Vallarta Blog

August 25th was the first day of Ujena Bikini Jam here in Puerto Vallarta. A week long event with over 200 models and photographers from more then ten countries competing for money and exposure in the modelling business. Daily events will be held throughout this week, ending on September 3rd.

The second annual Bikini Jam held here in Vallarta, after last years great success of the event it was a unanimous decision to hold the Bikini Image awards here once again.

A unique event honouring bikini models, photographers and the bikini, a fashion item that has grown into one of the widest used marketing items ever.

This year the theme of physical fitness along with beauty will add a rounded approach to the judging. Two very competitive events being the El Tigre Bikini Golf Tourney and the Ujena 5km walk/run.

For the first time ever the Tuna Bites Bikini Model Big Game Fishing Tournament (quite the mouthful) and the Fame Ujena fitness model search, with winners of both events being awarded crystal trophies.

A fierce competition is expected for those participating for the title of Ujena Model of the year, Ujena Photographer of the year and Makeup artist of the year.

With over $200,000 USD in prize contracts being handed out at the Bikini Image awards show on Sept. 2nd at Crown Paradise Resorts this is sure to be an event not to miss! Also this year there will be awards handed out for many other various things including outstanding achievements in entertainment, business and athletics.

The new Flamingos Resort and Spa plays host to the first ever Wellness Week here in Puerto Vallarta, scheduled to take place September twenty-second through the twenty-ninth.

What a great way to spend a vacation, focusing on health and well being rather then excessive partying and feasting as many vacationers do. Wellness Week will be a free event that will focus on healthy living and healthy life choices; including everyday exercise courses on Pilates, yoga, weight lifting and healthy Nutrition seminars.

A couple of the Highlights being guest  professionals speaking on how to maintain a healthy heart and providing information on cutting edge cosmetic surgery and dental Work. Lydia Safarti, owner of The Repêchage® Spa de Beauté New York City, will be the key speaker on Beauty healthcare with answers on everything from the sun and skin care to healthy skin from the inside out.

Another great feature of Wellness Week will be the introduction guide to healthy travel, how to get top quality health care everywhere in the world.

With more and more people becoming aware of a healthier way of living, moving to Puerto Vallarta is part of that lifestyle change for many. Whether it is the heat, the fresh ocean air or a more relaxed lifestyle, Vallarta has attracted not only vacation tourists but healthy vacation tourists interested in a better way of living.

This sounds like a fantastic week filled with tons of information on healthy living. I expect it will be a big hit here in Puerto Vallarta and will be continued for years to come, what a great idea!
 
Featured seminars:

 Food & Nutrition
 Easy food swaps to cut calories, boost nutrition and energy
 For the Athlete: Five Healing Foods
 Seasonings That Boost Health As Well As Taste
 Making Heart Healthy Choices in Mexican Dining
 Read It and Eat: Know the Calories and Fat of Popular Mexican Dishes
 In Favor Of Mexican Flavor: These Foods Are Always Good Choices 

Your Body 
 The Power of Prevention – lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of breast cancer and other  cancers.
 How to Protect Your Skin
 Calorie Burn Chart For 5 Exercises
 Sink Your Teeth In These Facts About Cosmetic Dentistry
 Cosmetic Surgery: Is It For You? New techniques to consider
 The Picture of Health: Meet the Women CBS and Prevention Magazine Want you To Know
 Does Your Weight Put You At Risk? Go Online to calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index)
 I Screen, You Screen  

Mind & Spirit
 Yoga: Moves to Unite Body, Mind, Spirit
 Mind Matters: Effective Strategies For Reducing Stress
 Go Online to Calculate Your Life Stress Score
 
Health Travel 
 What in the World is Health Travel?
 Where in the World Do Health Travelers Travel To?
 Health Travel Is A Centuries-Old Practice!
 My Mexican Dentist: A Journalist is all smiles from her experience!
 
 for more information visit the flamingos Vallarta website.

