The International Friendship Club of Puerto Vallarta, or in Spanish, Club International de la Amistad, whose main goal is to raise money for Cleft Palate surgery, for children in the community
The IFC raises the funds for these projects, by giving tours, bussing you to, and walking you through some of the most beautiful homes in Puerto Vallarta.
How to Get a Replacement For Your Lost US Passport in Puerto Vallarta
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Hello fellow travelers, welcome to 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, in fact my new home, and maybe even yours too and that’s 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 we are going to meet some very dedicated Volunteers with an organization called the International Friendship Club, or in Spanish, Club International de la Amistad, who’s main goal is to raise money for Cleft Palate surgery, for children in the community, as well as many very interesting projects.
Contact Information For The International Friendship Club and
Vallarta Home Tours
- Website: https://ifcvallarta.org/
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ifcpuertovallarta
- Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/ifc_puerto_vallarta_/?hl=en
- Address: Parian del Puente Building #13
Corner of Miramar and Libertad
Colonia El Centro, Puerto Vallarta
Jalisco, Mexico, 48300 - Phone: +52 322-222-5466
- Email: info@ifcvallarta.org
- Book a Home Tour: https://ifcvallarta.org/
The way they raise the funds for these projects, is by giving tours, bussing you to, and walking you through some of the most beautiful homes in Puerto Vallarta.
You’ll be meeting The President of The International Friendship Club Peggy Nelson who will explain the IFC’s mission. And you will meet the man who coordinates the Home Tour Program, his name is David Lightstone. You will love David’s voice.
Then we have listeners Mitch and Donnalee, who came to a meet and greet a few months back, and among other things, shared their story of Mitch losing his US Passport, and what he needed to do, to get a replacement while in Vallarta, before they had to return to the states. It’s really good information. We have Vallarta news and more, so let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 8 th of October, 2024.
We Moved to a New Airbnb For the Month
Well, after a month living on the hill in Conchas Chinas, we moved into our new diggs, I’m coming to you from my new studio up in Gringo Gulch. It’s bound to be a lot noisier from here, so sorry about that.
Truth is, we found a cool place with a killer view, and it’s just above Hacienda San Angel, which we still have to try. And very close, right around the corner from La Capella.
The plan is to stay here at least a month, maybe longer. The place has an interesting layout. It’s totally open to the city and to the bay. There’s no sliding glass window or door. It’s open. And I have an interesting story to tell about this place. As you may. Or may not know, my wife and I have been coming to Vallarta for 40 years now. Our first visit was in 1984. And over the years, we took hundreds of photos in Vallarta. If you’ve been to my
Facebook and Instagram pages, you’ve seen a few of them over the years. So, I have several photo albums filled with photos of Vallarta Past. And I’ve had several people ask me how it is that I still have all these pictures. And
my answer to that is simple…no floods, no fires, and no divorce. But what I’m getting at, is that 40 years ago, I took a picture from across the river, towards the hillside of Gringo Gulch. And what and behold the place we are staying in right now, is in my photo.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
In the photo, I remembered the place because it was an unusual home, unlike all the other homes, it had a thatched roof. And it still does.
I asked the Airbnb host, Lars, if he thought it was the same house as in the photo, and he thought so, but sent it to Olga, the owner, and she told you, that was the home. I have pictures in the show notes.
The Palm Opens Tonight
If you are in town The Palm Theater is having their Opening Night and celebrating their 25th anniversary .
I’ll read from their website…
Welcome to The Palm Cabaret – Opening Night – 25th Anniversary Celebration! Join us at The Palm Cabaret and Bar for a night of music, laughter, and fun as we kick off our 25th year in style. Get ready for an unforgettable evening filled with talented performers, delicious drinks, and a lively atmosphere. Come celebrate with us and be part of this special milestone. Don’t miss out on this exciting event – see you there!
