What a day! The botanical garden south of Puerto Vallarta is worth a trip if you like hiking and plants and a peaceful day in nature. The trails go through the Mexican jungle and are not exactly accessible; be prepared to walk on narrow paths, step over roots, climb over rocks, and scale stairs. My personal highlight was a dip into the river, but I’ll report a little further down on that adventure.
When I entered the garden, I first veered off to the right and found a vanilla plantation within the forest (or jungle); vanilla plants are climbers, and there were many poles with vanilla plants ranked around them. I visited about a week or two after the harvest of the vanilla beans, sadly, so all I saw was vines.
After traipsing along meandering trails up and down the hill for a while, I got to a more trimmed area with lawns inhabited by small chickens and what looked like small turkeys with chicks. Across the way was the Rhododendron house where I saw orchids and other exotic plants; behind the open structure was an open meadow with a myriad of flowering trees and cacti, and I found a pink portal structure with a sturdy swing which of course I had to try out.
I walked through a cactus garden and past a formal pond with large coy and into the orchid house with stunning flowers and over to the gazebo which is filled with plants; I found gardens with cacao plants carrying cacao pods, grey-green and yellow ones, and I saw coffee plants and just bountiful beauty everywhere I went.
After seeing most of the gardens, I started my hike down to the river where you are invited to go swimming. The hike down the River path was lovely and not strenuous at all, although down at the river it’s quite rocky; this area did not seem inviting to me for swimming and was lacking privacy as other people were following in my steps. I continued past the river and hiked back up the jaguar trail which was a little more strenuous and required some attention for safe footing.
When I reached the Chachalaka trail, I veered off to the right; I had seen on the map that this dead-end trail goes back to the river with another opportunity to dip in. By the time I got down to the water, I was wiping sweat off my nose and felt sticky; the temptation was big – would I dare going into the river here? I was alone, could see no-one around, the water looked inviting, and after all, I did bring my bathing suit and a towel as recommended on the website.
I made a quick decision and stripped off my clothes, got into my bathing suit while looking around if anyone else was coming, and carefully stepped into the cold water through sand and gravel and over boulders. Cold as it was getting into the water, it felt refreshing once I was inside; eventually I was in deep enough to have the water up to my chest, and I dipped down completely. Emboldened by having gotten this far, I tried to swim and made a mistake: I set off downriver and was carried along by the current immediately. My knee hit a giant slimy boulder that I didn’t see under the water’s surface; I tried to get my footing but all the boulders and rocks on the ground were so slippery that I couldn’t get a grip. My attempt to turn around and swim upstream was also fruitless — I was still being carried away. Scrambling sideways I fought the water, now focused on making it to the shore; I encountered more slippery rocks, and then finally I got a hold on a boulder with my hand and pulled myself up and out of the main current. Once I was able to stand up, I took a deep breath.
Well, that river looked much tamer from the shore than it felt when I was inside it. It was a short adventure, not quite as dramatic as it felt in the moment: my knees weren’t scraped up, I got out of the water unharmed and I wasn’t carried away very far. I was glad that I got off so easily, especially with no-one else around, and I felt invigorated by the fresh water and by my adventure. After toweling off and getting dressed again, I felt renewed and refreshed for my hike back up the hill; and I was proud of myself for having dared it.
My next stop was the restaurant, where I enjoyed some tacos, a Jamaican ice-tea with lovely flowers inside and I treated myself to a dessert: vanilla ice-cream made with the garden’s own vanilla beans — it did taste fantastic made with real vanilla. I spent a final tranquil moment reading on a bench on the meadow surrounded by flowering trees before I went to the bus stop. A small group of people, all gringos, gathered there after a while, and after about a half an hour of wait time and a friendly chat with a fellow Canadian, the bus brought us all back to Puerto Vallarta. It was a worthwhile adventure.
Everything looks lovely! Be careful when entering water when you are by yourself!! Wow, much more sexually free in Mexico. You could not get away with the signs for mens and womens bathrooms in Canada or USA. And do i need to say anything about those cacti!!! Looking forward to the next installment. 🙂
C