Update thursday Aug.24, from Los angeles Times

MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Dean saved some of its worst for last, killing eight people after shrinking to a rainy tropical depression over central Mexico, authorities reported Thursday.

In the state of Puebla, a family of four, including two children, died when a mudslide hit a highway overpass Thursday and crushed their car, state civil-protection authorities said. Wednesday, a government official died in a car wreck while checking for damage during the storm, and a 76-year-old man was killed when part of his house fell on him.

A 35-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl died after a roof collapsed Wednesday in the state of Hidalgo, state authorities said.

Another man died trying to ford a rain-swollen river in Veracruz state on Wednesday. But because he ignored warnings from rescue personnel, state officials said they would not count his death in the storm total.

The same held for a man who was reported electrocuted by power lines while trying to secure his roof before the storm hit Wednesday morning.

The storm toll in Mexico brought the total number of fatalities associated with Dean to 28, most in the Caribbean. The hurricane had reached its full strength, Category 5, when it struck a relatively isolated stretch of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday. So far no deaths have been reported there, although property damage was extensive.

Officials said Thursday that about 90,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in Mexico , with an estimated 60,000 people in shelters overnight Wednesday. The Yucatan lost nearly 400 square miles of crops.

After Dean landed on the Veracruz coastline Wednesday as a Category 2 hurricane, it quickly began to lose strength. Within hours it was downgraded to a tropical depression. But its arrival near the end of central Mexico’s rainy season caused some landslides and flooding.

By Thursday afternoon, the rains had stopped and Hurricane Dean was done.

Here in Puerto Vallarta we felt the repercussions of Hurricane Dean Wednesday night and all day Thursday the 23. The heavy rains, wind and cool weather brought out the quiet side of this usually happening city. With traffic at a slow minimum, everyone tried their best to stay out of the rain.

Could this finally be the start of the “rainy” season here in Vallarta? With the highest average falling in the months of August and September although the rainy season falls may-Oct, summer.

Vallarta sure seems to get a lot of rain in the fall, this summer with the rain averaging below normal for the area; the humidity often builds up to 90% and more hanging over the city for days on end. With that kind of intense pressure rain is needed to cool down the earth, coming in as early evening storms, lightening and thunder rocking Bahia de Banderas.

We were lucky looking at the magnitude of this category 5 hurricane, fortunately some areas were spared that initially looked  as if they would be hit harder by Dean, of course as nature works some areas were not as fortunate.

The Walt Disney comedy “South of the Border”, featuring Drew Barrymore, recently filmed in Sayulita first and then here in Vallarta.

The movie casts Drew Barrymore as the lead voice, “Chloe“, a Beverly Hills Chihuahua who is used to living the high life, when on vacation in Mexico she gets lost.

“Chloe” makes new friends while on the street, Andy Garcia, a former Police German Sheppard, Selma Hayek, who becomes Chloe’s spiritual guide to her heritage and Lopez as Papi, a macho Chihuahua who falls in love with Chloe. So begins the tale of a rich pampered pooch, finding her own way in Mexico and eventually back to her home with the help of her new Mexican amigos.

What few people know is that “South of the Border” was originally the title of a 1942 Disney documentary. The 30 minute documentary was shot when Walt Disney and a group of 18 artists, musicians and writers travelled South America in search for movie ideas.

South of the Border the original is a behind the scenes documentary on their travels and the cartoon characters that evolved from that trip. In 2000 the documentary South of the Border was released in the Saludos Amigos DVD set as an extra feature as Saludos Amigos was also a product of the same trip.

The film crew for the new “South of the Border”, Set up last Monday at the Peninsula. With extras, movie members and onlookers it was an exciting event which caused quite the traffic jam on the Malecon. With the beautiful backdrop of the Bahia de Banderas this animated movie is one for the entire family not to miss!

Greenpeace couldn’t express itself often enough and said several times that the information presented in their work wasn’t directed against the municipality of Jalisco and that they are only trying to point out the problems of all beaches in Mexico to find and suggest new solutions.