It says that proceeds are going to RISE. Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza , one of our favorite children’s shelters in Puerto Vallarta, so if you’re in town, it sounds like a real good time, for a good cause. Congratulations to the Palm for making it 25 years. That’s quite an accomplishment. I have a link to the website with their calendar, and it looks like a full schedule.
https://thepalmcabaret.com/event/the-palm-cabaret-opening-night-25th-anniversary-celebration/
I received an email from Stacey, who writes, I’m assuming Stacey is Canadian…
Hi Barry, I want to share something that was in the news in Canada this week. Mexico has begun implementing a 19% tax on electronic devices that a tourist brings into the country. This is, apparently, happening in the Cancún airport. The tax is payable at the airport. Below is a link to an article. Do you know if this is happening in PV?
Well Stacey,
Let me look at your news article…Looks like the problem is with the authorities in Cancun. According to the article folks are being hosed when they fly into the Cancun airport with as little as just a laptop and an iPad. It seems overly punitive to me. It’s totally uncool. I haven’t heard of this happening in Vallarta, although the rules are on the books. They don’t like to see you bringing in a bunch of laptops, it’s true.
When we landed the beginning of September, we packed enough electronic devices, between my wife and I, to choke a horse. And not a blink from the customs agents. But we’ll keep an eye on it. Sounds serious.
I have the link to that article that Stacey sent me, in the show notes. Just avoid that nasty Cancun place, and come to Vallarta.
More Listener Email
I received this email from listener Jim, Jim was the firefighter from Sacramento that I had on the show during a meet and greet, if you remember. Well, Jim heard last week’s show, where I talked about the gardener, maintenance man at our Conchas Chinas Airbnb. The reason I talked about him was may wife and I were blown away by his nonchalant way he trimmed and gardened, basically standing on a 5-inch-wide ledge doing all this work with a 100 foot drop where one bad move could turn into a bad day Well Jim writes…
Barry listened to this week’s podcast. Great as usual. Your story about Santos up high was so familiar to us. We stayed at 404 de Los Corales the street below the Grand Mira Mar on our first lengthy trip to PV prior to Covid. It’s beautiful up there. One morning my GF Debbie and I were walking down to the Zona Romantica and down the hill a street or two we heard someone yelling Hello. We couldn’t figure out where the person was. We looked up and above one of the cliffs that are reinforced with concrete there was a man painting some railings on two balconies. He had a metal ladder between the two balconies lying flat with a strip of plywood resting on the ladder. This was his work platform! He was a good hundred feet above the ground. The local folks that make PV so beautiful are definitely not afraid to do hard work. He was just a guy busting his butt and he had time to say Hello to us. This is why we love PV so much. We will be back in early January for three months and we can’t wait. Hope to see you there. Take care buddy!
Jim The Retired Sacramento Firefighter!!!
So, Jim even snapped a picture of this daredevil, and I put it in the show notes, along with the one I took of Santos, our Gymnast on the balance beam.
And yes, thank you, Jim. I bet as a firefighter you did a double take when you saw that. As I said, Jim’s been on the show because he came to one of my meet ups, I had him at a meet and greet, just like our upcoming guests, Mitch and Donnalee. Let’s get them right now…
Getting Your Lost US Passport Replaced While in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
I’ve talked about Mitch and Donnalee on the podcast before. They have written emails that I’ve read to you. If you remember, Mitch wrote me about losing his US passport in Puerto Vallarta, and then getting a new one, while in Vallarta, before he had to come home to Alaska.
So, he and Donnalee were kind enough to come to the meet-up, and tell us the steps they had to take, to make that all happen. So, let’s go right now to JR’s Meet-up, that I hijacked, on a Tuesday evening, every Tuesday evening of course at 6:30, at Nacho Daddy Basillio Badillo 287, an let’s meet Mitch and Donnalee, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico .
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Thank you, Mitch, and Donnalee. Such great information. Wow, Donnalee. Working for the Fiesta Americana giving massages. What a trip friend.
And Mitch, Mitch actually wrote up the directions for replacing your US Passport, if you should lose it in paradise, and I have it all in the show notes at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com . Mitch and Donnalee and Debbie and I have become good friends. We miss them a bunch.
