We arrived on February 11th around 8:00AM and stayed until 10:00PM. Coming into port was beautiful with the dolphins splashing about and a few whales off in the distance. Once we were docked, to our surprise, right in front of us was the Puerto Vallarta Mall and, are you ready for this, Walmart. I know. You travel thousands of miles from LA only to dock at a Walmart. We were told earlier by one of the guides in Cabo San Lucas that Puerto Vallarta (once known as "Puerto de Penas") was heavily Americanized in the main areas. With the exception of this, it is a very beautiful city in Mexico with an abundance of history to explore.
Our Town, Country & Tequila excursion took us to the downtown area, where we visited the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadelupe, witnessed the making of sand sculptures along the Malecon known for its beloved sculptures including the "Seahorse", a trip to the tequila factory and a tour of the Old Puerto Vallarta area where you see the children swimming in the lakes, amigos riding horses and homes that we would refer to as shacks, however, the school in this area was very well built and colorful. All of this was seen from our air-conditioned motor coach with our tour guide "Angel". We passed the bull ring stadium, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., many places for the amigos to watch the senoritas dance, the La Fuente del Puente (a favorite restaurant of Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, they even have a statue of them). We stopped at the La Iguana for some beer and shopping and stopped at the Plaza Genovesa where Rob purchased a straw hat for the sun and I shopped at the El Opalo before traveling to the tequila factory. We even passed a Woolworth's on one of the side streets. No matter where you go, you can always find a Hard Rock Cafe somewhere in the city.
The Hacienda Doña Engracia (Tequila Factory) was very educational. It is made from the Agave plant which looks like a huge aloe vera plant and is blue in color. When they reach the size needed for making the tequila, they remove the long leaves and it looks like a huge coconut. They are then split open, the juices are processed through a compressor, strained and restrained before placing in barrels to make the tequila. The first batch reminds you of distilled liquor so therefore it has to be processed several times to get the exact tequila taste. Amazingly the core of the Agave tastes like sweet potatoes. To get an actual tour of how it is actually made, (remember I had some tequilas after drinking some beer and I probably mixed some things up), click here Tequila Tour. We sampled four different tequilas, purchased two bottles of mango Tequila, indulged in homemade tacos filled with chicken and pork, along with a margarita in a souvenir clay barrel before returning to the ship. We had a wonderful time here and arrived back at the ship in a sober state.
There are many homes on the hills and as the story is told, they are now occupied by the "rich" people, whereas this was once the homes of the natives. While touring Puerto Vallarta we saw many Americans that live there. My favorite person to see here was a gentle with down syndrome directing traffic in front of the Cathedral; he even smiled for my camera.