|
Mexico 2023
February 11
Tenting, Beach Walk, El Tuito
| |
The only road trip we took this week was to the small mountain town of El Tuito. | |
|
On one of our bus rides, we talked to a gentleman who owns a condo in Nuevo Vallarta. This is a community that caters solely to wealthy ex-pats. I call it little Miami as the condos that line the beach are all the nondescript boxy style. There is nothing Mexican about the small town. Anyway, some friends were visiting him, and he was taking them around to see the sights. I gave him a list of suggestions. When I asked him if he had ever been to San Pancho, he drew a blank and said, “I’m here for the lifestyle, not to be a tourist.”
This week was our ‘lifestyle’ week. It was ‘enter the slow lane', enjoy the superb weather, and make it home away from home. Highlights of the week include:
Seeing the hot new band at Jax Bar - The Lovers. They wore T-shirts with the caption ‘The Lovers Are Fuckin’ Coming.’ (A crude but clever double entendre). Unfortunately, their vivacious girl singer was sick. Still, the band was excellent.
The drummer, who looks about 16 years old, pounded away with a wonderful smile the whole time. Not only was he good, he completely enjoyed himself doing it. This is especially amazing since the band plays an exhausting nine gigs a week. The bass player competently complimented the drummer to a tee.
The guitar player was ‘the’ show. He plays fast and accurately. At one point in the ZZ Top song, La Grange, he put his guitar on the top of a table and somehow played part of the solo with his fingering hand on top of the neck instead of wrapping his palm around the back of the neck as is normal. He did this without missing a beat or changing his style.
|  | 3/4ths of the Lovers at Jax Bar. Next time I hope the female lead singer is with them. | |
One morning Wanda and I were standing on the second-floor landing when the floor made a hideous cracking sound. The end table with a vase of flowers on the landing began to tilt. My first thought was ‘earthquake’; however, the rest of the house wasn’t shaking. We watched incredulously as the tile floor under our feet rose up and cracked. My second thought was that the structure of the house was failing.
When the tile finally stopped moving, I carefully inspected the house. There were no cracks anywhere else. It was just the floor. A quick Google search identified the problem as ‘tenting.’ On rare occasions, tile floors have been known to do this. Again, kudos to our terrific landlady. Within 24 hours, the floor was fixed. Letty is amazing.
|  | You can see why this issue is called 'tenting'. As tile expands and contracts from temperature and humidity, the adhesive that bonds to the floor can give way. If that happens, the tile 'tents.' This is rare, but it does happen. On Wednesday morning, it happened right under our feet. It scared the heck out of us. | All the old tile on the landing was removed and replaced. | Laying down the new tile. | With 50 miles of coastline, the Bay of Banderas is Mexico’s largest. Almost the entire bay is one unbroken sand beach. One afternoon we decided to walk south along the beach for a long stretch. We took off our sandals and walked barefoot, half in the water as the waves swept over our feet, for nearly four miles before turning back. We barely made a dent in the long beach. | The string of hotels, condos, and resorts is nearly un broken along the entire 50 miles of coastline. | Above and below: The large Riu resort is located between Bucerias and Mescales. | Of course, we ate out most days. One of our favorite new breakfast spots was Mr. Santana. With Wanda's pancake cravings temporarily satisfied, she switched to waffles. | Amazing waffles with strawberries, kiwi, almonds, and sweet cream. | Huevos rancheros, beans, and cubed potatoes. | |
Looking at the weather back home in Wisconsin, we decided to extend our stay here in Mexico. Our original departure date was March 2. The worst of winter would have passed by then, but March can still be rough. We just aren’t quite ready for snow.
We had hoped to stay another full month; however, we could only change our departure date to March 23. The reason is complicated and has to do with the fact that our flight was purchased with credit card points. Three more weeks of warm sunshine will be appreciated.
| The 10-day forecast for our hometown, Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Surprisingly, they are experiencing a mild winter, with highs reaching the upper 30s and even lower 40s. This is an anomaly. Normal high temperatures in mid-February are in the mid-20s with nighttime lows in the teens. Notice that there is little sun in the forecast, and the 80s are many months away. | |
FEBRUARY 11
El Tuito
Cortes conquered the area around El Tuito in 1525. After that, both the Spanish and Portugues settled in and around El Tuito. However, El Tuito didn't officially become a municipality until 1824. Like San Sebastián, it is well off the touristy beaten track. That means it is laid-back. The name El Tuito means divine place or place of beauty.
Getting there by bus is half the fun. From Bucerias, we took the ATM bus to the Las Glorias neighborhood in Puerto Vallarta. The Compostela bus also works. Las Glorias is easy to find. It is the last stop on both the Compostela and ATM bus routes. Next is the PV city bus to downtown. Either the Centro or the Tunel bus works. Both take you downtown.