In response to the accusations made by Greenpeace (greenpeace.org), the mayor of Puerto Vallarta, Javier Bravo Carvajal criticized the non-profit organization Greenpeace of having unknown interests with the purpose of harming the port’s infrastructure. Greenpeace says that it has auto sufficient and independent politics with no economic interests and that the subjects they work on are ecological and are treated with absolute scientific rigor facing the Mexican society. More specifically the organization explained that the campaign that is being realized in different municipalities with beaches, has the objective of clean beaches in the entire country.

Greenpeace hopes that the last test results of the beaches of Jalisco, which were realized on the 6th of June, will be published in the same beach area instead of the internet.

For the World Health Organization, swimming in seawater with a higher level of bacterial feces than 137 parts per milliliter of enterococci means a risk of severe diseases like paratifoidea or infectious hepatitis.

Greenpeace pointed out that their presented information of their tests has not the objective to act against Puerto Vallarta or any other particular entity. “We only want to show everybody the problem in all beach areas of the country so we can find solutions because clean beaches are important for everybody”.

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Dear Greenpeace,

We here at Vallarta Blog Wexico, admire your efforts to point out some of Vallartas biggest problems and we are not talking about the Beaches only, but about a common problem in Mexico like the corruption on cost of the environment and Vallarta’s traditional life.

In the past years, Vallarta has changed drastically. More and more people come to live here and more stores, buildings and cars are drawn on the maps of Vallarta. Only a few people have the patience and ear to hear and recognize the damage that is being done because everybody is focused on themselves. Almost half of Vallarta has worked for Vallarta Adventures, Timeshare Giants and tourist driven companies. Everybody relies on tourism and everything is growing fast enough to loose the picture. Soon enough Vallarta will be a second Acapulco and the ones in power now will be drowned in money.

What happened to the hundreds of people that protested against the illegal destruction of the historic parks in Vallarta? They are forgotten now. They stood up against the police attemt at 6 am in the morning to destroy the parks and anybody in their way ended up in jail or beaten up. What happened to the Human Rights reports that were filed from dozens of protesters? Thousands of flyers and information was given out through radiostations and local ecologists, but the only response they got was what the government had put into their heads: Puerto Vallarta needs modernization. It has to evolve and we need to construct parking lots on top of historical traditional parks. Too many automobiles need parking lots, no matter what the costs are.

History repeats itself and if we have learned something about it it is that it is not enough to just inflate a huge toilet for a few minutes in the early hours of the morning, so nobody notices it. Unless you are trying to warn the government of what you are capable, this event was totally confusing to many people here in Vallarta, which is why we hope that the next time you will make sure that locals and non locals have the possibility in joining your campaign, which means you have to speak out through the radio, newspapers and do more than just a quick photoshooting on the beach.

We are looking forward to Greenpeace’s results and will keep up to date with this issue. Anybody that has more information on these subjects, please don’t hesitate in commenting or contacting us.

The International Gourmet Festival celebrates 13 years this November!

From the 8th to the 18th, twenty-four of Vallarta’s most prestigious restaurants and hotels will open their kitchens to renowned chefs from all over the world. With select dishes that contain every kind of cultural influence, this event most definitely will be on the top of every foodies list of things to look forward to here in Vallarta, I know I sure am!

With delectable dishes to tantalize your taste buds, one thing is for sure; the guest chefs have a passion for food and they aren’t the only ones!

 Organizers of the International Gourmet festival put a tremendous amount of time and energy into the event, making sure that it expands and progresses each and every year. This year a main focus will not only be the quality of ingredients but also the freshness, allowing every dish to be composed with the utmost care and served with grand detail!

For those of you who have experienced Gourmet festival Vallarta before, not to worry; the events calendar remains the same. To launch the week off there will be a cocktail hour introduction of the visiting chefs, a sensational Sunday brunch complimented with authentic mariachi music and the grand finale event including a majestic fireworks display.

