Panama Canal Day 13

8 AM - Puerto Vallarta. We headed out shortly after and walked to the main street to catch a city bus to the downtown area. The trip for 2 of us cost $1 USD. The busses have seen better days but you can’t beat the price and the interestingness of the ride. I was amused to see the bus driver’s cell phone holder attached to his dashboard– a child’s holey shoe.

We weren’t sure exactly where to get off but it didn’t really matter because we had all day. We made our way to the big cathedral and photographed the colourful plastic flags which were hung in many rows beyond the reach of anyone.

After that, we headed further south into the ‘old town’ district. There are a few tourists there, but not like the Malecon area. We wandered along a market with many stalls down by the river.

I was in search of the public ‘farmer’s market’ that I remembered from last trip – until I realized it was Mazatlan that I was thinking of. By that time, I had asked several people where it was and I was given directions so I checked them out. Indeed there was a market but on a smaller scale than Mazatlan’s. I still enjoyed photographing the fruits in the stalls, the meat in the market, the children playing in the streets. The sights, sounds and smells are like no other.

We stopped at another church then walked over to the Malecon, a long walkway beside the ocean. There is a fancy new pier since I last visited Puerto Vallerta. As a fisherman was cleaning his fish, many pelicans gathered nearby hoping for the scraps. 

Several boats were moored nearby and there were lots of beach restaurants. The sand and waves were inviting and lots of people were enjoying the water. As I wandered closer to that section, the waves suddenly came much farther than I expected and sent me running.

The forecast for today was 28C, cooler than other ports, but it still felt pretty darned hot to me. We walked north on the Malecon, stopping to look at the statues, Christmas decorations, and browse in a few stores. After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed back to catch a Centro bus back to port. We passed many vehicles with live tigers in cages and some large fibreglass animals as well – the circus was in town! 

The bus stopped by Walmart so we had a look in there before walking over to the ship. The seafood section of the store had octopus, squid and whole fish, not the usual Walmart fare.

Sunset was unspectacular tonight due to low clouds. I enjoyed a movie in our room for a change. Then at 10 PM there was a chocoholic buffet upstairs. There were 3 stations of chocolate desserts galore – chocolate cake, chocolate covered strawberries, cheesecake, éclairs, squares, etc. etc. My oh my, what a day to end the day!