Our Lady of Guadalupe church could not have a more congenial setting. It’s about three blocks away from the Bahia de Banderas in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Strolling along the coast on the malecón—a broad sidewalk with restaurants, cantinas and shopping—I was a bit conflicted about going to church. Hmm, cocktails or church? How about cocktails, then church? After all, I’m on vacation. But my better side got control, and I made the noon service without a cocktail.
The church, while not big by modern standards, must have been an incredible undertaking when it was built starting in 1903. It’s less impressive from the outside, basically a brick cathedral, but it’s got this really cool crown on top of the bell tower, which, if my Lonely Planet guidebook serves me, was modeled after the crown of Empress Carlotta, who at one time administered Mexico with Emperor Maximilian.
Posted via web from Puerto Vallarta Mexico