A First Hand Description of The Force of Hurricane Lydia in Puerto Vallarta and The Upcoming Rebuilding Process
Vallarta Food Bank and Jimmy Plouff Stepped in To Help With Communication Equipment and Chainsaws in Cabo Corrientes Post Hurricane Lydia
Vallarta Food Bank Offers Meals, a Shower and Social Programs To Lift up the Needy in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
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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. Its so romantic, it’s so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
Contact Information For Vallarta Food Bank
- Website: https://vallartafoodbank.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vallartafoodbank/
- WhatsApp: +52 322 365 7316
- Address: C, Río Lerma 468, López Mateos, 48340 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico
- Donate: https://vallartafoodbank.org/donate-1
- Volunteer: https://vallartafoodbank.org/volunteer-1
This week we head over to Vallarta Food Bank to talk with Jimmy Plouff and Frankie Victoria about last month’s Hurricane, Hurricane Lidia. What was it like being pummeled by 150 MPH winds and what happened in Vallarta during the flooding. It’s a great firsthand story.
So, Frankie and Jimmy will fill you in on what’s happening at the food bank besides food, and how you can help.
We have Vallarta news and more, so let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 17th of November, 2023.
Join a Gym When Vacationing in Puerto Vallarta
My wife and I have now been back a week here in Southern California from our last 2 week stay in Puerto Vallarta. We flew out of LAX. Took Alaska Airlines non-stop, 2 ½ hours to Puerto Vallarta. $270 each, round trip. Not bad. And making the trip even sweeter, we stayed with our buddies Debbie and Ray, from Canadia, who left the life in the frozen tundra for a tropical, carefree life in the Mexican blue collar part of colonia El Pitillal. My wife and I have determined we’d love to live in, or near Pitillal. By the way, we did look at property this time down too. It was an interesting situation. It was an off-market unfinished gem that I’d like to talk about, one day, but no, that’s for another podcast. Maybe the house hunters episode. Believe me, this home purchase is not going to be your run of the mill Real Estate purchase, I guarantee you. Not after this first toe in the Rio Cuale experience, I’ll tell you. Stay Tuned.
This time down, I did something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and that’s Join a gym. There’s a new gym about a 2 block walk from Deb and Ray’s casa, so I dressed up in my workout clothes and walked on down, and asked the young lady at the front desk if they had a weekly or a daily plan. She explains that no, they have a monthly plan for 699 pesos, which is about $38 a month, and I can continue after the month, or cancel after the month. So, they took my credit card, my driver’s license, my fingerprint to scan at the turn style to enter the gym, and my picture of course. So, I’ve never done that, joined a gym in Vallarta. Here’s what I have to say about that. First, this particular gym was brand new, had great equipment, and beautiful people working, and working out in there. And was air conditioned. I don’t know if I could have handled regular Vallarta humidity and heat if the place hadn’t been air conditioned.
One of the benefits I found by joining up, was that I actually drank less evenings because I knew I was going to wake up, and throw on my work-out clothes and walk down to the gym. I actually last 3 pounds this time down. So Joining a gym, I’d do it again for sure.
Brewmaster’s Festival PV
This week is a long weekend in Mexico, but especially in Puerto Vallarta. All around Mexico, Monday the 20th of November is Revolution day, but in Vallarta, Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th of November, this weekend celebrate with beer at the Brewmaster’s festival in Parque Hidalgo. Let’s
visit with my friend Edgar Rivas, who was kind enough to meet me at Plaza Pitillal to talk about the event…So let’s enjoy the sounds of Mexico, and have a seat in the plaza, smack dab in the heart of Pitillal across from the church the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel, and let’s talk beer with Edgar Rivas, and this weekend’s Brewmaster Festival, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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Thank you Edgar. You know how to throw a party that’s for sure. Get on out to Parque Hidalgo today. Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th of November, 2023.
Sending a Money Gram to Yourself in Mexico
You know, we’ve been watching the rise and fall of the US dollar in comparison to the peso. The dollar had been trading at close to 18 to the peso, but when you go to an ATM, the rate this time down ranged from like 16.2 to 16.9 I think was the best rate we got to the dollar. Some of you may know that I send pesos to my Mexican friends from time to time, via MoneyGram. I go to my local Walmart, and send dollars, which they convert to pesos, which can be picked up at any Walmart in the world. So, I noticed, when I sent Salvador pesos the last time, the exchange rate was 18.1 pesos to the dollar. About 1-2 pesos better than what the ATM’s were spitting out.
So, I did what I’ve been talking about for years, I went to my local Walmart, and sent my wife, $300.00 US. On the slip, it had the number for retrieving the cash, her full name which appears on her drivers license, and the dollar amount sent and the pesos to be retrieved. It was 18.1 pesos to the dollar. Looks good right?
