The Sporting Type

Among the greatest charms of Puerto Vallarta as a holiday destination a la sun is the fact it is NOT a fenced off resort. Old Town PV surrounds the hotels which are mostly along the beach. One actually sees residents going about their daily lives -- on the Sunday we were there the locals equalled the number of tourists on the beach in many places.

The only person working here is the guy with the yellow rope. It was his job to swim out to the boat and bring the tow line into shore for the parasailors. He also harnessed them, caught them upon landing and gathered up the deflating parachute. The surfer and his pal watched counltess waves for every one they charged -- the boards they were using were this skimming boards so they would run from shore into the surf which is always heavy it seems in PV.

The soccer goalie had three friends kicking the ball at him; the ocean his net to mind.

The volleyball player held the court in front of our hotel all day on Sunday so it seemed to me -- most games were locals against the tourists.