Luckily for many of us, just being in Puerto Vallarta says it all for Valentine’s Day!  But, if you really want to enjoy, relax and dazzle your friend, partner, husband or wife, please allow me to give  you a few tips or recommendations for this special day.

Two special getaway boutique hotels that I think are terrific are the Hotel La Galerita  and the Hacienda Matel  in nearby San Sebastian del Oeste.  Both are romantic spots where wonderful memories can be made.  San Sebastian is a very special place that I know you will enjoy and these two properties are both exceptional.  I strongly recommend reservations for each.

Puerto Vallarta has an incredible amount of fantastic restaurants and for lunch I love to recommend Ocean Grill,  located just south of Boca de Tomatlan.  The food, atmosphere and service is wonderful!

One of Vallarta’s  (and mine) all time favorites is Vitea, located on the Malecon, in front of the statue of San Pascual Bailon (the patron saint of kitchens and cooks). This memorable restaurantr is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, all delicious!

A fun beach front restaurant that has great food is Barracuda, located at the north end of the Malecon, at the foot of Calle San Salvador.

Best choice to me for a lovely dining experience is TRIO, located on Calle Guerrrero in El Centro.  Fantastic food, ambiance and service are what make this successful restaurant one to definitely not be missed.

Happy Valentines Day, 2013!

Timothy Real Estate Group has professional designers and stagers that can help you prepare your home for the war.  Gorilla tactics that work because it is a Price War and a Beauty Contest that can mean making and saving more with your property investment.  Stay informed about Puerto Vallarta Real Estate and sign up for our newsletter… click here

Timothy Real Estate Group – An innovative company setting new standards in Real Estate sales and services has the most professional and experienced Realtors in the Puerto Vallarta area who understand the intricacies of Mexican Real Estate ownership, the local market, Puerto Vallarta property codes and regulations and financing.  The Timothy Group uses that knowledge to provide a sound analysis on every aspect of property ownership. Timothy Real Estate Group is known for professionalism and experience and they bring this to every transaction they work on for the benefit of Real Estate investors and developers alike. Ask about our Real Estate Listings

I recently returned to Puerto Vallarta to spend a 10-day Thanksgiving holiday with my partner and 4 other close friends. It had been a long seven-year hiatus since I last visited this beautiful vacation destination. It was great to be back!

What I love most about this Mexican seaport, besides its beautiful and remote beaches, are the people. The locals are friendly, informative, having a simple and authentic approach to life.

Taniel Chemsian of Timothy Real Estate Group recommended we stay at a villa named Villa Azul Celeste in Lower Conchas Chinas. His suggestion couldn’t have been a more perfect and ideal vacation property for me and my friends.

The property is about 2 miles south of downtown Puerto Vallarta and a few minutes taxi or bus ride to virtually anywhere you wanted to go. The villa was secluded and right on the water with its own pool and private beach. The staff was incredible; our private cook prepared delicious, Mexican specialties. Whatever we wanted we received. One thing to remember is if you want fresh cranberries for your Thanksgiving dinner, ask the staff to purchase them from the market early since they are imported and sell out fast.

A lot has changed over the seven years; there are more conveniences such as Costco and Wal-Mart, new shopping malls hosting prominent department stores, great new restaurants and incredible new condominium developments for someone wanting to purchase a home in this tropical paradise.

A fabulous new steak house in the Marina Vallarta recommended by Taniel Chemsian is a place called Sonora Grill. The ambiance was inviting, sophisticated and modern. The quality of the meat was incredible and the price point was reasonable.

The new Malecon, where only pedestrians are allowed to roam freely, now provides for a relaxing and comfortable venue for a little shopping and having a great lunch. The Malecon is now connected to the famous Playa Los Muertos by the new Rio Cuale pedestrian bridge.

Puerto Vallarta has developing nicely and has created a beautiful place to not only vacation but an ideal town at which to retire. During my stay I viewed a fine and affordable selection of condominium properties with Taniel. I was amazed at what your money can buy here vs. a property on any American coastline. There simply is no comparison.

