Tile Park PV, also known as El Parque De Los Azulejos is Beginning it’s Second Season. They are Covering Lazaro Cardenas Park in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with Mosaic Tiles . I interview the Creator of the Project, Natasha Moraga.
Also Crocodiles Making News in Puerto Vallarta
Watch your Cell Phones in Puerto Vallarta
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Hello fellow travelers, welcome this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel show. I am your host Barry Kessler and I am just so happy to be introducing you to my favorite vacation destination, and maybe even yours, Puerto Vallarta Mexico.
That music you were just listening to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. Those are La Palapa, Puerto Vallarta’s Oldest Restaurant on the famous Los Muertos Beach, and The El Dorado Restaurant and Beach Club right next door so you can enjoy that fantastic view of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at night in beautiful colors, or during the day in its grand splendor for breakfast, lunch or dinner, seated with our toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
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This week we are going to be talking with Natasha Moraga, the woman behind the massive project to tile over Lazaro
Cardenas Park, known as Tile Park PV or El Parque De Los Azulejos, and hear about what’s going on there but before that, let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 18th of October, 2018.
Dia de los Muertos Celebrations Coming Soon to Vallarta
We are fast approaching the Dia de Los Muertos Celebrations here in Vallarta and I will be filling you in on preparations and parades in the next week or two to get you all prepared for the event. The Dia de Los Muertos Celebrations are the usual kick-off event for the Tourist Season. So good times are a coming.
Observations From My Latest Visit to Puerto Vallarta
A couple of observations from this last visit to paradise.
First off, Watch your phones.
I called Javier, our taxi driver in El Tuito. I hope you have heard that episode with Javier. Anyway, I called him because I needed
him to meet me when I got off the bus in El Tuito from Vallarta, and take me from El Tuito first to a bird sanctuary for an interview, then to Mayto where I would stay the night, then he would come back and get me, take me to Tehuamixtle for another interview, and then back to El Tuito. So I called him to make sure he would be able to help me, and he said yes. Then he told me about how he had given a ride to a couple of guys who called him from Monchies Restaurant and bar in El Tuito, and they needed a ride to Vallarta in the middle of the night. Well he tells me that when he got to Vallarta, they put a gun to his head and took his money and phone. He was so angry because he had cash on him from a busy day, and he didn’t drop it off at home first, then he really didn’t know these people. As it turns out, they got his phone number from someone who worked at Monchies, I asked if it was tourists, because I didn’t want it to be a listener, but he said they were Mexican. Any way, they took his now phone and he had just bought that one on credit, so he was bummed.
I told him not to buy a new phone, and I would bring him my old phone. I ordered an new replacement battery, whipped it clean, took out the old SIM card and when I say Javier, I handed him my old Samsung Galaxy S 3 and a charger for his Taxi. I suggested he take it into Vallarta and ask them to unlock it and put in a new SIM card for him, and the other day, I called him and he had done it successfully for 250 pesos. So,…People hold on to your telephones. Keep your old phones when you get a new phone, buy a new battery for it and remove your sim card and give it to a Mexican in need. By the way, Javier is grateful to all of you listeners who have used his services from El Tuito to Mayto and Tehua and lots of other places. He told me to say thanks and to remind you that he’s in El Tuito for you. You can email him at taxitomayto@gmail.com, or I have his phone number in the show-notes. It works, I called him yesterday on my old phone. Ha!
Calling Javier from the US or Canada, dial 011-52-1-322-118-5983
So it’s not just the tourists who are getting their phones swiped, it’s the poor locals too. I mean, when I was having lunch with Javier in El Tuito, he’s telling his friend who came walking up about the phone I just have him, and the friend points to a phone holster on his belt, missing a phone He’s all, I deliver gas, he points down to his truck filled with propane cylinders, he says, they wait till I’m almost done with my daily route, then they hold me up and take my money and my phone. What a drag right? Then towards the end of my trip, I ran onto Jose the Hat Maker, Mr. Palms at night on the Malecon and he tells me that he had his phone stolen too. So stay vigilant, and don’t forget to keep your old cell phones, get a new battery and gift it to a friend. Gorilla Gadgets makes a good replacement battery. I have a link to them in the show notes.
