Describing Puerto Vallarta in a few lines is both hard and risky. This is a place with some energy of its own, or as residents here put it, that either adopts you or tells you to leave It's the master and the lord, the one that chooses who comes along. No wonder it's called the world's friendliest place. And that's how it is for every visitor: charming and mesmerizing.

Each day brings a different surprise, and the rest of your life begins with each day because you never know what's going to happen next. Yet, everything winds up fitting in live dovetails and going like clockwork, something that only happens in this country called Mexico.

Puerto Vallarta is on the western side of the state of Jalisco, in central Mexico, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Bahia de Banderas (Bay of Flags)

This is Mexico's biggest and deepest gully and the second-largest bay in all North America with a 40-mile-long coastline.

Its waters are sheltered from weather impairment and abut the Sierra Madre to the east. These high mountains protect the bay from gusting winds and help take this semitropical, humid climate down a notch or two. Punta Mita is on the northernmost tip, while Cabo Corrientes is the south limit.

These one-and-only features make it one of the best places there are for sport fishing. Whales, dolphins, turtles and devil rays are spotted here all the time.

Puerto Vallarta woke up to the world when John Houston came to Mismaloya to shoot his 1963 film "The Night of the Iguana." At that time, the town had only 2,000 inhabitants, one cab and one hotel. Since then, and thanks to the huge expectations that surrounded the movie stars -especially the love affair between Richard Burton and Liz Taylor(still then married to Eddie Fisher), the town started seeing more visitors coming in and developing itself into the world-class travel destination that it is today.

Puerto Vallarta has become one of Mexico's most sought-after travel destinations, with 2.2 million tourists and a population of 350,000 inhabitants.

Its special characteristics as a state-of-the-art tourist seaport -yet preserving the traditions and customs of the Mexican people- give this neck of the woods an ethnically wider population of Mexicans and foreigners, chiefly Americans who spend part of the year in Puerto Vallarta or in the nearby locations of Bucerias and Nuevo Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta is sometimes at the mercy of travel seasons, with the much feared off-peak season hitting between June and October, a time of year when the inflow of travelers takes a noticeable nosedive. But this is also the time when domestic tourism plays a major role in terms of figures, when most Mexicans are taking their summer vacations. The blend of local and foreign visitors from elsewhere give it a very special atmosphere. It feels like everybody makes good friends and respects each other. This is a town with cultural motivations, brimming with art galleries, events and lots of happenings that take place all year round. Music and movies are two of its main elements, with plenty of permanent concerts, and even a film library. In a word, Puerto Vallarta offers a breathtakingly beauty nature with endless beach and mountainous scenery to wallow in. This is a sophisticated town, but natural and genuine in the same breath, packed with peerless nights and blessed with a lovely and friendly population that makes you feel very much at home. Each morning when you walk down the streets, you look up at the mountains, the breeze or the rain, and you think the gods must have picked this place. When the night comes and you see the "dangling" moon, you say to yourself this is really a one-and-only place.

A SUNDAY IN PUERTO VALLARTA

A Sunday in Puerto Vallarta, people rushing it to church, pigeons fluttering around the square, bleary-eyed tourists in beachwear after a Saturday of fun. Lots of children and small babies with curious-looking faces.

Buses, cars driving up and down the streets with music blaring out the windows and melting into the chants at the cathedral. Everything mixes with the natural flair that only this place can provide.

Vegetation, blue sky, guitarists and the sea as a backdrop. Each piece seems so uneven, yet it fits in like the unique puzzle Puerto Vallarta is all about, where everybody finds a place to call his own. Sunday afternoon, beach and music. Green leaves of palm trees dancing to the beat of conga. Green, yellow, brisk colors that fill the eyes. Sweltering sand under my feet and water that evaporates from my skin in no time at all.

Sun and shadows, lazy and laid-back bodies, restless hawkers, on-the-spot tattoos, necklaces, beachwear, rugs… everything is possible in this clear afternoon in Puerto Vallarta, with the silver Pacific behind my back.

Birds flit above again and children, with endless energy, run around unaware of how the world spins. White buildings perched on the mountaintops are the only motionless witnesses of this magnificent show.

Next Sunday, we'll all meet again in Puerto Vallarta.