There is no question that Puerto Vallarta is a great destination for a family vacation, but a stay in a Puerto Vallarta villa rental can be an incredibly rewarding experience for a party of adults, too. A nice feature of playing in the company of other, so-called ?grown-ups? is the chance to enjoy some of the advantages of advancing age away from the prying eyes of youngsters who never miss a thing.

Ain?t It Great to be All Grown Up?
Among the pleasures of adult-hood is the opportunity to partake of grown-up libations on occasion, and who says that a late afternoon spent around the private pool of your Puerto Vallarta villa rental isn?t an occasion? You only need ask, and you?ll find someone among the staff who can help you build a perfect drink. If you want to go traditional Mexico, you?ll probably find yourself sipping something that includes tequila, the national drink of Mexico, in the mix.

Ah, but what if you prefer to savor the liquid taste of Mexico in a more public setting? Any number of restaurants, bars and nightclubs can mix a drink for you and your friends. Before you start ordering, it might not be a bad idea to understand what?s in that drink, though. To mix a margarita, your bartender will mix tequila, cointreau, and fresh lemon juice, poured into a frosted glass rimmed with salt.

Depending on how far you trust other drinkers? opinions, you can partake of what is said to be the Best Margarita in Puerto Vallarta. Folks who responded to the local Reader?s Choice awards survey anointed Daiquiri Dick?s at Los Altas 314 in El Centro as the margarita champ. El Arrayan, also in El Centro at Allende 344, came in as runner-up. According to an unscientific and unofficial survey, a remarkably good margarita can be had at Steve?s Sports Bar at Basilio Badillo 286, as well.

What Did You Call that Drink?
Mexico has made another contribution to the imbibers of the world ? Kahlua. When you choose drinks made with this smooth coffee-flavored liqueur, be careful ? these yummy concoctions go down way to easily. Those who are determined to en joy only those things in Mexico that originate in Mexico might try a sip of the unfortunately-named Cockroach: 1

What do you look for in a dream vacation? Are you an adventure traveler who wants an opportunity to experience new thrills? Do you love to soak up new and exotic cultural experiences? Can you picture yourself relaxing by the water, moving only to retrieve a cold beverage? If you answered “yes” to any one of these questions, consider a visit to Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta is one of the friendliest and most diverse resort destinations in the world. Great food, scenic beauty, warm ocean breezes – it’s all here. This lovely city on the Bay of Banderas on Mexico’s Pacific coast offers you a chance to write your own vacation story against a backdrop of warm people, fascinating sights, and sandy beaches.

Naturally, you are going to need a place to stay, a place that reflects the natural beauty and vibrant life of the area. In this regard, you’re in luck. Puerto Vallarta is known for its many lovely and luxurious vacation villas — fully staffed, private accommodations located in the city’s finest neighborhoods.

Villa Encantada is one of the finest vacation villa Puerto Vallarta. Close to the city’s perfect beaches and lively nightlife, Villa Encantada is set in lush tropical surroundings above the hustle and bustle of town. Here, you can relax beside your own private pool, enjoy meals prepared by a private chef, and enjoy all that the city has to offer.

The expansive villa offers guests five bedroom suites, so there is ample room for the entire family or a group of friends. On the other hand, the environment positively breathes romance, so the two of you may not want to share the space at all! Dine al fresco beside the pool in the glow of warm lights and let the rest of the world slip away.

The combination is nearly irresistible – a visit to Puerto Vallarta coupled with a stay at a gorgeous vacation villa like Villa Encantada. The climate is gorgeous year-round, the entertainment never ends, and your stay in this magnificent villa will create a lasting impression. As the city becomes ever more popular as a get-away destination, it makes sense to reserve your time at Villa Encantada well in advance.

As you settle in to your beautifully furnished home away from home and watch the sun set over the bay for the first time, you’ll discover that you were cut out for life in a Villa Rental Puerto Vallarta!