The main events for the week include learning about wine pairing, testing out new wines and tequilas and experiencing all the delicacies the chefs have to offer at the participating restaurants and hotels. Each restaurant and hotel will feature a different chef, making for a full week of extravagant eats to arouse, excite and satisfy all the senses!

International Gourmet Festival Vallarta 2007 will be another unforgettable experience of culture, class and most importantly the finest food you may ever indulge in. So, book the week in your calendars now so you won’t be sorry you missed it!

For a full list of participating hotels and restaurants and more information on the event, contact:  info@festivalgourmet.com
Ph. + 52 (322) 225 0109

The 28th of July, 2007 marks the anniversary of the Parque Lázaro Cárdenas as a parking lot since 2006. The city government converted 4 traditional parks of Puerto Vallarta into parking lots between October and July of the past year. The authorities promoted a plan, which should have cleaned up and improved the parks, reduced traffic in the downtown area and solved the parking problem in the city center. None of these objectives have been realized. The ecological group of Puerto Vallarta (Grupo Ecologista de Puerto Vallarta) protested these methods from the beginning, since the government dismissed their better proposal on solving the traffic problem in Vallarta.

Hundreds of locals and ecologists protested against what seemed to be a business oriented project rather than a solution to any problem. The big issue about the parks was that the locals didn’t see any need in destroying their historic parks which contained generations of history and a wonderful shade given by hundreds of years old trees. There were proposals to construct parking lots in many different areas then where the old parks where situated, but the mayor Gustavo Gonzalez Villasenor and the Construction Company “Guarantee Investments” had no interest in considering these proposals because they would have needed to spend more money on buying properties for the parking lots.

But the governor and his allies saw a much better benefit in the public parks which would not have to be bought since they didn’t belong to anyone but the “public”. By dressing this issue up as a “solution” to a public problem (the major traffic in this area) they acted as if there was no other way to save the city from its increasing traffic. They promised at the beginning that the trees would be spared, but ended up cutting every single one of them down, which now were only replaced in one park (Park Hidalgo) with ridiculous skinny palms providing no shadow at all.

The contrast between the old parks like Park Hidalgo and Park Lazaro Cardenas is that there are no people there anymore. No families nor tourist searching for a nice relaxing rest under the shadow with a cold drink in one hand and a tasty elote in the other.

Who benefits from this? Guarantee Investments and probably Gustavo Gonzalez Villasenor who have made a deal with the city to cash the produced income from the parking lots until many many years into the future, when THEN finally the city can get money out of it.

Who does not benefit from this? The people, the tax payers, the tourists, families and the increasing automobile drivers in town. Anyone who has sympathy with the originally old style of this town will not understand the arguments of the city.

The City said that Vallarta needs to “evolve” and to “modernize” but at the same time they do understand the importance of the “traditional” Puerto Vallarta like the cobblestone streets which are never replaced with cement because they represent the way Vallarta has always been. Also it generates a lot of jobs for all those workers that repair the cobblestone streets by the summer heat every and each year.

The new parks only provide shade at night and are little used in the hot day. The traffic in the downtown is really bad and getting worse. Parking remains a big problem. Further, the income to the city is minimal to none.

The street vendors who were removed from the traditional parks are still not relocated and have no other choice than sell their products by walking on the beach or streets so they can maintain their families. The authorities continue with a plan, which has been approved and announced on several occasions, to relocate the vendors to the Island of Rio Cuale in an “Artisans Commercial Center”, which already has hundreds of vendors that disagree in increasing the number of vendors in the area because the increasing competition will make it almost impossible to make enough earnings for any of them.

But the question of the parks is now past. We were never able to generate enough support to save them and they were lost. Many people that tried to support the local movement got hit in the face by the governor.

Even a international photographer (not named here) that works locally for the Puerto Vallarta Online News Magazines like “Banderas News” (www.banderasnews.com) and our Blog, had to go to jail for taking pictures of the destruction of the Hidalgo Park (Parque Hidalgo) in the early morning of the 10th of March in 2004. He was brought to “las juntas” a jail up north of Puerto Vallarta (the same jail where DOG “Chapman” the bounty hunter was imprisoned)  without a lawyer and no permission to make any calls. He was released under the condition to sign a paper where he admitted his act of “disturbing” the authorities.

