Puerto Vallarta

I am not a fan of beaches, but here I am in a very touristy seaside town resort. To my great surprise, I loved this town. The beaches are nice, the waterfront promenade (malecón) is awesome, and as a bonus, a few days before the Day of the Dead, the town was even more festive than usual.

I am still not a 'beach' person and I did not lie down in the sun to get a tan. The pleasant thing to do was to walk the malecón, look at the sea, the people, and the decorations for the Day of the Dead.

Plaza Lázaro Cárdenas.

One of the numerous bars.

Statues along the promenade.

A restaurant.

The Mexican beach...

The Day of the Dead is near

The Day of the Dead is in fact spread over a few days, from October 31st to November 2nd. It is not the same as Halloween. Mexicans celebrate Halloween in basically the same way as we do. Children go from house to house to collect candies.

The Day of the Dead is about family and friends reunions to remember a family member or a friend who has died. These festive gatherings help the deceased in their spiritual journey to the beyond.

Theses drawings are made with little rocks.

Several puppets, representing Death, have been installed along the malecón.

To honour the deceased, the family builds an altar on which they usually place flowers, food, a crucifix, and a picture of the deceased.

On the adjacent photo, it is in fact a drawing if the person.

Deceased represented by a drawing.

To honour a dog.

Here, we have a photo of the Virgin.