Best Way to Explore Mexico’s Pacific Riviera: Now there’s a new way to explore and enjoy Mexico’s Pacific Riviera by cruise ship.

Top Ten Best-Kept Activity Secrets: Beyond the glitz and high profile are some activities and destinations that you may not have heard of.

Best Sport You Never Thought You’d See in the Region: Polo: Both fashionable and trendy, La Patrona’s weekly Saturday tournaments in San Pancho, Riviera Nayarit, are increasingly attracting the region’s who’s who, not to mention a number of people who wish to learn more about this exciting sport.

Best Vision of What a Town Can Be: Corral del Risco: Sometimes it’s challenging to envision the possibilities in life when you’ve only seen things one way.

Strolling Around Gringo Gulch: Climb up any of the step-lined streets that lead to this charming hillside neighborhood and you will quickly understand why Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton chose to have homes built there back in the 1960s.

Vallarta Golf: Puerto Vallarta has certainly matured from the days when it offered just two golf courses.

Marietas Eco-Discovery Tour: A veteran guest on various day cruise “party boats” around North America, I was ready for a change from that type of excursion, which often includes rowdy crowds, rushed itineraries and, frequently, unexpected charges in these alleged “all-inclusive” tours.

Women Sailors, A Success Story: Fifteen years ago, Laura Mestre de Legorreta decided to form a women’s sailing team to take advantage of her son’s boats, which had been sitting unused for two years.

The Birth of a Tourist Destination: The history of Banderas Bay, one of the largest bays in the world, and that of Puerto Vallarta go hand in hand.

If It Looks That Easy, It Probably Isn't!: An accomplished pianist plays Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 as if it were the melody line of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and a gifted chef prepares a perfect Grand Marnier soufflé as easily as you or I would take the lid off a container of ice cream and scoop some into a dish. But what we don’t see when we marvel at the final products of these masters is the hundreds or thousands of hours of practice, revision, training and planning that bring them to such polished levels that they make their art look easy.

Bucerias Art Walks Better Than Ever: With new galleries and numerous visiting artists from throughout North America, the third season of the Bucerias Art Walks promises to be exciting and full of surprises. (April 2)

Neighborhood Profile: Emiliano Zapata: Let’s face it: The phrase Emiliano Zapata just doesn’t have the same allure as Olas Altas, Romantic Zone, South Side or even Basilio Badillo. These are, in fact, names of well-known streets and areas in one of Puerto Vallarta’s most happening colonias, or neighborhoods: Emiliano Zapata. An entire city within a city, Emiliano Zapata comprises a 9 x 9-block grid south of the Rio Cuale, waiting to be explored. It encompasses all the areas and streets mentioned above, along with many others.

The Concierge, Always Ready to Make a Recommendation: Generally, the first person a guest sees upon arriving at a hotel is the concierge, seated at his desk ready to offer recommendations about the destination’s attractions. The position of concierge originated in the castles of France almost a thousand years ago, where they were  responsible for the keys, as well as meeting the needs of the owners and their royal guests. The etymological root of the word “concierge” is the Latin word “conserves,” or slave. 

Puerto Vallarta as a Homeport: It’s been two years since Puerto Vallarta’s Maritime Terminal underwent a gargantuan expansion, increasing its capacity to receive three full-size cruise ships simultaneously, along with a variety of smaller vessels. Proximity to our main artery, Fco. Medina Ascencio, results in an impressive and hard-to-miss visual feast, particularly on Wednesdays and Thursdays, days in which double and triple cruise arrivals are increasingly more common. And cruise ship passengers are major contributors to Puerto Vallarta’s tourism-based economy, with restaurants, shops and activity providers reaping the benefits of this boom for decades.

Hot Spot: Malecón Extension: The Malecon extension that connects the original Malecon to the South Side is home to an eclectic collection of shops, eateries and services. In the stretch between the Los Arcos Amphitheater and the Benito Juarez parking lot, you can find everything from coffee to vanilla liqueur, from funky clothing to t-shirts, from fine dining to a quick snack.