Dawn on Sunday December 15:
We skipped our normal routine of morning schoolwork and chores, and instead hopped in the car and headed south. As mentioned yesterday, the flat, wide multi-laned (6 – 8 lanes for most of the way) highway between La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and Puerto Vallarta paralleled Bandaras Bay. On the bay side, there were many high-rise tower hotel/condo complexes, a huge resort complex with a water slide park and air tram, a couple of military bases, the airport, and a cruise ship terminal. In between, were assorted commercial buildings. The construction was dense and there were few glimpses of the ocean. The other side of the street was also lined the entire way with buildings, though this side had more industrial-type businesses, car dealerships, and strip malls. Except for the median, there was little greenery. Since it was early on a Sunday, there wasn’t much traffic and we made it to downtown Puerto Vallarta in an hour.
As we also mentioned yesterday, shortly after passing the cruise ship terminal, the road suddenly changed to narrow, one-way cobblestone roads upon entering the historic downtown area. The downtown area also had little greenery. Only a few blocks beyond where we’d parked yesterday, there was another stark line indicating that we’d crossed the threshold from downtown to the part of town called Zona Sur.
The road became a concrete two lane highway. It still paralleled Bahia Banderas, but now it was a windy mountain road in a lush rain forest. Near the historic district, we passed one high-rise condo/hotel complex after another after another.
Farther outside of town, the complexes got smaller, and even farther out, there were some houses. We could occasionally see glimpses of the bay below between the buildings and through the trees.
Eventually, the road turned inland and became less well maintained, with pot-holes here and there. After a half-hour of driving through the rain forest, we came to the entrance for the botanical garden. We’d been told that the garden was not to be missed. We were hoping that it was worth the long drive.
The entrance was lovely. It looked like the setting of a fairy tale.
We bought tickets and walked down the cobblestone driveway to the building that housed the gift shop and restaurant. We passed a couple of covered structures containing collections of potted plants.
We were greeted by three female peacocks. We did see the male running around, but he didn’t hang out to welcome guests like the girls did.
There was a beautiful coy pond in front of the building.
The tiles on the floor inside the building were each inscribed with special messages.
We were seated on the second floor, on a balcony with a view of the rain forest.
After breakfast, we explored the garden. Near the restaurant were several walkways that led around highly manicured areas. These trails meandered through several covered structures filled with potted plants, and the general area was dotted with art sculptures and an occasional fountain and/or small fish pond.
To be continued…