Tucked in between the Pacific Ocean and the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Riviera Nayarit stretches over 300 kilometers to the north of Puerto Vallarta. It is the southern part of the region (in the Bahia de Banderas municipality) that has seen the strongest growth in the hotel industry. Between 2007 and 2012, the number of rooms has risen from 10,000 to 12,500, an increase of 25%.
June 10, 2012
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Page 3 Travel and Travel Buddies
Guanajuato
“Mountainous Place of the Frogs”
Guanajuato is an amazing city; literally a labyrinth of tiny colonial streets leading into tunnels underground in the belly of the city. Colorful small houses and grand colonial buildings dot the urban landscape and center around a plethora of tiny treed squares that pop out throughout the city.
Fast Facts
Population - 135,000 year round residents
Elevation – 6,583 feet (2.008 ms)
Climate – Mild summers, cool winters
|
Month |
High Temp |
Low Temp |
|
January |
71°F 21°C |
42°F 5°C |
|
February |
74°F 23°C |
44°F 6°C |
|
March |
78°F 25°C |
48°F 8°C |
|
April |
81°F 27°C |
52°F 11°C |
|
May |
82°F 27°C |
55°F 12°F |
|
June |
79°F 26°C |
56°F 13°C |
|
July |
74°F 23°C |
55°F 12°C |
|
August |
75°F 23°C |
55°F 12°C |
|
September |
74°F 23°C |
54°F 12 °C |
|
October |
74°F 23°C |
50°F 10°C |
|
November |
73°F 22°C |
46°F 7°C |
|
December |
71°F 21°C |
43°F 6°C |
Monthly variation: Warmer in the summer, cooler and dryer in the Winter
Rainy season: May to October
Money – Banks and ATMs
Airport – Leon
Festivals
High Tourist Season – Mid December to Mid March especially Christmas and Semana Santa, July and August are busy with Mexican vacationers.
Semana Santa – Week preceding Easter
Cervantino Festival in mid-October.
Medical – Numerous Doctors
Industry – Tourism and agriculture
History
Guanajuato (Quanap-huato) means “Mountainous Place of the Frogs” in the Purépecha regional dialect. Some of the nomadic tribes worshipped the spirit of the frog and settled in this area where a mountain appeared in a frog-like shape. Situated in a basin of the Sierra de Guanajuato range, the area was flooded constantly from the Guanajuato River that overflowed from 3 kms beneath the earth. Various indigenous bands inhabited the area prior to the arrival of the Spanish; the Otomi, the Nahua, the Guamares and the Purépecha. They settled along the river and as the population increased, homes and settlements expanded up into the hills following the path of the river.
Tonalá,
Jalisco
"Place from which the Sun Emerges"
The Shopping Mecca of Mexico
Tonalá is known throughout the country for its lively Thursday and Sunday outdoor marketplace.
Specializing in pottery and glass, Tonalá also has treasures to trash. You can find it all here in Tonalá.
Daily glass blowing demonstrations. The market has a plethora of hand made glass for sale.
Tonalá, Jalisco
Fast Facts
Population - 374,258 in the city, 408,729 in the municipality
Location – Located in central Mexico on the east side of the Guadalajara metropolitan area
Elevation – 1540 meters
Statues for your every need; Our Lady
of Guadalupe, Christ, to any one of a
number of Saints
History
Tonalá was founded by the Zapotec Indians who intermarried with the Toltec and other Indian tribes. They spoke their own indigenous language mixed with Nahuatl.
Traveling
To The Riviera Nayarit:
There Is Life After The
All-InclusiveFrom the Huffington Post
The
Riviera Nayarit
offers colourful
art, interesting
sights, and golden
beaches lined with
resorts.
A few kilometers
from Puerto Vallarta, in Western
Mexico, the Riviera Nayarit
region is expanding rapidly.
Hotels are being built,
renovated, expanded…and this is
the case of the Occidental Grand
Nuevo Vallarta Hotel, where we
stayed and which has invested
$14 million into renovations, in
response to clients’ growing
expectations when it comes to
the quality of all-inclusives.
Click here to read the entire story
From Facebook On The Road in Mexico
Dorothy Bell makes recommendations on Facebook for those that want to fast track Nogales to PV
Nogales to PV - Zipping Down the Coast
We don’t like to do this. Normally we like to smell the roses. However if you are quickly zipping down to PV or Riviera Nayarit, I suggest the following:
Preparation
1) Have all your papers and correct documents ready for immigration and vehicle permits.
2) Get your insurance online. Get a quote from us
click here We offer great quality insurance at a reasonable price. You can buy it just before you leave.3) Buy a Guia Roji Road atlas before you cross over the border. It is the best map for Mexico.
