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Our taxi
driver pulled up at the base of the hill, and while the little sign on the gate read "Casa Cupula," I didn't believe it. This was certainly someone's home—someone's multi-million dollar, fortress of a home.
“Mexican and Americano gays happily lounge in Speedos, with no sense of hiding”
It seemed far too private, too isolated (even though it was only a 3 minute drive from Olas Altas), and too unique to be a hotel. Nearly the entire hillside now belongs to Don
Pickens, who slowly but surely seems to be snatching up property in this lush enclave in order to meet the high demand the resort has experienced of late. The vibe is communal, which is right in line with the rest of gay Puerto Vallarta.
Each room has conveniently (and cheekily) been designed with a "trick door"—a decidedly Don Pickens touch that allows guests to sneak tricks in and out without disturbing other visitors. And each Saturday night Don hosts a cocktail party on the roof, a spot that offers the best views of Puerto Vallarta I've ever seen. It's a playground for the rich, gay, and adventurous.
 The colors of rural Puerto Vallarta.
In speaking with other expats about how their presence had been received in Puerto Vallarta, the answer was a resoundingly positive one. Joe Jack tells me a story that took place just before he was about to open his PV restaurant, Joe Jack's Fish Shack. In the final, frenzied stages of purchasing supplies and food for the restaurant, he noticed that his last $1,000 had gone missing—somewhere between his stop to the fruit vendor and the butcher. "I went to check out [at the butcher] and I didn't have the money....
I freaked. I was on the verge of crying out of frustration." After several people helped him search the store in vain, he walked outside. "As I stood on the corner, I realized I was being surrounded by all these shop owners, the pie lady, the fish monger, the owner of the tortilla factory.
They were all concerned. Everyone was combing the streets, asking where else I might have been." Remembering the fruit vendor, Joe hopped in a cab and asked the man working there if he might have found an envelope full of money. The man held up the envelope with a smirk. "I offered him 500 pesos (fifty bucks) for it. He said, 'No, are you crazy? It's your money, be careful guero.'"
It's not uncommon to find yourself feeling very much a part of a large extended familia here. It's not all that easy for the untrained eye to pick out the gringos from the locals, the gays from the straights. So look closely to spot me and my beau at the Kit Kat, sipping martinis with the boys.
 Gay nightlife: Puerto Vallarta's gay clubs, bars, discos, cantinas and lounges center mostly on the South Side of Zona Romantica.
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