Among the most moving and jubilant holidays around the world are those that celebrate great moments in a nation?s history. Book a Mexico Vacation Villa Rental in Puerto Vallarta in mid-September and you will have an opportunity to take part in a series of special events that commemorate Mexico?s successful bid for independence from Spain in 1810. Their victory was a hard one, and they recognize it with gusto.

El Grito de Dolores
It took the Spanish Crown nearly three centuries, but by the early 1800s, it had managed to put together a record of human relations that was remarkable for its failures. On 16 September 1810, in response to Spanish mistreatment of indigenous people and those of mixed blood, the parish priest in the village of Dolores in central Mexico rang his church bells and called his followers to revolt. His cry (grito), ?Mexicanos, viva Mexico!? (?Mexicans, long live Mexico!?) became the movement?s rallying call.

The story of the Mexican revolution isn?t pretty, and history tells us that Father Hidalgo soon regretted his role in it. Nonetheless, the priest was and is recognized as a leader and hero of the revolution. The Mexican patriots continued their fight for more than a decade under the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a native patron saint depicted as a woman of color, and Father Hidalgo?s ?Cry of Dolores? before they won their cause.

Celebration in the Streets
Cinco de Mayo has become something of a national holiday in the southwestern United States, much like St. Patrick?s Day in the Northeast. That date isn?t nearly as important in Mexico as Las Fiestas Patrias, Mexican Independence Days, which fall on 15 and 16 September. Every year at 11:00 p.m. on 15 September, the President of Mexico leads his countrymen in Father Hidalgos? cry, ?Mexicanos, viva Mexico!? The next day is a day of official ceremonies and military parades, bullfights, rodeos and dancing in the streets.

In Puerto Vallarta, the celebration starts on the 15th in the Plaza Principal and along the Malec

A beautiful woman meets the handsome man of her dreams in a chance encounter 10,000 miles from home.

By: Jim Scherrer

Some historians trace the sport of golf back to the Roman game of paganica, in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball; however, according to the most widely accepted account, the modern game originated in Scotland around the 12th century with shepherds knocking stones into rabbit holes on the current site of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. The actual sport became officially recognized in 1754 when the Scots formed the organization known as the Society of St Andrews Golfers.

Since then, the game has grown in popularity to the point where there are currently more than 32,000 courses worldwide, of which approximately 17,000 are in the United States. Golf is now rapidly gaining popularity in the newly developing countries like China where there are currently less than 300 courses, however hundreds more are under contract; either in the design phase or under construction.

Since golf courses have 18 holes, the 32,000 courses would have a total of 576,000 holes; so let’s assume there are 600,000 golf holes in the world. Each hole may have as many as five or more tee boxes (women, geezers, regular men, championship, pro, etc) but most have only one green. Therefore, we can assume there are at least 600,000 golf greens in the world.

Almost all of these greens are merely an extension of the fairway where the grass is mowed very short and the cup is placed. There are probably less than 1,000 of these 600,000 greens that are islands. In fact, most of these “island” greens are actually manmade peninsulas with a narrow walking path to the green. They are surrounded by water but are still connected to the course by the walking path. It is estimated that there exists only a few hundred greens in the world that are true islands, surrounded by water on all sides and connected to land by a bridge.

Now, for the really interesting fact; there is only one “natural island” green out of the 600,000 greens in the world. It is the third hole at the beautiful Pacifico Course at the Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita, Mexico, located about 25 miles from Puerto Vallarta. This world class course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, meanders along the Banderas Bay and the Pacific Ocean with incredible views on almost every hole. It is such a magnificent tract that in 2008 it was named the top resort course in the world by Conde Nast magazine.

The third hole at the Pacifico course actually has two greens, #3a and #3b; the first is a normal green while the second is the natural island green. The island is a lava rock formation about 200 yards from the mainland that has access only when the tide is out. When the tide is in and the special amphibian cart is unavailable, the golfers play to the #3a green. When the tide is out and you have sufficient skill and an adequate supply of balls, the #3b green provides one of the most challenging and memorable par three holes in the world. This hole is commonly referred to as “The Tail of the Whale”.