4) Have pesos for the trip down. You need gas, tolls, hotel and food,
5) Have a cooler on hand so you can buy drinks and snacks for travel. While we love eating in restaurants along the way, but if you do not know the town or city you could spend a lot of time searching for a restaurant. It will also take up valuable daylight time to get served. You will want to have a breakfast and lunch for your first day and purchase breakfast and lunch for day 2 in Navojoa or Mochis.
6) Be ready to cross the border early. Take the truck crossing - Mariposa crossing – as it is easy - takes RVs and has way less confusing traffic. It is open at 6 am.
For more go to the complete article on Page 3 Travel and Travel Buddies
You must drive
through here and at KM 21 you will have to present
your documents and get your permits. The army bank,
Banacerito is open 24 hours a day to process vehicle
permits.
When in doubt, drive on the “D” roads or toll roads.
Stay on HWY 15 or 15D.
Once you have left the Immigration office you will bypass Magdalena, then drive through Santa Ana where you will continue down highway 15 towards Hermosillo. Hermosillo is 277 kms from Nogales.
There is some construction in Hermosillo so watch carefully and head towards Guaymas and HWY 15 and 15D.
When you approach
San Carlos/Guayamas continue and take the bypass
toll around the cities. San Carlos/Guaymas is a good
place to stop if you have difficulties or need
something desparately. It takes about an hour to
enter and then exit to purchase something so move on
and bypass if at all possible.
Continue 132 more kms to CD Obregon. There is a
Walmart to the right just as you enter the city
where you can get supplies (ie sandwich fixings)
beverages, and use the ATM if needed. We suggest you
stock up for a breakfast and lunch for the following
day.
You must drive through CD Obregon. It is not too
congested but be cautious as there is a turn.
Continue to Navojoa. This is a congested town. If
you are driving an RV or big truck you must watch
carefully for a detour to the left for truck
traffic. Make your way through the small city. At
the other end there is a large supermarket that you
can purchase stuff or load up with supplies.
Continue to Los Mochis. You will cross a state
border and usually at borders there will be a
military stop….
Continue to Los Mochis. Many of our readers
recommend the Zar Hotel – right on the Highway.
Apparently they have a good restaurant for your
dinner.They do NOT take pets.
If you have an RV there is an RV Park – such as it is – to the right as you enter town.
This trip will
likely have taken 11 hours – nearly 500 miles or so
after you left immigration. Rest as tomorrow you are
getting up early.
Day 2
Preparation: have
your breakfast in your cooler. Also lunch as there
is No supermarkets enroute that will be open until
Mazatlan.
Get up early.
It is often foggy in this farming area and there is
often tractors and farm equipment just south of
Mochis.
Drive Hwy 15
through farmland etc and prepare to turn to HWY 15D
just before Ciullican. Get on the toll and zip down
towards Mazatlan.
Be cautious. Mazatlan is having some construction so
there may be detours. Head for Tepic and Puerto
Vallarta. You will pass supermarkets for supplies
and cash.
Head south and stay on the toll highway towards
Tepic. Do not pass go.
Once you have
crossed the state line into Nayarit there is a
choice. Stay on the Highway to Tepic OR head towards
San Blas and take a different route. I suggest that
if you have a car – take the San Blas route. If you
have an RV and are driving from July to December,
take the Tepic Route. (The San Blas Route gets
overgrown after rainy season and can scratch your
RV).
If you go through the San Blas Route, take the Hwy
54 towards San Blas but turn off when you see the
signs for PV. Head towards Las Varas.
(If you take the Tepic route drive straight to the city and then turn when signed to go to Puerto Vallarta. Beware that RV’s and trucks must drive in the laterals when you see them. Laterals are the slow frontage roads on some city streets.
The stretch of Highway from Tepic to Compostela to Las Varas is windy and narrow and sometimes steep.. There are not many places to pull over.
From las Varas to PV is easy peasey. You will be passing through town after town, pueblo after pueblo of the Riviera Nayarit. Like pearls on a necklace, each one is beautiful and distinctive. Drive carefully and defensively.
From Los Mochis to PV will take another 10 or 11 hours.
If you are interested in breaking this up so you have one other stop we suggest driving day one to Navajoa. Stay in the Best Western (it does Take Pets.) If an RV stay in San Carlos. Day two drive to Mazatlan. Day 3 to PV.
