A Visit to a Shelter for Babies and Young Children, Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza, RISE. Meet Madre Mari de Jesus, the Lady in charge, and Volunteers Lisa and Billy. Learn how you can give back to Vallarta kids who really need you.
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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.
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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.
Rio Horcones Update
There was a meeting last Friday in Puerto Vallarta outside of city hall regarding the proposed hydroelectric dam on the Rio Horcones, the river that empties into the ocean in Boca de Tomatlan, 17 KM south of Puerto Vallarta. It was well attended by opponents of the dam. I have pictures in the show notes, also, I’ve been told that there is an investigation on as to who actually is benefiting from and who’s behind the project. I mean, they don’t know that. Talk about transparency, right?
I have the link to the petition being signed and sent to Mexican President Obrador in the show notes, also some other interesting graphics and a rendering of what some fear Boca de Tomatlan will look like, without 6 months of water running through it. Pretty frightening.
Free Screening of the Movie Solitary
If you are in town July 5th, see a screening of “Solitary” awarded in several film festivals around the US
and Europe. Score by Roger Taylor (former drummer for Queen) and written by and Starring Katharine
Lee McEwan, who will also be at the screening. The event starts at 6:00 PM at the Cuale Island Cultural Center Auditorium. All the way to the back of the island. Entry is FREE!
Mango Festival Puerto Vallarta 2019
The third annual Mango Festival in Puerto Vallarta will take place next Saturday, July 6th, 2019, starting
at 4:00 pm at the Lázaro Cárdenas Park (located in the Romantic Zone, a block away from Los Muertos Beach). The event, organized by the Instituto Vallartense de Cultura y el Comité de Ciudades Hermanas Highland Park, will include live entertainment and the presence of more than 15 restaurants which, through gastronomical delights and refreshing drinks made with a mango base, will allow you to savor one of the sweetest fruits of the season. This celebration will be open to the public, like a typical Mexican “kermés” (outdoor fair), where the attendants must purchase tickets (with a cost of $25 pesos) that they can exchange for food and/or drinks.
It is important to highlight that the collected funds will be in benefit of different projects focused on child development, such as “DesembocArte” (located in La Desembocada, Jalisco), and “Los Fridos” (in the neighborhood Educación of Puerto Vallarta); two organizations that promote art, and cultural activities.
Listener E-Mail
I got a couple of emails from our friend Skip from Minnisocold. Although about this time of year it’s probably not so cold. He wrote me before he took his trip in February…I told you I was late getting to some of your emails, but I’m going to give you a rundown on a thread we had, and it’s interesting and has lots of good information so here goes From Skip…
Barry,
I am writing you to tell you how much I enjoyed your recent podcast with your trip to San Sebastian del Oeste. Both the town and the restaurant Montebello sound delightful and I cannot wait to visit there during my month long stay in Bucerias in February. While I had planned to hire the private driver, Jose who you interviewed and hired for your trip into the mountains, my brother in law wants to drive around the area in a rental car. Back in an early podcast of yours called “Taking Public Buses in Puerto Vallarta” JR had recommended Gecko Rentals in Bucerias for those who felt the need to rent an automobile. If we do decide to rent an auto, it will be at Gecko in Bucerias and I will send you a review.
It turns out that Gecko has a very well written Travel Guide that you may want to share with your listeners available for download at
http://geckorentcar.com/Gecko-Travel-Guide-2016.pdf
Thank you, Barry for all the entertaining and enlightening podcasts that you do.
Skip from Minnesota
So I thanked him for that information, and that travel guide is really great! I have a link to that in the show-notes too. So then I wanted to know how his trip went and he answered me he said…
Hola Barry,
As things turned out we did not rent a car this past February but opted for Ubers and public transportation. I took an ETN bus to Guadalajara and we spent a couple of days there exploring the Centro Historico and the Mercado Libertad San Juan de Dios. I had a great time in Guadalajara and are already planning next year’s big city adventure during our month in the Bahia de Banderas with a trip to CD MX.
