They claim that it’s el lugar mas bonito de Puerto Vallarta, and it may just be (the most beautiful place in PVR)! It’s authentic, it’s alive, and it hums all day and into the early evening. Isla Rio Cuale is smack in the middle of downtown and comprises the largest flea market here, or anywhere I’ve seen in all of Mexico. You need to go down a circular stone stairway; you’ll be forced to stop as the gurgling of the running stream will catch your attention. Below you’ll see a street to the left teeming with stores selling all sorts of souvenirs, crafts, silver galore, sombreros, etc. Directly ahead is the road that leads to the outdoor market, which is connected over the river by suspended bridges. We had the most amazing sighting on the way down; a man kept pointing to the trees, and I wasn’t close enough at first to understand what he was saying. Then I saw it and froze! A live IGUANA, bigger than anything I’d ever imagine, was glued to a high tree top branch, doing his bit to blend in with the foliage. I’ve never seen these creatures before, and the picture below, though excellent, doesn’t convey the awe, terror, and admiration I felt all at once. The man who was selling the soft drinks on the side explained to me that he’s the big “guy;” there’s a family of them that lives in this area, and we did manage to see one of the little ones.
Entire families (humans) were frolicking in the water of the river, cooling off, the kids splashing each other with total abandon, and for a second I was tempted to join them. Once you get past that , you need to decide to either cross a foot bridge or go straight ahead, and I did the bridge thing. By the way, I did notice that they have managed to install railings for handicapped people or folks in wheelchairs; that’s a great feature. There are signs repeating often “no tirar basura” ( do not litter), and they manage to have some effect. Once we reached the other side, I wanted to price some silver and Chuck found someone who fell in love with his camera, so I lost him there. For the same piece of jewelry, which I eventually purchased in Punta Mita during our lunch at the beach. The price was as high as US$60, and after haggling with me and Chuck, he went as low as US$25, but when we were about to accept, he told us he’d think about it.
The area’s only archaeological museum is here as well, and I’m sorry that we never had a chance to even glance at it. If you are keen on artifacts, musical instruments, and other objects relating to old Indian culture, this is the place to see them.