We Visit Restaurant Tuna Azul, Tacos, Mariscos and Bar in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
My Trip Adviser Forum Friend Condu Talks about Luxury Condo Rentals in Puerto Vallarta
Tropical Storm Narda Pummels Vallarta and the Southern Beach Villages and Jimmy Pluff Talks about Relief Efforts Underway
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 your toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
This week we are going to visit a hot restaurant in the middle of the Romantic Zone. It’s become one of my favorites and it’s called Tuna Azul, you will meet Diego Maldonado the manager and one of the family in this family business, and you will meet my friend Constance, she is known in the Trip Advisor Forum world as Condu, and Constance is going to talk about some great condos she has found using Airbnb and VIRBO. She is into the more upscale digs, unlike me…but before we get to Diego and Condu, let’s see what’s happening in Puerto Vallarta this week, the 29th of October, 2019.
Tropical Storm Narda Wrecks Havoc on the Cuale, and Yelapa, Boca de Tomatlan, Las Animas, Quimixto Chimo, Pizota, Corrales, Tehuamiztle and more…
Tropical storm Narda has passed through Puerto Vallarta, leaving lots of destruction in her wake. I’ve been holding off on putting out this episode because I wanted to get the whole story to you and not in pieces. The night of the 29th the Rio Cuale jumped its banks, flooding into the Romantic Zone. The flooding occurred in the south side of the river with water, silt and mud filling up many subterranean garages, with evacuations in the early morning hours in the area of the Molina de Agua. The breach occurred at the place where one of the foot bridges crossing over to the Cuale Island is at Constitution, and the water flooded down the 5th of febrero and Aquilles Serdan, down to the area of the Molina de Agua, and that Timothy Real Estate Plaza where Seasons Restaurant is and The Fit Club Gym. It’s like a bowl there and the whole area was under water for some time.
The center of the storm passed through Vallarta at around 7 in the morning, the 30th of September. Wind speeds were expected to be as high as 40 to 70 miles per hour, but once the storm hit the mountains along the coast, the winds died down.
But there was lots of damage and flooded cars. Mud and silt from the river covered lots of the area from constitution down to the sea including in subterranean garages.
There’s lots of rain coming down now, tonight October 1st as I record this podcast. It rained all last night and lots of rain yesterday has our current levels well over 60 inches year to date as compared to last years 41 inches. So, lots of rain in Puerto Vallarta, and I’m going to be there the beginning of next week October 6th. I’ll bring my umbrella. Just kidding. I don’t need no stinking umbrella!
The biggest issue, because it won’t be long before the Romantic Zone will be all cleaned up, but the areas south were very hard hit and need our help right away.
I have video of the Yelapa river just so huge, half of the beach got washed away down in Yelapa. Every year we see these wild videos of the waterfalls in Yelapa just looking like Niagara Falls on Steroids, well, there is lots of damage in Yelapa, and I’ll be on the ground next week to bring you the latest.
Last week we talked about Hurricane Lorena and all the rain and virtually no wind in Vallarta. Well, I said there was damage down south and we have reports that there was lots of flooding, and mudslides in the areas of Corrales and Tehuamixtle. If you have ever been to Tehuamixtle, it’s a fishing village that sits at
the bottom of a bowl. It’s surrounded by cliffs, and there were rock and mud slides effecting homes, a school and businesses. The road into Tehua was closed for a while, it was being repaired, but more rain is falling.
The road to Mayto is washed out in so many places, they aren’t’ sure when it will be repaired, and folks are stranded.
I reached out to our friend Jimmy Plouff from Tunnel Road BBQ because he was busting his behind today getting supplies to places in need. Let’s see what Jimmy was doing, and how we can help…
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So, thanks Jimmy. I have links for the filters in the show notes. And if you are coming down anytime soon, buy one or two or three, and bring them in to Jimmy at Tunnel Road BBQ, and he will get them into the right hands. Also make sure you try some of Jimmy’s fantastic BBQ while you’re at it. We call that a win-win. LifeStraw Mission Water Purification System runs $90 US on Amazon.
LifeStraw Mission Water Purification System Info
I have another podcast episode featuring Jimmy coming up in a few weeks. We’ll talk about among other things about surviving on Mexican Wages. It will be very interesting.
