Day *50* - 17 Feb - Puerta Vallarta

Photo: A very stirring dance to 'Balero'. It was like being back in Spain for 15 minutes.

We headed downtown early today as we figured this was our last Sunday in Puerta Vallarta and wanted to take advantage of all the festivities and do some serious people-watching. It was packed downtown but the good part is that the Mexican's probably outnumber the tourists. Sunday is 'family day' and the locals love to belly-up to all the small stalls that sells their version of fast-food, buy the kiddies a balloon, and listen to the music.

I wanted to go to see all the Mexican dancing that is held at the amphitheatre so we got our seat at 6 pm and there was already a crowd watching a wonderful mime who had the ability to whistle like I've never heard and he was so funny. He managed to get 2 shows in before it was time to clear out and the dancing started.

I took a ciggie break and walked over to the band shell, which is a staple in every Mexican town/city and normally designates the 'town square'. The city band play there every Sunday night and there was a big crowd gathered around. They were quite good but the best part was that as the band plays, and the crowds get bigger, all the older Mexicans get up and dance and boy, can those seniors do the Samba! They were a joy to watch!

When I went back to my seat, I could see Wayne looking at this little Mexican boy that had moved in beside us. When I sat down Wayne said, "I don't know what's wrong but he just sits there and crys" (oh, oh, Grandparent alert!). He was about 6 yrs old, his brother beside him was about 8 yrs old, his sister (wearing her pink tulle costume with glitter stickers) was probably 4, and baby brother with Dad behind us was 3. There were cute as anything and I'm guessing Dad had brought them down to watch the shows. Anyway, Wayne ended up giving the 3 older kids 10 pesos each ($1) and the little guy's tears cleared up big-time fast. We laughed to watch them spend it...the first 5 pesos went on a glass of coconut juice and another few pesos bought bubble gum which they chewed and pulled and chewed some more. Everything was shared with 'Poppy', their Dad, and little brother and there were no more tears.

Although my behind was getting sore from sitting on the concrete, the 2-hr spectacular was just that...an absolute delight. I'm not sure how they compensate these dancers but Puerta Vallarta brings them in from all the different states in Mexico. Some of these states also have various dancers from different parts of that particular state but while there is some similarity, the dances and costumes are different. The first dance was a tribute to their Spanish heritage and a group did a dance to 'Balero'...it was breathtaking...the only thing missing was the castinettes. There was also a group from the northern part of this state, Jalesco, who were representing the original native group and they did a dance which was done to celebrate the harvesting of the corn. Their costumes are hand made and embroidered and considered as sacred as our own Aboriginal's wear for their celebrations. We ended up buying a CD of music that is about Puerta Vallarta so look out people....a CD of photos with PV music is in my future to be shared with all!

It was a great experience but tinged with a bit of sadness as we know that we will soon be packing up to go. We are busy google-ing the weather in the southern states trying to decide where to go next and we know that travelling to where there is any chance of snow is not an option. However, I think the shorts will have to go back in the storage containers as we won't see this type of weather again until we are sitting around our pool in July.

Until next time, love to everyone. I only expect to be able to blog for another day or two as once we are on the road again, internet will not be an option until we cross the border into the US.