The International Friendship Club and Vallarta Home Tours in Puerto Vallarta
Contact Information For The International Friendship Club and
Vallarta Home Tours
- Website: https://ifcvallarta.org/
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ifcpuertovallarta
- Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/ifc_puerto_vallarta_/?hl=en
- Address: Parian del Puente Building #13
Corner of Miramar and Libertad
Colonia El Centro, Puerto Vallarta
Jalisco, Mexico, 48300 - Phone: +52 322-222-5466
- Email: info@ifcvallarta.org
- Book a Home Tour: https://ifcvallarta.org/
Okay, next up we are going to meet some pretty amazing people who achieve amazing things by raising money, organizing home tours of some of the nicest mansions, villas and grand homes, in Puerto Vallarta.
It’s called the International Friendship Club, the Club International De La Amistad, in Spanish.
The Club’s mission statement, right from their website,
Promote friendship and enrichment for members, raise and distribute funds for charitable giving and provide volunteer service in response to the medical, humanitarian, and educational needs in Jalisco, Mexico.
That sounds pretty lofty, right?
And we’re going to meet, and get to know the president of the club, her name is Peggy Nelson. And along with Peggy, a gentleman named David Lightfoot, who organizes these Home Tours. Both are delightful people who serve selflessly.
The IFC’s Clubhouse is the big building on the corner, across from the Vallarta Factory and next to the old restaurant Fuente Del Puente, and where the Old HFC bank used to be. At Libertad and the bridge at Insurgentes.
And the main thrust of the organization is their cleft palate program, which you hear about, along with everything else this organization does.
So, I asked Peggy and David if they could meet us for the interview at my favorite Margarita place, above the din of the city, at Restaurant San Lucas. And so and behold, they said yes. So, let’s go right now to Lazaro Cardenas 355, upstairs, and have a margarita, and a chat with some very special people. Peggy Nelson, and David Lightstone, with The International Friendship Club and Vallarta Home Tours, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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I can’t wait to take some of these tours when they get started up…And I’m just amazed at all the projects the International Friendship Club is involved in. Just incredible.
I just got words from Peggy who writes,
We are having a 3-day Cleft Palate Clinic this Wednesday-Friday. Wednesday is the day the medical staff consults with the children and their parents. Thursday is surgery day at CMQ. Friday is follow-up and hospital discharge.
Also if you watch the Paco Ojeda Facebook Live shows, he will be at the clinic tomorrow Wednesday the 9th of October doing his show. So if you want to see the place and the goings on at the clinic, check out his show. I’ll also be posting some video to the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show Facebook Page and Instagram Pages.
Now Peggy also writes…
- The IFC’s season, formally kicks off with a reception at the Clubhouse on December 8th .
- The Spanish classes start mid-October.
- The Home Tours start Tuesday, November 19. Then after the New Year, Home Tours will be offered Tuesdays and Wednesdays through March.
So, get your home tour reserved, before you come to town. I have all the information and the links in the show notes. For those Home Tours. Check out their website and see what interests you. Something should catch your eye. There are many ways to help. Volunteer opportunities, teach a class, sponsor an event. Check out the website for the International Friendship Club. The International Friendship Club. In Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
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 book 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 Mitch and Donnalee. Donnalee, I can’t believe you got a job kneading, well giving massages to vacationers in the 80’s. Great story friend. And Mitch, thank you for sharing your experiences and what you had to go through to get a new US passport delivered to you in Puerto Vallarta. I have all hin notes in the show notes.
And thank you so much to Peggy Nelson, President of the International Friendship Club. The International Friendship Club. You are an angel, really. And you David Lightstone, thanks for all you do to get these buses rolling and scheduling these IFC Home Tours. Make sure to book your tour soon. The links are in the show notes.
Remember once again, the IFC’s season formally kicks off with a reception at the Clubhouse on December 8. Spanish classes start mid-October, and the Home Tours start Tuesday, November 19. After the New Year, Home Tours will be offered Tuesdays and Wednesdays through March.
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. See you friends.
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Lost US Passport Replacement in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Passport lost on January 2, 2024 by Mitch Sayegh
We had a wonderful time on the Malecon. It was crowded with lots of people celebrating New
Years. Our stomachs were full from the great food and drink when we collapsed in bed that
night.
