Preparing for Hurricane Willa, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (Monday, October 22nd, 2018)

Hurricane Willa formed quickly off the Pacific coast of Mexico.  It  grew to a category 4, then briefly to a category 5 before calming a bit back to a category 4.  

You never know what a hurricane is going to do, so the town began preparing for whatever Willa had in store for us.

The crazy thing is how calm it is today.  I guess this is what they call the calm before the storm.  It looks more like a day at the lake  than a day on the Pacific Ocean.

There are usually about 50 boats anchored out on this section of the bay, but they are all gone.  There is one dinghy still out, but that's it.

All of the outdoor tables, chairs and umbrellas have been removed from the beach.

They are also starting to board things up.

The Rio Cuale at it's usual level.  We'll see if there are any changes after the hurricane passes.

Packing up the furniture.

The clouds laying behind the north part of the city are beautiful!

This is usually full of tables and chairs.  Only the permanent palapas still remain.

They are completely taking the Manta Mar Beach Resort apart.

Sand bagging and boarding it up too.

It is never calm by the sea horse statue.  Except for today...

It is so calm that it is eerie!

El Dorado Beach Restaurant is ready!

All of their outdoor furniture is gone as well.

Manta Mar Beach Resort later in the day.

Higher up in town they are even sand bagging along the streets.

We've heard that the bay offers Puerto Vallarta protection from the big storms, but they are taking a lot of precautions anyway.

We don't know what this storm will bring for us, but we will wait it out and see.