Just over two years ago, alarm bells rang when all of a sudden, residents on and near Los Horcones River, south of Puerto Vallarta, saw a dozen or so workers and earth-moving equipment, and then heard dynamite blasts.

It is literally an oasis in the middle of the busy city of Puerto Vallarta, the sparkling gem of a tourist town hugging the Bay of Banderas, from the Marina district marking the northern border, curving and stretching south to Conchas Chinas and beyond to the road to Mismaloya.

Within three months, tourists could soon be setting foot on the Islas Marías (or Marietas), the group of four islands located 60 miles off the coast of Nayarit, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced on a visit to the archipelago this week.

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.

Following the assassination of former Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval last month, the Mexican Navy (Semar) has taken charge of municipal public security in Puerto Vallarta.

The unprecedented level of new development, currently under way along the north shore of Banderas Bay, will be supported by the strategic location of the Bucerias/La Cruz Interchange.