So we are coming to the end of our trip and I suggested to my wife that we better head to Walmart to pick up her cash. So we walk over to Microplaza, to the Walmart there, and here’s where things went a little sideways. First, I’ve never picked up cash at a Walmart. I’ve only sent it. So the first mistake was that I went to the window where you send money, not pick it up. And the lady was very nice to point out our error. She says no, get in line at one of the cashiers. So, we did. And when we got to the front of the line, the cashier took a look at the amount we were picking up, and got a nervous look on her face. She didn’t have 300 dollars’ worth of pesos, 5,432 of them. So she calls over a supervisor who checked all the other lines to see if someone
had 5,400 pesos. No luck. So she says to me hey, give us like 15 minutes and get back in line, someone will be able to help you. Go buy her candy and flowers. So, we wandered through Walmart in paradise…kind of a crazy combo of words right? So then, we get back in line and when we get back to the cashier, she punches in the numbers, she studies Debbie’s passport and says hey, you aren’t in the system. So, the next fly in the ointment, Debbie had never sent, or received a Money Gram. Never. So the supervisor gets on the loud speaker and gives instructions to the ladies at the Money Gram Counter. Then she turns to us and says go ahead and have them enter her into the system. Then come back to this line, you don’t have to wait again, and she will give you your pesos. So we did just that. We got Debbie entered into the MoneyGram system. It took a little time, but we got there. Then we walked back to the cashier line we left 10 minutes earlier. The line was even longer than when we originally got in it.
So there we were, a couple of tall gringos seemingly to them, cutting in line to have the cashier punch in three dozen numbers, check her passport, then dig into her cash drawer and count out 5,432 pesos in front of 2 dozen people. It was a sight to see.
So, in the end, the plan worked. We received 18.1 pesos to the dollar, about 300-330 pesos better than any of the ATM’s in town, a better rate than the money exchange here in LA that I use. But at what cost? I have to get in line at a Walmart, I don’t feel any safer getting cash from a cashier in a Walmart than I do getting pesos from a bank ATM on the street. But in the end, the plan worked, I have to say that.
We went up to San Sebastian and to Mascota this trip. I can’t wait to tell you about that. Coming up really soon.
New North of The Border Packaging For Weed in Vallarta
I have a weedie weed weed alert for you all…so hide the kiddies….3…2…1…so this trip was a trip.
First, the dudes in charge of the packaging of the hippie lettuce have gone full on north of the border. They’ve dumped the colored baggie with the sticker, the locally approved grower/seller, label for a plastic sealable pouch, just like you find in your local dispensary. I saw several styles of plastic pouches, and if you want to see what they look like, I have pics of them in the show notes at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com . If you don’t see the pics right away, I’ll get them up there before the end of the day.
So, there are still those stickers, those identifying labels added on to these new pouches. Look for the locally approved grower/seller,, when you are buying a new bag of weed…You know how the song goes, right? And remember to keep that weed in that baggie with the label. We’ve talked about that right?
Now this weed was delivered to a buddy of mine, who has a restaurant out in the hood. A dude on a motorbike comes up with a dispensary of goods. Weed of different qualities, in those north of the border packages, THC vapes…it was wild. All the locally approved grower/seller, merch.
Here’s a couple of other things I found. When we walked into a smoke shop in town, we asked the lady behind the counter if they sell THC vape, and she says no…and after a couple moments of silence, she reaches under the counter and pulls out a business card that says exotic market the locally approved grower/seller, logos and with a WhatsApp number on it.
And while having a margarita at beach bar and restaurant Los Abuelos, a cigar/pipe salesman asked me if I wanted to buy North of the border weed. Right there on the beach in Olas Altas. So, if any of you have a hard time finding your favorite dope in Vallarta, I’ve given you the dope. Have at it.
Vallarta Food Bank in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Our last episode, the Boca de Tomatlan Roundtable, I had Mario Cesar Morga on to talk about the hurricane a little bit, and I promised you I’d be talking with Jimmy Plouff at Vallarta Food Bank, to tell you about what it was like, and to talk about the needs of the folks in Vallarta as well as the
needs at the Food Bank, following the hurricane. So I hunted him down last week at the food bank. And he gave us a tour of the new shower the Vallarta Garden Club built for them, we’ll be talking about that in the interview, and this mobile water purification system he had hooked up to the
Food Bank’s truck. We’ll be talking about that amazing piece of equipment too as well as the heartwarming acts and works of kindness you don’t want
to miss. Just listen to these two folks, friends of the show…Jimmy Plouff and his wife Frankie Victoria, as we talk about Hurricane Lydia, the aftermath and the wants and needs, as well as good deeds done at The Vallarta Food Bank, let’s go there right now to Río Lerma 468, López Mateos, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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Thank you, Jimmy and Frankie. What a couple of incredible people. Make sure you get on the email list for the food bank, and if you can, try to get on
their monthly donation list, so they can continue to do the amazing work they do for those in need, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I have the links you need, in the show notes.
Contact Information For Vallarta Food Bank
- Website: https://vallartafoodbank.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vallartafoodbank/
- WhatsApp: +52 322 365 7316
- Address: C, Río Lerma 468, López Mateos, 48340 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico
- Donate: https://vallartafoodbank.org/donate-1
- Volunteer: https://vallartafoodbank.org/volunteer-1
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 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.
Thank you to Edgar Rivas from The Brewmaster’s Festival PV. Check them out on Facebook. Bring your own cup, glass, mug. It’s the green thing to do. Do yourself a favor, bring a big enough one, if you catch my drift.
Thank you to Jimmy Plouff and Frankie Victoria for filling us in on the wants and needs of the people of Vallarta, Cabo Corrientes, and the remarkable services you offer to the people of Vallarta who are the most vulnerable and who need us the most. Go to vallartafoodbank.org and give. Set up a monthly donation and help them help others. I have links in the show notes.
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.