Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Even the mighty succumb to mother nature. Lidia, a Category 4 hurricane, slammed into Puerto Vallarta on 10 October 2023 during the early evening hours. There were maximum sustained winds of 130 to 156 mph and even higher gusts. She left a path of devastation in her wake.
Even though it has been over one week, the city is still cleaning up and more people are getting connected to their utilities every day. It has been challenging, but everyone is persevering after surviving the fourth-strongest Pacific hurricane ever to make landfall.
The boys at Café Bohemio, Rodolfo Gómez 127 in Vallarta’s Zona Romántica, are finally digging out. One of the largest mango trees in that part of the city crashed to the ground during the storm. “We were shocked that it toppled,” say Sol Rose, owner of Café Bohemio.
“It looked like a war zone because the branches were everywhere, it took out our large awning, fence, roof shingles, two power poles and their lines and the roots were reaching for the sky.” The tree fell directly south onto the street and, thankfully, did not damage any buildings or injure anyone.
The tree was planted by the Peña family that still owns the large corner property between Olas Altas and Rodolfo Gómez. The space was originally open to the public and was used as a garden and resting spot with a bench. It is estimated the tree was somewhere between 75 and 100 years old. Sol said he counted 85 rings on its trunk.
The tree provided shade but was not always appreciated. “That monstrosity of a mango tree was a pain in the ass because the mangos kept falling all over the place,” laughs Sol, “We used the mangos for cocktails and we offered a free mango drink if a client got hit with one. We usually sent one of our waiters up the tree to harvest them so they would not fall.”
It took three days to remove the tree and its trimmings from their patio. The city cleared up the mess that was in the street, on the sidewalk and whatever space was public. The courtyard is private property so the business was responsible. “Our employees banded together,” says Sol, “We had axes, hand saws, chainsaws were borrowed, we hired extra guys to chop it up into a bunch of manageable pieces, but it was so huge.”
Blades kept breaking and at one time they had ten guys that could not budge it. CFE technicians were there late one night working and they tried to use their crane to remove the stump from the patio but the strap broke every time they tried because it was so heavy. But now, the last pieces of the stump are but a memory.
“I must thank the city and CFE for working around the clock to get all the condos, hotels and other businesses up and running as quickly as possible,” says Sol, “I hired an electrician to redo the wiring in the restaurant and hopefully we will be open for business on 30 October because our Halloween Party is the next night.”
Café Bohemio opened in 2003 and has been a favorite dinner spot ever since. Other than getting the restaurant open, their immediate plans for the future include leveling the ground, making the patio larger for more seating capacity and extending the awning to cover a larger space so when it’s raining clients will be covered. They also plan on adding new lighting, sound system and industrial fans. It will be bigger and better than ever.
