Perdido Puerto Vallarta

Sergio and I recently returned from Puerto Vallarta. This was our second time visiting the Mexican city on the Pacific. Our first visit in March of 2019, I wrote about here.

The second visit didn’t disappoint. We revisited many of the places we enjoyed on our first visit and stumbled upon some places that were new to us, starting with our stay at the Pinnacle 179. Located just a couple blocks from the beach and near some of our favorite places to eat and drink, the location was perfect for us. We splurged on this trip and reserved a corner suite which offered beautiful panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean.

Visiting Puerto Vallarta in April was the right choice for us. The weather was perfect (mid 80s and sunny) but the crowds had thinned, which allowed us to make last minute dinner reservations, enjoy the beach and our hotel’s roof deck inifinity pool without having to wake up early or rush to reserve chairs.

We ended up returning to many of the same restaurants we enjoyed on our first visit. We had most of our breakfasts on the beach at La Palapa. Nearly every morning we enjoyed our coffee and breakfast with our toes in the sand, but we did venture to other favorites such as Coco’s Kitchen, which continues to be a favorite breakfast destination for gay men of all ages.

We also enjoyed two excellent dinners on this trip. We returned to P.V.’s Cafe des Artiste, dining in their garden, and Sergio surprised me by suggesting we order from the chef’s tasting menu. The service and food lived up to our memories and solidified our emotional bond with the space ensuring we will return on future visits to P.V.

We also discovered The Iguana Restaurant & Tequila Bar. The restaurant which overlooks Banderas Bay has an interesting history to Hollywood legends, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton who discovered the place in 1962 when Burton starred in John Huston’s The Night of the Iguana.

Casa Kimberly’s history begins in 1962, when Burton came to the sleepy fishing village of Puerto Vallarta to star in director John Huston’s classic The Night of the Iguana. Although Burton and Taylor were married to other people at the time they clearly had a thing for each other and Burton arranged for Elizabeth to stay in Casa Kimberly, directly across the street from his own casita. He built a bridge connecting the two and gave Casa Kimberly to Taylor for her 32nd birthday in 1964. In 2010 the entire building was renovated and the restaurant was added.

We did more than just eating while visiting but I do admit P.V.s dining scene is one more thing I really enjoy about visiting the city. Most afternoons we’d take a break from sunning ourselves to walk around. Inevitably we’d find ourselves at Blondie’s enjoying a cold beer or two in the shade provided upstairs.

I wish JetBlue or Delta (or anyone really) would consider a nonstop flight from Boston to Puerto Vallarta. The only downside in visiting this place which reminds me of a much larger and more rustic, Mexican version of Provincetown is that it takes an entire day of travel. I’d encourage guys from Boston who are reading this to write to their preferred airline and make the suggestion. Perhaps if enough people ask, an airline may consider flying the route. I know we’d certainly go back more frequently if a nonstop flight became an option for us.

Hasta la proxima!