If you want a much much more detailed set of instructions go here
Puerto Vallarta Malecon
Mayan Wooden Masks: Historical Beauty
© Tara A. Spears
Mexico’s creative traditional folk art is a true celebration of rich color and vibrant beauty. Each of Mexico’s 31 states offers unique talented artists producing a seemingly limitless collection of stunning and whimsical hand crafted art. Of all the different art forms, the hand carved wooden masks best reflect the Mexican culture and pride of the indigenous people. Carved wooden masks that portray the devil, ancient deities, jungle animals, or immortalize deceased individuals were regularly used in religious and cultural dances, as well as during war. The left photo is an example of a Mayan ceremonial mask. Mayan masks had a wide variety of uses, and the importance of the masks dictated how intricate the designs on various masks were. The abundant availability of carved masks at the tiaguis-open markets- make these a great collector’s item.
Ancient Tradition: The Mayan people inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula from 2500 BC to 1550 AD. The basic principles of the Mayan religion were adapted from the Olmec and Teotihuacan people, prior to the seventh century AD. The Mayans viewed the natural world, along with all that was a part of it, as a continuation of the sky-world above and the underworld below. The jaguar was believed to be a gatekeeper to the afterlife. According to Jeeni Criscenzo, “The ancient Maya had a complex pantheon of deities whom they worshipped and offered human sacrifices. Rulers were believed to be descendants of the gods and their blood was the ideal sacrifice, either through personal bloodletting or the sacrifice of captives of royal blood.” The deities are common figures on the wooded masks, particularly the warrior masks.
The antique masks also contain the faces of people. We know that some masks were used in wedding ceremonies, and there were masks made to commemorate many births and deaths. Not all Mayan masks were for such profound purposes, however. The Mayan's also used masks for entertainment as well. The uses of masks by the Mayan people were as varied as the style of the masks themselves.
Click here to read the entire story
Santo Domingo Museum is filled with the history of Oaxaca and Mexico Click here to look inside
Internet While You Travel Mexico
Internet while you travel is not usually a problem. There is an assortment of opportunities to go online.
a) Hotels & RV Parks 
Hotels in Mexico are certainly offering internet to their customers. Generally speaking any 3 star hotel and above will offer it. Unfortunately, No-tell-motels do not. They figure you are in their establishment for something other than Internet.
Destination RV Parks are likely to offer internet too. We try to list internet services when we list RV Parks. If a RV Park has upgraded and offers internet, let us know so we can tell others.
Driving In Mexico
By David Simmonds
I have driven tens-of-thousands of miles in Mexico and the worse thing I can remember happening was having a mango jump off the flatbed of an oncoming produce truck near Mazatlán, smashing out the left headlight in my old VW van and spraying mango pieces and juice from head to huarache, where I sat in the driver’s seat. I thought I’d been shot by a deranged sniper until I figured it all out. And another time I blew an engine (another VW van, naturally) in the Sonoran desert on my return trip on a 100 degree summer day when few cars were on the road (this was years ago, before toll roads), only to be rescued by a pickup truck full of missionaries who rope-towed me to the Arizona border, almost making a believer of me.
Customs Allowances into Mexico via Land and Air
DO NOT BRING EITHER GUNS OR DRUGS INTO MEXICO. Mucho problema! Don't try it - think about it or even toy with the idea. If caught you most likely will end up in prison for a very long time.
You are allowed to bring into Mexico:
a) 2 cartons of cigarettes or 50 cigars or a kilo of tobacco (2.2lbs)
b) 3 liters of wine or hard liquor
c) 12 rolls of film
d) a computer
e) 2 cameras - photo, movie or other
If traveling by air you are allowed a $300 customs allowance in addition to the above. If traveling by land you are only allowed $50.
Be reasonable and don't bring in quantities of anything that might look like you are planning to resell them. You really don't have to load up on food anymore as there are enough Supermercados with a good supply and variety of food.
When you cross most borders you will be asked to push a button or your car will automatically trigger one. If your light is green you will continue to pass through. If you hit a red signal your luggage and vehicle will be searched. Additionally if you look suspicious or a guard has the desire - you can be searched regardless of the light.
Customs Allowance into the US
US citizens are allowed to bring home from Mexico:
a) $800 US in purchases duty free. .
b) 200 cigarettes or 100 cigars or 2 kilos (4.4lbs) of tobacco
c) 1 liter of alcohol - wine or spirits
Customs Allowance into Canada
Canadian citizens are allowed to bring home:
a) after 24 hours $50 CAN in purchases duty free; after 48 hours - $300 CAN duty free; or after 7 days - $750 duty free.
b) 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 1 kilos of chewing tobacco
c) 1.5 liter of alcohol - wine or spirits
Don't forget to turn in your Car decal before leaving the country!