Also, it’s unusually buggy I found in Vallarta, especially the no-see-ums on the beach in the mornings, up in El Tuito, if you are going for a walk through a field up there harvesting shrooms or something, long pants and DEET for sure, I’m telling you.
Indiana Lions Club Brings Glasses to Puerto Vallarta
And I have a report from the Lions Club and their eyeglass mission.
The Lions Club From Indiana Helped 1,575 Individuals in Puerto Vallarta Get Eyeglasses.
Listener and contributor Marty Juel says the project was a success, he writes…
Barry:
Our mission was last week Wednesday-Friday. We saw 1575 individuals and provided an eye exam and glasses. We worked with the local Lions club in PV (leones vallarta ac – FB page) and they provided tremendous support. We brought three eye
professionals with us and were able to refer out many that needed additional treatment that we are not prepared to provide. In addition, we must give our appreciation to Michael Boufford, owner of Bravos Restaurant, for his generous support to our team. Michael is a tremendous supporter of the PV Community.
The 21 Lions we brought (20 from Northern Indiana, one from Culiacan, Mexico) come at their own expense. The PV Lions provide us hotel accommodations and most of our meals. We work with over 50 clubs and 1500 Lions in our area collecting, cleaning, reading prescriptions and many other steps in preparing the nearly 14,000 glasses we shipped to PV this past July. It is 12-month process for us to prepare for the actual mission. The glasses we didn’t use during the three-day mission will remain with the PV Lions and they will offer additional vision clinics throughout the year and dispense glasses to those in need.
If you need any additional information, let me know. I hope you’ll be in PV when we come in December. My wife and I would love to have lunch with you. All the best Marty
Crocodiles Gone Wild in Vallarta
Last week I didn’t mention the latest in the saga of crocodiles gone wild in Vallarta. Mostly because this show is supposed to be more light and airy but somewhere in a Colonia in Vallarta, there was a report of a crocodile that had been killed and hung
from a tree, with a note, cartel style that basically said if the authorities weren’t going to do something about the crocodile situation, they would do it for them.
Now this follows another sighting of a crocodile on the beach in front of the Fiesta Americana, and others of crocks swimming in the bay and so on.
Now I was taking an uber one morning, actually transferring from one condo, so I this gal was driving me to JR’s place, and I asked her if she would divert a little off the path so I could pick up my laundry. So we are charting. They love it when I practice my Spanish on them. They usually ask if I live there, then if I’m on vacation and it leads to what I do and about the podcast. So this young lady asks me what I think about the crocodiles. I told her that I thought that most of the incidents, like the crocodile drowning the fisherman, and the one that bit the tourist at the Marriott, both cases involved humans not wary of their surroundings. It turns out that the lady at the Marriott was bitten swimming in the dark at 11:30. So not really the fault of the reptiles. She mentioned the building and development at Vidante where the habitat is being infringed upon. She said the crocodiles were here long before we were, but also recognized that tourists would be discouraged by the thought of being kissed by a crocodile in Puerto Vallarta. She thought maybe a nicer habitat where they could be monitored and protected would be best.
Dead crocodile in Puerto Vallarta carried message: control crocs or more will die
We will be keeping an eye on the Crocodile situation as we head into the high season so stay tuned! And don’t worry, just be aware.
Let’s stop already with the reptile repudiation and get on with this week’s show.
El Parque de los Azulejos in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Tile-Park PV Season Two
Last year at this time, I interviewed Natasha Moraga. Natasha was about to launch her project, Tile Park PV or Parque de Los Azulejos. Her aim was to tile the entire park, Lazaro Cardenas Park.
Now I’ve talked a little about the park, how it used to be a real park, then that park was dug up, and an underground parking structure was created, and the park was placed on top of the parking structure with planters, and benches to sit on, and a pleasant place to sit, day or night. There are public pay bathrooms underground there as well. The park is bordered on either side by Lazaro Cardenas and Venustiano Carranza, and Olas Altas next to the beach, and Calle Pino Suarez at the east end of
the park, and I’ll have a map in the shownotes for you see at www.purrtovallartatravelshow.com.
So last year I interviewed Natasha, and she laid out her plan which, she followed by the way. I mean to the tee and then some. She made some adjustments along the way, but I really was impressed with her, with her brother Daniel, and their team.