I am 53 years old and definitely could see myself spending half my time in Puerto Vallarta and the other half in San Diego where I live. At these value prices, it can be easily done.

There is one more thing that I always do when I visit Puerto Vallarta and that is to take a private boat or water taxi to a more secluded beach. In the past I have been to Yelapa and love it because it is quiet and quaint with a beautiful old church and pleasant restaurants.

This time we went to a beach called Las Animas, which I highly recommend as well. The water is clear and pristine, with white sand stretching out. The beach is also dotted with 3-4 restaurants, which is just perfect. It is a wider and bigger beach than Yelapa with chase lounges and tables setup with white tablecloths.

There is nothing like spending a Sunday afternoon with great friends, sipping tequila, eating ceviche and listening to a guitar player singing old Latin pasillos and ballads. It was truly magical and a moment in time I will always remember.

Once again I thank Taniel Chemsian who has lived in Puerto Vallarta for 10 years serving the community for recommending that special day to me. Muchisimas Gracias!

By Rick Capitanio – San Diego, California

Timothy Real Estate Group has professional designers and stagers that can help you prepare your home for the war.  Gorilla tactics that work because it is a Price War and a Beauty Contest that can mean making and saving more with your property investment.  Stay informed about Puerto Vallarta Real Estate and sign up for our newsletter… click here

Timothy Real Estate Group – An innovative company setting new standards in Real Estate sales and services has the most professional and experienced Realtors in the Puerto Vallarta area who understand the intricacies of Mexican Real Estate ownership, the local market, Puerto Vallarta property codes and regulations and financing.  The Timothy Group uses that knowledge to provide a sound analysis on every aspect of property ownership. Timothy Real Estate Group is known for professionalism and experience and they bring this to every transaction they work on for the benefit of Real Estate investors and developers alike. Ask about our Real Estate Listings

Travelers along the western seaboard of Mexico in the vicinity of Puerto Vallarta occasionally happen onto roadside vendors of a moonshine mezcal called Raicilla (rye-see-ya). The name Raicilla was originally used to disguise this type of mezcal in order to escape restrictions on alcohol production and the related taxes. My experience has always been that the sale of Raicilla was somewhat clandestine; sales being made on side streets or in small palapas clinging to the mountainsides at the edge of town. Packaging was usually a screwtop Coke bottle or some other recyclable container and the quality of the beverage verged on the raw side. Behind the harsh flavor, there was always an interesting aftertaste that brought me back and fueled my search for a smoother more civilized Raicilla.

For the past ten years I have crisscrossed Mexico looking for new tequilas and mezcals and adding to my research notes, always searching and sampling. Recently, I discovered a legitimate producer of Raicilla, one who has combined the best of historic techniques with the advantages of modern technology. This is the “Destiladora del Real” located in the mountains above Puerto Vallarta. In the past, this area was famous for it’s mining, and the well-paid miners expected their liquor to be of the best quality.

The towns producing Raicilla are San Sebastian del Oeste, Hostotipaquillo, Talpa, Mascota, Atenguillo, Guachinango, and Etzatlan. A combination of reddish brown soils, sun, and rain in this part of western Jalisco created the perfect environment for the growth of the Agave Lechuguilla which is the sugar source for Raicilla. This agave is a member of the botanical Group Crenatae and is identified as Agave Inaequidens or Agave Maximiliana, commonly known as “Pata de Mula” (Mules Foot). Agave Lechugilla is somewhat smaller than the agaves that pulque and tequila are made from. As the agave matures it begins to put up a flowering stalk (quiote); this is cut off so that all of the plants sugars are directed to the heart. About the 8th to 10th year the plant matures and is harvested by “Jimadores” who cut away the spiny outer leaves with long handled knives (coas). The heart of the plant that remains looks like a pineapple and in fact is called a “piña”. These piñas, weighing about one hundred pounds, are taken from the fields to the “taberna” where Raicilla processing takes place.

Every step of this process is done completely by hand. The piñas are placed in large wood fired brick ovens (hornos) where they are cooked for 24 hours. After cooking they are chopped into chunks with machetes and beaten into a pulp with large wooden mallets (mazos) in a wooden tray called a”batea”.

