My Report from last week.

pdxbuff · Post by **pdxbuff** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 5:48 am

Here is an abbreviated trip report from my 10 day stay which ended on December 7th. I always stay in "Old Town" so most of my comments concern this area.
After landing, I managed to hit the green light and run the gauntlet of timeshare hawks. Phew!
I rented a condo at Loma Del Mar just up the "hill" from Olas Altos. Nice place plus the pool was huge and situated so that it received direct sunlight all day long. Good tanning. The down side was the noise from the highway to Mismaloya which was just around the corner. I visited a pharmacy and bought some ear plugs which helped. Plus some excessive shots of tequila helped on several nights as well.
My last visit to PV was in May and already I observed many changes. I guess the most noticeable is the change in skyline in old town. The huge condo project on the former Molino de Aqua property and the other commercial/condo project just east of the park are dominating and I would guess also blocking the views of many. I hope the developers are successful in selling these units. The condo market where I live has almost dried up.
My next observation was inflation. Seems like many of the bars and restaurants have increased prices but not all. For example, Burros Bar increased the prices on a 3 beer bucket/22oz drink from 40 pesos to 50 pesos. I mean that's a 25% increase. CYC seems to be holding the line.
And of course other changes to properties. restaurants, bars, etc. I see that the former Pau Pau is being demolished. I would assume that another beach restaurant bar will replace it since it's on prime beachfront property. Of course The Lazy Lizard is old news.
I ate at my usual favorite restaurants vowing to never eat at the same place twice although I broke the rules for breakfast. My new restaurants this visit were Pipi's (this place is great) and Paradise Burger in Centro and a sleeper in old town, Zapata's Saloon, where I got a nice t-bone dinner for 98 pesos. I also stopped at Cafe Roma for the first time and met Senor Fox who was bartending. Concerning breakfast, my favorite place is Los Margaritas on B. Badilo hands down. Also, I would like to also plug Andale's who had a 2'fer Bloody Mary breakfast deal that helped me survive the self-induced tequila remembrances from the night before. Being a big football fan, I was delighted to see that Steve's Sports Bar and El Tortito had the important college games on plus the NFL sunday and Monday night games. Oregon State in 2 OT's! I guess I should also comment on the weather which was perfect. It was basically sunny every day and in the mid-80's. The humidity bothered me a bit but I adjusted after a couple of days. I might add that I never did use the A/C in the condo as the fans did an adequate job of cooling and circulating the air. The mornings were cool enough for walking and exercising with no heat related problems. I can only guess that the next 4 months will be almost perfect. That's why PV is a favorite destination of choice for so many this time of year. I love the locals and culture down there and feel very comfortable.
One Sunday night they had a parade through old town which I was told was some sort of religious celebration. The parade was well received by the locals and tourists as well.
The day to leave arrived too quickly and I reluctantly headed out the airport only to find out that my plane would be an hour and a half late taking off. I noticed that the bar to the right heading down the steps to the departure area has been replaced with a restaurant.
I finally arrived home late at night to find out that I missed a serious wind and rain event that left many areas of Oregon and Washington under water. The main highway I-5 between Portland and Seattle was closed for 4 days due to flooding. Fortunately Portland was just a rain event and my house did not suffer any problems.
CIAO!
HB aka bdxbuff

palapa_gal · Post by **palapa_gal** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:52 am

Great report.

Thanks for sharing.

benito · Post by **benito** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:17 pm

the parade was for the festival of the guadalupe. every neighborhood has a parade to the church. the old town parade last year was awesome.

Plus4 · Post by **Plus4** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:25 pm

pdxbuff Good report

..Looks like you got in quite a bit during your 10 days in PV..

tojol57 · Post by **tojol57** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:19 am

top drawer there pdxbuff... i have the same conclusions on all the condos going up all over vallarta...

great report buddy... glad to hear you had a good time to say the least...

lojol60 · Post by **lojol60** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 3:46 am

PDX great trip report. As far as Pau Pau goes, we know what is going on there. Martin that owns Blue Shrimp and Si Senors purchased this property and will be opening a new restaurant with a Mediterranean flair and will be serving steaks as well. Knowing Martin, it will be a great place with great food. We are hoping it will be open in Feb. so we can check it out!!!