While reviewing some photos that I had taken on a walking tour in Gringo Gulch, something caught my eye that I hadn’t noticed before. One of my photos shows the crown at the top of Our Lady of Guadalupe church was being restored.

I don’t remember hearing or reading anything about renovations. I would expect to because Puerto Vallarta is a fairly small town and the crown on Our Lady of Guadalupe is Vallarta’s most famous landmark.

Curious about what was being done to the church, I did a quick Google search to see what I could find out. I didn’t come up with much. The best information came from an undated article about Our Lady of Guadalupe on VirtualVallarta.com.

Presently at the helm of a major fundraising effort is the Patronato de Amigos Vallartenses, a non-profit organization created to look after the conservation and restoration of the church, as well as many other important monuments around Puerto Vallarta. It was originally set in place during the restoration effort after the earthquake. Composed of Puerto Vallarta citizens and businessmen, the Patronato estimates that the budget required to restore the crown to its glory is $800,000 USD. This past December, a gala dinner and silent auction took place in which a sizeable portion of this amount was raised. Much more help is needed, however. To learn more about how you can donate to this worthy cause, contact the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe at (322) 222-1326.

If you happen to have any information on the work being done, please let us know by posting a comment or shooting me an email.

Spend the Day in Bucerias

Downtown Bucerias, located 20 minutes north of the Puerto Vallarta airport, is a great place to spend a lazy afternoon. When you are there, visit the church, Nuestra Senora de la Paz. Sit in the plaza and watch people go by.

After you have had your fill of people watching in the plaza, stop at any one the beach restaurants and order a big plate of shrimp and a bucket of beers. Our favorite beach restaurant is El Brujo Bucerias.

Bucerias has a warm and friendly vibe and it is much less hectic than Puerto Vallarta. It reminds me of what Puerto Vallarta was like 20 years ago. We go to Bucerias to unwind. Time moves slower there.

To get to Bucerias by bus take the gray buses marked ATM and the best place to catch it is in front of Wal-Mart (Map) . I believe it costs $20 pesos. The last bus returns to PV about 9:00pm.

Take a look at the Virtual Tour of Bucerias for some great views of the city.
BuceriasMexico.com has a loads information about Bucerias.

Nuestra Senora de la Paz (Our Lady of Peace), the main church in Bucerias. We usually by a churro from the cart that is front of the church.

The bandstand on the main plaza. One of the better spots to do your people watching.

Bucerias street market located on the south side of the plaza. A good place to pick up souvenirs.