The crushed agave and juice is placed in 100 liter wooden vats with copper bottoms (perols), or 55gal. drums, where it ferments with the natural plant yeasts for 7 – 9 days. After fermentation is complete, a cap is placed on the vat and sealed with adobe mud, this is connected to a copper distillation coil and the vat heated.

After distilling for about 8 hours, the resulting distillate is a high quality, 100% natural Raicilla known as “Las Raicillas del Real” or “La Punta”

To appreciate the efforts that go into a “boutique” Raicilla, consider that it takes 15 pounds of agave to produce 1 liter of Raicilla and that only 50 liters of distillate are made every 24 hours.

Traditionally, the first few drops of distillate that emerge are tossed in the air, if it evaporates before landing, the brew is good.

Raicilla can be consumed straight in a “Caballito” (tequila shot glass), but is more commonly served chilled in a wineglass, over the rocks, or with Squirt or some type of grapefruit soda.

A popular saying of the Mexican people is: “Para Todo Mal, Mezcal y Para Todo Bien Tambien” (For everything bad, Mezcal and for everything good too)

Source: <tequilamescal.com>

Timothy Real Estate Group has professional designers and stagers that can help you prepare your home for the war.  Gorilla tactics that work because it is a Price War and a Beauty Contest that can mean making and saving more with your property investment.  Stay informed about Puerto Vallarta Real Estate and sign up for our newsletter… click here

Timothy Real Estate Group – An innovative company setting new standards in Real Estate sales and services has the most professional and experienced Realtors in the Puerto Vallarta area who understand the intricacies of Mexican Real Estate ownership, the local market, Puerto Vallarta property codes and regulations and financing.  The Timothy Group uses that knowledge to provide a sound analysis on every aspect of property ownership. Timothy Real Estate Group is known for professionalism and experience and they bring this to every transaction they work on for the benefit of Real Estate investors and developers alike. Ask about our Real Estate Listings

The Peregrinaciones or Processions are celebrated during the first 12 days of December.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ was given the name “La Virgen de Guadalupe”, or The Virgen of Guadalupe” in Mexico by church authorities almost 500 years ago.

In Puerto Vallarta, the Peregrinaciones  start primarily at Calle 31 de Octubre and lead down Calle Juarez to the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, located across from city hall.

To many people of Mexico, ‘La Virgen” is a sign of faith and hope and on December 12th, HER day, “Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe”, thousands of people walk in procession to the church to search for help or thank her for prayers answered.

Throughout the twelve days of Christmas processions of many hotels, restaurants and other companies have their employees and their families dress up in traditional Mexican garb and walk to the church, singing Christmas carols, while holding candles, baskets of fruit and vegetables and other items to offer to La Virgen.

There are Mariachi groups also who make the procession, playing their wonderful instruments and singing along the way.

Nightly throughout the 12 days of Peregrinaciones and all day on December 12th, there are many “puestos” or stands, selling tamales, sodas, tacos, fruit, churros, ejote, pozole and  t-shirts of La Virgen and all things Christmas for you to enjoy.

If you are in Puerto Vallarta during this time, it is one of the best experiences to be had, especially on December 12th.

Feliz Navidad!

Timothy Real Estate Group has professional designers and stagers that can help you prepare your home for the war.  Gorilla tactics that work because it is a Price War and a Beauty Contest that can mean making and saving more with your property investment.  Stay informed about Puerto Vallarta Real Estate and sign up for our newsletter… click here

Timothy Real Estate Group – An innovative company setting new standards in Real Estate sales and services has the most professional and experienced Realtors in the Puerto Vallarta area who understand the intricacies of Mexican Real Estate ownership, the local market, Puerto Vallarta property codes and regulations and financing.  The Timothy Group uses that knowledge to provide a sound analysis on every aspect of property ownership. Timothy Real Estate Group is known for professionalism and experience and they bring this to every transaction they work on for the benefit of Real Estate investors and developers alike. Ask about our Real Estate Listings