As you know, I’ve been in Mexico for a couple weeks already. It’s been great to see and spend time with my family, but there’s only so much I want to do of that – Sorry, Mom! I still love you. So what’s a gay guy to do in Mexico during Thanksgiving? Just like any American or Canadian LGBT traveler, I headed down south looking for the Latin heat.
Puerto Vallarta, also known as PV, holds an extensive array of gay bars and dance clubs, gay-owned hotels, restaurants, stores and services, making it gay’s favorite winter beach destination. Thanksgiving marks the start of the high season and from here on out IT’S GOING DOWN!
I’m going to tell you all about my weekend in PV, but instead of highlighting the things I did, I am going to walk you day by day thru my stay. The good, the bad and the batshit crazy.
Saturday, November 28th
It’s 9:45 am and after a 10-hour ride I’ve finally arrived in PV. The weather is warm but cloudy. After checking into my Airbnb, I put on my 2xist swimsuit, and I’m ready to hit Los Muertos Beach (the gay beach). I pick up my White Party pass at Mantamar where I have lunch and drinks, many drinks. There’s a pool party happening, I see a lot of hot guys in speedos, I literally just can’t. It’s almost 7:00 pm now, the pool party is over. I don’t feel like going back to my room just yet so what do I do? I check my Grindr and well you know how that ends. By 9:00 pm I’m starving, and I decided to have tacos at Pancho’s (the best tacos in town) it’s always busy but the wait it’s totally worth it. I got seated with a group of Texans, super friendly and nice… By the time, I’m done eating it’s almost 11:00 pm. I still need to get ready for Jeffrey Sanker’s White Party. I made it there way past midnight, but it seems it’s the right time. I get right into it, a picture here, a picture there, networking, drinking and more. I’m having a blast (CHECK THE FULL GALLERY HERE). The party itself it’s good although I was expecting a bigger crowd and to last longer. They shut it down by 4:00 am. Bummer. I still have plenty of energy, I go to CC Slaughters – to be honest, not my cup of tea – too many locals. I can’t believe its 6:00 am, maybe I should get some sleep.
Sunday, November 29th
I can’t sleep, and it’s only 10:00 am. Might as well just get up. I go to my favorite coffee shop by the pier: Dee’s. They have the best cinnamon rolls, great patio and, of course, WIFI. I’m drinking tea because coffee makes me anxious. A guy joins me in the patio, and we get talking. His name is Robert, and he’s from Denver. By noon, I’m hungry again (well I haven’t eaten since last night). He suggested we have brunch and my answer’s hell yeah! We go to La Palapa a well-known restaurant in the Zona Romantica, food is fantastic and the view amazing. After that, I hang out with some friends at their condo and around 4:00 pm we went to Hotel Mercurio (one of the first gay hotels) for their Sunday Happy Hour. $150 pesos will get you unlimited beers and hamburgers sliders, not so bad, right? The crowd is on the older side, but the server is young and cute. Almost at the end, a guy shows up to sing with a guitar – very unexpected – and he finished his number shirtless. He obviously knows his audience. I’m back with Dee’s guy, and he wants me to go to dinner with him and his friends. We go to The Blue Shrimp, a beachfront restaurant where seafood is supposed to be yummy. I had the fish tacos, and I didn’t like them 100%. They felt heavy, and the dressing was a bit overwhelming. Despite that, I had a fantastic evening with Robert and his friends. Dinner turned into drinks at Garbo Bar – piano/show tunes bar. The place seems brand new; I’m not so fond of the pianist. However, the atmosphere is awesome. Most of the patrons are Americans or Canadians living in PV. Past midnight. I’m exhausted; I need to rest. Bed time for me.
Monday, November 30th
I had a good night sleep. I don’t do much other than go for coffee and get ready since it’s “my last day”. Although I did meet up with another guy from Grindr – don’t judge me, I’m on vacation -. Around 3:00 pm I get a text from my Airbnb host telling me I could stay in another night for FREE. Is this my lucky day? Duh, I’ll stay. I go back to my room and changed. I go for a walk at the beach to see the sunset. It feels good to relax. It’s 7:30 pm and I’m ready to eat. I text Rick (my first Grindr hookup) to see if he wants to grab a bite – What? Not everything’s about sex – We have dinner at Joe jack’s Fish Shack. The terrace is lovely and the food on point. (make sure to check out the specials of the day). After that, we part our separates ways. In my mind, I’m thinking to go to bed so I can wake up early and go for a run and quietly enjoy my last day. Well, PV had some other plans for me that night. A block from my apartment I ran into a guy from the White Party. He’s from Canada, and he’s ready to party and wants me to join him. Oh well, might as well. First, we meet his friends at Wet Dreams, a go-go bar where dancers go fully naked in a glass shower. Nothing new for me (I used to be a go-go boy) We had a couple of drinks there just to end up at La Noche – the bar I like the most (Lance Bass and hubby Michael Turchin were there earlier this year celebrating their honeymoon). Everything was fine until we left the bar and we almost got send to jail. But that’s another story.
Tuesday, December 1st.
My now friend Rick is heading to the airport. We kissed goodbye but before that he gave me a voucher for a free massage at Blue Massage, just what I needed after a crazy long weekend. Overall, the technique is alright; I just wish my guy would have put more pressure on it. I kind of like it rough – don’t get any ideas -. On my way back to check out of my room, I stopped by Piñata PV Gay Hotel, a gay hotel and juice bar. This place is so charming and the owners Ronnie and David are sexy as hell. Cute guys come in and out. I even helped with a photo shoot. I could see myself working there. Hey Ronnie, do you have any positions available? Unfortunately, it’s time for me to leave PV, but not before I got into some “trouble” with one of the guests… Oops, I did it again.
Yeah, Puerto Vallarta it’s sexually and party driven. However, local business and resident LGBT community have been putting a lot of effort to make PV a great place to work and live. Keeping it friendly, always exciting and vibrant for those who visit.
Jorge Gallegos
Not just a pretty face
LIKE ME on Facebook and FOLLOW ME on Twitter and Instagram
Leave a Reply