Day of the Dead

View of the ocean from a hotel balcony

We recently took a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, to witness the Day of the Dead celebrations. It shares similar timing with Halloween, and folks down there celebrate both. There were many trick-or-treaters out and about, but the main attractions were the Catrinas and altars throughout the city.

The world's largest Catrina
The world's largest Catrina

The holiday is for remembering and honoring the deceased in various ways. It was a really great experience to learn about their traditions and see how the concept of death can be joyous and celebratory.

A purple and pink Catrina doll

Our hotel looking out to the ocean.

Puerto Vallarta felt extremely safe and clean. The food was generally good and sometimes fantastic. Our hotel had some renovations going on, which made napping a no-go. Naps are half the reason I go on vacation.

Our best meal of the trip was at The Iguana Restaurant & Tequilla Bar. The ambiance, view, and food were as good as it gets.

Matt Haliski and Melissa Haliski in Puerto Vallarta

We went snorkeling and saw tons of fish. We also saw a diver fishing for octopuses. He had quite a few on the line he was carrying.

Ocean with boats looking back at the shorline in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

You don’t need a car because you can taxi or walk everywhere. The exchange rate with the American dollar was favorable and made some things amazingly inexpensive. All in all it was an excellent trip and a place I would definitely come back to visit.

It was not fun going from 85°F to 45°F as we returned to Seattle, WA.

Written by Matt Haliski

The First of His Name, Consumer of Tacos, Operator of Computers, Mower of Grass, Father of the Unsleeper, King of Bad Function Names, Feeder of AI Overlords.