PV parties like its 1999 for New Year’s 2013
New Year’s Eve for the Walti clan starts at the Mango Beach Club, about five blocks north of La Corona. We start with lunch and a beer while watching the club build a bridal bower for some lucky couple (guy on ladder in the background). It took 45 minutes to construct and decorate, 15 minutes for the wedding, and 20 minutes to take down.
I think all of Puerto Vallarta needed a party to usher 2012 the hell out and welcome 2013 with open arms and a glass-is-half-full attitude. Young, old, gay, straight, Mexican, Canadian, American, rich and poor were all looking to escape the past. And they did it in Vegas-style night clubs on the Malecon, in plastic chairs on the beach, motoring up and down the coast in their yachts, on the streets and doorways of the city’s neighborhoods, and in every restaurant and bar throughout the city.
Our plan for New Year’s Eve was typical; play it as it lay. Because we had no one place to go (i.e. a reservation that would permit one to have dinner at an appointed time. A novel concept for KR), we sampled the entire city’s various flavors of a New Years Party. Here’s what we found.
We start the evening by strolling down the arts district of PV. Nothing like spending a lot of money on a piece of art to make the New Year seem grand.
Perhaps the most expensive restaurant in PV, Cafe des Artists, is also the most controversial with neighbors giving the thumbs down to its new paint job.
On the Malecon, first Chinese Lantern of the New Year lifts off for the skies.
There are about a half dozen Vegas-style night clubs on the Malecon.
These are the same clubs that can be heard playing music at 4 in the morning during the normal week.
I have the same picture from last year, except the last letter of course.
Hotels in the Romantic Zone offered their own beach-side dining
A stop at our favorite, La Palapa, shows its put a tent on the beach and is hosting New Years dinners and dancing. We catch a drink and keep moving.
Street party on Olas Altos in the Romantic Zone. Gringos and Mexicans alike danced to the Latin beat. We catch dinner around the corner at a taco stand and keep moving.
Walking up the hill toward our house we encounter numerous street parties. Residents block the streets by parking their cars in the middle, then pull the plastic chairs and table out. This party was around the corner from our house, where we found..
Our neighbors already into the Tequila and salsa. Here KR greets one of our neighbors while two of our gringo neighbors, Pat and Dave, look on.
Directly across the street from our front door is the neighborhood BBQ.
At midnight, we run up the stairs (OK, we walk up the four flights) to the deck to catch the City’s fireworks displays.
The PV hills are alight with parties watching the excitement. This is a fuzzy picture of the hotel’s guests across the street watching the show.
Practiced viewers will notice the Pirate Ship in the bay. It was one of about a hundred boats anchored in the harbor to watch.
Dinner’s not quite ready yet.
View from the pool deck. You can see the smoke mist from all the fireworks floating above the city.
We decide to spend the rest of the night in the outdoor bedroom. This was a great idea UNTIL it started to drizzle, then rain, then pour. We abandoned the deck at 5 in the morning, totally drenched:) Our neighbors were of course still partying.
Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year.
Vitginia and Jean-Pierre
Happy New Year to both of you. May your lives be as exciting and adventurous as ever. We should swing via PV before heading down the trails of the Silk Road. All the best, Gary and Monika
Thanks for sharing, Happy New Year to you and KR.
Debbie and Dennis
Celebración de año nuevo en Puerto Vallarta parece invitar a! Más bien podría ser que en Dubai!
Sindhu y Gregorio
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013. OUR BEST WISHES FOR A WONDERFUL YEAR. When I was studying in Guadalajara I went one year to celebrate new year there. Thank you for sharing the pictures. We love you. Peter and Aneth