Living Months at a Time in Puerto Vallarta
Listener James tells us what it’s like sharing his time between Northern California and Puerto Vallarta, with great travel advice
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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 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 Kelly’s Pour Favor Saloon and Cookhouse for a meet and greet we had back in November. You will meet listener and contributor James Buckley, James has sent a few emails I’ve read on the show, and he was kind enough to drop in on the open microphone meet and greet podcast and impart his wisdom and knowledge about all things Puerto Vallarta, but before we get to James, Let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta the 8th of January 2021.
New Year’s Eve Day Tour Boat Sinks in Banderas Bay
A few weeks ago we had some excitement in town when someone knocked off the ex governor of Jalisco at a local restaurant in town, Districto 5, and this week, we had a tour boat sink. That’s right, on New Year’s eve day, tragedy was narrowly averted when a party boat sank…This article from Vallarta Opina Online….
GAY PARTY on New Years boat SINKED in the bay
ON JANUARY 1, 2021 / IN CITY , PUERTO VALLARTA
Vallarta Port
It was a new years eve celebration. The Delice Party Fest was organized aboard a Canuwa line catamaran.
The plan was to transport members of the LGTBQ community from Los Muertos beach to Qumixto to a party with an open bar.
The cost of the ticket was up to 1200 pesos. It was supposed to be a pre party afternoon heading to New Years Eve ..But on one of the return trips, the catamaran with 60 people still celebrating on board, began to sink.
The bow quickly went under and the passengers had to jump into the sea and swim, luckily, dozens of boats began to come to the rescue of the people in the water.
Although many of them lost their cell phone or camera, in addition to being the scared of their wits.
On Twitter, the event went viral with Internet users already calling it “the Titanic of Vallarta”.
Well, there are several videos that show the scene. The And some foreign press sites already covered the event as well.
And I have a link to that article in the shownotes as well as a YouTube video of the incident and a video Tweet in the shownotes.
The Works of Morgan Santander For Sale in El Tuito at Galeria Coppelia
A friend of the show and a friend of mine Maria Santander, who lives in El Tuito, you know her from Galeria Coppelia, we visited there a couple of years back. I hope you remember her, Maria lost her little brother to cancer about 10 months ago at the
beginning of the pandemic. Morgan her brother was a fantastic artist and she has his life’s work, his art up in El Tuito. The art should be in a museum They should be in a museum, but they are in El Tuito, and her hope is to sell the art so that all the proceeds will go to his 15 year old son when he is of age. It is a huge body of work, Maria tells me that it took almost 9 months of work just to get to El Tuito.
I have a link to share with you to take you to a Facebook page that Maria has set up, it’s a private group so you have to sign up, but wow, his art is incredible. Definitely museum quality art. I’ll be talking with Maria about the project, and about Morgan when I’m in El Tuito next week. I’ll post pictures on The Puerto Vallarta Travel Show Facebook page, as well as do some Facebook live posts from paradise and post to the PVTS page and to the Vallarta Advisor Facebook page as well.
Pot Not Legal Yet In Mexico
If you think this year has been a bummer and are wondering why pot hasn’t been legalized in Mexico yet for god sakes…News comes that we need to wait a little longer…From Mexico News Daily…
The Supreme Court (SCJN) on Thursday granted an extension to the lower house of Congress to debate the recreational use of marijuana.
The court, which ruled last year that laws prohibiting the use of marijuana are unconstitutional, had set a December 15 limit for approval after extending previous deadlines.
The Senate approved a bill last month to legalize pot’s recreational use before passing it to the Chamber of Deputies for revision and a vote.
Lower house lawmakers requested an extension on the grounds that the bill was complex and time was limited.
Dulce María Sauri, an Institutional Revolutionary Party deputy and president of the lower house, said in a letter to the court’s chief justice that the Chamber of Deputies has an obligation to listen to “all interested voices” on the legalization subject. She also said that the Congress must guarantee the opportunity for “wide debate” among lawmakers.
“Due to the complexity of the issue … extending the period granted [for legalization] to the next ordinary sitting period is courteously requested,” Sauri wrote.
With the court’s approval, the Chamber of Deputies will now have until the end of their first 2021 sitting period in late April to make the recreational use of marijuana legal.
If deputies fail to do so, the SCJN could formally declare that all laws prohibiting the plant’s recreational use are unconstitutional.
Once recreational use is approved – considered inevitable because of the court’s 2019 ruling and support for legalization from the ruling Morena party – Mexico will become the world’s largest legal marijuana market.
The bill passed by the Senate allows the possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana by adults but they would be prohibited from smoking in front of children.
