VallartaBlog - A Puerto Vallarta Travel Blog

Red Cabbage Restaurant - Downtown Puerto Vallarta

Last Friday, we were looking for a good place to eat. We had planned on going for our favorite tacos but when we arrived they hadn't even put the meat on the rotisserie yet. We love the tacos but we weren't ready to wait an hour for them to be ready.

Eating out in Puerto Vallarta can be like cable television. You have 700 choices and nothing interests you. We started playing the usual, "what do you want to eat? I dunno. What do you wanna eat game."

After running through the list of all 700 hundred places we could eat, we settled on the Red Cabbage, an old favorite.

 

The following comes from the Red Cabbage website:

One of vallarta's most delightful dining experiences, the menu features dishes from all regions of Mexico.

Easily accessible on the south side of the Rio Cuale, the Red Cabbage Cafe is located in Colonia Remance (pronounced "ray-MAHN-say").

You know you are someplace special when you step into the lighthearted collage of its decor. On the brightly painted walls is an eclectic display of art, music, theater, literature and film. Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera are featured on one wall.

Informal but stylish, bohemian but sophisticated, delicious dining in a delightful setting await Puerto Vallarta's visitors and residents who are looking for a great food experience. Prices are moderate and value outstanding.

If you have never gone, the Red Cabbage can be hard to find on your own. They easiest way to get there the first time is by taxi. Most of the drivers know where it is.

For the summer, the Red Cabbage is having a half-priced, "Fiesta de Chiles" special on their stuffed chile dishes. I was pleased with this because I had already planned to order the chiles stuffed with ground beef when they told us about the special.

I wish I had remembered to bring the camera with me. the presentation of the food was beautiful.

A Day on the Water - Banderas Bay

Recently, we had the opportunity to spend the day cruising Banderas Bay with some friends. It had been at least a couple of years since we had been invited on a day cruise and we jumped at the chance to go. When you are in town, charter a boat for the day. It's a great way to experience Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta as seen from the water. We took this picture at about 10:00am. The water is really calm in the morning. As the day progresses, it gets choppier.

The Marigalante Pirate Ship. On the pirate ship you get a tour of the bay, a meal, and a pirate show. We have never gone but I have heard from many people that it is a lot of fun.

A tour boat at Los Arcos. Lots of people stop to go snorkeling around the Los Arcos rock formations.

Los Arcos rocks seen from the distance.

South of Puerto Vallarta is a secluded beach, Las Animas. We stopped here and had a great lunch on the beach. I recommend the sopa de mariscos (seafood soup) at the Caracol Restaurant. The staff is super friendly.

Puerto Vallarta's Perfect Climate for Yoga

This is second yoga guest post by Anna Laurita from Davannayoga. When I announced the opening of her yoga center on the blog, I got a tremendous response from readers looking for more information about yoga in Puerto Vallarta. Since I know nothing about yoga, I asked her to write a series of articles for my readers. If you have any questions about yoga in Vallarta contact Anna. She loves what she does and is a great resource.

The Perfect Climate for Yoga is in Puerto Vallarta

Increasing flexibility and health benefits of yoga
It’s a hot day here in Puerto Vallarta – 86 degrees (but feels like at least 92) and 70% humidity (but feels like 80). After the 9-10:30am Yoga Flow class today I heard  the following comments:  “Wow, do I feel flexible today”;  “I haven’t sweat this much since the last time I was practicing yoga in India”; “I haven’t been able to get into that yoga posture in ages”; “My doctor sent me here to detox!”.  These are incidentally all the same reasons I highly recommend yoga practice in Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta weather could be called tropically perfect. PV benefits from a very similar weather, a sub-tripical climate, to the Hawaiian islands. This is because they are located on the same latitude  (Incidentally yoga is very popular in Hawaii also). In PV there are an average of 315 days above 80 degrees and 102 days above 90 degrees. The average morning humidity is 92%.

Why is yoga practice better in a warm and humid climate?
The birthplace of yoga is India (over 4000 years ago), where the climate is well, quite warm. They were on to something.  In yoga practice, elongation and twists are common which stretch and squeeze the internal organs and incidentally if there is enough heat they squeeze out the toxins in the body.  Moist heat is also better for your joints.  If you are generally inflexible, the heat can help your joints loosen and muscles relax more quickly to improve the efficiency of your yoga practice.

Demonstrated Health Benefits of  Yoga
Many doctors consider yoga to have therapeutic results, and recommend it for several illnesses and conditions, mainly related to the nervous system.

Many studies have been conducted to determine which areas will benefit from an extended practice of yoga. Yoga practitioners are most likely to see improvements in the areas of physiology, psychology, and biochemistry.

From the physiological point of view, extended yoga practice benefits: pulse rate;  respiratory function; blood pressure; the nervous system; gastrointestinal & endocrine function; endurance; the range of motion in joints; energy level; immunity to diseases; cardiovascular efficiency; reaction time;dexterity; depth perception and sleep.