Our proximity to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle allowed me to buy a lot of seafood at the huge Mercado del Mar in La Cruz. Although the shrimp is not local from the Bay, we bought a lot of it along with Huachinango, Atun, and Dorado. At about $5 US per pound, the spiny lobster was a real treat. The huge Sunday market in La Cruz is very popular with Canadians and United Staters. Although I felt the prices were high, there is a lot to look at there. The food stalls are phenomenal and I urge you to consider doing some interviews in a podcast there.
I had an opportunity on the malecon in Puerto Vallarta to meet the Candy Man, Salvador Estrada and had a nice visit as well as adding $100 MXN to his Marathon fund. He was so appreciative and spoke very highly of you.
I also visited with Gil Gevins at Lucy’s Cucu Canana and talked about his books and their business. He is a very entertaining person.
I used Uber a lot going from Bucerias to points around the Bay including Punta de Mita, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, and Puerto Vallarta. I was very pleased with the low consistent prices from the drivers as well as their quality vehicles. We even took an Uber to el Pitillal where we spent a morning in the beautiful church and enjoyed a great lunch and some churros.
In addition we used the ATM bus to and from Bucerias as well as the combis which generally charge the same prices as the buses but are considerably more comfortable for a gringo with long legs.
I really enjoyed the Taco episode you did a couple weeks ago. I would say that I consider you a master of tocos but the research seemed more like a PhD dissertation.
Keep up the great work. Your research is much appreciated by your listeners.
Skip
So I was surprised to hear that he was able to summon an UBER from Nayarit. I thought UBER dropped you off in Nuevo, for sure, but didn’t know they would pick up there, so I emailed him back and I asked….
Did you really get UBER to come pick you up in Nuevo and he said….
Barry,
Uber worked very well in Bucerias back in February and we used it going to and from La Cruz and into PV as well. There seems to be a shortage of Uber drivers up there in Nayarit so waiting 10-15 minutes for a pickup and occasionally having a driver cancel my pickup was typical. On more than 2 dozen Uber rides I became acquainted with several drivers who picked us up repeatedly. The Uber rate was so low that I tipped all my Uber drivers an extra $10 Pesos via the Uber app. Since gasoline is now over $21 Mxn per liter I am certain that the extra pesos are needed and appreciated.
Taxi rates in Bucerias vary widely from 50 % more than Uber to 200% more depending on location, demand, time of day, and the mood of the taxista. I really appreciate Uber drivers in the Banderas Bay area! I also used Uber in Guadalajara where the taxi rates are much lower than in Banderas Bay and it worked well saving 1/3 to 1/2 on rides versus by taxi. I also appreciate the much nicer and newer vehicles than the taxi drivers we rode with. I walked a block from our Hotel entrance before ordering my Uber ride to avoid subjecting my Uber driver to any issues with taxi drivers.
I enjoyed the airbnb episode. Keep up the good work and enjoy La Cruz de Huanacaxtle!
Skip
So I checked and what do you know??? They do. Don’t tell anyone though. Oh, and do like you normally do and don’t summon one of those Ubers near a taxi stand, a busy restaurant, a street that dead ends into the Malecon, your hotel. Be careful about that but how about that? Uber in Nuevo.
And speaking about crossing state lines, it seems authorities have been asking drivers and folks crossing for their proof of their immigration status in Mexico. So what I’m getting at for you vacationers and
visitors staying less than 180 days, which your tourist visa allows for, that’s your FMM card you fill out when you come into the country, and it gets stamped going in, and teen retrieved upon departure, and if you don’t have that piece of paper by the way it’s like a $25 fine. You are going to have to keep a copy of that FMM card with you along with that black and white copy of your passport and driver’s license that you carry with you in lieu of the real thing, right? In black and white because why? Because a color copy gives authorities reason to think there is some sort of fraud involved, so black and white copies. That’s for you visitors on your FMM, if you are a resident temporary or Permanente, you should be able to show your card, or a black and white copy of the card if you are making a copy.
Okay, let’s get to our interviews, shall we?
Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza, RISE, A Shelter for Young Children in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Mexico is a lovely country and many of us are so appreciative of the welcome we get from the people of Puerto Vallarta especially. Vartenses are such friendly people but seeing some of the poverty and low standards
of living as far as a decent wage is concerned, we all want to help. To give back in some way.
