Nestled between the jungle vegetation of the Sierra Madre mountains and the crystal clear Pacific waters of Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta is home to fine dining restaurants and upscale jewelry stores, alongside typical Mexican food stands and street vendors.

In Puerto Vallarta we had an opportunity to visit the whales during their mating season. The whales, forced to share the relative sanctity of the bay waters with our over anxious boat captains seeking a most advantaged spot to interrupt these annual activities, can be seen surfing for air and sometimes for play.

And – all is not Mexican. Here too we would choose to dine in relative elegance at each of the three upscale restaurants at our all-inclusive resort. Where the resort lacked in providing authentic and tasty Mexican food, it made up by providing excellent, French, Italian and Japanese foods.

To escape the confines of the resort we hired a driver who took us to the homes of the rich and famous – those who make their home in “Gringo Gulch”. And – who brought us to a very nice open-air restaurant, providing us with the quality Mexican cuisine and margarita’s we had become accustomed to in other areas of Mexico. Along the way we visited a family “still” where they produced some of the best tequila we ever had.

But the beach belongs to everyone. Vendors weave in and out with their offerings of silver and home grown materials. The streets and byways of Vallarta are a buzz with a people that are proud of their heritage and culture. They warmly welcomed us. They probably would have tolerated my version of Spanish.