DIF Vallarta Brings relief supplies to the victims of Tropical Storm Narda to the People of Cabo Corrientes
Also a Visit to The Vallarta Botanical Garden and Bob Price
Learn about the creation of the Department of Emergency Preparedness in Puerto Vallarta
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
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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.
This week we have a change of plans and we were going to go funny with Hedda Lettuce, but we are going more serious and concentrate on Tropical storm Narda and now Tropical Storm Pricilla and their effects on Puerto Vallarta and especially the hard-hit areas south in Cabo Corrientes. We are going to
go on a humanitarian aid trip with the Mayor’s wife and volunteers to hand out dispensas, food supplies, water filters, water and more to the villages north of Tehuamixtle, in the villages of Naranjitos, Aquiles Serdan, Graciano Sanchez, La Parota and La Playita and the town of Tomatlan, We’ll be talking with Jimmy Plouff and his wife Frankie about what’s needed and about the progress on relief efforts, We have Bob Price coming on talking about the Botanical Garden, all that and more but before we dive in, let me fill you in on what’s happening in town, my latest trip including some upcoming interviews, personal observations from this last of 12 day visit to paradise, so let’s get to what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, October 23rd, 2019.
Bad Internet in My Airbnb
It took some time to get this podcast produced because the internet was an issue once again this time, as and I decided that for now on, when I’m gathering interviews in paradise, I’ll be recording interviews, and not posting episodes while on the ground. It’s just too hard!!
On The Ground Observations in Puerto Vallarta
Okay, it’s hot and humid. I had a couple of 4 shower and 4 t shirt days. So, what does it look like on the ground after the big flooding after Tropical Storm Narda, and now tropical storm Pricilla, If you walked around town, you would never know there was flooding. Aside from a few foot bridges washed out, no issues. The FIT Club is back open as well as just about everyone, getting ready for high season.
There are some issues. First of all, the Los Muertos Pier is not lit up at night in beautiful colors. It’s not lit up at all. It’s dark, and they need to fix it before high season hits. I hope they will.
The road from El Tuito to Mayto and Tehuamixtle is open. We were on it a couple of weeks ago with supplies bound for north of the area, and we managed to get all the way to Mayto with just a few tricky areas. But the road is open, so go and enjoy the beaches there if you had planned to go.
Speaking of beaches, Playa Colomitos, the first beach you reach as you hike along the trail from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas or beyond if you want…the little beach at Colomitos was washed away. According to the owner of the Ocean Grill, Ernesto, the beach will come back. I had a nice visit with Ernesto, so stand by.
Coming back in town the beach was moved around in front of the mouth of the Cuale. I have pictures of the sand bars that formed out there. That can always change around as more water comes down the
river, and mother nature is doing a number on Vallarta with all the rain and landslides. There were a number of closures on the Carratera Mismaloya 200 around the Garza Blanca, in a bunch of places. There has been so much rain and the soil is saturated, and eventually, even with all the lush vegetation and ground-cover of the tropical jungle, 20 inches of rain over a 3 week period will really soak the soil.
A Colonoscopy in Puerto Vallarta
I had a medical procedure done on day three of my visit. I had Pamela Thompson Web of Healthcare Resources PV make an appointment with one of her docs to perform a routine scheduled colonoscopy on me and all went well.
There was one hiccup though. I’m getting up early in the morning to make it to my 9 AM appointment at the clinic near the Marina. I’m Downtown so about a half hour away. My cellphone rings and it’s the
clinic. The receptionist asks if it’s me, and I say yes, then she says you have a colonoscopy scheduled this morning. And I’m like, yes, I’m thinking I did all this awful prep for nothing. She says, Dr. Loya, he wants to know if you can come earlier. It’s 7, the appointment is at nine, and I’m like…when, and she says, like now? I told her the soonest I could be there would be at 8 and she agreed.
Then, on the way to the clinic, in the taxi I get another call and the receptionist says, is it okay if Dr. Loya doesn’t do your procedure? We have another doctor here who is also a specialist. I’m like, sure, as long as it’s not his first bbq, she says oh, he is a specialist Mr. Kessler. I’m imagining a kid, looking up colonoscopy on YouTube to brush up on the procedure.
I was relieved to see the doctor did have some grey hair. At least he said he was the doctor. For all I know he was the janitor and they switched him out once I was out cold with the 13 year old.
No, it went fine. I won’t get into the procedure itself other than to say the procedure is the easiest part. You are asleep the whole time. The preparation was the hardest part…look it up if you don’t already know what in entails, the cost was $340 US and I was up and about an hour later. Took a cab home, then walked to Eddies for a haircut, then a bus ride up to the Botanical Garden, and then a meet and greet at Kelly’s, all on the same day. How about that?
So, I tell you about this because colo-rectal cancer is a killer that can be so easily prevented. If you are 55 or older, you should have a colonoscopy, and if recommended by your doctor, every 5 to ten years after that. Thanks Pamela and thanks to Dr. Joya’s staff. And no, I didn’t get an interview with the doc.
Time Changes Sunday in Puerto Vallarta
This Sunday the clocks are going to fall back at 2 in the morning so set um back.
I got a message from Samara at Gold Leaf Smoke Shop and she said tomorrow is the big day…October 24th 2019 is the day pot becomes legal in Mexico. That’s right!!
From Reuters…online…
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Senate will vote for a bill to fully legalize marijuana in the next few days, a key lawmaker told Reuters, marking a major step toward changing the country’s approach to the drug by removing it as a source of income for violent drug gangs.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist critic of Mexico’s longstanding drug war, has since last year signaled his openness to the decriminalization of marijuana as part of a broader shift on security policy.
Sen. Ricardo Monreal, the leader of Lopez Obrador’s MORENA party in the upper chamber of Congress, said in an interview late on Monday that a vote on the proposal will take place later this week or next week.
“The end of the prohibitionist policy is good for the country,” he said, adding that the bill would regulate personal use and sale of marijuana as well as research into the plant. It also contemplates creation of cooperatives that would grow marijuana plus a new regulatory agency.
If approved by the Senate, the proposal would then proceed to the lower house for a vote.
Late last year, the Supreme Court said lawmakers have until Oct. 24 to legalize marijuana, after the high court ruled in several cases that the prohibition of the recreational use of the drug violates the constitution.
Under Mexican law, if the Supreme Court issues the same decision five times, the rulings set a precedent and the court can then order the establishment of a regulatory framework as well as further legal action.
While the leader of MORENA in the lower house, Mario Delgado, has proposed that the government tightly administer a future marijuana market, Monreal was noncommittal.
“There are some (proposals) that would establish a type of state-run monopoly… but we want to leave it more open,” he said.
The 59-year-old lawyer also left open the possibility that the legislation could be put on hold if a public referendum on legalizing marijuana sought by Lopez Obrador were to be authorized first.
“We will know in the next few days if we’re able to build a (legislative) consensus or if we wait for the referendum,” said Monreal.
The legislative leader emphasized that “many companies” have approached him and expressed their interest in the proposal, following similar initiatives in several U.S. states, including California, as well as Canada.
And I have a link to that article in the shownotes.
And thank you Samara, By the way Gold Leaf has just opened a second location in Plaza Caracol, so congrats Samara, I have a link to both locations, the other in Emiliano Zapata, in the show-notes.
Contact for Gold Leaf Puerto Vallarta
Website: https://www.goldleaf.mx/
Phone: 322.222.1839
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldleafsmokeshop/
Address: Lázaro Cárdenas 379, Zona Romántica, Emiliano Zapata, 48380 Puerto Vallarta
BazArt on Cuale Island
There is a new place to shop in Puerto Vallarta. It seems it’s very difficult to get a spot at the Saturday Olas Altas Farmer’s Market, especially if you are a local with limited funds. So, introducing…BazArt, a
new flea market set up on Cuale Island, Saturdays from 2-7, at the Cultural Center at the rear of the Island. Lots of local handy crafts and food. Vendors are asked for a $150 peso fee that goes towards upkeep, and they can sign up for weekly or bi-weekly times for those interested, I have a link to BazArt in the shownotes, or go to their Facebook page. BazArt.
Fiesta En La Calle November 2nd Los Muertos Brewing
From the Facebook page…
Join us for the 7th annual Fiesta en la Calle Saturday November 2nd!
- 2:00 Ballet Folklorico
- 3:00 Puddle Mountain Ramblers
- 4:30 Texas Embassy Blues Band
- 6:00 Bad Weathers
- 7:30 Funk Schwa
- 9:00 Roxy’s Rock House band
- 10:30 Mariachi Joya de Mexico
Celebrate Dia de los Muertos! Come with your face painted or just get it painted here in the street for a small donation.
I had several people come up to me and said hey, have you seen the stickers on the back of the new buses in town? Did you hear they donated the buses, and they have huge balls cuz they even have their initials on the back of the buses. I’m like, what do you mean, and they said there’s a sticker on the backs of then buses that read CNG, Cartel New Generation. What chutzpah.