The next day, putting my clothes on, I couldn’t find my passport. I kept it in my left front
pocket.
Normally I would leave the passport at the apartment and carry a copy. Earlier last year the
Mexican government announced that tourists MUST carry their passport. Had I done the smart
thing… as my wife suggested…. I should have worn a document holder. (Wife’s passport is
safely strapped under her blouse) So far, wife has been very kind as I’ve not heard ‘I told you
so’.
I jumped on the internet and typed ‘lost passport’. The results contained a wide range of
outdated solutions and improper results. So I went to the US Consulate office website in
Puerto Vallarta:
https://mx.usembassy.gov/passports/#navigator
This site provides the information necessary to replace your US passport.
STEP ONE – DECLARE & DOCUMENT LOSS
Declare your passport missing on the consulates web page. BE SURE TO PRINT THE FORM
as you’ll need to include it with the passport application when you go to the Consulates office.
Once the PASSPORT LOSS FORM is completed, the passport is considered invalid.
Next, you’ll need a FEDERAL POLICE REPORT showing the loss. Don’t confuse the City Police
with the FEDERAL POLICE as they are different. For the trip to the Federal Police, I chose
Rafael, the taxi driver as he is bilingual and will translate.
As Rafael spoke with the federal officers in Spanish, they handed him a small piece of paper
and we left. The paper contained the web address of the FEDERAL POLICE THEFT REPORT
which had to be filled out online and printed. Trouble is, there is no computer or printer at the
federal police station. We drove around until we found a place that could accommodate our
needs and print the form. Back to the FEDERAL POLICE where they stamped the two copies
and handed one to us. We stopped at a great taco stand on the way back to have lunch and
take a deep breath.
STEP TWO
Now that I had all the required papers, I went back to the Consulate office web site to make a
Passport Appointment. The US Consulate office is in Nuevo Vallarta, north of Puerto Vallarta in
a different state. This is not insignificant as taxis are licensed by state. And while it’s ok to drop
your fare in a different state. Rafael is not permitted to pick up a fare in Nuevo Vallarta without
suffering a $3,000 fine peso.
Rafael picked me up at 8:30 as we headed towards the US Consulate. The Consulate is
located in a shopping mall…just past a DHL office. I noticed many applicants also had a DHL
envelope in their hands. I entered the Consulate and sat in the waiting area. Soon I was called
to the bulletproof glass and handed my papers. She looked at them over and asked where my
DHL envelope was…
In the past when one applied for a passport in Puerto Vallarta the application was collected and
shipped/driven to Guadalajara…an eleven hour drive. When they completed the passport,
you’d have to go to Guadalajara to get it. Now, they ship it using DHL. Of course, the 600
pesos are due in cash…now.
After returning to the Consulate with my prepaid DHL envelope it was time to pay for the
Passport. $200 later my passport application was submitted. I may see a new passport in a
few weeks…shipped to the nearest DHL office.
Leaving the shopping mall parking garage, Rafael spoke about me laying down in the back
seat to avoid the police. He talked himself out of it. He’s done these dozens of times without
incident.
We were a quarter mile from the Consulate; I was sitting upright in the back seat when the
flashing police lights appeared.
Rafael jumped out of the cab to explain that he had gone to the wrong stop. The cop was still
writing the ticket. Rafael ran back to the taxi and dug through his money. He hightailed it back
to the cop and discretely handed him $300 pesos. The cop accepted his bribe and we
continued home…relieved it wasn’t ten times more.
Before we left for Mexico we bought travel insurance. It covers things like lost passports.
Including taxis and other costs. So the inconvenience was the worst part of this adventure.
Approximately two weeks later I received an email from DHL. My passport was at the local
DHL office.
SUMMARY:
Declare your passport lost/stolen on the Consulate web site.
Produce a paper copy of the declaration
Obtain a FEDERAL POLICE LOSS report.
Complete the Passport Application on the Consulate web site.
Ignore the demand for birth certificate or other forms of citizenship
Produce a paper copy of the application
When arriving at the Consulate, go to DHL and purchase the envelopes and waybills with cash.
Take the entire package into the consulate along with a credit card and drivers license.