"The Ride"
70 Year Tradition

By Amaral,Christine

Many men, and even some five and six-year-old boys, dressed in their finest boots, cowboy hat and shirt had their wish granted by being paired with a woman or girl smiling in delight as they rode around this romantic venue. Even the horses wanted to look their best; some displayed braids in their manes and tails while others wore sparkling woven cloths embellishing their saddles, while they danced around to the music themselves. Yes, the horses gleefully trotted in place and side to side waving their manes and neighing to the joyful melodies - quite a sight!

At "La Paseada," "Caballeros" or gentlemen catch the eye of a lady from atop their saddled, well-kept horses to ask if they would like a ride around the festival. Every year, not only locals from Las Palmas, but people from all over Jalisco and Nayarit join in on the family fun, live "banda" music, and a 70 year-old tradition of "La Paseada".

One of the welcome additions to the downtown scene recently is the Puerto Vallarta Naval Museum, pictured here, where all this month you'll find a fantastic photo exhibition by David Díaz and Javier Peréz. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

by Amaral,Christine

"These precious tiny creatures will continue swimming until tomorrow," stated Josefina Naya, Public Relations and Advertising Manager for the Marriot CasaMagna Resort & Spa located in the Marina, speaking of the journey anticipated for the hatchlings within the next few days. "The hatchlings have enough energy after being born to swim all night, it is their instinct, and there are fewer predators outside of the bay."

Oscar Aranda, the Marriot's biologist during turtle season here in Puerto Vallarta, explains that the turtle hatchlings do not need to eat up to four days after being born because they "have enough energy from taking in nutrients from their embryonic fluids through an umbilical type tube; and you can see a tiny white belly button on their tummies." He also informed the growing crowd of wide-eyed small children with their parents and even fascinated couples that the baby turtles must be set free near the ocean at sunset because their instinct tells them to follow light and "just keep swimming," as "Finding Nemo's" cartoon fish Dora puts it; "if not," Oscar jokes, "they will get confused and end up going towards the lights on the Malecon and go dancing in the clubs."

One female turtle lays around 100 eggs per nest then returns to sea leaving the fate of her hatchlings in nature's, or expert biologists and eager helpers' hands. Josefina states, "The eggs are kept in sand that contains only salt water matter and no river sediment, this increases the probability of more eggs actually hatching and the gate around the nest protects them from being dug up by small animals or poachers."

The first nest hatched at the Marriot was released Thursday. The eggs hatch between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and this will occur here about once every eight days. Adult female Golfinas Turtles lay their nests of eggs more frequently once September and October roll around; this means more eggs! About 8 nests per day, that's 800 eggs! This is only at one beach of the many in Banderas Bay.

"With the help from Marriot employees the previous one percent survival rate of each nest has grown to five percent, which is great!" assures Oscar. Out of every nest of 100 turtle eggs, 90 actually hatch and 5 of those will survive, then the females will venture back to the beach where they were born here in the Banderas Bay to lay their own eggs.
Children have priority to receive an entrancing Golfina hatchling to release into the sea at the Marriot hotel. "I did not get to experience this until I was an adult," states Josefina, but she says that it is a very thrilling event at any age. Every child reacts differently to this magical occasion; one young girl upon feeling the hatchling use it's flippers to try and squirm out of her hand began to bawl and asked her dad to take it from her, while other children yelled "Goodbye!" and blew kisses to their new found turtle friends.

By Rincón-Gallardo,Eduardo

From now till Fall, a most promising phenomenon breeds in the Bay of Banderas.

From late in the Summer, adult females of the Pacific Ridley, also known as Olive Ridley Sea turtle family (Lepidochelys olivacea), will have taken to the painstaking job of finding the ideal warm spot on the beach to dig a hole and lay an average of 100 eggs.

The Pacific Ridley Turtle is a year-round inhabitant of the bay. They can be spotted floating lazily –we call them Golfina, which has a connotation with laziness - or sometimes mating in the surface of the water. Their dark shiny shell is unmistakable.

