How Emily’s Dog, and a Conversation With a Friend Changed Her Life and Led Her to Puerto Vallarta
Emily Murray is an American Expat living in Puerto Vallarta, Doing Freelance Writing, Blogging, Teaching Yoga and Experiencing Life in Mexico
Emily Highlights Her Tech and People Skills With Her Website and Blog, The Changing Room . Blog
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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 your toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
This week you are going to meet my friend Emily Murray from Seattle Washington. Emily is a digital nomad of sorts, who tells me that one of the reasons she ended up in Vallarta was because of a dog she adopted from the streets of this town. Emily tells us how she made a move to Puerto Vallarta, and how she makes ends meet. She’s way too young to be retired. We have Vallarta news and more so before we get to Emily, let’s see what’s happening this week, the 22nd of February, 2023.
Websites, Blogs, and More
The Changing Room . Blog
The Changing Room . Blog Facebook Page
The Changing Room . Blog Instagram Page
River Fest 2023 at El Rio BBQ
RIVERFEST 2023 is almost here. At El Rio BBQ in Paso Ancho, Saturday and Sunday, February 25th and 26th. Doors open at noon.
Riverfest is a premier music festival with vendors, silent auction, 50/50, food and drink and more! Proceeds to children with disabilities Pasitos de Luz. Tickets are $500 pesos for each day you attend.
There are silent auction prizes like
- – Hotel stays and day passes
- – Local Restaurant certificates
- – Spa/nails/hair
- – Jewelry
- – Fitness and Health
- – Adventure
– Art and more!
Saturday, February 25th musical entertainment includes
- 12:00 to 1:00 pm Brimstone
- 1:20 to 2:20 pm The Availables
- 2:30 to 2:50 Pasitos Kids
- 3:00 to 4:00 pm Retrobeat
- 4:20 to 5:20 pm The Stixx
- 5:30 to close Texas Embassy Blues Band
Then Sunday February 26 entertainment includes…
- 12:30 to 1:30 pm Mariachi
- 2:00 to 3:00 pm Losanna – Tribute to Selena “La Reina del Tex-Mex ”
- 3:30 to 4:30 pm Media Luna
- 5:00 to close Los Bambinos
Pasitos de Luz Children – On Saturday February 25 you can enjoy a short guest appearance by some of the Pasitos de Luz children at Approx 2:30 pm.
For more information or tickets contact Barb at condo211@ yahoo.ca
Get on out there to El Rio BBQ if you are in town. Pasitos de Luz is a very worthy organization.
It should be a lot of fun. Go meet some cool people, and the venue, it’s just the best! Get to El Rio BBQ this season, before they say adios, forever.
Vallarta Entertainer Arrested on Child Porn Charges
I checked my email this morning and opened an article from Out And About PV and was stunned to read an article from Jerry Jones which read….
“Louis Whitaker Arrested, Indicted by U.S. Federal Grand Jury on Child Pornography”
Now for those who don’t know who I’m referring to, Louis, he really isn’t Louis, it’s Wyatt, but in Vallarta, he was known as Louis Whitaker, and he arrived in Vallarta, May of 2021, and immediately blended right into the entertainment community. Handsome, charming and very musically talented, Louis, well His real name, according to authorities is Wyatt Maxwell from Kansas City Missouri.
According to the article in Out and About PV…
Whitaker was last seen in Puerto Vallarta on Feb. 14, 2023. He was arrested after one of his shows, loaded into a van by Mexican officials, and deported to Santa Anna, CA.
Whitaker’s real name is Wyatt Maxwell. He has an old resume posted online under that name, as well as an old and outdated LinkedIn page that has that name and his photo. He also maintained a twitter account under that name and a Facebook page.
He first came to Puerto Vallarta in May 2021, and created his Lous Whitaker profile on Facebook in May 2021. His first photo and post on his Louis Whitaker FB page was May 17, 2021. His first check in on FB was at Act2PV on May 27, 2021. He first posted on his Louis Whitaker Instagram on March 29, 2021 and then May 22, 2021. In Oct. 2021, he launched his website, www.TheLouisWhitaker.com.
I have a link to that Out and AboutPV article in the shownotes, you can read the rest of the gory details. According to the article Louis, or Wyatt, whichever you like, if found guilty of these crimes could spend the rest of his life, behind bars.
We’ll keep an eye on the case as the wheels of justice grind away…
My friend Marcia Blondin introduced me to Louis last spring, and he was on my list for an interview when I come back to town next week. Louis/uh Wyatt had just started doing a gig, doing a song and dance routine at the Bellview Historic Boutique Hotel for their Sunday and Saturday Champagne Brunch. Sooo, scratch that one off….
Next week, I’ll tell you about some shady people I’ve met in paradise over the years. There’ve been a few. Hey, maybe another topic for an entire show…what do you think?
11th Vallarta Chili Cookoff Postponed?
Last week I announced the upcoming Vallarta Chili Cook-off that was supposed to take place the 18th of February at Puerto Magico. And well, things did not go as planned. Seems the Admiral in charge at the port put the quash on the planned chili festival less than 2 days before the event, sending participating chili cooks and the planners scrambling for a solution. However, in the end, the charity event was cancelled. Or Postponed according to my friend Dean Regehr from Cacao Magico.
