T_R_Oglodyte
TUG Lifetime Member
The last month DW has been battling a respiratory infection that has sapped her strength. So we skipped the trail hike from Boca to Quimixto. Instead we took the bus past the Botanical Garden and on to El Tuito.
El Tuito is just a nice town in the Sierra Madre - about 2000 feet elevation - and not not overrun by tourists. Enough gringos get there that in the main part of town enough English is spoken to get by. But that's about the only tourist bent that you see.
It's not an activities town. You just wander around. There's a nice central plaza and next to the plaza is wonderful and charming centuries old Catholic church. There are some quaint side streets. Totally safe and the local people are polite. If you want hooch, it's the place to buy raicilla.
And since it's not a tourist locate, it's quite cheap. How cheap do you ask?
We had lunch next at a sidewalk restaurant next to main plaza. DW, still recovering, ordered a cheese quesadilla. I ordered carnitas a la Mexicana - grilled carinitas in a red sauce. My order came with rice, beans, cooked vegetable (broccoli) and fresh corn toritillas. DW has a coke; I had a Pacifico. Before tips, it was 155 pesos - that's $US 8.16 US at my 19:1 exchange rate.
Later, as we were wandering around, we walked past a small tortilleria in front of a house on a side street. We running low, so I asked for half a kilo (1.1 lbs). The senorita grabbed a bunch hot off the cooker, weighed them out wrapped them in paper and gave them to us in a plastic bag, still too hot to hold onto. Total price: 15 pesos (that 80 cents).
A bit further along, as were continuing to wander, a guy approached us and started chatting us up. He basically wanted to know if I wanted to buy some raicilla. With DW still queasy, I had already decided to pass on the opportunity this trip. (If I were interested I would have asked for a recommendation at the restaurant.)
Bus fare to El Tuito is 30 pesos each way. So for two of us, 120 pesos total. About $3.15 each. Less than what you would pay for a one-way bus fare in most cities in the US. For that you get a one-hour bus ride that takes the highway along the Conchas Chinas coast, then climbs into pine forest, above the coastal jungle.
Our bus on the way to El Tuito was an intercity, so it had upholstered seats, and a LCD screen showing movies. (We saw most of "Letters to Juliet" on the way.
Oh, on the way back we realized we needed a tomato and couple of bananas to finish the week. After the bus dropped us off in Viejo Vallarta, we were walking along Insurgentes to the stop for the Marina Vallarta bus when we passed a small store with fruits and vegetables. So we bought our tomato and two bananas. Total price: $6 pesos (32 cents).
In a separate post I'll discuss the cesspool (almost literally) that Sayulita has become.
El Tuito is just a nice town in the Sierra Madre - about 2000 feet elevation - and not not overrun by tourists. Enough gringos get there that in the main part of town enough English is spoken to get by. But that's about the only tourist bent that you see.
It's not an activities town. You just wander around. There's a nice central plaza and next to the plaza is wonderful and charming centuries old Catholic church. There are some quaint side streets. Totally safe and the local people are polite. If you want hooch, it's the place to buy raicilla.
And since it's not a tourist locate, it's quite cheap. How cheap do you ask?
We had lunch next at a sidewalk restaurant next to main plaza. DW, still recovering, ordered a cheese quesadilla. I ordered carnitas a la Mexicana - grilled carinitas in a red sauce. My order came with rice, beans, cooked vegetable (broccoli) and fresh corn toritillas. DW has a coke; I had a Pacifico. Before tips, it was 155 pesos - that's $US 8.16 US at my 19:1 exchange rate.
Later, as we were wandering around, we walked past a small tortilleria in front of a house on a side street. We running low, so I asked for half a kilo (1.1 lbs). The senorita grabbed a bunch hot off the cooker, weighed them out wrapped them in paper and gave them to us in a plastic bag, still too hot to hold onto. Total price: 15 pesos (that 80 cents).
A bit further along, as were continuing to wander, a guy approached us and started chatting us up. He basically wanted to know if I wanted to buy some raicilla. With DW still queasy, I had already decided to pass on the opportunity this trip. (If I were interested I would have asked for a recommendation at the restaurant.)
Bus fare to El Tuito is 30 pesos each way. So for two of us, 120 pesos total. About $3.15 each. Less than what you would pay for a one-way bus fare in most cities in the US. For that you get a one-hour bus ride that takes the highway along the Conchas Chinas coast, then climbs into pine forest, above the coastal jungle.
Our bus on the way to El Tuito was an intercity, so it had upholstered seats, and a LCD screen showing movies. (We saw most of "Letters to Juliet" on the way.
Oh, on the way back we realized we needed a tomato and couple of bananas to finish the week. After the bus dropped us off in Viejo Vallarta, we were walking along Insurgentes to the stop for the Marina Vallarta bus when we passed a small store with fruits and vegetables. So we bought our tomato and two bananas. Total price: $6 pesos (32 cents).
In a separate post I'll discuss the cesspool (almost literally) that Sayulita has become.
It was too "touristy" for us. There are still a few nice beachfront restaurants, but it has lost its charm for us too.