Also, as you remember from last week when Hurricane Lorena came by,
I have a post shared by Matty and Jessie at La Jolla de Tuito Bed and Breakfast in El Tuito. They have a collection going ..let me read from their Facebook post, it reads…
Hurricane Lorena left many families in Cabo Corrientes worried about their livelihoods. Heavy rainfall flooded homes and schools, high winds destroyed crops, and fishing villages were left without work.
You can help them! For only $11 USD/$170 MXN you can donate a care package with ten essential food products to these families. Any amount you can donate will be greatly appreciated.
They are taking donations at OXXO’s around town, also at La Jolla de Tuito, you can send them funds via PayPal, and they will make sure to get the money to the right folks.
I have all the information in the show notes. I sent for 10 packages.
Also, I spoke with my friend Linda, Linda is the girlfriend of Tane Escalante from Agua Fria Camping Tours in El Tuito. You remember I took you there a couple of months back? Well Linda works in the municipal government in Cabo Corrientes, and she says that in addition to the $11 care packages, they can always use money or materials. They need it for cleaning supplies, roofing materials, etc.
So, lots of emergencies associated with living in the tropics, living in hurricane country and it’s rainy season you guys.
All these places we love so much. The places that make Vallarta such a great place to visit, are in trouble. Don’t avoid coming down, come down and help. Las Animas, Mismaloya, Boca de Tomatlan, Qumixto,
Mayto, Tehuamixtle, Yelapa and the smaller villages much less visited like Pizota, and Corrales and Chimo. They are beautiful places that need our help. And in a very short time, we can help them get back on their feet, and we can appreciate these beautiful places even more. Because we know how precious they are.
And speaking of the emergencies associated with living in the tropics. Dengue is in the news again, this time, it’s being blamed on climate change. But, let’s wait till next week for that news. Too much bad news isn’t good for your health.
PUERTO VALLARTA PLANNING ACTIVITIES FOR ‘ANIMAL WEEK’
From Puerto Vallarta Daily News…
Puerto Vallarta will promote the care and protection of animals during “Animal Week” from October 4 – 11, with a series of talks and activities to commemorate World Animal Day.
Silvia Álvarez Bustos, head of the Animal Welfare Department, announced the program that has been prepared for Friday 4 at 10:00 a.m., with an exhibition in the courtyard of the Municipal Presidency, where five artists will participate. They will present their works in clay, paint, and ceramics related to animals, as well as the screening of the film “Cría Puercos” in the auditorium of the Vallartense Institute of Culture (IVC), at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 5, the talk “Social Journalism in Animal Welfare” will be held, which will be taught by José Luis Jiménez Castro and Laura Díaz, founder and producer of the Amigo Animal program, respectively, which has more than 25 years promoting animal rights and welfare, talk to be held in the boardroom of the UMA at 1:00 p.m.
On Sunday, Álvarez Bustos, the “Animal Bohemian” concert will take place, with an evening of music and poetry in the courtyard of the Municipal Presidency at 7:30 pm; while on Monday the Photo Walk will be carried out, on the boardwalk of the city at 10:00 am, a photographic exhibition of the animals that are held in the Animal Health and Control Center of Puerto Vallarta.
October 8 the talk “Bees, our allies” will be presented, by Imperial Bee, a group that collaborates with the Subdirectorate of Civil Protection and Firefighters, on the issue of protection of swarms, talk that will take place in the IVC auditorium at noon, in addition to a tour of the Cuale river island to know the local swarms.
Within these activities, there is a talk about the Humpback Whales and the projects in Banderas Bay, at 6:00 pm; while on Thursday, a talk about Basic Concepts of Animal Welfare will be presented at 5:00 p.m., both in the Berenice Starr room of the Los Mangos Library.
Friday the Symposium will be held: “Management of poisonings caused by animals of ponzoña”, at the UMA at 11:00 am, and at night the fifth edition of the Animal Party in Señor Frog’s, being the only event that will cost $150 pesos per person.
All events, except for the Animal Party, will have no cost; however, there will be a voluntary donation in kind, so that attendees can donate sterile gauze and gloves, polyglocolic acid sutures, cat litter, bagged food or can for cats and puppies, for the different activities carried out by the Animal Health and Control Center.