The worst part of the cancellation with such short notice is all the chili that may have been cooked or at least the fixins purchased and ready to cook by all those participating chili chefs. And the bands that were lined up to donate their time basically had to take the day off. I’ll be talking with Dean next week when I’m in town and I’ll be reporting back to you.
Meet and Greet Open Mic Podcast at Nacho Daddy, February 28th 6:30-8:30
So, speaking of coming to Vallarta, I’ll be back the 27th for a little more than a week, recording interviews and doing some exploring. I’ll be crashing JR’s Meet and Greet at Nacho Daddy on Tuesday the 28th of February at 6:30 in the evening. I’ll be there with my microphones and recording equipment for an open microphone podcast. If you are visiting and want to stop by and say hi and tell us what you are doing in paradise, please give us your Puerto Vallarta story. If you have a favorite charity you want to give a shout out to, we welcome you. If you happen to own a restaurant or a Puerto Vallarta business, and you want to share with my listeners, please drop by and spill the beans. We don’t bite, and we don’t want your hard-earned treasure. This is free advertising. We don’t need your stinking pesos, free booze, free food free lodging, no hookers and blow to promote your business…no…we just want your Puerto Vallarta story. That’s all.
So if you can, join JR and me at Nacho Daddy. In the Romantic Zone, Basillio Badillo 287, Tuesday, February 28th, 2023 this coming Tuesday, 6:30 till 8:30. Hope to see you there.
Meet and Greet March 1st 2023 in Boca de Tomatlan
And if you can’t make that meet and greet and are in the Boca de Tomatlan area the following evening. I’ll be on the beach with friends at Restaurant Los Mangos, sipping cold drinks and botanas from 4 till 6. So I’ll have my recording gear with me too. If you can make it, I’d love to see you and of course, the same goes as the previous evening, come with your Puerto Vallarta Story, and share with my listeners. All, lovers of Puerto Vallarta…all of us! That’s’ Restaurant Los Mangos, in Boca de Tomatlan.
Next week I’m also going to post the interview I had with Fernando Vasquez from Pacific Vape. Fernando will be talking about giving up cigarettes for vaping, how it affected his life and helped him to continue enjoying smoking without smoking.
Fernando has been in Vallarta for decades and he has some great stories and information beyond the vaping thing, which, with the crushing new anti-tobacco laws in Mexico, this conversation should be interesting to everyone.
Okay, let’s get to Emily, our guest, shall we?
Emily’s Story: From Tech to Writing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
I became familiar with our guest, Emily Murray, trough her writing. In fact over the years I’ve even read bits of her writing on the podcast. I think one was her description of the
term Septi-Hombre, here in Vallarta. The term refers to a month of the year, September, when the tourists are few, restaurants close to do renovations, or the owners slip away for a well deserved vacation, but the workers, they have no money to eat because, well, there’s no work. Septi, September, hombre, hungry…Septi-hombre…and I read her take on the term to you. There may have been another over the last 6 years of doing the show, but I do like her style of writing.
And over the years I’ve received not just a few emails from young single women, asking me when I’ll have someone on that’s more in their age range, someone who isn’t retired, and still needs to earn a living. How does a single woman, from the US or Canada make it work, living in Mexico?
Well, Are you willing to take a risk?
It can be scary to take risks, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. Emily was able to find success in Vallarta and it all started with her willingness to take a risk. Taking risks can be difficult, but it can also be the key to unlocking your potential and finding success.
Let’s go right now, to one of my favorite restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, located right in the middle of the Romantic Zone. We’ve been there on many occasions now and that’s Restaurant San Lucas, located upstairs on the corner of Lazaro Cardenas and
Insurgentes. Across the street from the taco stands that line the street, right alongside Farmacia Guadalajara, Let’s go to Lazaro Cardenas 355, upstairs at Restaurant San Lucas, and meet Emily Murray, writer, blogger, yoga teacher and entrepreneur in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico…
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Websites, Blogs, and More
The Changing Room . Blog
The Changing Room . Blog Facebook Page
The Changing Room . Blog Instagram Page
Emily’s Restaurant Picks
Lunch:
- Restaurant and Bar Palmar, Puerto Vallarta
- La Dulce Vida Italian Restaurant , Puerto Vallarta
- Masame Restaurant in Versalles, Puerto Vallarta
- Restaurant Abulon in Versalles, Puerto Vallarta
Dinner:
- Vitea Restaurant and Bar, Puerto Vallarta
- Bonito Kitchen, Puerto Vallarta
- Restaurant Florio’s in Versalles, Puerto Vallarta
- Campomar Restaurant and Bar, Puerto Vallarta
Thank you, Emily. Thanks for all that great information. Thanks for giving some of our listeners some tools and ideas, for making a move and taking a chance. You are a bit of a role model for some of us for sure. I have links to www.thechangingroom.blog and all the wonderful information within, in the show-notes at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com.
Okay, that should do it for today…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 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 follow share with a lover of Puerto Vallarta or give me a good review wherever or however you
happen to be listening. 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.
Tile Park PV
Thanks so much Emily Murray, freelance writer, blogger, yoga teacher, website builder..creator of the website, her resume as it were at The Changing Room…directly from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I have links to her website at www.thechangingroom.blog in the show notes as well as the links to the places we talked about. It was a pleasure having Emily on to let everyone know that it’s okay to take a chance. To take that leap of faith knowing that with hard work, building networks and strong business relationships, maybe you too can escape the black and white world you live in, and add a little color and flavor. Thank you Emily for showing us the way.
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.