Dear Editor,
We recently returned home after spending our annual month in beautiful Vallarta.
Vallarta has so many marvelous restaurants with excellent food, presentation, and service. However, we must comment on the outrageous price these restaurants charge for a bottle of wine.
Not so many years ago, we couldn't get decent wine in PV, so we would bring our own from California. The waiters in the restaurants would gladly cork the wine for a very nominal fee.
Now there is good wine available in most restaurants. However, the price charged for this wine is unreasonable. For example, a bottle of local wine (made in Mexico) was priced at 300 pesos and up. The same wine can be purchased at Soriana for 80 to 100 pesos.
Even bringing our own wine to a restaurant is not an acceptable alternative because the restaurants are now charging 150 pesos and up to cork the wine.
The high cost of wine in restaurants is putting a very negative view on dining in Vallarta. In our case, it is preventing us from patronizing some of our favorite restaurants. There are many good wines produced and bottled in Mexico. Restaurant owners would be wise to offer these wines at a sensible price. They would certainly sell more wine and still make a reasonable profit.
We hope when we visit again next year, we will find that restaurants owners have taken our suggestion to heart.
Roger and Judi Rohrdanz
Huntington Beach, CA USA
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Dear Editor,
A man called David Winbury, claiming he is a producer from London, has been knocking on doors around town with a sob story about having been robbed of all his money in Mexico City. This he discovered while on the bus to PV (how did he manage to buy the bus ticket????)
He asks for a $200-peso loan, to be repaid in the next few days after his good friend arrives in town...
Interestingly, he has been calling on homes where he knows there are North Americans living. And people have been giving him money... He must have a very convincing spiel!!
Anyway, people of Vallarta, consider yourselves warned!
A concerned resident
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Dear Editor,
I wanted to thank you and tell your readers about a recent experience I had in Puerto Vallarta.
I normally have a facial to clean out my pores and perk up my skin before my trips to PV; fun and sun can a little hard on you, and I feel it's best to start off with a clean face.
This trip, we were so busy I had to forgo my visit to the salon before leaving and when I mentioned this to a friend, she told me I should go to Ali's Beauty Salon. I was a bit unsure about trying someplace new, but when they told me the name, I remembered that your paper had done a glowing article on Ali's a few months earlier, so I decided to give them a try.
I thought that my friend who lives here full time might be “settling”, and that with my constant back and forth between here and Los Angeles, I would not need to, but boy was I wrong!
Ali's was every bit as professional and as pleasant an experience as the salons I use in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, and trust me, we have good salons. It's not unusual for me to see TV or movie personalities when I go for a facial, or to read about the salons I frequent in People or US magazines. I have one salon I use most often, but two others I occasionally use for one reason or another, and yes, I'm spoiled, but I like it like that way.
Anyway, Ali's was a great find for me. Plus, the salon is very conveniently located, right next to Coppel on the main street.
Thanks, Tribune, for being so on top of things and showing me yet another wonderful place to go in Paradise.
Spoiled and Loving It.
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Dear Editor,
You may have heard about our local chapter of Democrats Abroad. We, along with local and country chapters around the world, are mounting a get-out-the-vote effort to encourage Americans living outside the US to vote in the November elections. We have a program set up to assist local expats in:
1. Registering to vote if they are not currently registered;
2. Obtaining absentee ballots in time to be voted and returned for counting in the November elections;
3. Returning voted ballots to the appropriate local Boards of Elections where people are registered to vote.
We've coordinated with Kelly Trainor at the U.S. Consulate, who is assisting us by sending absentee ballot request forms and voted ballots back to the US in the weekly diplomatic pouch (bypassing the Mexican postal system)... once in the US, these items will be mailed via US Postal Service.
The project, while being sponsored and conducted by Democrats Abroad Mexico-Costa Banderas Chapter... is NON PARTISAN. We are happy to help anyone, of any party, in securing their registration and absentee ballot. And we're not endorsing or advocating for any candidate or party. Voter turnout is the goal.
We will have volunteers each Wednesday at the Mailboxes Etc. store, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. through October 1st. They will be available to assist anyone who comes in. We can also assist by phone or email with the necessary info for voters.
Paul Crist, Editor,
The Democrats Abroad Mexico National Newsletter
And Media & Publicity Chair, Democrats Abroad Mexico, Costa Banderas Chapter
N.B.: Democrats Abroad is the international wing of the Democratic Party, with chapters in over 80 countries. Our mission is to promote civic participation among US citizens living outside of the United States. We accomplish this by being a conduit for information about US politics and policy, keeping citizens informed, involved, and active in our democracy. We encourage voting, communication with elected representatives, and the free and respectful interchange of ideas and opinions. |
