Today’s post is 1350 words, 41 photos, a 7 minute read. Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

This week I’ll take you on a visit to a traditional market, a cemetery, the Romantic District in Old Town, and another walk along the Puerto Vallarta Malecón. If you missed the three earlier episodes in this series, click here, here, and here.

5  de Diciembre Mercado

It was a nice, sunny morning in Puerto Vallarta when we took a taxi ride to the 5 de Diciembre Mercado (market). Our friends that we were staying with decided to stay at the condo for more rest and relaxation, something that time in Puerto Vallarta inspires.

This market is in the 5 de Diciembre neighborhood that gets its name from the date that land became available for farming after the Mexican Revolution. The land was once owned by an American silver mining company. The government took some of the land back to allow community members to farm individual parcels. While the farmers did not own the land, they were allowed to use it indefinitely and could pass down their rights to their children.

The taxi driver dropped my Traveling Partner and I near the entrance to the market. Before entering the market, I noticed three things. The first was the area where fresh fruit and vegetables were being unloaded and sorted for sale. As you’ll see in later photos, the produce was beautiful and reasonably priced.

The second thing was the smell of fish. The fish and shrimp mongers were doing a great business. I was especially intrigued by the quantity and quality of the shrimp. The price was good too. The largest shrimp were the most expensive at $280 pesos ($14 USD) per kilo (2.2 pounds) or $6.40 USD per pound. A real deal.

Third, there was a tortilla making operation on premises. This machine was flattening the dough before it went through the cooker and into the trays at the end of the line.

Notice the stacks of tortillas on the counter. They are ready to be sold to customers or sent to restaurants.

The large vat in the back of the facility is where the white corn is processed so that it can be made into dough. The result is a softer, more tender tortilla favored by customers.

As we walked through the small market, we admired the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. It was a delight to the eye. Here’s a few photos.

There were a couple of vendors that sold meat such as beef, pork, and chicken. Some of the cuts looked pretty nice.

We stopped at the concession that sold coffee and pastries. We took our cups to one of the small tables nearby. From there, we watched the vendors restocking and customers making purchases. The market was vibrant, a nice way to start today’s adventure in the city.

Panteón 5 de Diciembre

Across the street from the market is the large Panteón 5 de Diciembre, a cemetery that has been in use since 1916. I don’t know if burials continue but there appeared to be some recent internments, maybe in the last 5-10 years. From what I could discern is that Panteón is Spanish for mausoleum.

We noticed the beautiful murals that decorated the walls on one side of the cemetery. Note the owl in the first mural. In Mexican culture, the owl represents darkness, death, and witchcraft. While the skull represents death, it also celebrates rebirth in the afterlife. The work was beautiful, glad we had a chance to see it.

The entrance was nice, there was a guard at the gate. He just nodded to us as we entered.

Here’s a little of what we saw. There are graves and monuments everywhere. Out of respect for the dead, we did our best to not to step on or across a grave. There were no clear paths so we weaved around as we progress through the cemetery stopping occasionally to admire the monuments and read the inscriptions. Some were well-maintained while others were in various stages of disrepair. Many had fresh artificial flowers, some had none.

This was the plainest marker we saw in the middle of what we thought was a path. Weeds surrounded the wooden cross that only contained a number, no name.

One couldn’t help but notice this bright spot surrounded by gray or white. The young girl must have liked castles and pink. It appeared to be a nice place to spend eternity.

We enjoyed our stop in this cemetery. You can learn a lot about a society and culture on the way they treat their dead. Mexicans revere and remember them.

Basilio Badillo

From the market and cemetery, we took a taxi to Basilio Badillio, a five-block long street in the Romantic District filled with boutiques, restaurants, coffee shops, and bars. We can attest that it’s a popular destination for tourists, the sidewalks were crowded, the shops busy selling goods to tourists.

Believe it or not, this bar and grill was busy with morning drinkers.

I believe these are pistachio nuts. We saw a lot of them in Mexico, it’s apparently part of the cuisine in cakes and sauces.

After walking along Basilio Badillio checking out the shops and people watching, we were ready for lunch. Our friends that we were staying with recommended eating at the Vallarta Chocolate Factory. We snagged an outdoor table out of the warm sun. The waiter quickly appeared, took our food order, and delivered our drinks. The food came after a reasonable wait. The fish and shrimp tacos were excellent and hit the spot as did dessert. A brownie for her and carrot cake for me. We ducked inside to purchase a box of artisanal chocolates to share with our friends.

While we were waiting for our food, we listened to the cacophony of sounds from the street. Cars, buses, and motorcycles driving over the cobblestones, the creaking of car springs, music from radios coming from open windows, and horns honking. From the sidewalks, a mixture of Spanish and English chatter and bicycles weaving through the crowds.

The Malecón

As I stated in last week’s post, the Puerto Vallarta Malecón runs about a mile along the Bay of Banderas. The beginning point is the Los Muertos Beach Pier (translated as dead beach) where I took the next seven photos. The first two are looking south. Note all the people and umbrellas on the beach. It was a Monday and schools were still on holiday.

This view is looking north towards the Hotel Zone, marina, and international airport.

While on the pier, a boat towing a yellow inflatable approached the shoreline. There was a group waiting to take a ride on the tube. The second photo shows them climbing aboard, and the third heading out into the bay. The things people think of to create fun is amazing.

This is where folks catch water taxis. For example, when cruise boats dock, there are small taxi boats waiting to take them quickly to the Romantic Zone where the action is, at least the party action. The pier was good for people watching.

This is statue is at the north end of the Malecón in a park, the title of the statue is: ¡Ándale Bernardo! (translated “Come on Bernardo!). It pays tribute to the miners that worked in the area. An enjoyable and fun finding.

We were thirsty so found a place on the beach for some cool drinks. My Traveling Partner just had an interesting encounter with a nice young woman selling stuff that takes all wrinkles away just like magic. I thought she (my Traveling Partner) looked fine without this magical creme that sold for $150 USD per tube. She was very persistent but we finally walked away. While we were enjoying our drink, I saw this young woman getting her hair braided. Apparently, this is one of the services those walking beach vendors provide.

To end this post, here is another sunset photo taken from the 15th floor of the condo. 

Next week join me for a trip to a botanical garden. Find out the challenges we had getting there and back.

Until then, happy travels!

Tom

PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM