Bare Footsteps of the Famous on the Pacific

Puerto Vallarta is a well-known tourist destination on the Pacific Coast of Mexico.  Once a quiet fishing village, PV is a magnet for North American ex-pats who have created a vibrant community here.

There is festive night life and an inviting boardwalk with plenty of diversion.  Sun-worshippers sprawl at the edge of crescent shaped “Bahia de Banderas.”  And PV is a well known mecca for the gay crowd which is offered its own “official” visitors’ guide.

For centuries, the area was off the cosmopolitan grid.  Maybe for good reason.  The sheltered waters were known as a haven for pirates.  One popular stretch of sand bearing the name “Los Muertos” certainly transmits an edgy tone if not in fact a clear warning.

Hollywood wrenched the beach retreat out of exotic obscurity during the 1960’s.  Academy Award-winning director John Huston set his filmic remake of Tennessee Williams’ stage play “Night of the Iguana” here.  It starred hot, screen heavyweights Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr.  But as often happens today, it was a torrid off-screen love affair between Burton and Elizabeth Taylor that ignited the paparazzi and brought the town into sharp focus.

One day, following some souvenir shopping, we climbed a steep set of stairs to “Gringo Gulch.”  Colorful 2- and 3-story residences are densely packed onto twisting, narrow streets.  It’s a popular community for ex-pats with broad views of mountainous terrain and a river flowing to the sea.  It’s also home for at least one famous love nest.

We visited Casa Kimberly, Elizabeth Taylor’s former home here.  It is now an exclusive boutique hotel, with room rates beginning at $300/night and every one different.  At the entrance vestibule there is a tender tribute to the turbulent Burton/Taylor love story, frozen in time like a frame from a feature film.

Above a flight of dramatic stairs there is an elegant, reservation-only restaurant with sumptuous, heart-warming fare.  From just outside the entrance gate one can see an overhead bridge that goes directly, but privately, to another property.  It is the aptly named “Puente de Amor.”