For those of us that have been golfing for many years and have played hundreds of courses, there are only a few holes that leave memorable impressions that we’ll never forget. Most often these are very special holes that we’ve seen the pros play on television or holes that absolutely take your breath away as you stand on the tee box. These are generally the longer par 4 or par 5 holes with exaggerated elevation changes, beautiful mountain scenes, or over water tee shots. Very few par 3 holes leave such a memory, however #3b at the Pacifico course is definitely one of them; it’s a sight that you’ll never forget.

One of the most intimidating shots in golf is the approach shot to an island green surrounded by water; it leaves very little room for error! Now, try a 200 yard shot to an island green nestled in a lava rock formation that resembles a catcher’s glove out in the Pacific Ocean. If that’s not enough challenge, throw in a gentle breeze off the Sierra Madres or a nice gust of wind off the ocean and you’ll have your hands full; bring plenty of balls! (The tide was in and the amphibian cart was unavailable the day we played this hole; so after hitting the green with our tee shots, we merely gave each other the putts for birdies, left the balls on the green, and proceeded to the fourth hole!)

The scenic Pacifico course at Punta Mita will soon be joined by the almost completed Bahia course, also designed by Jack Nicklaus and also having incredible Pacific Ocean and Banderas Bay views with the city and the Sierra Madres as a back drop. Another brand new course located in Litibu, only a couple miles north along this stretch of the Mexican Riviera, is the brand new Litibu Golf Club course that was designed by Greg Norman.

These three beautiful courses located along the Riviera Nayarit, combined with the other six fine courses in Puerto Vallarta, make the region a true golfing destination. There are also a number of new courses in the planning stages that will, in all probability, bring the total to more than a dozen resort courses for visitors to play in Greater Vallarta within three years.

Ten years ago, you would seldom see golf bags arriving at the small international airport in Puerto Vallarta; this is no longer the case, with the baggage carrousels at the huge modern new airport terminal delivering golf bags all day every day, as the golfing tourists flock to this golfing Paradise south of the border.

So, if you golfers want to have the time of your life, bring your sticks to PV where you’ll find seven months of monotonous winter weather, from November through May, when the average daily temperature is 73*F with virtually no rain. You’ll have nine incredible courses to play and if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to include the unforgettable #3b hole at Pacifico; the hole with the world’s only natural island green.

During the first part of the 19th century in Mexico, at the mouth of the Cuale River, inhabited mostly by crocodiles and practically no human dwellers, lay a hidden gem.

Puerto Vallarta. Isolated from the rest of the world by the ocean, rugged sierra and American river. With silver mines and salt in the towns of Cuale, San Sebastian and Mascota, Puerto Vallarta was a secret hideaway waiting to be discovered.

From a quaint little fishing village in the 1920s with barely 2,000 inhabitants, Puerto Vallarta real estate was not the booming market we know today.

There was one road that connected Vallarta to the outside world and this dirt track was abandoned during the rainy season.

By: Jim Scherrer

Creative juices by definition are the motivating, inspiring, or enabling forces that represent the expressive side of one’s imagination; a precursor to creative thought and the corresponding ability to create something new. It only seems logical that in order to maximize the flow of one’s creative juices, he or she will be most productive when located in an area with a perfect climate and beautiful surroundings. The creator should be stress free and have plenty of leisure time; obviously, a good night’s sleep can’t hurt!

By: Jim Scherrer

Sea turtles are very intelligent creatures of nature; they continue coming to Puerto Vallarta regardless of the swine flu scare, the border town drug wars, or the global recession! They don’t visit Vallarta for its perfect climate, its eight beautiful golf courses, its world class deep sea fishing, its hundreds of fine restaurants, nightclubs and discotheques, its magnificent sunsets, or the colorful tropical flora and fauna in the surrounding Sierra Madre hillsides; they visit Vallarta strictly for its 35 miles of sandy beaches. However, the fact that they love the beaches around PV is only a small clue as to what makes the sea turtles so incredibly intelligent.