I have a link to the article in the shownotes.
Saving Sea Turtles in Puerto Vallarta Campamento Tortuguero Boca de Tomates
Also don’t forget if you are in town, the Sea Turtles are being released almost every night. Thay have lots of babies being born and needing to be released. Go to their Facebook page and see if they are doing a realese that night, and go out there. Bring your mosquito repellent too okay?
Meet and Greet at Kelly’s Pour Favor October 8th 5:30-7:30
Now, I’m coming to paradise yeah…on the 6th of May, so next Sunday I’ll be in Vallarta! I plan to horn in on
JR’s meet and greet at Kelly’s Pour Favor Saloon and Cookhouse. We will meet on the rooftop between 5:30 and 7:30. Bring me your Puerto Vallarta stories, your restaurant suggestions, places to visit, hole in the walls, favorite B and B or resort. Tell us about it. We will meet Tuesday October 8th at 5:30 at Kelly’s Pour Favor Saloon and Cookhouse. Lazaro Cardenas 245 in the Romantic Zone. I’ll have t shirts!
- Lazaro Cardenas #245 Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco 48380
- +52 322 107 1252
I got an email from listener Hillary, and she writes….
You have made such an impact w your travel podcasts for myself and my family and friends! As I was listening yesterday, the thought occurred to me, “I want to know how Barry will answer his own questions”. I would like to interview you! On your own show?! How cool is that? I know your listeners would love that. Thoughts? Maybe Skype me in or something? How fun! Let me know.
Hillary
Now Hillary and I have become friends, and we’ve even talked on the phone with one another, and I really like her. She has a great voice, and I’m sure she would be a perfectly fine interviewer person to interview me.
So, I thought about this and figured I better ask you what you think about this. I mean, here’s my take on it. Every week I ask someone for recommendations in the hope that I can extract a piece of information about a place that I have never heard of. Be it a restaurant, a special location or daytrip. You know the drill. So, if someone is asking me the same questions, I don’t know, it might be like, well, why do anything else. If Barry says this is the best, then why stray off his suggestions, you know? It’s been proven by listeners of this show, that they will do what I say is a good thing to do. You know what I’m talking about right?
And the truth is, that I don’t live here. I spend about 30 days here a year, 10 days at a time. The places that interest me are the places I take you to every week. So in my mind, you already know what I like by the places I take the show to. So, Hillary, as you can hear I’m pretty reticent to do this, but let’s see what the listeners say, and then we will see. Alright??
Okay let’s get to the interviews, shall we?
Tuna Azul Restaurant and Bar in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
New restaurants open almost every day in Puerto Vallarta. The restaurant scene is still exploding with over 900 throughout the bay. If a restaurant makes it through the first year, it’s often a miracle.
Well this place I’m taking you to has done a really good job of convincing the very picky eaters in this town, that their food ranks among the top restaurants in town. It’s Tuna Azul. And it’s easy to find, as long as you are looking up. Because it’s on the second floor. It’s on a prominent corner, the corner of Olas
Altas and Francisco Rodriguez. Francisco Rodriguez is known as Pier Street. And if you walk up Francisco
Rodriguez from the pier into town, the first cross street you run into is Olas Altas, and like I said, if you look up, you will see Tuna Azul, sitting above Café San Angel, a hamburger joint on the north east corner. It’s just down the block from Andale’s on Olas Altas.
The place is open on two sides so you can sit at the railing and have a great seat to watch the world pass by on one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in Vallarta so a great people watching place for sure. But it’s the food, the good tunes and drinks that will keep you coming back for more.
I climbed the steps to the second level of the building, and I asked the Manager Diego if he would talk with me. And Diego said in English? And I’m like, yes. And he was a little nervous about doing the interview in English, and in fact, I offered to do it in Spanish, and you will see we started out doing it in Spanish, but I soon discovered Diego’s English was just fine, he was just a little shy. So I just wanted to explain the first part of the interview okay?
Okay, well enough of me. Let’s go to Calle Francisco Rodriguez 155 in the romantic zone of Puerto Vallarta, and let’s meet Diego Maldonado, one of the family at this cool restaurant, Tuna Azul….