Okay, so let me set any of you right who might believe this, we have right here in Los Angeles, buses with stickers saying CNG. So, look, don’t make this mistake, Compressed natural gas (CNG) (methane stored at high pressure) is a fuel that can be used in place of gasoline, Diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). … In response to high fuel prices and environmental concerns.
Now it is true that the new air-conditioned buses were in fact donated by the Cartel Jalisco New Generation, to the city of Puerto Vallarta, yes…really, but the stickers with CNG in the back are purely coincidental.
One of the advantages to speaking Spanish is being able to get the story right from the street. I was talking with a friend who asked me,,do you know what happened to the guys who owned the old buses? I said no, I hadn’t even thought of them. I was told they had some friends who owned some of the old buses, and they were paid very little for the old clunkers, and that they made a deal with the new bus company to fund them for a short number of years. Hummm…makes you wonder if drivers are afraid of wrecking a bus cuz well, it’s like’’’oye, Jesus, sorry to hear about that little accident you had yesterday but….el Chapo wants to see ya.
Speaking about buses, remember you need exact change, 10 pesos when you hop on the bus.
Rambo is Turning 67!
Rambo, our friend Edgar Rene will be turning 67 years old October 29th. Make sure you slide him cash
when you see him. He’s pretty normal to see him across from Margarita Grill. I have a great picture of him.
Mi Cafe is Expanding
Adalberto at Mi Café told me he’s doing a remodel.
One of my favorite breakfast and lunch spots in Puerto Vallarta, Mi Café, is expanding! Adalberto sent
me some photos of how it looked a couple of days ago, and you can find them in the show notes, or I will
post them today on The Puerto Vallarta Travel Show Facebook Page. He said they hope to be open
November 1st, and he will send me more pics as the date comes closer. I Love Mi Café!!
Listener Wants to Know Where to Find Magic Mushrooms in Puerto Vallarta
I got an email from listener Shaylin who writes, Just wondering if you know how to obtain magic mushrooms in PV?
So, I must say that my story about doing magic mushrooms as a youth in Mexico City has had quite an effect on some of you I see.
Well, here’s the thing. I am not endorsing, nor condoning anything here. You are all adults I assume. Right? So first of all, most of us aren’t in Puerto Vallarta during Mushroom Harvesting Season. You can find magic mushrooms in the cow patties in El Tuito, with a guide, I always suggest a guide which I happen to know a few, and the time, like I said is a time when you probably won’t be there because it’s so damn hot, August. In fact, local shroomers call the month Hongosto. Hongo for mushrooms, and gusto for Agusto. Kind of a play on words. So Shaylin, go in August and get a guide. Also September works but by then, the grass is so high you won’t be able to find them without searching through high grass, and believe me, you don’t really want to be doing that if you know what I mean. It’s a freeking jungle okay?
Places I stayed in Puerto Vallarta
So just a quick note on the places I stayed. The first place was a little studio right on the Malecon at Libertad. In Malecon Uno.
The room was a room I had been in before. We were staying in the same building a couple years back, and we got there before they could clean our room, so they put us In this room till it was ready. The bed was a little hard as most beds are around here. I knew in advance from an Airbnb review, so I did something I had never done before, and I ordered an inflatable queen size mattress complete with an electric pump, and I packed it to use on top of the bed. And it was the best thing I had ever done. Everything was good about the place, no view but a private patio to sit on. The rooftop was amazing with a dipping pool and a Malecon View. I have a video in the shownotes, and I also have a full tour video of the Airbnb Condo Studio on The Malecon in the show notes as well as the YouTube channel. I would have extended the stay at Pablo’s condo there, it was so convenient, and no hills, but the internet sucked, and if I can’t work online at night, I’m just dead in Paradise. I’m busy doing interviews during the day, and I can’t work at Vallarta Co-Work at night, so I needed to get out of there, just so I could get some Real Estate work done, so I switched to the Hotel La Siesta, above Downtown Vallarta. The La Siesta is the hotel beneath the Restaurant El Panorama. I really liked the place. The view was spectacular, I had a balcony, and a lovely room for just $55 US a night. But there wasn’t air conditioning, just Mexican Air Conditioning, fans. But it was fine for me. And the same room doubles in price during the high season to $110 US. I also have a video tour of the place in the shownotes as well as my YouTube channel.
I’m doing an episode soon in the Hotel La Siesta and the Restaurant El Panorama in a few months, so stay tuned for that.
Okay let’s get to some interviews.
