space. Don’t miss your chance to practice his uplifting yoga style. Stop by today or contact Anna to reserve your spot! Anna@davannayoga.com
Davannayoga is located downtown in Gringo Gulch. It’s an easy walk to the studio from the main plaza.
Davannayoga Contact Information
542 Calle Matamoros, Centro
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Local Phone: 223-0530
Cell phone: 044-322-147-7008
Read More about Puerto Vallarta Yoga
Nuevo Vallarta has three main beach access points. The northernmost is at the Etc. Beach Club. Alongside the beach club is a footpath that leads to the beach.
The Etc. Beach Club is a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon which are usually really busy. Order up some cold beers and a plate of nachos while lounging under a palapa. When it gets too hot, go for a swim.
This is the footpath that leads to the beach. Showers are available to rinse off before you head home.
The beach in front of Etc. The picture does not do it justice. I took it in the early morning just after a massive rainstorm which dumped a lot of debris on the beach. This is one of my Favorite beaches in the city.
Public Beach Access in Marina Vallarta
Playa de Oro Beach Access
A good friend of mine Joel, who is my source for great taco stands, is putting together a specialty tour company to take people to see the real Puerto Vallarta.
One of the tours he is working on right now is a taco stand tour to visit some of the great taco stands around town that a visitor wouldn’t normally have the chance to try. Tacos are the heart and soul of Mexican cuisine.
To get feedback on the new tour, he is offering afree tour to two groups of VallartaBlog readers. On the tour, you will visit 4 different taco stands to try a variety of tacos. The tour lasts about 2 ½ hours.
To get an idea of the types of places you will visit, take a look at some previous posts: Tacos El Carboncito, Tacos Willie, Tacos El Grano de Oro. These aren’t necessarily the places you will visit but it gives you an idea about what to expect.
Joel is offering the free tours until February 21 to the first two groups of people who reply. Tell us when you are available and if you have any special preferences. Transportation is provided from your hotel or condo. The group limit is 4 people per tour and participants will pay for their own tacos and sodas. Everything else is included. Just to give you an idea of cost, tacos and sodas typically cost less than one dollar apiece.
The taco tour is a really cool way to see another side of Puerto Vallarta. Buen provecho!
I love making salsa and one of my favorites is a charred tomatillo salsa that is really simple to make. It’s a perfect match for chips and beer on a hot humid Puerto Vallarta afternoon.
The recipe requires few ingredients and it should take you about 20 minutes from start to finish.
Salsa Ingredients:
The measurements are not really set in stone. You can add more chiles or onions to taste. Some extra lime juice will give the salsa a brighter sharper taste.
To make the salsa:
Place the tomatillos, chopped onions, chile strips in a preheated oiled pan to char the vegetables. Keep the heat medium high and turn the vegetables continually until they are blackened all over. Charring the vegetables really adds to the flavor.
After you have charred the vegetables, add them to the blender with the cilantro, lime juice, and salt to taste.
Blend the salsa coarsely. The salsa should have some body. You want to be able to see flecks of cilantro and bits of onion.
The finished salsa. Great stuff. I usually just make the salsa to eat with a big bowl of chips. When I am feeling more ambitious I put the salsa over a sauteed fish filet.
Chicken Breasts With Tomatillo Salsa Recipe Provided by Mexican Foodie
Photo by Jeffrey
I have compiled a list of webcams that broadcast images from around Puerto Vallarta so that you can get your Puerto Vallarta fix when you can’t be here. We have recently added a webcam in Nuevo Vallarta and a webcam in Sayulita.
I’ve listed all the web cams that I could find. If there are others please let me know. I’m looking for webcams in San Pancho and Rincon de Guayabitos. I’ll be happy to add them if you can find them.
Puerto Vallarta Webcams at Puerto Vallarta Scene
The Puerto Vallarta Scene webcam page is a god place to start. They have five different webcam feeds listed.
OIC Puerto Vallarta Beach Webcam
The OIC webcam has a cool “Day at a Glance” feature which allows you to view all of the imgages taken by the camera during the day.
The webcam at the Hotel Rosita in Puerto Vallarta shows the downtown boardwalk (Malecon) from the North looking South.
The webcam at the Hotel El Pescador shows downtown Puerto Vallarta.
Cafe Roma has a great Puerto Vallarta Weather Station.
Cuates y Cuetes Restaurant & Bar Webcam
The Marina Association in Nuevo Vallarta has a webcam. I had trouble loading the page but it might work better for you.
Sayulita now has a webcam. It’s located at the Sayulita Fish Taco restaurant. The camera is a little slow to load. Just give it a chance.
Housing construction methods in Mexico are very different than the stick-built construction method commonly used in the US or Canada.
Homes are typically built from cement, cinder-block and/or red brick. Only the poorest homes are constructed in wood.
When finished, this house being built, will be a beautiful luxury home.
The Main Steps in Building a Mexican House
Step one: The cement foundation is poured. Rebar forms, which will become the support posts, are embedded in the cement.
Step two: Wooden forms are built around the rebar and cement is
poured into the forms. This forms the supporting posts for the roof or
another floor.
Step three: Wooden scaffolding is built to support the cement poured
for the roof. On top of the scaffolding a rebar framework is
constructed and tied on to the rebar in the support posts.. This rebar
gives the roof it’s strength.
Step four: The cement for the roof is poured and allowed to cure. Once the cement is cured the scaffolding is removed.
Step five: The walls are built with cinder-block or red brick.
Step six: Space to run the plumbing and electrical lines is grooved into the cinder-block. This is done with a hammer and chisel. A very laborious process.
Step seven: The finishing coats of cement are applied to the walls, inside and out.
Step eight: Tile or stone flooring is installed. Bathroom and kitchen fixtures are installed. Doors are installed.
Step nine: The house is painted and is ready to be lived in.
The 5 de Diciembre neighborhood in downtown Puerto Vallarta has one of the better mercados that is well known for it’s variety of fresh fish. The staff in the fish market is especially friendly and offers good advice on how to prepare what you purchase.
A mercado is a social place that is the heart of the neighborhood. In addition to going shopping, people go to catch up on the latest neighborhood news.
When you visit the mercado don’t expect anything fancy or tourist amenities. Go to get a taste of local life and be sure make the effort to communicate with the staff and the other shoppers. That’s where the fun is. You’d be surprised how far a big smile and an “hola” will get you. Try it. It will make your day.
At the produce stand where you can get any type of fruit, vegetable, or chile that you could want. If you speak some Spanish, the staff will give you tips on how to prepare some of the more exotic vegetables.
The coolers and bins have fresh shrimp sorted by size and price. On this trip, I bought a half kilo of medium size shrimp for $50 pesos. That works out to be about $3.80US per pound. A great deal if you ask me.
A freshly caught dorado. They will fillet and prep your fish any way you like it.
Inside the market are a number of loncherias, lunch stands, that prepare antojitoswhich are simple foods like tacos, sopes, flautas, and enchiladas.
This is the machine that makes tortillas at the tortilleria. A large ball of dough is placed in the hopper. The machine extrudes a dough ball for a tortilla and then it presses the dough into a tortilla. The tortilla is sent down the conveyor belt and through the oven to be baked. The tortillas comes out the other end fully cooked and ready to be placed into one kilo and half kilo stacks.
Map and Directions to the Mercado
The Mercado is located on San Salvador street at the corner of Brasilia street. It is very easy to find. The mercado is directly in front of the main entrance to the cemetary (Panteon).
