The Lifestyles Guide To Vallarta
by Heather Wilson
illustrations by Carlos Juvera
Fall-Winter 2003

What’s worse than not getting around to doing all the things you wanted to do while you’re here? Not finding out about them until you’re on the plane heading home. This guide is our way of helping you catch on to the best of the local scene quickly.

Taste Treats to Try
Eating and drinking in the street is an entrenched part of Mexican culture, so it’s a natural when you’re busy having fun to just grab something and keep on going.
The warm weather here intensifies thirst, so quench it with a hit of vitamin C at one of the town’s many fresh juice bars. Made in front of you in every flavor under the sun, including mango and papaya, it’s usually served, strangely enough, in a plastic bag, the straw pointing heavenward through the knot. (Keep your eyes open and you’ll even see people sipping beer or pop out of these featherweight, clear receptacles rather than fork over a bottle deposit.) Fruit blended with water or milk – not to be confused with milkshakes where ice cream is added – is a licuado. And aguas frescas are refreshingly light drinks prepared by steeping jamaica, hibiscus, tamarindo or other ingredients – including the most popular flavors, rice and lemon – in water and then chilling it. The Michoacana chain is recommended, also for its top-quality paletas (popsicles) and helados (ice cream), as is Bing, another Mexican franchise of long standing.
Coconut milk flows at primitive sidewalk stands after the nut is deftly severed with a machete, the impressive implement later hacking the meat into manageable portions. The adventurous will want to try tejuino, made from fermented corn, and tuba, from fermented palm hearts. And, happily for caffeine junkies, to-go java jolts are everywhere, Mexico one of the world’s largest coffee producers.
Elote, corn on a skewer or kernels in a cup with cream and sprinkled cheese or limon (a lemon-lime hybrid) and chili powder is popular and easy to manage as you walk, as are churros, long, twisty, fried donuts rolled in cinnamon sugar and served in paper bags. In the afternoon heat, raspados are sheer delight, like snow cones but with infinitely more flavor choices.


Which Los Arcos?
Keep your ears open and you’ll notice the name “Los Arcos” comes up a lot around here. “The Arches,” in English, it refers to two of Vallarta’s most important landmarks: Los Arcos Amphitheater and Los Arcos National Marine Park.
The outdoor amphitheater at the south end of the Malecon gets its name from the quad of graceful stone arches beautifully back dropping this sunken-seat venue. As the setting sun weaves its magic, birds, boats and dolphins glide behind the stage, making every seat the best in the house for all kinds of free events, from skateboarding competitions to world-class symphonies.
The large offshore rocks with arches carved into them by waves denote the entrance to Mismaloya Bay where “The Night of the Iguana” was shot back in ’63. Attracting a rich variety of birds and sea life, the government has designated the area a national marine park that snorkelers and divers will want to check out.

Tarzan would love our Bridges
“The Bridges of Madison County” author Robert James Waller hangs out here – enough, if fact, to write “Puerto Vallarta Squeeze,” which was also made into a movie. Remember Madison’s quaint covered bridge? We’ve got one too, as well as bridges that swing, one for lovers and another that can take more than an hour to cross.
While Puerto Vallarta has a trio of rivers, the Cuale is the best known because it divides downtown into El Centro and the South Side. The I. L. Vallarta bridge carries southbound traffic over it, while those heading north use the one on Insurgentes. Our charming swinging bridges have been lifelines here since 1932, joining Isla Rio Cuale, the island in the middle of the river, to the mainland. The secret to crossing them? Walk quickly, straight down the middle, feet wider apart than usual.
On Zaragoza Street in El Centro, a pink bridge modeled on Venice’s “Bridge of Sighs” links the former homes of lovers Liz Taylor and Richard Burton. And the Ameca Bridge linking the states of Jalisco, where PV is, and Nayarit, home to Nuevo Vallarta, can add an hour to your life! Unfortunately, because the neighboring states are in different time zones, cross it in the opposite direction and the reverse is true.