Puerto Vallarta

This weekend I took a few days and went down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. My boyfriend's uncle is routinely hired to return yachts that have been raced to destination ports (like PV's) back to Los Angeles, and this time my bf agreed to accompany him as a crewmember on a 50-ft luxury yacht. He'll be gone for most of March during this journey, so I went to see him off from Puerto Vallarta, their starting point.This was the first vacation I've had in many years where I felt that it was OK to BE on vacation---the town wasn't so big and exotic, so there wasn't a ton of stuff that I wanted to see and photograph; consequently I was comfortable putting my camera aside and instead focusing on activities like reading, margaritas, chatting with locals, sailing with the boyfriend's uncles, and eating out. I wasn't driven to cross anything off an itinerary, and needless to say, that felt marvelous. I am also pretty handy with Spanish once I get going, so this was great practice.Puerto Vallarta is on the fast lane to joining Cancun and Cabo San Lucas as a major tourist hotspot in Mexico, if it hasn't arrived to that status already. The goal will probably truly be reached once the construction of its cruise-ship port (with enough room for at least three) is completed. Of course, this thoroughly depresses people like my father and Matt's uncles, who remember the town when it was nothing more than a rugged, lovable, ramshackle fishing village in the tropics. Walking through downtown now is like walking through Disneyland...the tourists completely outnumber the locals. Chances are, if you haven't visited PV in 20 years, you wouldn't recognize it at all now.Downtown is a bustling, sunny hub full of tourists, traffic, and artisans concentrated around a bright stone boardwalk, and in the shadow of La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe).Our Lady herself.Several sand sculptors had spread themselves over the otherwise empty strip of beach below the boardwalk and were sculpting for tips.A walk along the boardwalk reveals several offbeat iron and metalwork sculptures, most of them stylistically grotesque or abstract. I liked Puerto Vallarta's statues a lot since all the statues along the beaches where I live are smooth, flowing, and modestly aesthetic. It was nice to see something new, daring, boldly expressive.Javier, a popotillo artist working from a booth in the artisan/craft market on Rio Cuale.Other images from around town:

Pelicans overlook the downtown beach.Camarones for saleThe frilly Tabachin flowerPelican on the harbor

I also am covered in bug bites. I forgot about tropical mosquitoes, and I suppose I didn't consider they could live out on harbors, either. I didn't get horrifically sunburned though, which is good considering how fair I am. I already miss the boy, but I'm trying not to think about it.My 24th birthday is tomorrow!