Over the last year or so, I've been all agog over the Mexican west coast city of Puerto Vallarta. Whereas the media paints a horrific picture of violence in Mexico, those in the know realize many tourist cities are hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles away from the trouble spots. Also, many of these cities are safer than cities in the US. High profile businesses such as Princess Cruises just cancelled three sailings for the Mexican Riveria for "safety reasons". That is odd, as the home port of San Diego, CA has a much greater incidence of murder and violent crime than PV.
I keep hoping the negative press will lead to a reduction in real estate prices there. Unlike the United States, there has been no housing problem in tourist cities like Puerto Vallarta. The market is very different as mostly cash sales meant there's been no mortgage melt-down. So far, at the lower end, potential sellers seem to have decided to wait out the bad times rather than being more realistic about their asking prices. It really means that comparably warm-climate vacation markets in Florida or Arizona are much more attractive for what a US dollar will buy.
Still, I love keeping up on things in Vallarta. Back almost a month ago, I added a famous beach-side webcam at the Rosita Hotel to my eJournal and images. The device points in different directions but is often showing the massive, new malecon seaside boardwalk which is under construction this summer.
Last week though, I discovered this entirely new webcam. It's a ways back on up the hill at the Hotel Suites La Siesta. June through September is the rainy season in this tropical city. This view should afford some great live views of the weather.