As I was reporting earlier, after my Tuesday morning medical procedure, I got a haircut, and went to see what was happening at The Botanical Garden. I caught a taxi who dropped me off at the corner of Aguacate and Emiliano Carranza for a bus ride to the Botanical Garden. The fare was 30 pesos or a dollar and a half US. And I did what I always do, a grabbed a seat on the right hand side of the bus, so I could get a good view of the beautiful coastline on the ride down, and a view of the Rio Horcones Canyon on the way up to the garden.
The bus dropped us off and I got there a half hour before Bob was to meet me, so I sprayed myself with some mosquito repellent, and wandered along the pathways through colorful exhibits of all sorts of flora. The Rio Horcones was roaring from the latest rains, lots of birds singing, tons of butterflies. It was a lovely day. I set up my recording equipment and Bob appeared at just the appointed time. There’s always something happening at the Vallarta Botanical Garden and Bob Price, Founder and Curator has some pretty interesting news for us, so let’s go right now to Cabo Corrientes, and talk with Bob Price right now at the Vallarta Botanical Garden….
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Okay. I have links to the upcoming events, and I’ll be reminding you about them as the season progresses. Also I have the links for Yelapa Relief too. In the show notes.
Let’s talk about relief efforts in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Narda
When you are standing in Vallarta looking out at the bay. Looking south you see the land mass make a sweep, to a point, that tip is the village of Corrales.
All along this peninsula are little fishing and farming villages. All of them are at the mouth of rivers, and are built alongside rivers. Fresh water.
Looking out on the Bahia de Banderas, looking south down the land mass as it curves forming the southern part of the bay, you notice the islands, Los Arcos. Mismaloya is approximately where los arcos is, then further down, a few kilometers comes Boca de Tomatlan, then the long beach at Las Animas, then Qumixto. And just a little more than half way along the crescent is Yelapa, then Pizota, Chimo and at the tip, where It stops, is Corrales. Then on the other side of the crescent are the communities of Naranjitos, Aquiles Serdan, Graciano Sanchez, La Parota and La Playita. Mayto, Tehuamixtle and so on.
All along this peninsula, these little fishing and farming villages, all of them are at the mouths of rivers, and are built alongside rivers. It’s the natural thing right? Fresh water is necessary. And once in a while, these rivers turn into raging rivers, and this is exactly what happened.
Almost immediately, groups sprung into action to bring supplies to these communities who lost their homes in many cases, their fishing gear and boats, their livestock, pipelines and sources of fresh water, all washed out to sea. Andy you can see pics of the debris field that Jimmy Plouff took, in the shownotes.
Lots of the villages had no water supply, and bridges supplying gas and propane, and daily supplies were washed away.
All of these riverside communities were affected by the massive flooding from Tropical Storm Narda.
Now… last week we talked about relief efforts being conducted south of Vallarta in the Cabo Corrientes area. We talked about water filters, and we talked with our buddy Jimmy Plouff from Tunnel Road BBQ in Lopez Mateo. I picked up one of those 20 liter filters, the LifeStraw unit we talked about last week, and hauled it down in my suitcase. Very light and easy to transport by the way.
When I got into town Jimmy asked If I wanted to join him with supplies loaded in pangas to Pizotta, they were going on Tuesday, but that was the day and morning of my medical procedure. So I was bummed, but he came back and asked if I would like to tag along on a relief caravan from Vallarta, to the communities north of Mayto that were cut off when their bridge collapsed. Of course, I was all in.
Jimmy suggested I dress for jungle conditions, bring mosquito repellent, snacks and something to drink in case. Also my LifeStraw unit. We would meet at his house at 5:30 in the morning, and head over to the DIF office in Vallarta.
DIF, is short for Desarrollo Integral de la Familia. They help families who need help. And the DIF in Vallarta is traditionally run by the wife of the Mayor of the city, and the mayor’s wife la Mtra. Candelaria Tovar de Dávalos, is really a very special lady, and it was an honor to have met her, and to have had the opportunity to join in on this relief mission.
I learned so much about DIF, in fact we will be going back and doing an entire episode on what they do for the needy folks in Vallarta. That’s coming up of course.
But on this day, DIF of Puerto Vallarta was going down to El Tuito with trucks of relief supplies for the flood victims, in Cabo Corrientes, most notably communities north of Mayto, where Tropical Storm
Narda washed out a big bridge leading to the communities of Naranjitos, Aquiles Serdan, Graciano Sanchez, La Parota and La Playita. The mission was to deliver 155 packages, diapers, cleaning supplies, bottled water, plus a water filter unit to supply those communities .