They are listed as an endangered species for many reasons, to begin with, it is the adult females in the age of reproduction that come out onto the beach, making them an easy prey for anyone, mainly those who trade in their shells, meat, skin and eggs, who can easily render them defenseless just by turning them over.

Their eggs are also at a great disadvantage because they are left alone for a period of about fifty days, relying on the absence of predators and the warmth of the sand to help them incubate.

And lastly, the tender newborns, upon hatching, are on their own to cross the expanse of beach to reach the ocean and start swimming to incorporate to their life at sea; having to surface to breathe at intervals, they are a feast to plenty of predators on land, in the water and from the air.

The Mexican Government is sponsoring turtle camps throughout the bay, cared for by specialists in the field. They will find the nests and relocate them to safe, patrolled areas, so most of them will hatch and survive.

And every year a new and growing record number is achieved!
We can all participate in this great effort to preserve the Golfina or Pacific Ridley Turtle. Come and join our ecological evening tours promoting awareness on endangered species and team with us releasing baby turtles at dusk to help them overcome this major step against predators and extinction. Part of the fee paid goes into sustaining these programs.

When the rest of the world seems to be going in the wrong direction, we can be proud to be, for just that one moment, on the side that is doing the right thing, helping baby turtles a few hours old as they instinctively fade into the night of the ocean, a night that many call "the hidden years,"during which little is known about them, before we can, hopefully, see them reappear as adults.

With reports from around the bay of nests and baby sea turtle releases, this becomes a great adventure for everyone to experience.

From Punta de Mita south to Yelapa, our beloved Bay of Banderas contains miles of secluded, as well as popular beaches.

By Cohen,Bob

For a little over three years, I have intended to make the 64 kilometer drive up the mountain to San Sebastian, just never got around to actually doing it. I have heard stories of how beautiful and serene the town is, nestled over 4,500 feet high in the Sierra Madres. The downside is hearing about how difficult it is to get to by car, due to poor dirt roads, flooded when it rains and full of potholes and hairpin turns.

Recently I received a call from a friend that asked me if I wanted to go the next day. It was Tina's car, and she has made the drive often, so I had no excuse to say no. Little did I realize until ten minutes before we left that we were going with another friend and it was a two day trip, which meant I needed to bring my only sweatshirt, among a few other needed items.

We left at 8:00 a.m. and the drive up the hill was surprisingly smooth with the brand new road almost completed that will go directly to Guadalajara, going through Talpa and Mascota. There was just one stretch where construction was not complete and we had to wait for 15 minutes while crews allowed oncoming traffic through the single lane before we were give the right of way.

I didn't mind the wait at all, as we were climbing higher into the mountains and the change of terrain was absolutely stunning. The mountains were green and full of splendor with dramatic views of the valleys beneath. The signage was basically good, but a right turn instead of a left and one could wind up heading to Talpa instead of our destination. This is where the road ends going up to San Sebastian, but continues on to Talpa. Continuing on for the last few kilometers the terrain changed once again and greeted us with tall pine trees.

We drove into town, and the architecture was much different than Puerto Vallarta, with residents and those who lived there years before used their own materials for construction that allowed buildings and structures to stand for over 250 years. Arriving at a lovely town square, I had a feeling that I was very far away from everything. I could tell you it was bustling, but with a total population of 599 (one young woman I saw was pregnant), a few people were milling around.

Actually San Sebastian was once a thriving gold and silver mining town populated with about 40,000 people. This past January was the 500th anniversary of the municipality. Actually the mines were basically responsible for the start of Puerto Vallarta, or Las Peñas as it was called then. Salt was brought up from the few huts in Las Peñas by mules to the mines and used in the smelting process. The silver and gold was shipped by mule to Guadalajara and Mexico City to Veracruz, where once a year it was shipped to Spain. Some mines are still there but not active.