People would be permitted to grow up to six plants at home and a licensing system for large-scale production and sale would be established.
Source: Milenio (sp), Reuters (sp)
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/supreme-court-grants-another-extension-to-marijuana-deadline/
Do Mexicans Like Their President Lopez Obrador?
Politics in the US is crazier than usual it makes us wonder how Mexico’s President Obrador is faring in the popularity among la gente. Da peeps. When he first came into office he was very popular and still many of my Mexican friends just love AMLO. So how is he doing in the popularity category? According to an article in AZ Noticias….
AMLO’S POPULARITY REACHED 62% AFTER ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT YEARS FOR MEXICO
The same percentage would vote for him again, 62%. The funny thing is that of those surveyed just 28% of them think the country is going in the right direction.
A year ago in January, before the pandemic Obrador’s popularity was at a whopping 71%, but dipped to 56% in June mostly due to the economic crisis and the Covid Pandemic.
As for how those questioned feel about the administration’s handling of corruption, 39% of respondents say he’s been good, 37% say just the opposite.
As far as public safety, 55% say he has done poorly while 28% say he has improved the safety situation.
When it comes to the economy, 47% believe it’s being handled badly.
Those polled listed the corona virus, then the economy, then unemployment and security as the main problems facing the country.
And when asked if they thought President Obrador was a good person, 64% said he was good or very good, and 15% said he was bad or very bad.
When asked what they liked most about the president, 57% said they liked his honesty, 52% said it was his leadership qualities and 37% responded to his ability to get things done.
It was noted in the article that back in December of 2019, 7 out of 10 people indicated they would vote for Obrador again.
And I have an article in the shownotes that says basically what I just told you but in a longer, twisted more roundabout way and you can find a link to that in the shownotes.
Plans For My Third Visit to Puerto Vallarta During The Pandemic
So my upcoming trip begins this Saturday, January 9th. I’m really looking forward to the trip of course. It will be my third visit during the pandemic. Once in August, I just got back from my visit in early November and tis one coming up, and I have lined up some pretty fascinating people to talk with and bring to you this coming trip. I’m planning to spend time in Bucerias, Mascota and Talpa de Allande, and El Tuito and Mayto Tehua area too. I’m really looking forward to it. Also, I will be having a meet and greet at La Traviata on Monday the 11th from 3 till 5. I’m hosting a pizza party with the Digital Nomad Group.
We will be finding out what these entrepreneurs are doing to make ends meet in paradise. So, if you are in town, get over to that meet and greet Monday January 11th at La Traviata on the roof of the Hotel Paloma del Mar at Calle Honduras #309 in the Cinco de Diciembre neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta. Come by even if you aren’t a digital nomad. We won’t get mad.
Now speaking of Meet and greets, let’s get to the interview shall we?
Meet and Greet at Kelly’s Pour Favor and Cookhouse
Every time I come to Vallarta I do my best to have at least one Meet and Greet, usually at Kelly’s Pour Favor Saloon and Cookhouse where JR has his weekly meet and greets for I don’t know…like 20 years? And the reason I do them is because I get the best interviews from you listeners. It seems like every time I send out the call for listeners to come to a meet and greet, you come through. Even during a pandemic I’ve found, surprisingly enough.
So in November, I held one of these meet and greets and was very happy to see James Buckley come by. James has sent several emails to me which I’ve read over the years, and we even had breakfast together last year, I think it was in October, so I knew that when I saw James walk in, we were going to have a great interview packed with information and ideas for all of us.
So let’s go right now to the meet and greet and meet my friend, and now yours, James Buckley, listener, email contributor and now featured guest, from Puerto Vallarta, on The Puerto Vallarta Travel Show, James Buckley.
Listen To The Podcast
All right James, Thank you so much for coming back…yes…back…James was one of the interviews begged to come back and re-record an interview after I lost the daypack with all of my recording equipment. The original interview was of course recorded at Kelly’s Pour Favor, on the roof, and the make-up interview was recorded 3 days later, at Que Pasa. I enticed James over with a promise of fame and fortune and free beer and food. He fell for it and his second interview was just as good, if not better than the first one so thank you James for agreeing to do that for me and all my listeners.
I have links to the suggestions that James gave us in the shownotes and you can find them at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com.
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.
Thank you so much to James Buckley. Thanks for coming back and re-recording this conversation with me. I have links to the places James talked about in the shownotes so check them out for sure. And this should give some of you single men out there a little something to think about. There really is a dating scene for straight guys in Puerto Vallarta too it seems as well. Take note guys. Just don’t forget no smoking weed on the beach at night.
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!