Yoga's psychological benefits include: enhanced somatic and kinesthetic awareness; self-acceptance; self-actualization; social skills; well-being; concentration; memory; attention; mood; and learning efficiency.

As for the biochemical benefits of yoga, tests have shown improvements in:  glucose; sodium; cholesterol; total white blood cell count; vitamin C; total serum protein; and hemoglobin.

Deep Organ and Joint Stimulation
Various studies have revealed that yoga exercises are extremely effective at increasing joint flexibility and at lubricating and strengthening the joints, ligaments and tendons. Another interesting finding is that yoga is one of the very few forms of exercise capable of massaging all the internal organs and glands. This includes organs that are rarely stimulated, such as the prostate. The stimulation and massaging of the internal organs proves to be extremely beneficial for health.

Elimination of Toxins
These ancient and efficient yoga techniques also provide a thorough detoxification of the body. Stretching the muscles and performing a complete yoga workout acts as a massage, thereby ensuring the optimal blood supply to every organ. Consequently, toxins are eliminated from the body and certain undesired processes, such as aging, are delayed.

All of these remarkable health benefits are available from yoga practice and enhanced immensely by yoga practice in a warm and humid climate such as we enjoy in Puerto Vallarta.

Read Anna's first post: Do-It-Yourself Yoga Retreats in Puerto Vallarta

San Pancho Cultural Center Festival Pictures

I received the following email and photos from a friend who attended the Amado Nervo Cultural Center Festival in San Pancho. I wasn't able to attend, but, I heard the festival was a lot of fun.

Enjoy some pictures of the International Amado Nervo Festival that took place May 22-25.  We had a great time and enjoyed sculptures, paintings ,jewelry, created by our local artista's as well as fire dancers, flamenco dancers, and music from Jazz to our local Orchestra  to a  brazilian band.  We also had a great performance by the Folkloric Ballet Mexcaltitan.  I will send more photos as I get them in on the events.  San Pancho now has the honor of title Cultural Capital of Nayarit.

Iguanas Everywhere You Turn

Puerto Vallarta is filled with Iguanas. Everywhere you turn, there's another one. This very large iguana is the most recent one I have encountered. Fortunately, I had my camera with me to get the shot. It must be used to people because it allowed me to get very close.

More Cool Iguana Pictures:

Sunday Afternoon Visitor

Attack of the Big Brown Iguana

Lunar Eclipse - Puerto Vallarta

This photo is part of the series - Pictures Around Puerto Vallarta - shots that show the beauty, energy, and warmth of our little corner of paradise.

Lunar Eclipse - Puerto VallartaEclipse - Puerto Vallarta

Festival in San Pancho Nayarit

From Thursday, May 22 through Sunday, May 25, there is a festival in San Pancho Nayarit to inaugurate a new cultural center. Click on the program below for all of the details.

Just so you know, San Pancho is the nickname for San Francisco, Nayarit which is about 50 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta.

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Roadtrip to Mascota and Talpa - Man on a Donkey

--This is the fourth post of many highlighting our recent road trip to Mascota and Talpa, Jalisco taken with a group of long-time friends. The second of the two towns we visited was Talpe de Allende which is about eighty miles inland from the Puerto Vallarta Airport. --

This picture was taken on one of the main streets that crosses the town of Talpa de Allende. I like the contrast between old and new - cars vs. donkeys for transportation.

More roadtrip posts:

Old Adobe House

The Ice Cream Shop

Rancho Esmeralda Bungalows

Golf is a Dangerous Sport

You never know what sort of wildlife you will come across in Puerto Vallarta. I had a chance to play golf at the Mayan Palace in Nuevo Vallarta this past weekend and while we were playing we were surprised by all sorts of creatures. I was able to snap a couple of photos.

This is the crocodile that lives in the water hazard by hole #4. I now realize that these warning signs are not a joke. I will think twice about searching for the balls that I plunk in the water.

A family of iguanas lives in the drainage system on hole #9 not too far from the clubhouse.

Tizok Takos in Versalles

One of the taco places we frequent is Tizok Takos in Versalles. It's easy to get to. It's a half a block south of the HSBC bank on the corner of Francisco Medina Ascencio and Francia street. If you are not sure where that is, it's directly in front of the big Coppel store.

When you walk by there is always a big cloud of smoke coming off the grill. The smell pulls you right into the restaurant.

They grill the onions which I really like. The beans for garnish I don't much like. These are tacos de asada (grilled beef tacos). Tacos cost about $12 pesos each.

The salsas are good and the chips never-ending.

To drink, they serve horchata and jamaica in the old-fashioned clay mugs, which is a cool touch. Both drinks are traditionally prepared. Unfortunately, many restaurants that serve these drinks have switched over to liquid or powder concentrates for convenience. The taste just isn't the same.

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Another taco place you will like.
Vallarta's Best Tacos - El Carboncito