We stayed at a *hacienda*, just three blocks from the main square, a magnificent two story, five bedroom house, and the three bedrooms downstairs were completely separate from the two upstairs. I had the feeling that only three streets from town, once again I felt like I was somewhere else. The silence was serene, a big change form the bustle of Vallarta. In the early afternoon, we walked into town and found some tourists that arrived by jeep on a tour. There is also a small plane that flies in daily, an eight minute flight. The downside of the tours, in my opinion is that after two hours, they leave and the magic of dusk and the evening; an experience not to be missed.

At dusk, it was time to put on the sweatshirt and as the evening progressed the temperature got cold, close to 45 degrees of fresh clean air. We ate dinner in a lovely restaurant, serving traditional Mexican dishes and we were the only people there. The same after dinner, as we spent a couple of hours in a lovely café, sipping the famous and delicious San Sebastian home grown organic coffee and scrumptious postres, while listening to some wonderful music. At 11:00 p.m. we made our way back to the *hacienda* with a much needed flashlight.

Arriving at the *hacienda* after a wrong turn led us down the wrong path, we backtracked and sat out on the front porch watching the millions of visible stars, in a serene, peaceful and picturesque setting. There was an ample amount of blankets and falling asleep was extremely comfortable. The next day we were given a walking tour by Tina, and we saw the history of this old and tranquil town.

My suggestion is to bypass the day trip and spend a night to experience the culture of a small Mexican pueblo. There are ample accommodations and the prices are extremely reasonable. We left in the early afternoon and it felt like I was gone for a week. For those that believe in a Higher Power, that power just might have a second home in San Sebastian.

Vallarta Orchid Society

This talk, entitled "Computer Aided Identification of Local Orchids", will take place on Saturday, July 28th, starting at 1 PM, at the Vallarta Botanical Gardens. Admission to the talk is free. While these talks are designed to educate and enlighten, without getting into too much technical and scientific detail, this particular talk will introduce participants to some computer usage aimed at identifying local orchids.

The Orchid Society president, T. J. Hartung, has created a data base from the book "Flora Novo-Galiciana, Volume 16 – Orchidaceae". This data base, when used in conjunction with the computer program EXCEL, can be very helpful in the identification of local orchids. This talk, and hands-on demonstration, will lead participants through the identification process, using some of the more advanced features of EXCEL.

Please bring your laptop computer and/or your copy of "Flora Novo-Galiciana, Volume 16 – Orchidaceae". Copies of the data base will be made available during the talk.

The Vallarta Orchid Society is open to anyone with an interest in orchids. There is a modest donation of 200 pesos for membership in the society.

The Vallarta Botanical Gardens has a large (and growing) collection of orchids and other plants from the area. There is also a restaurant, a swimming hole in the river, and shade houses where young plants get their start.

The gardens are located 24 Km south of town, just 3 Km past Chico's Paradise. The bus to El Tuito will stop at the entrance to the Gardens, and will return you to town. There is a small fee for entrance to the gardens, which can be used as credit towards food and beverages, or other purchases at the gardens. Note: the gardens will close for 2 months of vacation and "projects." Sunday, July 29th is the last day to visit the gardens.

For more information, send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Also visit the Vallarta Orchid Society web site: www.pvorchids.com.

By Ariel Duenas - PVNN

Here in Puerto Vallarta, we are fortunate to have a wealth of wonderful people who are known for going out of their way to help others. The inherent warmth, hospitality, and most importantly, friendly attitude of the local people is just as inviting as the town's incredible natural beauty.

Casa Hogar volunteers holding one of the orphans who call Casa Hogar home.

On any given day, an extraordinary number of hidden heroes are busy helping, caring and giving a hand to those unfortunate ones. Whether they be our neighbors or just a random old lady crossing the street, whenever an opportunity presents itself, ordinary citizens are doing something marvelous for someone else.

Well now we have a chance to help again, only this time it is for our children. For many years Casa Hogar Maximo Cornejo Quiroz A.C., an orphanage near the Puerto Vallarta International Airport, has been sheltering 53 children up to the age of seventeen.