Then the plan was to travel south to Tomatlan to hand distribute house by house.
We took off caravan style, a bombero truck, like a suburban style truck and two firemen, a stake bed truck and a large pickup from DIF Vallarta, Mrs. Davalos’s Suburban and Jimmy and Frankie’s car, down the Carratera. It was dark. It takes the sun a long time to rise in Vallarta, but we were up early and it wasn’t till we reached El Tuito, that we saw a beautiful sunrise.
We met the folks from DIF Cabo Corrientes, combined some supplies, all very well accounted for I might add. They had lists with names of the people who were going to receive the dispensas. It was well organized.
We decided to leave Jimmy’s smaller vehicle behind, and we split up, Jimmy and Frankie with the Mayor’s wife, and I went with the DIF folks from Cabo Corrientes, and the photographer for the Mayors wife. I waited about 20 minutes before I chimed in in Spanish Before that, I’m sure they had no idea I
understood what they were saying. I love it when you see them thinking about what they said before they knew you understood them. No problem, nobody was out of line. All very polite.
We took off down the road to Mayto, and with just a couple of small issues, we made the trip, so by all means, come to Mayto and Tehua. We headed along a road heading north of Mayto where we stopped at the downed bridge leading into the village of Aquilles Serdan. North of Aquilles Serdan were the towns of Naranjitos, Graciano Sanchez, La Parota and La Playita. The representatives from the little villages sloshed across the river, knee and waste deep in water. Something they couldn’t have done a few days earlier due to the speed and level of the river. We unloaded the supplies, all accounted for on paper. They knew who was getting what, and if they needed something extra, it was generally accommodated, like diapers or formula. We busted out the water filter and Jimmy and Frankie showed them how to use it. They drank the purified water from the muddy river right in front of them and they said…looks good to us!
The mayor’s wife, Srs. Davalos made a proclamation, reassuring all those within the sound of her voice, and recommitting the bond and friendship between the people of Cabo Corrientes, and those of Vallarta. I have a video of all the excitement as well as pictures, in the show notes, so look for that.
We headed back to El Tuito, and we all sat at a big table at a restaurant, and had Lunch. Then we regrouped, re-packed, and shifted again back into Jimmy’s car, then we all caravanned and headed
down Carratera 200 south, to the town of Tomatlan. About 55 kilometers Where the Tomatlan river had inundated the town. We pulled into their version of DIF, and met another lady with a clipboard with the addresses of the people in town who needed help. So we went door to door, delivering these
dispensas , cleaning supplies, diapers when there were babies, formula, so much more. I was so impressed with how organized they were and how hard everyone worked including the boss lady
senora Davalos. Most of them were caught by surprise and had to crawl up on their unstable corrugated roofs. Others made it to neighbors who had 2 story structures.
Some of these folks had suffered through similar flooding in the past, and they seemed numb to it all. The hard thing was all the family pets we lost. Cats and dogs just floated away. It was very sad.
Another guy, when I asked him what he did, he said he stood on Highway 200, the water all the way up to his calves . 12 hours till the levels started to recede.
Note the photos of the homes in Tomatlan…Notice the water lines on the homes we visited. Water rose up almost to door-tops. I had a chance to talk to several who relayed what it was like. Frightening!
It was very humbling to see how these people live. Cinder-block houses, dirt floors, no running water. Plumbing. And the water had taken everything from them. Their clothes, their mattresses, everything. So it was quite an experience I’ll tell you.
After several hours of delivering door to door in Tomatlan, in the hot sun, it was time to drop off any left over relief supplies at the Tomatlan DIF Office, and begin our way back to El Tuito, then on to Puerto Vallarta. When we got back into town it was 7:30. Just in time to catch a sunset.
Let’s get a quick overview as things stand right now as of October 23rd, 2019 regarding Tropical Storm Narda Relief from Jimmy and Frankie.
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Okay, I have links to all the relief efforts as well as the LifeStraw and more.
LifeStraw Website: https://www.lifestraw.com/
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Facebook Page for Departamento de Preparaciones de EmergenciasPuerto Vallarta
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DIF Puerto Vallarta Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sistemadifvallarta/
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DIF Puerto Vallarta Website
Okay that should do it for this week. All this relief is making me tired.
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.
I want to thank Jimmy and Frankie, the mayor’s wife and the staff at DIF. I was so impressed with what they do and as I said, I have a special episode devoted to them coming up soon. Thank you so much Bob Price at the Vallarta Botanical Garden. Get over there and see what’s new. 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!