Mexico - Puerto Vallarta - Buying/Selling and our Hotel

May 02, 2018

When you arrive at the Puerto Vallarta airport, after you clear Immigration and Customs but before you exit to ground transportation, you have to walk through what is not so affectionately referred to as the “Shark Tank” – a gauntlet of aggressive timeshare salesmen. If you keep your head down, maintain a steady stride and not make eye contact you can escape unscathed. But it won’t be the last time you are propositioned during your time in Mexico. Everywhere there are tourists, but especially on the beach or on the Malecón, you will be approached by people on foot selling jewelry, hats, sunglasses, clothing, toys, pipes (and weed), cigars, and strange trinkets with no discernible function. Men holding menus will try to lure you into their restaurants as you pass by. Staff at tequila stores will offer free samples. A simple “no gracias” will usually suffice to divert them to their next target, so it is generally not too annoying, although sometimes I get tired of saying those two words over and over. We try to remember these are just ordinary people trying to make a living, and they are not really trying to pester us.

Sometimes the vendors have a good sense of humor, such as the man who approached us while we were having drinks and nachos at a beachside restaurant. Referring to how heavy his armload of Mexican rugs was, he joked that he would pay us to take some. Then he encouraged us to keep drinking and said he would be back when we were drunk (“so then you will buy my junk”). Still, if we are approached while we are out walking my preferred approach is to give a quick “no gracias” and just keep walking, while Deborah is much more likely to engage with the salesmen and politely explain why we won’t be purchasing what they are offering. Tequila? No, gracias, we don’t drink (well, not much). Tour today? No, gracias, we live here (sort of true). Massage? No, gracias, I go to Filipe (whom everyone knows). Dinner tonight? No, gracias, we don’t eat.

Others vying for your pesos are the buskers – musicians, singers, living statues – and the sand sculptors hoping for a donation. Sometimes we tip the better ones, but most of our contribution to the local economy is to our hotel, food (markets and restaurants), laundry service (about $4/week), buses and taxis (usually $1 to $6 in town), massages (Deborah pays about $20 for 60 minutes, except for the amazing Filipe, who did deep-tissue massage and unlocked Deborah's frozen shoulder for $65 for 90 minutes), and, unfortunately, medical/dental, which I’ll write more about later. We also purchased a few clothing items to replace things that were worn out, not appropriate for this climate, or which Deborah was just sick of.

Our AirBnB hotel is in a good location such that the beach/Malecón, farmer’s markets, restaurants, clubs, shops, and even medical clinics are all within walking distance. It’s near a busy road so it is a bit noisier than we’d prefer, but the convenience of the location makes up for it, and the proprietors are very nice and very helpful. And they have two cats and two dogs. One of the dogs is a hyperactive 4-month old Chihuahua about the size of a shoe. One of the cats loves to hang out with us in our room, which we really enjoy, except for the time he barfed on our bedspread. Appropriately, his name is Ralph.

Paintings of famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (not very good ones) for sale on the Malecón. Frida is big here. She is even on the 500 peso note, with Diego Rivera on the opposite side.

(photo by Deborah)