Daytrip to El Tuito Part 1
An interview with Maria C. Santander of Galeria Coppelia, in El Tuito Mexico. Also an interview with Matty and Jesse Jamez, owners of La Joya de Tuito, a Bed and Breakfast in El Tuito, Cabo Corrientes, Mexico. El Tuito is a quaint pueblo south east of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
I had never been to El Tuito and I was very excited to be going. My plan was to bus it down, talk with a couple of really cool people intown and have them tell us about the place, wander around, and then find a taxi to take me to Mayto and Tehuamixtle. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do all that I wanted to do, but I was going to make a run at it.
So what is El Tuito anyway? Well JR and I talked about El Tuito in one of the first episodes of the show when we talked about taking buses.
But if you don’t remember that conversation, I will just read from JR’s websire, his DIY tours page where he talks about El Tuito. Here it is…
El Tuito was founded in the 16th Century at about the same time as the mining towns and Talpa de Allende. However there are no mines or Virgins (at least the religious kind) in El Tuito.
What it does have is grazing land and water and it was on a major Spanish road that ran from Barra de Navidad to EL Cuale and Mascota, The Camino Real. The famous Manila ship that came once a year from the Philippines would unload some of its cargo at Barra before continuing on to Acapulco. El Tuito could supply fresh pack animals, food and water to the travellers on their way to the mines.
The remains of an old Hacienda can be seen on the right of the old road leading to town from Route 200. I’ve also heard that there are the ruins of the old sugar mill that existed here many years ago. If anyone finds it, please let me know.
El Tuito is a good place to get your Raicilla supplies. There is a store on the old road into town, but what it sells as Raicilla I have grave doubts about. To get the good stuff “La Punta” just wander around the plaza and ask at some of the stores, they will direct you to the houses that have it for sale, ask for El Perico, he used to live across from the church, last price I paid was 150 pesos for a liter.
The Church’s altar is a huge rock, which the church was built around.
There’s a lot of construction these days, With new roads from route 200 into town and beyond to the rest of the Cabo Corrientes Municipality.
They have also re-paved all the roads around the square.
No tourist shopping here, local stores are like the Hardware Store, which sells saddles and horseshoes.
Some pretty decent restaurants close to the plaza for the tourists, who are starting to come here with Vallarta Adventures and Superior Tours. Plus our old friend Machis, with Machis BBQ on the SW corner of the square, but he doesn’t open till around 2pm.
Visitors should visit the cultural center in the City Hall building on the north side of the plaza. Lots of historical information including photos and old maps. Don’t miss the wonderful mural around the stairs to the second floor.
This is also where roads to Mayto Beach and the fishing village Tehuamixtle start. There used to be a daily bus service, but, alas the bus died. Maybe somewhere in the future ? IT’S BACK 3 times a week, Mon, Wed. & Fri. leaving from the square at 3pm, and returns the next day.
There’s a strange festival on September 17th, called La Mojiganga, which involves a young bull, people throwing flour at each other and guys in drag dancing with other local men. Afterwards at night a big fireworks display.
Again, that was taken from JR’s site at Vallartainfo.com and I have links to the site on my site. So there.
I also have a youtube video of this Mojiganga celebration in the show notes.
So here’s how you get to El Tuito by bus. Remember, you can have many tour companies take you, you can pay for a taxi, private transportation. In fact, I have an interview coming up with a friend, Camacho Castillo, who is a driver, but not this time. We are traveling with la gente. With the people.
So the first thing you need to do is get yourselves to the corner of Aguacate and V. Carranza, on the Southside of Vallarta in the Emiliano Zapate neighborhood. That’s the corner, where you will find the bus that goes to the Botanical Gardens and El Tuito. The bus comes every half hour or so. It sits on Aquacate
facing south, across from the Kiosko Market. It waits till it fills up, then heads off along the Carraterra 200. The same rout you would take to get to Mismaloya and Boca de Tomatlan.
If you can, get yourself a seat on the right side of the bus, so you get that great view of the ocean and coastline along the way. When you get on the bus, tell the driver you are going to El Tuito. The bus ride will cost you approximately 32 pesos.
The ride takes about an hour. You.....
Day Trip El Tuito To Mayto by Taxi
In Part 2 of the Day Trip From Puerto Vallarta to El Tuito and Mayto. I take a Taxi From El Tuito to Mayto and Tehuamixtle, on Pacific Coast of Mexico. The Taxi Driver is Javier Avila, Born and Raised in Mayto and I interviewed him on The Road to Mayto.
Last week we took a bus from Puerto Vallarta to the town of El Tuito, and if you haven’t heard it yet, listen to it for sure. I interviewed the owners
Day Trip From Puerto Vallarta to El Tuito
of a new B & B, La Joya de Tuito, Matty and Jesse, and then I had a wonderful conversation with Maria C. Sandander from Galeria Coppelia.
If you go to my show notes, you will find maps and directions, but I will give them to you again here. You get to the corner of Vesuviano Carranza and Aguacate on the South side of Puerto Vallarta, where the bus to the Botanical Garden and El Tuito will be waiting......