And as we have mentioned, there are so many charities in Puerto Vallarta from dog rescues and children rescues too right? I’ve taken you to a local Vallarta orphanage, called Corazon de Nina. It was some time
ago that we went there. And during that interview with Melissa Cano, as well as in conversations with JR, we talked about how there really aren’t orphans in Vallarta. That these families are big, and if there wasn’t a mom or dad, the other family members would step up and take in a child who was truly without a mother or father. The family units in Mexico are just so big. Most of these homes, are places for children at risk.
Not too far from the hustle and bustle of the romantic zone is a place called RISE. Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza. Refugio Infantil stands for children’s shelter, and Santa Esperanza. If you go straight up from
the romantic zone, up into the neighborhoods you will find colonia Benito Juarez, I have a map in the show-notes of course. And we will be talking a little about that with our first guests Lisa Manoogian and Billy Pilawski. They are from the states and well, I’ll let them tell you their story. But they were such kind and wonderful people, so giving of their time, I just can’t wait to introduce you to them and for you to
hear their stories, and I hope listening to them, you might decide to give a little, or even a lot of your time or more, to this fine institution. So, Let’s go right now to the Benito Juarez Neighborhood, and let’s visit with Lisa and Billy at the Casa Hogar, RISE. Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza.
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Next, I interviewed Mother Letticia, Madre Letti. She and I talked about what the shelter needs, and we did the entire interview in Spanish. Then, I had a chance to interview the lady who helped establish RISE. The lady in charge Madre Maria de Jesus, or as the folks at the shelter call her affectionately Madre Mari. So in reality, I asked both madre’s the same questions, so instead of playing both interviews, I’m going to only play the one with Madre Mari.
Of course, I was warned by JR that the madres don’t speak English there, and that never stops me as you know. I can interview in Spanish, but it was cool, When I began to interview the madre, I started in Spanish, and there was a gentleman there, his name was Eduardo. Eduardo Rincom-Gallardo. And when I
started interviewing the Madre, he got up and started saying goodbye and I’m like, why are you going,
and he says, well, I’m the translator and since you don’t need me, I’m going to move on, and I said wait a minute. Please, sit down and translate for me, It will be so much easier for me. So, what a treat. I had a translator, and once I got the hang of it, letting him do all the work, life was good.
So, let’s hear from one of the founders and the lady in charge at RISE, Madre Marie de Jesus, Madre Mari.
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So sweet.
I have to tell you; she runs that place like a champ. There were a couple of times where she would look out in the courtyard during the interview, and she asked to be excused and put down the microphone and took care of a misbehaving child and came back to the interview.
I got a note from Lisa after the interview and it read…
Thank you so much for taking the time to make a podcast for RISE. You were so great with the Madres. It was so fun to see them interviewed. It may be one of my favorite memories from this season. They were so cute. Usually they have more stern personalities due to the continuous need to discipline 30 children. They are impressive.
And we really enjoyed meeting you. We had fun too. So glad you were there when the children came home from school – you saw all aspects. Homework and playtime in the courtyard. Even the little infant.
And I took lots of pictures of RISE. You need to look in the show notes. No pictures of the children though. That’s not allowed due to the nature of there actually being there.
Contact Information For RISE, Refugio Infantil Santa Esparanza
- Address: Flores Magón, Benito Juárez, 48389 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico
- Phone Number: +52 322 222 7857
- Website: RISE PV ,org.
- Facebook Page Website: https://www.facebook.com/risepv/
Suggestions From Billy and Lisa
I have links for the Facebook page where you can contact them and come visit, or better yet, commit to
some volunteer days. I also have a link to their website where you can find out more about RISE, and where you can set up a donation plan, to keep this place up and running. And again, I want to thank Lisa
and Billy for helping me set up this whole interview. And thanks for being so sweet and caring and giving to these sweet kids. Maybe you have a place in your hearts and lives, for these kids who really need you. Think about it won’t you?
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.
Thanks to Lisa Manoogian and Billy Pilawski, Thanks for what you do and thanks for sharing with all of us, thank you Madre Mari. Thanks for taking time out of your very busy day and talking with me and my listeners. Get on over to RISE and see what it’s all about. I have maps and links and pictures, come on out!
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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