We took our time getting moving this morning, partly because we were so tired last night and wanted to sleep in, and partly because breakfast doesn’t open until 9:00. We took our time showering and enjoyed watching some construction on the balcony across the street. Then headed down to the hotel restaurant called Madregal. When we got down there, they had a small, but very adequate breakfast sitting out, and would also make omelets if we wanted for an extra charge. We both had yogurt with granola and fresh fruit, and Steve had a piece of toast. We decided to skip the omelets and save our calories for later. We also had fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee. It was the perfect breakfast!
The water purifying machines at the hotel.
When we finished our breakfast, we headed out for the morning, heading south toward the Malecon, just exploring and enjoying the day. We walked about two miles south, meandering along the beach and through the streets.
Panchos Takos is much quieter than it was last night.
It is warm today, but definitely not unbearable. We weren’t sure about the weather here in July. We’ve heard it is hot, but didn’t know what to expect. It is super humid, so we were sweating like crazy even though it didn’t feel that hot. It is a very different kind of hot than we are used to in Arizona.
Down by the Malecon, a fisherman was untangling his nets and feeding the small fish that were caught in it to the birds. They were loving it.
A family shucking oysters under the pier.
The Malecon is very quiet in the morning, but it will be much busier tonight.
When we started getting hungry for lunch, we turned around and headed back to a restaurant that Steve’s brother told us about called Bar Oceano Restaurant. We were told that they serve really good chillaquilla and we wanted to give it a try. The entrance to the restaurant is just a stairway going up from the Malecon near the Cheeky Monkey. When you get up to the second floor it is a beautiful, very open restaurant overlooking the bay. It’s all open air, with no windows, so we enjoyed a really nice ocean breeze as we ate. Chillaquilla is tortillas soaked in a red or green sauce, with an egg, optional chicken, served with a side of beans. I had the chillaquilla with green sauce, and Steve ordered a huevos rancheros with red sauce. The red sauce was their spicier sauce, but it was also kind of sweet. Steve and I both agreed that the red sauce got too sweet after awhile. The green sauce was mild, but really flavorful and much better.
My chilaquile
Steve's huevos rancheros
Really good fresh tortillas
After lunch we started making our way back to the hotel, making a couple of stops along the way. The first stop was “The Fit Club”, an athletic club in the romantic zone. We checked their prices and amenities and then continued on our way. We are always very curious about things that we enjoy and how they are in other countries. It was a beautiful gym, with lots of equipment and a room for group fitness classes. All of the classes are included with your membership, including yoga.
From the fitness club, we continued back north, but further up from the shore, looking for Farmacia Guadalajara. It is really big pharmacy chain here in Vallarta. We checked the prices of some prescriptions, and they are even cheaper than the big purple pharmacy in Algodones. That was quite impressive and exciting.
Then back to our hotel for some quiet time before dinner. Our feet are tired from walking on the cobblestones and need a little sitting time. We both took a quick shower to cool off, and then enjoyed some time on our balcony.
At about 4:00, we left the hotel again, and headed down the Malecon to where we would be eating dinner. Our dinner wasn’t until 6:00, but they were forecasting rain and we wanted to walk, so we left a little early. We did get a few drops of rain as we were walking, but nothing that would melt us. When we reached the restaurant, we were early, but it was starting to rain harder, so we ducked inside and had a beer while we waited for the rest of our dinner mates to show up.
Our dinner at El Andariego and was organized by Mike and Sara, a couple that lives here in Vallarta. Our meals were all chosen in advance, so they were served very promptly. There were 11 of us in all, so we had a chance to talk to a lot of people that know a lot about Vallarta. It was really fun and informational. By the time we were finished eating, the rain had stopped, so we headed back toward our hotel on foot.
The Malecon was very lively with tourists and locals as we walked back, so we took many opportunities to just stop and enjoy everything around us.
As we stood out on the pier, there were fish raising everywhere, the pelicans we diving in to get them, and fishermen we’re standing on shore, casting their lines trying to catch them.
The fish raising!
It was really entertaining to watch. And as all this was happening, the sun was setting of over the Bay of Bandaras. A beautiful sight to see.
As we left the Malecon, the water taxi stand was all lit up, making for a beautiful sight!
And the gorgeous sunset!
Another great day in Puerto Vallarta!
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