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Okay Diego. Great job. I have pictures of his place, of the food, and links and maps to get you right to the front door of Tuna Azul.
Contact Information For Tuna Azul
- Address: Francisca Rodríguez 155, Altos. Olas Altas Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco 48380
- Phone: +52 322 178 0657
- Facebook: Facebook Tuna Azul
- Instagram: Instagram Tuna Azul
Luxury Condos for Airbnb and VIRBO Rentals in Puerto Vallarta
Next I have a Trip Adviser Forum buddy who I’ve actually quoted on the show. Her name is Constance, and she goes by the handle of Condu on the Trip Adviser forums.
I love the way she writes and so as I’ve said, I quoted her at least once on the podcast. Well, on my first visit to Vallarta to record interviews in January of 2017, I arranged to meet Constance and her husband Duane for dinner at Layla’s Restaurant in the Cinco de Diciembre neighborhood. It was my first trip to Vallarta without my wife, and so it was a little awkward for me, not having a dinner date. So we made arrangements, and had a lovely dinner. By the way, we will be going to Layla’s in a couple of weeks so stay tuned for that. I told them what I was doing there, starting a podcast, and I think they were amused actually. At any rate, I was impressed with the way they traveled. And I liked their descriptions of the places they were staying. Now Constance and Duane don’t travel like I do, where I get a thrill if I can be comfortable in a $30 a night studio. No. They travel more luxuriously in the nicer Airbnb’s and VIRBO online rental platforms. And if you were going to compare these properties to let’s say an all-inclusive resort property, you would most likely find the luxury rental to be superior in many ways. One, nobody will ask you if you would like to see their timeshare scam presentation. You will be free to eat well, and cheaply in town for breakfast lunch and dinner. You won’t miss the resort food I promise. You will be able to live more like a local than if you were at a resort.
So, Constance thought we should talk about her rental experiences as well as some of her favorite places to eat in town for our subject. And we met at Langostinos on the Playa Los Muertos, next door to Cuates y Cuetes to talk about luxury condos and such, and just as we started to talk, the live music started as well. So, we have a soundtrack too!
Okay, let’s go right now to Langostinos on Playa Los Muertos, and learn about luxury rentals in Paradise, Let’s meet my buddy from Nanaimo, BC, Condu.
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Okay thanks Constance! I have links to the properties that are still available as well as pictures, links the restaurants she likes and so on, so check it out at www.puertovallartatravel show.com
Condu’s Favorite Restaurants in Puerto Vallarta
Now next week, I hope to run the interview with Heddda Lettuce, so that should be a real riot. I’ll produce that from Vallarta and get it out for sure. Just as soon as I clean up the f and s words. It’s hilarious.
And I apologize for being a little sporadic with my podcast release schedule, but I have a real job here in Los Angeles, as you may remember I sell houses. I’m a realtor and I have a Realtor wife too. And Debra and I are very busy these days thank goodness. And she is going to hold down the fort while I’m hunting for interviews in paradise. It’s a great deal for me for sure. But it’s not all fun and games for me. She makes me work while I’m here. I do interviews, but she passes me work, and I do it. Either in my Airbnb, or if the internet sucks, I’ll go to Vallarta Co-work to get the speed I need. Lucky for me, in my business, I can sell homes, send documents for signatures, list a home or write an offer for a client, right from my computer in Mexico. I take and make calls, send emails, texts, produce flyers and send them to my printer for distribution, create just sold postcards and have them mailed. All that from Puerto Vallarta. And nobody knows I’m out of the country, except for my wife. So it’s not all just fun and games. Okay.
And don’t forget if you are planning on being in Vallarta the 8th of October, come to Kelly’s Pour Favor on the 8th of October 2019 at 5:30 in the evening.
And be sure to like the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show Facebook Page to get alerts and news as it breaks in Puerto Vallarta, as well as an announcement of a second Meet and Greet the following Tuesday.
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 Diego Maldonado from Tuna Azul. Check out the great lobster tacos, the tuna, the fresh seafood and the cool view. And thanks to Constance from Nanaimo, Nice background music right? Thank you for telling us about your experiences here in Vallarta. And thank you Jimmy Plouff, make sure to look at the water filter in the show notes, and buy one to take down for this, or the next emergency. And thank you 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!