Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites - Travel Adventures

Santa Barbara/Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities Committee Celebrates 50^th Anniversary at Puerto Vallarta City Hall

Santa Barbara Sister City Committee President Sebastian Aldana, Jr., Puerto Vallarta Mayor Michel, Puerto Vallarta Sister City President Irma Lorena Perez Copado signing 50th Sister City Radification Documents.

In late December of 2022 members of the Santa Barbara/Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities Committee attending the Santa Barbara/Puerto Vallarta (SB/PB) Fifthith Anniversary in Puerto Vallarta met at Puerto Vallarta City Hall to sign the ratification of their original sister city agreement. Santa Barbara President Sebastian Aldana, Jr., Mayor Luis Alberto Michel and Puerto Vallarta Sister City President Irma Lorena Perez Copado all spoke, signed the official documents, and proudly displayed them for all to see. The evening also included the unveiling, and presentation of Anniversary commemorative artwork presented to the Mayor of Puerto Vallarta and Puerto Vallarta Sister City members.

Historic Artwork displayed by VIPs during 50th radification ceremony as Father Gosselin speaks to guests

President of the Santa Barbara Sister Cities Committee, Sebastian Aldana, Jr. said “for five decades there have been historically exciting and challenging moments, building a stronger and more lasting understanding. We have achieved a greater understanding and appreciation of our cultures. There have been many notable events, including numerous back and forth exchanges of social and economic impact. We wish our cities and associations a continuous, close, and fruitful relationship, which can contribute to building world peace.” The president of the Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities Committee, Irma Lorena Perez Copado, repeated her similar message in Spanish.

“Only brotherhood and fraternity are capable of awakening the deepest values in humanity and that is precisely what we are celebrating on this occasion, a brotherhood of half a century with our family from Santa

Barbara, California,” said Mayor Michel. He recalled that 50 years have passed since this Sister Cities Committee began in 1972, and that it brought with it great contributions to Puerto Vallarta, such as the Santa Bárbara rehabilitation clinic, the hyperbaric chamber (one of the three that existed in the country at that time), the dolphins fountain on the Malecon, the exchange program between the police corporations of both cities that is still in force, more donations, the construction of libraries, support for the Fire Department and much more from our generous sister.

“Today, as we renew this twinning, I am sure that we will continue to find that strong spirit to add to our progress, and together we will continue knocking on doors and generating resources for the benefit of Puerto Vallarta and Santa Bárbara. Today we once again make the commitment to continue strengthening the noble brotherhood of our beautiful cities. Congratulations on these 50 years of being Puerto Vallarta – Santa Barbara Sister Cities. Let’s go for another 50! Vallarta has its doors open,” Mayor Michel exclaimed.

Father Larry Gosselin of Santa Barbara Mission was present to give a blessing and share the historic importance of the ongoing sister city relationship as well as commend the special friendships the committee has garnered throughout the past fifty years. The official document signing was followed by a light dinner and a fun social hour.

This historic evening was just one of many special events celebrating the SB/PV Anniversary. It was preceded and followed by numerous events

that included a welcome buffet dinner at Los Arcos Hotel upon arrival, a welcome breakfast at Senior Frogs on the Malecon hosted by the Puerto Vallarta Sister City members the next morning. The remarkable Rotary Club of Puerto Vallarta Sur Breakfast at the Marriott Hotel, where special honors were presented to members including Marti Garcia, President of Santa Barbara Rotary North and a presentation of donation checks to select organizations sponsored by the

Puerto Vallarta, Santa Barbara Rotary North, and Santa Barbara Sunset Rotary. Beautifully framed prints of the Four Pillars were also displayed and discussed. The Four Pillars, Respect, Friendship, Brotherhood, and Love are symbols of the support of an enduring Sister Cities Relationship. Some members also enjoyed a delicious and informational morning Rotary International meeting at member restaurant Aldante Cafe in Old Town Puerto Vallarta.

Rotarians Breakfast PV Marriott - Jesus Guerrera & Marti Garcia Signing Rotary Sister City Agreements

Art Fumerton Volcanes Educational Center CEO honored at Rotary 50th Breakfast

Members also visited The Volcanes Educational Center and Sewing School, which offered some smart fashion items and home designs made by the students that were very attractive, and many were purchased by our visiting committee members. The purpose of this education project is to provide vocational training for mothers so they can produce, sell, and earn money to feed and buy school supplies and school uniforms for their children. The Educational Center is renowned and provides education for children of varied ages and The Volcanes organization founder/CEO is Art Fumerton, who hales from Canada. The educational scholarships offered to students through high school who qualify are impressive, and the manners and intelligence of the students who welcomed the SB/PV guests to Volcanes was quite disarming.

