Paradise Village Boom

A warm welcome at the docks by our friends Helen and Ralph from Moon Drifter. After sharing Thanksgiving together in La Paz we went our separate ways. The yacht club was a perfect way to reconnect over dinner and catch up on the past few weeks. Not shockingly, we settled in to urban living quite fast and relearned what it was like to have everything at our fingertips again.


Ah morning coffee and high speed Wifi, only downside is that I have work to get done.


Who am I kidding, I sat by the pool and enjoyed cervezas and the waterslide

It had been nearly ten years since I’d been in Puerto Vallarta so exploring the malecon was on the agenda.

“The Millennium” sculpture represents the passage of time of time throughout the millenniums. At the bottom of the curve is a DNA double helix and dividing cell representing the beginning of life as humans evolved from the sea alongside octopus, fish, frogs, and lizards. The first millennium is represented by a sword-wielding Charlemagne, and the second millennium by Aztec poet-king Nezahualcoyotl. Our hoped-for future is represented by the final figure, a partially-suspended woman of wisdom releasing a dove of peace, with her face and outstretched arms lift upwards to the sky.


The “Rock Eater” sculpture, this one is polarizing since many still harbor childhood fears of clowns.

From Banderas News, “Every year from December 1st through 12th the streets of Puerto Vallarta come alive with festivities, processions and religious fervor culminating with the celebration of the Festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Known in Spanish as Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, this important religious and social festival commemorates the miraculous appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the Indian peasant Juan Diego on December 12, 1531.”

This is the longest parade I have ever experiences. Not to say there are thousands of floats. No, we would see two, three, maybe four groups/floats and then wait 20-30 minutes for the next batch to arrive. All told we heard the parade lasted around eight hours. Way past cruiser’s midnight, so we missed the last few hours.


We were rewarded with the sweet appearance of the Parish Out Lady of Refuge church on the walk back to the bus stop.

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