Puerto Vallarta’s Mata Ortiz Galleries

Many people, when they picture Mexican pottery in their heads, imagine heavy pieces hand-painted in bright colors – in fact, many a villa Puerto Vallarta features delightful pieces that add warmth and charm to the place. Artists in the pueblo (town) of Mata Ortiz go a different way with their distinctive work. Mata Ortiz potters draw on traditions from ancient pottery styles and introduce a modern flair to create some of the loveliest pieces you can find (and lucky you if you find examples of their work in your villa Puerto Vallarta).

These artists have been working their magic in clay in a small town not far from the international boundary between Texas, USA and Chihuahua, Mexico for decades, although they showed up on the art world’s radar in the mid 1970s. Mata Ortiz potters start their pots with coils of locally-produced clay, and each piece is created by hand rather than with a potter’s wheel. You can find examples of their exquisite work for sale at two different galleries in Puerto Vallarta: the Mata Ortiz Pottery Gallery at Lazaro Cardenas 268A and the Galeria de Ollas, at Corona 176. Each unique piece has its own personality, so when you go pot hunting, discover the one that touches you most.

Golf Vista Vallarta

Fans of professional golf are forced to seek out other diversions (NASCAR, futbol, roller derby) during that bleak period when one Tour season ends and the next has yet to begin. Folks who like to get out there and swing their own club, on the other hand, are rarely faced with that challenge, particularly when they’re staying in a villa rental Puerto Vallarta – it’s always golf season on Banderas Bay. You’ll find plenty of excellent golf courses in and around town, mostly around the north end of the bay. They’re close enough to your villa rental Puerto Vallarta that you can enjoy 18 holes and still be home in time for dinner. The two courses at Vista Vallarta, Vista Vallarta Nicklaus and Vista Vallarta Weiskopf, are among the most popular. The courses are sit in the foothills above the city and offer commanding views of Banderas Bay. Naturally, yours isn’t a sight-seeing excursion – you’re in it for the golf, and these two courses will give you all that you can manage. Each course was designed by its golf pro namesake, and each is ranked among the Top 10 Golf Courses in Mexico. Ask the staff at your villa rental Puerto Vallarta if you’re eligible for discounted greens fees.

Small Bites of Puerto Vallarta

It’s a standard question, posed by nearly every server in every restaurant you visit (and perhaps by the chef at your villa Puerto Vallarta): “Would you like to start off with something special before you order your meal?” It is an invitation to take a hard look at the hors d’oeuvres list and select something that’s small and yummy and guaranteed to pique your appetite. In Mexico, whether you’re sitting in the kitchen at your villa Puerto Vallarta or your favorite beachfront café or one of the city’s most elegant restaurants, they’re called tapas, and you can make an entire meal of them. We’re not talking chips and salsa, here – serious tapas look a bit like lovely, tasty mini-meals. If you need further convincing, pay a visit to Barcelona Tapas, located downtown at the corner of Matamoros and de Octubre. These folks have a menu of tapas that will make your head spin. You can choose cold or hot dishes, dishes that feature cheeses and seafood and chicken – the list goes on and on. The selection is so big, in fact, that the kind folks at Barcelona Tapas have created the “Chef’s Surprise Tasting Menu,” a combination of hots, colds and sweets, to break the ice.