Regular readers of this blog (the few, the happy few … with apologies to Shakespeare), know that we have been regular visitors to the seaside resort on Mexico’s west coast. Our first trip was in the late 1980s, and since then we have returned around 20 times. But all prior visits were to a specific property, Ocho Cascadas, in the Conchas Chinas section south of PV. We were owners at that timeshare from 1992 through 2012, when it reverted back to the original developer. We did not buy in again after it was refurbished, but have rented.

We have long wanted to stay elsewhere as part of a vague notion of becoming longer-term residents at some point. It’s unlikely we would buy a property at this stage of our lives, but a lengthy rental is possible. This was a brief trial run. This time we booked a condo in the Cinco de Diciembre section of town, about three blocks from the northern end of the Malecon. The Malecon is a concrete boardwalk that runs through the heart of Vallarta.

The town has seen enormous growth over the 30+ years we have been visiting, which has its good and bad aspects. There are now a shit-ton of condos built or in the process of construction up and down the coast, so finding lodging at a range of price points isn’t hard. (If interested, along with VRBO and AirBnB, or check out local sites in PV such as PVRPV.com). There are now plenty of great restaurants, but the town can feel overwhelmed at times with tourists and part-time residents during the high season, which runs from November through the end of April.

This was our first visit in May. PV was still busy, but our fellow gringo tourists were largely supplanted by Mexican families enjoying the beach. Guadalajara, the nation’s second largest city, is a roughly four hour drive away with several daily flights. We had sunny skies every day and no rain. The rainy season is approaching and maybe we were just lucky, but we have seen more clouds in January. Temps did creep into the low 90s during the day, but PV’s seaside location kept things tolerable.

We enjoyed the new location. As much as we have loved Ocho Cascadas over the years, the change of pace was fun. We could easily stroll into the heart of town and down to the Romantic Zone at the southern end of the Malecon. And we discovered several new places that are worth checking out.

They include The Tasting Room, a cool new bar where you can taste a variety of agave spirits, or grab a bottle to take away. Craft drinks are very well made. Also fun was El Anzuelo, a hole-in-the-wall taco joint with about five tables. The food is all individually prepared by the chef-owner. He’s a veteran restauranteur in PV who speaks excellent English. Definitely worth a visit.

We also checked out a deep-dish pizza place called Pizza of the Plains. We met one of the owners at the Tasting Room, one of the many ex-pats who have settled in PV. He was from Arizona, his partner from Kansas City. It’s not our preferred style of pizza, but it was well made. There’s a funky, grungy bar called Gusto above the place where you can order drinks. Or just hang out in. It’s another popular place with expats in the area. It’s located on Calle San Salvador, home to a daily farmers market that’s another worthwhile stop.

This trip was also a chance for us to do some tourist stuff we had often considered, but never seemed to get around to doing. We visited the botanical gardens about 30 minutes south of PV. It’s a lovely space, filled this time of year with hummingbirds and butterflies. We also booked a day trip to San Sebastián del Oeste, an old silver mining town in the nearby mountains. Included was a visit to a coffee plantation and a tequila distillery. Tastings made the distillery the highlight of the trip.

Most days we did walks around town, going so far as to hike up to a cross planted at the top of a mountain. It was a lot of steps but the views were great. It also happened to be Pride Week. Vallarta has a sizable gay population at any time but it swelled this week. The Pride Parade lasted more than an hour and was enjoyed by tourists and locals.

We’re leaving this morning with a few unspent pesos, with the firm belief we’ll be back.