Having discovered lots of great places while sailing solo around the world, when Pat Henry – whose book, By the Grace of the Sea, will be released this September – wrapped up her adventure in Acapulco eight years after setting out from that Pacific port, Puerto Vallarta was where she chose to settle.

Hurricane season was beginning and she needed a safe harbor for her boat, Southern Cross. Acapulco was exposed to nature’s whims, but Puerto Vallarta offered protection, never suffering the devastating effects of a hurricane in recorded history because 16,000-foot mountains to the south block them from entering the bay.

“Then there’s the sheer physical beauty of the mountains, the bay, the sunsets,” she adds. “When the light hits the town at that certain time of day it’s really breathtaking. And peaceful. I love getting on the bus early in the morning when it’s full of bright-eyed kids all crisp and starched. Their faces have no armature; they’re soft and kind. Plus, Vallarta has a thriving artistic community, which is important to me since I survived by working as an artist the entire time I was traveling.

“I found a support system here and the roots took hold. The growth in culture – art and music particularly – is part of what keeps me here. Having been very active on the board of directors for the Cabrillo music festival in Santa Cruz, California, I’m in awe of what Maria José Zorilla has managed to accomplish. Although there are said to be about 300,000 on the bay, it feels more like 30,000. So I’m benefiting from culture, yet living in what feels like a small community. And I’m close to my family in the U.S.A. Since I figure I’m always going to be a wanderer and need a place to draw me back, Vallarta’s perfect to call home.”

How bizarre it is that such a serenely beautiful place, which visitors pay good money to escape to, has noise readings at its heart of between 86 and 90 decibels. By municipal law, the maximum allowable in town is 65 to 68. But city hall says buses (which cause most of the racket) are exempt because the law applies only to “fixed source objects” and buses move. The environmentalists’ response is: Then don’t let them go through town, because when they stop to pick up and unload passengers they become stationary – and, therefore, are breaking the law.

These readings were taken two years ago by state agency Semarnap, which was to continue testing every one to three months; however, the apparatus it uses went to St. Luis Potosi in the fall of 2000 and has never been seen again….

To discuss just such issues, Puerto Vallarta City Hall opens its doors to the public every Wednesday. On “Citizen’s Wednesdays,” everyone working there – short of, say, the switchboard operator, but including the mayor – sets up shop in the courtyard lobby to answer questions posed by people like you and me. It’s first come, first served, 9 am to 3 pm, with the location rotating alternate weeks to one of the four Vallarta delegations. It’s great to be able to go right to the top and share relaxed face-to-face conversation with the kinds of people whose secretaries screen their calls the rest of the week.

Connect with me at heather@mexmags.com telling me what you’re curious, concerned, surprised or delighted about and I’ll gladly follow up, adding it to my list of places to go and people to see.