Sea turtles constitute a single radiation that was distinct from all other turtles during the Late Cretaceous Period, the “age of dinosaurs”, at least 100 million years ago. It’s hard to imagine that approximately 65 million years ago during the Cretaceous?Tertiary Extinction Event (KT Mass Extinction), the planet endured catastrophic events such as massive asteroid impacts and/or tremendous volcanic activity resulting in significant climate changes affecting all of the Earth’s plant and animal life. Sea turtles were among the few species to survive these traumatic events and related climate changes.

Today, there are only seven living species of sea turtles worldwide and members of five or six of these species manage to visit Vallarta annually. Six of the seven species have hard shells and only one has a soft shell; it’s the leatherback turtle, the largest of them all and a periodic visitor to Vallarta. The leatherbacks grow for 30 years, from hatchlings weighing about an ounce, to maturity weighing up to 1,300 pounds and measuring up to 7 feet long and 5 feet wide; they can live to be more than 80 years old.

Although sea turtles representing most of the species visit Vallarta, the majority of them are of the Olive Ridley species. They are much smaller than the leatherbacks, measuring less than 3 feet long and weighing just a little over 100 pounds with dark olive green heart shaped domed shells.

The Olive Ridley turtles hatch from their eggs weighing less than an ounce, crawl out of their buried nest clawing their way up to the surface of the sand, and then head directly to the water to begin life with approximately 100 siblings at their side. They are quite fortunate if they ever make it to the water; if certain predators (including thoughtless humans) don’t get them while they are still in the shell, many other predators such as crabs and birds are anxiously awaiting their journey across the beach to the water’s edge. Of course, as soon as these tiny delicious morsels hit the water, any fish in the area immediately welcome them as dinner! Consequently, a very small percentage of these infant sea turtles ever make it out to the open sea.

Of the few fortunate sea turtles that do survive their entrance into this cruel world, growing to maturity, which will take more than 15 years, is a formidable task. If certain fish do not get them during their first year of life, fishermen with long lines or nets are apt to accidentally catch them at any time during their maturing process, let alone at any time during their adult life. With the odds of survival stacked so heavily against the sea turtles, they are now considered to be either a threatened or an endangered species; the Olive Ridleys along the Mexican Pacific coastline are classified as an endangered species by the fisheries division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Okay, now that we know a little about these prehistoric air breathing reptiles, what is it that makes them so incredibly intelligent? Well, first you have to give them credit for surviving throughout history while almost all other forms of life didn’t! Second, they were perhaps the first creatures to have global positioning systems (GPS)! Yes, 100 million years before we mere mortals invented the GPS, the sea turtles, with their high sensitivity to the Earth’s magnetic field, always knew where they were relative to where they were born. Just imagine, these prehistoric creatures are able to swim a couple thousand miles out to sea, enjoy life floating and swimming around in the open water for up to 80 years while never losing their bearings, and still remember exactly where they were born!

Because of their incredible ability to always know their own location, upon reaching maturity at the age of 15 years or older, the females that are ready to lay their eggs always return to the sandy beach where they were born. Consequently, for about five months every year, the beaches of Puerto Vallarta are home to hundreds of female sea turtles that come ashore to nest. These are the same females that hatched on the same beautiful beaches from 15 to 50 years ago! Thus, with a lot of luck, and today with much assistance, a new generation of sea turtles begins.

In certain areas along the Pacific coastline of Mexico, the Olive Ridley sea turtles invade the shore in “arribadas” of 100 or more at a time, however in Puerto Vallarta they are generally either alone or in very small groups scattered thinly over the beach. Because of their scarcity, their homecoming to the local beaches has become a significant tourist attraction for visitors to Vallarta. More importantly, today there is a small group of volunteer conservationists, the Western Ecological Society, in Vallarta that does everything possible to protect these endangered animals. This group was first organized in 1993 and since then has done everything possible to see that the eggs and hatchlings are protected from all predators, thus giving the next generation of sea turtles a much better chance of survival. For those of you interested in knowing more about their activities, you can visit their website at

Mexico real estate sector has evolved in last few years tremendously. The property sector has strived to cater to needs of discerning international investors who expect and demand word class facilities and innovations. One such trend has been condo living in Mexico. Condo concept is very popular all over the world and every year people are increasingly adopting this option. So, why is condo living so sought after globally? What benefits and improvement in lifestyle quality does condo living offers that has caught fancy of home owners and investor both? Reasons are not too difficult to see. Every year thousands of home owners, families & individual looking for second vacation homes and investors have fuelled the growth of Mexico Real Estate. Let us list few distinct advantages of condo units over conventional homes.

