When Bob Price moved to Mexico many years ago, at some point he had a place in Puerto Vallarta with a view of the jungle blanketing the Sierra Madre.
It made him wonder about the fauna, flora and creatures populating that mysterious place.
Curiosity about what was happening under the shroud of palms, primaveras and plethora of other plants and trees has culminated 15 years later with the world-famous Vallarta Botanical Gardens, named twice in recent years by USA Today as one of the top 10 botanical gardens in North America.
A native of Savannah, Georgia, itself a land of lovely, grand and exotic gardens, Price said he spent his first years in Mexico, in his 30s, partying, drinking margaritas and diving.
Eventually, he arrived in Vallarta with that view of the jungle. Soon, wanting to work at something interesting, he wondered about a nature park.
There were a few false starts, but eventually he found the land that is today a paradise of Old Mexico charm about 25 kilometers south and east of Old Town, teeming with native flora, fauna and wildlife filling the 32 hectares Price now owns, 20 (about 50 acres) of which are the gardens, and 12 (about 30 acres) of which are a buffer around the park.
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