For the orphanage, it has become an increasingly difficult task to look after these children, many of whom are quickly turning into adults. Some of the kids need special treatment, others need psychological treatment, but all of them are in need of the love and support that comes so naturally to the people of Puerto Vallarta.

Most of the children go to school, but the little ones (toddlers) spend their days at the orphanage, where a handful of volunteers work with wonderful people like Luz Aurora Arredondo, Rocio, and Casa Hogar founder, Sra. Elisa Cornejo, who do their best to make the orphanage feel like home.

Because of the laws in Puerto Vallarta these children cannot be adopted, so their lives are confined within the walls of Casa Hogar, where these "surrogate mothers" do their best to provide them with daily activities like learning, playing and interacting with others.

Since these kids are rarely exposed to outside influences, Global Volunteer Projects has been bringing volunteers from Europe and North America to help with the daily duties. Volunteers like Stacy Homes from New Castle Tyne England, who has been working with the babies at the orphanage for the last two months.

Now, for those of you who are wondering what this story is leading to... We need your help.

A group of boy scouts in Utah, led by Mr. Rob Slater, have gathered a few hundred pounds of school supplies they wish to donate to the kids at the Casa Hogar Maximo Cornejo orphanage, and Mr. Manuel Andrade of Wild Travellers USA has been doing everything he can think of to find sponsors to help him get the Scout's generous donation to Puerto Vallarta - by any means possible.

These school supplies are sitting in Utah due to the lack of resources needed to pay for transportation. And though we have been trying to contact UPS or DHL to see if they would be willing to help, in the meantime, it is very frustrating for all those great Boy Scouts in Utah who spent a great deal of time and effort gathering the supplies for less fortunate children here in PV.

So let's all give 'em a hand. If you have any suggestions or contacts that may help us achieve our goals, please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

All donations should be made directly to orphanage personnel. To learn how you can make the sun shine brighter for these kids, call Casa Hogar Maximo Cornejo Quiroz A.C. at (52) (322) 221-1908, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit MaximoCornejo.org

Puerto Vallarta residents and visitors can visit the orphanage at Carr. Tepic Km 9 #1100, call me at 222-2010 or 044-322-127-8878 or contact me via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Semarnat (Mexican Wildlife Ministry), with the help of biologists and student volunteers, operate a turtle camp and nursery here in the Bay of Banderas. These numerous nests represent a total of thousands of individual eggs. Furthermore, their dedication and hard work has rewarded them with a survival success rate of eggs to hatchlings of around 90% to 95%. Extraordinary! They certainly deserve our sincerest congratulations and encouragement.

This is your chance to discover and learn about what they do, how they do it, help them patrol the beaches in search of nesting female turtles and participate in the release of precious hatchlings. Don't miss out on this unforgettable experience and help make a difference!

Vallarta Today contributor Barbara Sands photographed this good-sized iguana yesterday along the Rio Cuale river, which is roiling in the background due to the rainfall.

The Colegio Americano de Puerto Vallarta (fondly called "the American School" here) held their Graduation ceremonies this past June 22nd for the High School, Junior High, and Primary classes at the NH Krystal Salon Jalisco.
Along with the presentations, guest speaker for the ceremonies was Roswell Park, IV, Ph.D., director Academic Support Programs Unit, State University of New York at Buffalo.

Along with Mr. Park, the Presidium included School Board President Robert L. Kistner, general director of the school Gerarld Selitzer, Kelly Trainor de O., U.S. Consul Representative, Primary School principal Kathleen Selitzer, Prof. Pedro Mendoza Verdin, director general DRSE Region Costa Norte, Lic. Jose Antonio Salgado, and Prof. Moises Rene Villaseñor, Supervisor of School Zone 105, Sector 18, Secretariat of Education.

Our congratulations to all of the graduating students of 2006/2007, American School Puerto Vallarta!