1) Location, location, location: Most condo projects are located at prime location of a city. In Puerto Vallarta for instance, most condominium buildings and infrastructure are situated within a city or close to it. So the Condos in Puerto Vallarta have easy access to facilities like hospitals, restaurants, malls and schools etc. This is also good for professionals since their offices are not far enough and they can reach to their workplace without long hours of commuting.

2) Facilities: All condominium projects in Puerto Vallarta Mexico come full equipped with all basic and luxury amenities and facilities. Parking lots, gyms, spa, tennis courts and pools are some of the amenities that come most of time with the condo units. Other recreational and entertainment facilities may be available depending on the project scope and cost.

3) Management: Since, condos are managed by condo management companies, all condo units have administrators who are in charge of upkeep and maintenance of the property. All housekeeping and other needs like plumbing, electricity and cleaning of outdoor and common areas are handled by property management company. In a standalone home, the owner has to take care of these things and this could be a big hassle if you are not a local and the home is a vacation home. Condo unit are better option as experts handle and oversee all the maintenance for you for a fee.

4) 24*7 security: All condominium buildings are full secured and well protected. The condo units are equipped with advanced security features to ensure the safety and well being of each occupant inside the building. Electronic surveillance devices and alarms along with well-trained and highly-skilled guard services 24*7 keep the residents safe from outside dangers round-the-clock.

Your beachfront condo in Puerto Vallarta is within your reach. Check out the listings of Puerto Vallarta Beachfront Condos plan correctly to Finance Puerto Vallarta Homes and Condos and plan for a beautiful future today.Contact Tom Budniak for insight into this booming market.

Author: Tom Budniak

It?s an exciting adventure, planning a lengthy holiday in a Puerto Vallarta villa rental, and one of the cool things about it is the opportunity you?ll have to experience the ins and outs of daily life in a different country using a second language. There is no need to worry how you?ll do; the folks in Puerto Vallarta are incredibly friendly and they?ll be glad to help you learn the ropes.

One of the first things you might want to do is familiarize yourself with the medium of exchange in Mexico, the peso. The symbol used to indicate a peso ($) is the same as that for the US dollar, and you might see MX$ used to identify it. Each peso is made up of 100 centavos. You?ll encounter paper money in 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 peso notes; smaller denominations ($1, $2, $5, and $10) are available as coins.

Businesses around town will gladly accept Mexican pesos; some of them also accept US dollars, although it?s a good idea to carry some local currency. You can change the money you brought from home into pesos at banks and shops that specialize in currency exchange (casas de cambio). The exchange rate changes frequently, so it?s always a good idea to learn today?s rate before you start buying pesos.

Many shops and restaurants accept major credit cards (smaller ?mom and pop? establishments might not, so always ask before you buy/order). Expect to pay an additional charge to cover the cost of foreign exchange. You can also use your card at many ATMs to withdraw cash (remember, pesos will pop out of the machine, so this isn?t the best way to get cash for your return trip home).

It?s almost inevitable that you will do some sort of shopping during your Puerto Vallarta villa rental stay, whether you?re after groceries, sun block or souvenirs. Most major retailers open from 9 to 8; if you want to pick up something special from that little panaderia around the corner (Mexican sweet bread is worth a trip to the bakery), you should know that smaller shops, especially the ones off the beaten path, often close for a couple of hours at mid-day. No worries, though ? they?ll open a bit later and you can pick out your favorites. Just have a few pesos in your pocket in case they don?t take plastic. Before you know it, you?ll be doing business around town like you were born here.