Wintering In Vallarta Since The Winter Solstice

Now, we are wearing winter. In this wonderful latitudes of Jalisco bathed by warm currents of the Pacific Ocean and sunlight almost every day of the year, it still is possible to experience a tropical winter. In Puerto Vallarta, we welcome the solstice to start the last season of the year, closely intermingled with the Christmas celebration.

The wintry season commences around December 21st, when the winter solstice (in Latin: “the Sun stands still”). This change is related to the elliptic shape of the Earth´s orbit. It is a day that our watches match with the zenith of the Sun.

It is the longest and darkest night in the northern hemisphere, the opposite is true for the southern hemisphere. In ancient times the Sun was the natural clock, hours where measured based on the sun`s shadow and position.

What does the winter solstice has to do with the season? It is an astronomical event related to ancient festivities, pagan religion, connected to life and death, civilizations that valued nature´s cycles…as they called it, the victorious sun. As a matter of fact, there are traditions and monuments since the awakenings of humans related to this solstice. In our time, it continues to be a time to charge batteries and carry the traditions through preserved rituals.

For the Mayas, the great observers of the skies, a culture from the Pre-Columbian Mexico, it marked the end of the agricultural cycles in a 365 day period. It was a date celebrated between December 21st and the 23rd if we translated to the Gregorian calendar we use nowadays. During this time they celebrated the sun with diverse parties. Some of the most majestuous historic temples were illuminated synchronized with the sun, as it happens until our days. These events have become an evolved and transcending legacy.

Nowadays we acknowledge seasonal affective disorder (SAD) as a common syndrome related to the cold and dark days that generate depression in many countries, as a result of the lack of the vital sunlight. We have forgotten or at least stray away from nature and the wisdom our ancestors developed. In nature, plants and animals know that winter is a time to hibernate, or leafs fall… just to come back until the following spring, three months later.

Winter is a time to slow down, to clean one´s self, to nourish from the season´s fruits and vegetables, to connect with nature in a strong, deep, and fundamental way, particularly in the quest for sunlight. Something we have in large amounts… everyday, so we can reconnect with its powerful energy, healing and dynamizing. How do you live your winter in Vallarta?

What it true is that wintering in Vallarta is a preferred activity by families, couples or single travellers. They wear sunlight, use seawater as shoes, breathing tons of life, health, and cheer in each step during their stay in this bay whether it is recurring or the first time.

It is the ideal way to renew verve, to enjoy, to make friends and enjoy the resources and amenities that the region has to offer in a palette of sunny winter options.