Tropical Fish in Banderas Bay

Among the more enjoyable pursuits you can enjoy when you visit Mexico is the opportunity to become acquainted with the natural residents of the area – the kind that walk on four legs, hop about on tree branches, and swim in Banderas Bay. In fact, you’ve probably seen their pictures as you search for vacation rentals in Puerto Vallarta. Once you get to town, keep your eyes open for these colorful guys.

You’ll find plenty of color and variety on the ground and in the air, and you certainly don’t want to overlook our finny friends (not to be confused with our friends from Finland) as you take stock of local wildlife. They may not be visible from the patios of vacation rentals in Puerto Vallarta, but they’re out there just the same, and you can slip into a mask and fins for a personal encounter.

>> For color, you probably won’t find a fish more striking than the Cortez Angelfish. These attractive yellow and black lovelies are said to take only one mate.
>> Watch for the fancy, D-shaped trailing crest and alternating black and yellow bands of the Moorish Idol. It’s a one-of-a-kind and not always easy to spot, as they tend to be loners.
>> Rays are totally cool – gentle and shy and tons of fun to watch.

You’re Good to Go in Puerto Vallarta

By now, you most likely have put together an exhaustive list of activities to while away the hours of your stay in Puerto Vallarta. And you have probably come to realize that your list, while lengthy, doesn’t begin to cover all the things that visitors enjoy during a vacation on the shores of Banderas Bay. While it may not top your list, you won’t want to miss an opportunity to celebrate your legs with a bit of Puerto Vallarta hiking.
For our purposes here, a hike is perhaps somewhat different from a walk. Naturally, you can walk along the Malecón; you can walk on los Muertos beach; you can walk to the next tee at the Paradise Village El Tigre golf course. Puerto Vallarta hiking is a bit different than those worthy, but more town focused, work-outs.
You’ll find a number of opportunities to hike, and each requires a different level of skill and exertion. For example, you can slip on your 5-fingers (they’re shoes) and hike from los Muertos Beach to Conchas Chinas Beach on the trail that climbs over the hill. Or you can set out on a longer and more daring trip from Boca de Tomatlán to Colomitos Beach – this one may test your legs and your lungs!

Cool Green in Puerto Vallarta

When you make plans to spend your vacation in Puerto Vallarta, there are a few standard attractions you can look forward to: a day or two spent playing at the beach; time passed wandering through shops and galleries in town; and an endless parade of drinks and meals, followed by more drinks with perhaps some tapas. Visitors set out from villa rentals Mexico every day with a full schedule.

The action, the jewelry and big hats, the margaritas and fresh sea food probably ought to send a little tickle of anticipation up your spine. It’s not a problem if all that running, dancing and feasting sends you running for cover – lots of folks stay in villa rentals Mexico for the express purpose of enjoying some quiet moments. And there’s no better place than the Puerto Vallarta Botanical Garden.

You’ll find this gem a few miles south of town on Highway 200 between Puerto Vallarta and El Tuito. Whether you drive, share a taxi ride with friends or take a bus, you’re sure to enjoy the extensive collection, which includes jungle trails and colorful tropical birds. Spend time in the tree fern garden, enjoy the orchid house, and maybe cool off in the little creek that runs by.

Goin' Boating in Puerto Vallarta

You’re going to wake up one of these mornings, step out on the balcony of your Puerto Vallarta villa, and hear Banderas Bay calling. From that moment, you’ll be driven to get out there on the water and explore it for yourself. This particular call of the wet won’t be satisfied by a spin on a tour boat – you want to feel the bay in a serious way. You can satisfy this need in a variety of ways that range from extremely simplistic (some might say child-like) to complicated.

Commandeer an inflatable mattress (you might find one in a closet at the Puerto Vallarta villa) and set sail from the beach. This is good fun so long as you stay in relatively shallow water: the waves will play with your raft, and you’ll be relatively safe.

Rent a sea kayak and explore a bit more of the rocky coastline. This is a great way to get an upper-body workout, especially if you don’t plan to get too far away from dry land.

Hire a boat and captain to take you out on the bay. This is likely to work out best for you if you talk directly with the boat’s captain to learn exactly what he can and cannot do for you.

World-wide Arts in Puerto Vallarta

Many connoisseurs of the fine arts think of Puerto Vallarta’s impressive array of art galleries as collections that feature tomorrow’s great masterpieces. Puerto Vallarta enjoys a growing and glowing reputation as a center for the fine arts, and you don’t have to wander far from your Mexico vacation villa rental to find a gallery that features work by artists from around the globe.

If you have a fondness for unique items that don’t necessarily reside in a frame, take a few hours away from your Mexico vacation villa rental and see what’s afoot at these artistic hot spots:

Galeria Alpacora, at Ignatio Vallarta 232, offers a varied and ecclectic selection of items from a number of countries in South America, including Peruvian textiles and works in Mexican copper.

Galeria International, at Marina Las Palmas 1 L8 in Marina Vallarta, features a strong selection of work from Africa. You can select basketry created by Zulu artisans, jewelry and cutlery in copper from South Africa, and sculpture crafted in Zimbabwe.

Keep it local with stained glass creations done by craftsmen at the Galeria EM La Marina. Also located in Marina Vallarta, you’ll find them at Marina Las Palma 2 L17.

Work Your Puerto Vallarta Spanish

Here’s an idea (in case you feel a need to justify your Puerto Vallarta holiday) – explain to your curious friends and relations that you’ll be staying in a Mexico vacation villa rental as part of your “total immersion” Spanish language learning program. It’s not really a stretch of the truth, since the staff at your villa can surely give you a lesson or two.

Still, if you feel you need to demonstrate to those you left behind that you are a person of your word, you can always do something a bit more formal than the “Breakfast table Spanish at the Mexico vacation villa rental” program. A number of schools in Puerto Vallarta offer organized instruction in the Spanish language (be advised that time spent in the classroom may cut into the glorious time you planned to spend on the beach).

There are other ways to brush up on your Spanish skills, especially if you have some familiarity with the language to begin with. For example, you can try to locate a karaoke bar that offers song lyrics in Spanish, or you can touch base with a dance instructor and take Salsa lessons – in Spanish. Finally, when you need a bit of redemption, you can choose a church service offered in Spanish.