Art students at Volcanes Educational Center participate in the annual ‘I Madonnari’ Chalk Art Festival which began in 2005 and is held in November each year. It is sponsored by the Puerto Vallarta/Santa Barbara Sister Cities Committee, organizer of this prestigious event. First prize in the adult category is an all-expense paid trip to Santa Barbara, where they represent Puerto Vallarta in the Sister City’s – I Madonnari Festival, held at the end of May each year in Santa Barbara. For an opportunity to learn of the varied educational or provide sponsorships visit: https://english1international.com/volcanes-english-program/.

Puerto Vallarta Museum of Art Director & Artist Javier Nino - Puerto Vallarta Museum of Art Main Exhibition Hall

Sister City Members Enjoy Museum Visit - LBN Publisher Interviewing Artist Javier Nino

Visiting members toured the Botanical Garden, enjoyed dinner at Punta Arenas Restaurant hosted by a Puerto Vallarta member, and enjoyed a lovely cocktail hour at the Puerto Vallarta Art Museum where an extensive exhibition of beautiful artwork by Javier Nino was on display and members had an opportunity to talk with the artists during the courtyard gathering and visit the museum gift shoppe.A group of members also visited the PV fire fighting group and viewed equipment donated with funds raised by SB/PV and SB Rotary members.

The Playa Los Arcos 50^th Anniversary dinner was a dream sequence on the beach, with beautiful table settings, and a magical sunset that began with the annual release of the baby sea turtles. The honored guests who took their places at the speakers table included a lineup of esteemed and long-time members of SB/PV. The national anthem of each country was sung, and a blessing was given by Father Larry Gosselin as the sun set and a delicious dinner was served. Entertainment included outstanding dance performances by Puerto Vallarta Mexican Folkloric.

The Pilgrimage to Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Church is a highlight of the Sister City events and this year was no exception. Guests at Los Across Hotel marched to the Cathedral wearing all white, following joyful musicians and dancers along the route. It is a very beautiful sight and many longtime SB/PV members participating said the experience was something they looked forward to each year.

Puerto Vallart & Santa Barbara Sister City Committee Members Celebrated at Puerto Vallarta Naval Center Dinner & Dance

The 50^th Anniversary dinner dance at the Puerto Vallarta Naval Base, which

included awards and honors, was preceded by a visit to the hyperbolic chamber on site with a historic video. The Naval staff were charming, as was a spectacular

performance by an international singing duet, and the after-dinner dancing featured flashing lights and a fun time was had by all. The evening also included award presentations to long-time members.The next day everyone enjoyed gathering in Parque de Los Azulejos (tile bench park) for the viewing of the beautiful Santa Barbara/Puerto Vallarta bench designed by artist Anne Hefferman to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of our Sister Cities, and sponsored by caring SB/PV members.

Muchas gracias to all our gracious hosts and friends in Puerto Vallarta for this memorable visit, and to all our Santa Barbara board of directors including Alma Vaja, Mike Hernandez, Tony De Paco, Araceli Hidalgo, Craig Arcuri, Alicia Sorkin, Sebastian Aldana and Gil Garcia and attending members. Special thanks to our Rotary Santa Barbara, Puerto Vallarta and Rotary International for all they do and to Margaret Saaveda who provided a bevy of interesting additional excursions for members enjoyment including a city tour, tequila tasting, El Eden tour and Ritmo de la Noche experience that was quite exciting. Congratulations to all on a very memorable SB/PV Anniversary!

Santa Barbara Sister Cities, a People-to-People Program, initiated by President Eisenhower in 1956, promotes the friendship of people regardless of race, creed, or color, by the establishment of Sister Cities. The Program offers each community, its citizens, its organizations, and the city itself a chance to participate in the fascinating and rewarding field of international relations. There is also a humanitarian opportunity to be involved in the constructive process of building world peace. Language, art, ideas, music, youth programs, and dozens of other activities can be carried out by any person or organization in the community. By truly gaining a respect and understanding of our culture, we can begin to see the world and its many cultures as less confusing and more cohesive, and we begin to see ourselves better. There are personal, municipal, and national reasons for joining this unique and exciting movement that offers active participation in the building of a friendlier world. https://santabarbaraca.gov/sister-cities-board/sister-cities

The mission of Sister Cities International is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation one individual, one community at a time. Their mission reflects a belief in the power of personal connections. Since their inception in 1956, Sister Cities international has worked to create global relationships based on cultural, educational, information and trade exchanges. The result? Participants developed lifelong friendships that provide prosperity and peace through person-to-person “citizen diplomacy.” Today, they continue to expand their reach and strengthen existing relationships. Members boast exchanges in arts and culture, business and trade, youth education, and community development that not only bring them friendship, but help them to tackle the world’s most pressing issues at the local level. https://sistercities.org/.

