Fave City Contest
In the monthly Lonely Planet electronic newsletter they posed a question to their readers: What city grabbed your heart during your travels? I have never responded to their queries in the past, but this one seemed too easy. What have I got to lose by throwing down my thoughts about the town I still call home?
Twenty-odd years ago, a city by the name of Puerto Vallarta grabbed my heart and it still hasn't let go. There are just so many reasons to love this coastal chunk of fun in the sun I barely know where to begin.
The city of Vallarta has an insane amount of sun. Due to its geographical location (on the same latitude as Hawaii), it has something like 315 days of sun per year. Combine the inviting climate with endless beaches, the Sierra Madres covered in the lushest of green coats, red tiled roof-tops and cobbled streets and you have a wickedly inviting combination.
The people of Vallarta are as warm as the days are sunny. Everyone smiles and makes you feel like family especially if you reciprocate their hospitality. From the balloon vendor on the sea-side "Malecon" to the chubby Senora hawking her flautas, everyone has a kind word for the strolling gringo. The Spanish language adds to the beauty of the place and it's a great place to learn it since many local Mexicans make it their living to teach Spanish to visitors.
Vallarta is a city that awakens your senses: White-washed casitas with the fancy grill-work on the windows; tropical flowers blooming everywhere; steep cobble-stone streets leading up the mountainside to some hidden jewel of an eatery; the braying mule; the clang of the water truck; the flute notes of the knife-sharpener; the smoke from a hundred street comals; the waves of the Pacific beating against the yellow sands of the Malecon. It's an endless array of sensual delights against a backdrop that reminds visitors of Greece? Hawaii? Morroco? No. It's 100% Puerto Vallarta and it's home to me.
Twenty-odd years ago, a city by the name of Puerto Vallarta grabbed my heart and it still hasn't let go. There are just so many reasons to love this coastal chunk of fun in the sun I barely know where to begin.
The city of Vallarta has an insane amount of sun. Due to its geographical location (on the same latitude as Hawaii), it has something like 315 days of sun per year. Combine the inviting climate with endless beaches, the Sierra Madres covered in the lushest of green coats, red tiled roof-tops and cobbled streets and you have a wickedly inviting combination.
The people of Vallarta are as warm as the days are sunny. Everyone smiles and makes you feel like family especially if you reciprocate their hospitality. From the balloon vendor on the sea-side "Malecon" to the chubby Senora hawking her flautas, everyone has a kind word for the strolling gringo. The Spanish language adds to the beauty of the place and it's a great place to learn it since many local Mexicans make it their living to teach Spanish to visitors.
Vallarta is a city that awakens your senses: White-washed casitas with the fancy grill-work on the windows; tropical flowers blooming everywhere; steep cobble-stone streets leading up the mountainside to some hidden jewel of an eatery; the braying mule; the clang of the water truck; the flute notes of the knife-sharpener; the smoke from a hundred street comals; the waves of the Pacific beating against the yellow sands of the Malecon. It's an endless array of sensual delights against a backdrop that reminds visitors of Greece? Hawaii? Morroco? No. It's 100% Puerto Vallarta and it's home to me.
posted by Andrea J. Carman @ 6:11 AM
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