Now the hillsides behind the city are being lost to excessive and legally questionable constructions. There are serious concerns about building permits, environmental impact reports, demand on services and yet more traffic. Even more alarming is a latent condition of structural damage which could result in property loss and personal risk.

In the campaign for mayor in the elections of July 2006, both major party candidates promoted the construction of a “Megalibramiento” (Beltway or Bypass) to be built in the mountains behind Puerto Vallarta from Ixtapa to Boca de Tomatlán. Although the specific route of this “megalibramiento” was never revealed, the portion from Ixtapa along the mountains has already been defined and construction along the side of the mountains above Coapinole can be seen.

While the discussion of building permits in the hills around Puerto Vallarta and the possibility of a “megalibramiento” in the mountains may seem in the future they are, in fact, being realized day by day. Most attention is currently focused on the Penninsula and Grand Venetian projects at the mouth of the Rio Pitillal and the Molino de Agua project along the Río Cuale. But there are numerous other projects which are currently under construction, being offered for sale or recently announced all of which will contribute to a fundamental change in the image, density and character of Puerto Vallarta.

In retrospect, the parks now provide perspective as to what is at stake in Puerto Vallarta. First, the parks. Then the hillsides. Then the mountains. And the shoreline will be converted into highrises. This is what is called “Acapulquización”. If the disregard for green areas and rate of high-density construction continues, this will probably occur in the next 3 years.

If the parks signaled the first step in a series of major changes in Puerto Vallarta, they also offer insight into what can be done if residents are not in favor of such radical changes. First, it was impossible to defend just one park. They all had to be defended …or they would all be lost. I still hear the remark, “I wanted Parque Lázaro Cárdenas to remain the same, but I really didn’t care that much for the other parks.” Since all 4 parks were included in a single vote in the City Council, the loss of Parque Lázaro Cárdenas was determined with the vote of the city council in October 2004. The successive losses of Hidalgo, Benito Juárez and Pitillal only confirmed the eventual loss of Lázaro Cárdenas. It will be the same with the mountains and shoreline.

Once there is a precedent of a 12-floor building in the center of Puerto Vallarta or a 30-floor condominium on the north beaches, others will follow. Second, all the authorities; federal, state and municipal; have made it clear that they either cannot or will not alter the present course of construction in the city. Questionably, the mayor has stated that he cannot change a decision made in a previous administration. Third, the public response of the residents of Puerto Vallarta to the current course of construction has been minimal, with a few exceptions. And Fourth, the private response of many residents of Puerto Vallarta has been one, initially, of disbelief and inconformity. Subsequently, the private response has changed to outrage or acceptance. It has seldom been made public.

Neither the law nor the authorities are proving to be timely or effective in bringing order to the building violations which are currently occurring in Puerto Vallarta. Public opinion is a recourse available to request the urgent attention that this matter requires. The Mexican Constitution (Art. 7) provides both Mexican citizens and foreigners the right to write and publish their opinions on any subject. While the rights of foreigners to voice opinion in México is clearly permitted, they should refrain from political comments. We encourage you to send a short letter to the local press in Vallarta by e-mail to express your personal opinion on the recent course of the development of the city.

On this anniversary of the loss of the traditional parks of Puerto Vallarta, we should reflect on the direction of the modernization program of the city government. The parks were but a first step in a much larger, unannounced series of changes that began in 2004. If the Grupo Ecológico had mentioned in 2005 the possible loss of the Island of the Rio Cuale to commercial development and the mountains above to condominium projects, we would have been classified as radical and extreme. What is your opinion now? What will Puerto Vallarta look like in the next 2 years if the changes that have occurred in the past 2 years continue?

July 28, 2006. A day to remember. And to realize that only the opinion of the local residents can influence the future. Or, through silence, will be responsible for the remainder of traditional Puerto Vallarta to be lost.