Now I thought about how I was going to do this episode, and I decided that I would include the first interview we did last
October first, then a quick blurb from me, and right to the latest interview from last week. It ties together really well and if you don’t want to hear last October’s interview again, skip ahead 23 minutes, and you will be where you want to be, so let’s go to the way back machine, and go back to last October 2017, and review Natasha’s plan for Tile Park PV, then, we will trip into the present day Parque de Los Azulejos.
Last October’s Interview Blog-post with Natasha Moraga, Tile Park PV
Contact
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So, after that interview, I went back to JR’s place and we talked about Natasha’s plans. He asks me, what do you think? Do you think she can do it? There are so many projects around here that never pan out you know?
I thought about it just for a second, and said yeah I believed in Natasha, and that I would donate my money, and my time, and even buy a tile too.
And as the tourist season came, so did the beautiful people, the lovers of Puerto Vallarta. People who wanted to make a mark
in the park. And the workshops took place and up went the tile and what a beautiful job so far. It’s stunning, really. I have pictures of course so you know where to find them. So let’s go right now a year later, to a bench in Lazaro Cardenas Park in Puerto Vallarta, and let’s talk about what’s transpired over the year, and find out what’s planned for season number 2 of Tile Park, PV from our friend, Natasha Moraga.
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Well, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s coming up this season at Parque de Los Azulejos. It looks so beautiful right now.
Now, I took pictures of the progress on the park, but I also took pictures of the benches Natasha was talking about, and the old planters that were totally rotted out. I got pictures of how they had to tear out the entire bench and planter in some cases. They actually have to rebuild each of these benches with new re-bar and cement. It’s pretty intense and you can see how easily they ran into cost over-runs, but she wants to make sure this park will last the test of time. Just like Natasha said a year ago, we want the park to last 100 years. So let’s keep up the support for this project which, I’m pretty sure will take at least two more seasons. What a gem. So beautiful!
I have links to Tile Park PV so you can check out the ways you can contribute to this fine cause.
Donate to Tile Park PV
- Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/parqueazulejospv/
- Website- TileparkPV
- Donate – To Tilepark PV
- Workshops – Upcoming Workshops
- Qulture
You have the holidays coming right up, so make a donation, sign up for a workshop, check them out at the park and also at 
Couture, The Swanky Bar and Gallery where they have their indoor office. It’s nice. We’ll talk a little more about that place, actually next week on The podcast so stay tuned for that.
Okay That should do it for this week.
Next week, stay tuned for more on the ground reports from Puerto Vallarta Mexico, with travel tips, great restaurant and excursion ideas and more. Until then, remember, this is an interactive show where I depend on your questions and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. If you think of something I should be talking about, please reach out to me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending us your message.
And remember, if you are considering booking any type of tour while you are in Puerto Vallarta, you must go to
Vallartainfo.com, JR’s website and reserve your tour through him, right from his website. Remember the value for value proposition. His experience and on the ground knowledge of everything Puerto Vallarta in exchange for your making a purchase of a tour that you would do anyway, you’re just doing it through him as a way of saying thank you. It costs no more than if you were to use someone else so do it. Really. And when you do take one of these tours, email me about your experiences. Maybe you can come on-board and share with others what you liked or didn’t like about the tour. Again, contact me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending off a message. Don’t forget his maps, his DIY tours and his revitalized Happy Hour Board. I have links to all of those in the show notes.
And once again, if you like this podcast, please take the time and subscribe and give me a good review on iTunes if you would.
That way we can get the word out to more and more people about the magic of this place. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Remember I made it easy for you to do just that with each episode I create. But if you haven’t been to my website, you really need to have a look there. I have the links to the places we talk about, interesting pictures and the more all right there in my blog-posts and show-notes for each episode of the show so check them out for sure if you haven’t already all-right? All right.
And thank you to Natasha Moraga, you and Daniel are doing such a wonderful job creating a beautiful spot for lovers of Vallarta. We are here to help. Go to the website at www.tileparkpv.com and see how you can help. Check out the pictures on my site and theirs. I Have links to their Facebook page too, and all the things we talked about.
And thanks to all of you for listening all the way through this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show. This is Barry Kessler signing off with a wish for you all to slow down, be kind and live the Vallarta lifestyle. Nos Vemos amigos!
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