Finally, the Transportes Del Tuito bus takes you to El Tuito. This is the same bus you take to the Botanical Gardens. It can be found on the corner of Basilio Badillo and Aquacate. El Tuito is the last stop on this route.
The Tuito bus route is a beautiful trip along highway 200 into the mountains. It follows the valley formed by the same mountain creek we splashed in on our trip to the Botanical Garden. The jungle is lush. The road winds deep into the verdant cover.
|  | Above and below: We started our journey from Bucerias to El Tuito on the ATM bus to Puerto Vallarta. | This is a city bus in PV. We took the Centro bus, but the Tunel bus would also get you downtown. | Above and below: The bus to El Tuito. You can catch this bus in downtown Puerto Vallarta at the corner of Aguacate and Basilio Badillo.This is the same bus that goes to the Botanical Gardens. | Above and below: The landscape surrounding El Tuito. | |
This was only our second visit to El Tuito. The bus dropped us off at the town plaza. This is the pride of the town. The best restaurants and shops are located here. The police station and the cultural center are also at the plaza.
In one corner of the plaza, we noticed a long line of guys with white cowboy hats paying to get into a building. Soon we heard a speech of some sort coming over a PA system. It was in Spanish, of course; we didn’t know if it was a political rally, an auction, or what. Around the corner, a gate had been left open, and I went inside to a large walled-in open lot. About 500 people, mostly cowboy-looking guys, were listening to a speech. Later, we heard music and learned that a big two-day festival was starting. It will include a rodeo and bands.
| The Community Center and police department located next to the central plaza. | This tree in the corner of the plaza is named 'Maria" by the locals and provides shade during the day. | The courtyard of the Cultural Center. | These three Mural panels in the Cultural Center are called the Universal Revolution. It represents the past, present, and future. I didn't understand the mural's symbolism, but it is nicely done. | Another mural in the Cultural Center. | This poster is advertising a great dance and rodeo for February 11 (today) and 12. Admission is only 200 pesos in advance (a little more at the box office). | |
El Tuito is a small town of 3,500 people. It is pleasant and easy to walk in a few hours. We did our patented zig-zagging to reach as much of the town as possible. Agriculture and ranching are the main economic engines. The produce and meat markets were fresh and plentiful. Coffee is another crop grown in this area. The local Raicilla Distillery produces the alcoholic elixir from locally grown agave plants.
The last time we were here, we sampled tres leches, a delicious pastry. We found the bakery, but sadly they were sold out.
| St. Peter is over 200 years old. Unfortunately, it was locked. | The town's soccer field and stadium. | Kamicalou is a cute grocery store on the plaza. | Above and below: A local butcher shop. | I love these ceramic tile pictures just hanging on a store wall. The cowboy is definitely enjoying his view. | This tile is a depiction of the church in Puerto Vallarta. | Here is an interesting wooden door. | A PV to Tuito bus abandoned in an empty lot. | |
Once we were done roaming, we had dinner at El Patio de Mario. We broke our rule of trying a different restaurant. We ate here the last time we visited El Tuito. I couldn't resist knowing that an eatery has been in this location since 1788.
A new restaurant, El Chiki’s, opened on the plaza a year ago, so at least we bought a mango margarita for the bus ride home from El Chiki’s. It was a frozen margarita, and it came in a giant container. We both got multiple brain-freezes on the trip back to PV.
| El Patio de Mario has been an eatery since 1788 before El Tuito was officially a town. | |
Above: Chili relleno (stuffed chili pepper - no, it isn't a hot pepper)
Below: Tender baby back beef taken off the ribs. The meat melted in your mouth. The salad had a delicious dressing that I couldn't place. It was not Kraft.
| El Chiki's is the new kid on the block. We picked up a frozen mango margarita for the bus trip back to PV. | Our butts needed a brake from bus seats, so we skipped the city bus to Las Glorias. The three-mile walk, mostly along the ocean walk, felt great. PV is such a pretty town, especially in the Central Zone, AKA Zona Romantica. | This artist was adding a new mural to downtown PV. | Above and below: Parts of the mural that the artist already completed. | These tile decorations are common near and in the central plaza. | Donkeys (or is that a mule?) can be stubborn. | More murals in downtown PV. | Carved mangos on a stick. | I have no idea what he is about to swallow. | So, this is the third time that I have included this statue in my travel journals. I just love this statue and I doubt that it will be the last time I take this photo. | Some guy made this sand sculpture. It will quickly blow away. | | | | |
