Gringo Gulch's Interesting Past - and Present

Stay in one of the vacation rentals in Puerto Vallarta and eventually you’ll start to hear some buzz about Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and their love nest in a part of town known as Gringo Gulch. In days gone by, in this neighborhood, wealthy folks from north of the border built their villas and started a little colony of gringos.

The Zaragosa neighborhood (the real name for Gringo Gulch) has transformed into a family community. It features traditional-style homes built of adobe, and most of them boast covered patios that lure people outside to enjoy Puerto Vallarta’s wonderful evening breezes. Today, this is a place where real people – and their children and relatives and pets – live real lives.

Zaragosa is a lively place, and tourists continue to drop by to get a feel for how the upper crust once spent their days and nights. In fact, a number of vacation rentals in Puerto Vallarta are located here, which is nice, because the area is close to a couple of popular restaurants, the Café Roma at Encino 287 and Club Roxy at Ignacio L. Vallarta 217. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by for a beverage, a meal and some conversation.

Independence Day in Puerto Vallarta

You have great timing if you’ve planned your Mexican vacation for the middle of September, because the 15th and 16th of that month is the festival known as El Grito de Dolores. You might think of it as Mexico’s Independence Day, so get checked into your villa rental Puerto Vallarta and get ready to join in the festivities.

The word “Grito” means cry or shout in Spanish, and Mexicans call their celebration “El Grito” in commemoration of the rallying cry of the parish priest in the village of Dolores who launched a movement to drive the Spanish out of Mexico in 1810. The violent revolution that followed lasted more than a decade, but when it was over, Mexico was in charge of its own fortunes.

The celebration of independence, or Las Fiestas Patrias, lasts for two days. It’s traditional for the president of Mexico to lead his countrymen in the patriot’s cry, “Mexicans, viva Mexico,” on the 15th at 11:00 p.m. You’ll have a chance to experience the “grito,” led by the city’s mayor, and you might be able to see the fireworks from the patio of your villa rental Puerto Vallarta.

The next day is marked by a variety of celebratory events, including rodeos, parades and street dances. The fiesta is so important that you’ll find many businesses closed on the 16th. Your best bet is to sit back and enjoy the party.

Puerto Vallarta’s Good Burgers

You know what they say, you can lead a person to stay in a luxury villa rental Puerto Vallarta, but you can’t make him give up his taste for ground meat. Or something like that. Anyway, if you absolutely must take a break from local cuisine, you’ll be happy to learn that there are a number of places to get a good burger in Puerto Vallarta.

Three restaurants, in particular, come pretty highly recommended. Dick’s Halfway Inn Bar and Grill at Basilio Badillo 287 has a large selection of burgers that will clog your arteries and satisfy your cravings. Mama Dolores Diner in the Zona Romantica at Olas Altas 534B serves a mean traditional burger. And Steve’s Sports Bar and Grill (Basilio Badillo 286) will serve up the NFL and NASCAR with that burger. Just be careful, in case they take your picture.

You might also ask the chef at your luxury villa rental Puerto Vallarta if it’s possible to get a burger and fries, although that seems a terrible waste of a good chef. Still, if that’s what you want, they’re here to see to it that you get it. Remember, the love handles that go along with that meal are your own alone.