Turtles and Tequila in Mexico

We are travelling through Mexico at the moment, as part of a 3-month tour through Mexico and Central America. We’d been in Mexico City, then flew west to Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Puerto Vallarta is a small city of around 292,000 people sandwiched between the Sierra Madre Mountains and gorgeous Pacific beaches. We were looking forward to a relaxing time there.

 

Dusk at one of the many beaches in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

But getting there took a lot longer than planned. We had to arrive 2 hours before our flight then learned it was delayed for an hour; then when we were about to board, the hand luggage of some people (including Leigh) was literally grabbed to go into the plane’s hold instead of the cabin; and after landing, we waited 1.5 hours for our luggage to come off the plane. Overall, what should have been a 45 min fight took almost 6 hours and we were certainly not relaxed when we left the airport.

View of the Malecón from our apartment, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

When we finally arrived and found our apartment though, all stress was forgotten – it was fabulous. It was right on Puerto Vallarta’s famous Malecón, a long seaside promenade, and we had a large sunny balcony with wonderful views of the sea. The Malecón is known for its beautiful sea views, eating places, beaches and artworks. It is considered the beating heart of Puerto Vallarta.

Top: Our apartment & Cathedral. Below: Marg & Plaza, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

After unpacking, we donned our summer clothes for the warm 25⁰C weather, and went out exploring. After a walk along the Malecón, we ventured deeper into the township along quaint cobblestone streets lined with colourful shops. That night, we Uber’d to a northern beach to participate in the release of baby turtles into the sea.

Baby turtles ready for release in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Several turtle species that nest along this coast are endangered, and a volunteer organisation is helping to restore turtle numbers. We arrived at the volunteer beach camp, and after a talk about the plight of the turtles and seeing where the eggs were laid and hatched, we were given half a coconut shell each with a newly hatched turtle in it. They are sooooo small.

Tiny baby turtles leaving their tracks as they head for the sea, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Around 30 other people were there with us, and on the count of three, we all released our turtles and watched them find their way into to the water. It was a painful process because the 3-metre stretch of sand to the water seemed such a long way for such little turtles. Eventually most made it but only 1 to 10 of every one-hundred survive to adulthood. That’s low odds!

Us on the beach after releasing our turtles, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

However, the volunteers at the turtle centre have been doing a fabulous job, as there has been a noticeable increase in Olive Ridley, Green, and Hawksbill turtles in these waters. After this lovely experience it was dinner time, so we Uber’d back to town and enjoyed a great seafood dinner of octopus (not endangered), marinated in honey, chili and chocolate, and another dish of garlic prawns. Yum. 

Restaurants on the sand, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

The next morning, we explored the southern end of the Malecón. The beaches there were lovely, but the shoreline was cluttered with high-rise resorts and it was all very touristy. We were glad that we’d chosen to stay in the Centro area where it was more authentic. But like the rest of Puerto Vallarta, it was very vibrant with restaurant tables on the sand, small boats moored along the shoreline, and people enjoying the beach.

Marg enjoying our “wow” meal, Puerta Vallarta, Mexico

By this time, it was around 7:00 pm, so we found a restaurant at the southern end of town for dinner. What a great decision, because the food was fantastic. We had a dish of grilled fish and shrimps with chili pasilla (a dried chili pepper), garlic mushrooms, and a lemon parsley sauce. It was a ‘wow’ dish, and probably one of the best seafood meals that we’ve ever tasted! 

 

Scenery along the bus route to Guadalajara, Mexico

The next morning, we headed to the local bus terminal to get a very flash bus to Guadalajara (sounds like gwah-da-la-har-a), a city of just under 1.4 million people making it Mexico’s 2nd largest after Mexico City. The 4.5-hour bus ride was fairly straight forward, but due to regular hijackings on the minor roads, the big buses travel on the toll roads so unfortunately, we missed most of the small villages along the route.

Historic centre of Guadalajara, Mexico

In Guadalajara, we had an AirBnB apartment in the historic centre that was within easy walking distance to the city’s main sights. We headed out to explore as soon as we arrived, finding interesting Spanish colonial architecture, a huge town square, narrow cobblestone streets and plenty of vibrancy. It was lovely and really old but interesting-looking. The next day, we went on a tequila tour.

 

Blue agave plantation (UNESCO) Guadalajara, Mexico

Tequila is made from the blue agave plant, and we’d seen plantations of these bluey-green spikey plants while on the bus to Guadalajara. Collectively, the plantations, distilleries and towns that produce and work with the blue agave are a UNESCO World Heritage Site because the plant has been used to make tequila, other fermented drinks, and cloth for over 2,000 years. 

Us with blue agave hearts ready for juice extraction, Guadalajara, Mexico

Our first stop on the tequila tour, was at one of the local tequila distilleries where we learned about the process of making tequila. It’s not the spikey leaves that make tequila as we first thought, it’s the heart of the plant called the piña. When harvested, the leaves are removed and the piña is cooked to extract its sugary juice which is then used as the basis for producing tequila. 

Tequila stills, Tequila (UNESCO), Mexico

The raw tequila is distilled in copper vats then stored in barrels to age. After learning about the process, we got to the best part, which was tasting it. There are 5 basic types of tequila and they differ according to the length of time left in the barrel. The cheapest is a drink-now tequila (it’s pretty raw tasting), and the others were all much smoother and richer having has a longer time in the barrel.

Tequila distillery showing historic still and barrels, Tequila (UNESCO), Mexico

Reluctantly leaving the tequila distillery, we next stopped at a place in the middle of nowhere, that sells tequila by the mug. We have learned that Mexicans like to party and this place was a party place. There was a live band playing Mexican music and people bought their litre or so of tequila in a huge pottery mug, and danced, sang and had a great time. While not quite our thing, it was interesting to watch, if not a little loud.

The town of Tequila, Mexico

After a stop for lunch we ended the day at the town named Tequila. It is a small quaint town of attractive colonial architecture and cobbled streets. We wandered around there for ages, navigating our way through the vast throngs of tourists. Most of the tourists seem to be non-gringos, so we always stand out a bit, which is fine because we find ourselves having lovely conversations with inquisitive locals.

Our local eatery, Guadalajara, Mexico

Back in Guadalajara that night when looking for a restaurant for dinner, we found a nearby ‘hole-in-the-wall’ eatery. We poked our heads in for a look and received such a big welcome from the host that we stayed. It was very much a local haunt and no one spoke English. However, we managed to figure out, then convey what we wanted to eat, then asked if he had beer. After finally making ourselves understood, our host returned with two ice-cold cans of beer. 

 

Marg with the host of our local eatery, Guadalajara, Mexico

He had none in his coolers that we could see, so he must have gone up to the corner store to buy it for us. We were everyone’s entertainment for the night but it was a lovely experience. The next morning, we headed for the bus terminal again for a ride to a town called Guanajuato, but that story is in the next blog.

This post is the second in a series that tells the story of our travel in Mexico and Central America. The first post in the series can be found here.