Three Los Cabos courses voted to Golf Digest´s "World´s 100 Greatest" List

“The 350 panelists who live beyond the U.S. borders bring a truly international perspective to the list, as courses from 25 different countries made this year’s rankings,” the editors reported. While designs from the UK and Ireland feature prominently, Mexico, China, South Africa, and South Korea each charted three entries. All three Mexican courses on the list are in Los Cabos.

Recognized for excellence by the sport’s leading print and digital outlet, Los Cabos continues to reaffirm its position as the reigning ‘Golf Capital of Latin America.’

Diamante G.C. (Dunes), centerpiece of a resort community nestled on 1.5 miles of stunning coastline, sits at No. 50 on Golf Digest’s roster. “Mexico's first true links (was) fashioned by Davis Love III and his design team (which included his brother Mark Love and designer Paul Cowley) from a fantastic set of white sand dunes along the Pacific Ocean, huge portions of which are without vegetation and seem like enormous snow drifts,” the publication’s digital edition stated. “Holes hug the flowing terrain with little artificiality. Two holes on the back nine once played past a long lagoon but have been replaced by new 12th and 13th holes on the beach. Now all of the second nine is adjacent to the ocean, amidst the tallest dunes. No other links in the world sports cactus.”

Moving up 20 places to No. 73 on the list is Querencia C.C., its scenic, challenging layout, set within a private 1,800-acre golf community, recently treated to a major makeover. “The routing of this Tom Fazio design, one of only two in Mexico, wanders the rugged terrain and low-growth vegetation of a high desert plateau above the Sea of Cortez,” the publication reported. “Holes jump across or sidle up to the edges of rocky canyons and arroyos, with rippling, humpbacked fairways and a number of greens tucked behind stone outcroppings. The club recently brought Fazio back to design three new holes on land it had acquired to the west of the existing course. Those holes, the current 13th through 15th, replace the old ninth and 10th holes. The fairway of the par-4 seventh was also shifted, and the former 11th and 12th have been combined into the new par-5 ninth.”

Debuting at No. 87 on Golf Digest’s roster is Quivira G.C., an aesthetic triumph and engineering marvel by Jack Nicklaus. “Quivira questions a foundational premise in golf architecture: that golf courses can only be as good as their routings,” the editors said. “To be more exact, can a course be considered great if it possesses sensational individual holes but a layout that’s disjointed or lacks rhythm and continuity? The holes at Quivira are strung out across extreme lengths over Cabo’s stark high desert landscape requiring lengthy cart rides to access the disparate sections. But holes like the short par-4 fifth and the jaw dropping par 3s at six and 13 that plummet sharply from rocky headlands down to greens notched onto the edges of cliffs 80 feet above the Pacific Ocean make the extended journeys worthwhile. When it comes to the importance of cohesive routings, enough of our panelists have determined there are exceptions to every rule.”

In addition to the “World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” feature, Golf Digest also identified “The Best Golf Courses in 206 Countries.” To do so, the magazine’s editors “surveyed our 1,900+ Golf Digest panelists from North America, who are as well-traveled a bunch as you'll find in the industry, in addition to a panel of 500 golf enthusiasts from around the globe to help us with coverage on more remote parts of the world.”

Predictably, Los Cabos dominates the Mexico entry. Ten courses on the 15-course list, including six of the top seven venues, are located in Los Cabos, the hemisphere’s most celebrated golf getaway. Diamante (Dunes), Querencia, Quivira, Chileno Bay, Cabo Del Sol (Cove Club) and El Dorado command the top six slots, followed by Diamante (El Cardonal) at No. 9, the first completed 18-hole course by Tiger Woods. Rounding out the Best in Mexico roster are Palmilla (No. 11), Cabo Del Sol (Desert – No. 12), and Cabo Real (No. 13).