|
000046 Visit since
| Ju's
the facts, ma'am. | by Prof. German Estrada
December 17, 2001. | PUERTO VALLARTA is located
on the west coast of Mexico, right in the middle of the Bay of Banderas, the largest
bay in Mexico, a formation of the Pacific Ocean coastline that includes parts
of the states of Nayarit to the north and Jalisco in its southern part.
Because
of the town's sheltered location and the topographical protection offered by the
Sierra Madre mountains that surround the Bay, none of the hurricanes spawned in
the Pacific have entered the Bay since the beginning of regional record-keeping.
P.V. - as it is affectionately called by the locals - is situated on the same
parallel as the Hawaiian Islands, thus the similarities in the climate of the
two destinations. * AREA
1,300 square kilometers *
POPULATION
Approximately 250,000 inhabitants * CLIMATE
Tropical, humid, with an average of 300 sunny days per year.
The temperature
averages 28oC (82oF) and the rainy season extends from late June to early October. *
FLORA & FAUNA
Regional flora is mainly tropical forest: palms, rubber
trees and other tropical species. Nearby Sierra Vallejo hosts a great variety
of animal species such as iguana, guacamaya, deer, raccoon, etc. *
SANCTUARIES
Bahía de Banderas encloses two Marine National Parks, "Los
Arcos" and the Marieta Islands, where diving is allowed under certain circumstances
but fishing of any kind is prohibited.
Every year, the Bay receives the visit
of the humpback whales, dolphins and manta rays in the winter. During the summer,
sea turtles, a protected species, arrive to its shores to lay their eggs. *
ECONOMY
Local economy is based on tourism, construction and to a lesser degree,
on agriculture, mainly tropical fruit such as mango, papaya, watermelon, pineapple,
guanabana, cantaloupe and bananas. * MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
Vallarta can be reached by land through Federal Highway 200, by sea or by air. *
CURRENCY
The Mexican Peso is the legal currency in Mexico although Canadian
and American dollars are widely accepted. * CITY TRANSPORTATION
In Puerto Vallarta, there is a system of urban buses with different routes. Current
fare is $4. Pesos per ticket and passengers must purchase a new ticket every time
they board another bus. There are no "transfers".
There are two
kinds of taxi cabs: those at the airport and the maritime port are usually vans
that can only be boarded at the airport or harbor. They have pre-fixed rates per
passenger. City cabs are mostly Nissan yellow cars and they charge by the ride,
not by passenger. It is a good practice to always agree on the price of the ride
before boarding the cab.
gestrada@pvnet.com.mx
Prof. Germán Estrada is the
author of the best selling book, "México
Mágico: Everything You Wanted To Know About... But Nobody Told
You..." available in Puerto Vallarta at The Net House, Mail Boxes, Etc.,
Books, Books as well as directly from the author by internet. Archives
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