Enjoy Seeing Iguanas while You’re on Vacation

No idea of where to go for a holiday escapade? Why don’t you try Puerto Vallarta? Most people are desiring to enter the haven and paradise world of Puerto Vallarta and you could be one of those aspirants!

For one, there is the Banderas Bay. The place is fit for sunbathing, snorkeling, and surfing. If you love these activities then Puerto Vallarta is the best place to stay! There is no need to worry about the facilities and accommodations because there are inclusive condos and hotels all over the place. In Puerto Vallarta, you will be communing with nature in a relaxing manner. There are colorful butterflies, bountiful tropical flora, egrets, pelicans, scissor tails, geckos, and Puerto Vallarta iguanas!

When it comes to the enjoyable activities, Puerto Vallarta is also rich with them. Golf courses and bars abound the area. With all of its captivating sceneries, Puerto Vallarta has not only been once featured in Hollywood movies! In fact, it was in the year 1963 when the place was taken to center stage with the film “Night of the Iguana”.

A native Puerto Vallarta travel would be to take the local bus. The trip will not be boring since there are drumming, tooting flutes, “bus-kers”, singing, and strumming on board that do the entertainment of the passengers. As you reach your destination, you can settle in at a homey environment as offered by the number of hotels and condos around the area.

The Vallartenses are very hospitable in a sense that they will take care of you up to the utmost manner. You can go bar hopping, go to galleries, listen to the music, surf, snorkel, scuba dive, enjoy the lush beauty of nature, walk by the seashore, swim, tour the caves, and see the iguanas in Puerto Vallarta .

Because Puerto Vallarta is a place that is close to nature, the Puerto Vallarta iguanas thrive in it. They can be seen thriving close to streams and rivers. They can usually be seen atop the trees basking under the sun, eating fruits, seeds, flowers, and leaves of the bushes, and then diving into the water especially when predators aim at them. The iguanas are fast runners and splendid swimmers.

Other habitats of the iguanas are the cacti, burrows, and shrubs. Beforehand, they can be spotted near the coastlines but since the time that the area has been frequented by travelers and visitors, these reptiles had been forced to retreat into the further sides of the island. They do love to bask under the sun because they need to regulate their body temperatures.

For most of the visitors of Puerto Vallarta, get inspired to keep the iguanas for domestic pets. When these reptiles sense an oncoming attack, they usually strike its tail, bite, or scratch the enemy as a way of its defense mechanism. Aside from this, they prove to be harmless to humans.

Like other animals, the existence of the Puerto Vallarta iguanas are now also at risk especially with the rate in the destruction of their natural dwellings. The clamor of the iguanas may be taken as the restoration of their habitats so that they can enjoy their existence more.

source: iguana-care.com

Greenpeace allegedly set up a giant inflatable toilet on  Los Muertos beach this past Wednesday, August 1. Apparently it was inflated during the morning sometime as a symbol to represent their protest against sewage being discharged in to Banderas Bay. The sign on the tiolet reads”playas limpias ahora”, clean beachs now. Our scrutiny over the event stems from the fact that this photo and a short paragraph about it  was sent to yahoo news by Greenpeace.

We personally went to the area where it was supposedly setup and could find no evidence of the giant toilet or Greenpeace’s presence. The locals haven’t heard or seen anything; one would think that if Greenpeace were setting up such a protest people would know about it. Nobody is saying it didn’t happen but we’re wondering why, if it did happen, that there was no local coverage on the event anywhere in Mexico. Why did no newspaper or online source here in Vallarta get a heads up on a giant toilet being inflated here on Los Muertos beach, the most popular beach in Puerto Vallarta?

Even if it didn’t happen, we think it is still a good idea as the truth is that all the hotels pump their sewage into the bay, pretty yucky if you think about all the families on vacation here in Mexico going for what is thought to be a refreshing dip in the ocean!

If you have any more info or news on this issue,
please comment or contact us.