puerto vallarta & back to the nature
Dates: February 25, 2023 - March 23, 2023
Distance: 290 mi / 467 km
Route: Etzatlán > Puerto Vallarta > Mascota > La Primavera > San Joaquín > Santuario de la Mariposa
A strong love for the outdoors is what drives many people into overland travel. Living closely with the land, exploring quiet and remote places, and approaching life with a slower pace are a few of the big reasons why we choose to live this way. But lately, we find ourselves spending most of our days in towns and cities.
With the allure of delicious food, rich culture, and secured campgrounds, it’s hard to stay away from the cities of Mexico. Not only do we often feel safer in an established campground, rather than out in the middle of nowhere, but there’s also just so much more to do (and eat) in these places.
Waiting on our meal of incredibly delicious tacos al pastor from our favorite food truck style restaurant in all of Puerto Vallarta: Ta’ Carbón
We spent a whopping eighteen days in an RV park in Puerto Vallarta, the longest we’ve ever camped in one place. By the end of our stay, we were more than ready to retreat back into nature to what would soon become some of our favorite campsites in interior Mexico.
Puerto Vallarta: Scooting around town
Puerto Vallarta is a booming tourist town set on the Pacific Coast of Mexico in the state of Jalisco. It is home to many immigrants from Canada, the U.S., and various European countries, who collectively raise the cost of living and drive out local Mexicans. It’s basically gentrification and economic displacement on an international scale. But problematic issues aside, it’s a beautiful place with lots to offer any wide-eyed visitor.
Note: We’ve never actually heard of Americans, Canadians, or Europeans retiring in Mexico being referred to as ‘immigrants’ and we find it very strange, because that’s what they are. For some reason (perhaps the fact that they’re relatively wealthy or that they’re moving to a foreign country for leisure rather than out of necessity), they’re usually called “expats” or their entire identities simply aren’t delineated to a single word like immigrant. Very interesting.
Our home for the 18 days we spent in Puerto Vallarta.
Surprisingly, the walls of our RV park contained a microcosm of French-Canada. The signs posted around the park were written in French and rarely accompanied by English, or even Spanish. All of our neighbors spoke the fascinating dialect of Québécois French, and occasionally in the evenings, we would sometimes hear a chorus of French singing in a distant corner of the RV park.
Since we knew we were going to be hanging around PV for a while, we decided to rent a scooter so we could get around town more easily. It was a huge help for running errands, going out to eat, and exploring the town. We really miss having our motorcycle with us, but being able to rent bikes and scooters in different places will help make up for its absence.
One day we hopped on the scooter and drove it twenty-five minutes all the way to the opposite side of the town, known as the Romantic Zone. Mike cut his way through the traffic, splitting lanes and zooming to the front of lines at traffic lights. As we entered this older part of town, the roads became narrower, the buildings older, and we bounced along on the cobblestone surface of the streets.
We navigated to Art VallARTa, an art studio which boasts a gallery of works and also offers reasonably priced art classes. I had twisted Mike’s arm into joining me for a beginner’s acrylic painting class.
Not realizing there was an elevator, we slowly climbed the multiple flights of stairs, with many little breaks along the way. Finally, with my heart racing and breath labored, we made it to the top floor which opened into a well-lit room with paintings adorning the walls, splattered paint everywhere, and massive windows letting in all the natural light.
Two other women were in the process of working on their own paintings with guidance from the teacher. We took our seats at the table and decided on a photo from our Instagram to attempt to paint. We soon fell into the rhythm of waiting for instructions from the teacher, doing our best to heed them with our paintbrushes on our canvases, and then waiting again for the next set of instructions.
We made conversation with the women who sat with us at the table. One of them in particular reminded us of Mike’s Aunt Ruth, who we could easily imagine sitting in this class and toiling away over an impressive piece of art that she’s been working on for weeks. By comparison, our own paintings were much more rudimentary, but we had a lot of fun in the process.
Apart from scooting around town and art classes, we spent a lot of time just hanging out in the RV park. I spent a few days enjoying laying out in the sun by the pool, only to realize later that doing so was too much strain on my body. So back to bed rest I went, in the shade and AC of the camper.
Puerto Vallarta: friends & food
We ended up staying in Puerto Vallarta for so long because we were waiting to meet up with our friends Brina and Terri (aka Bucci, her last name) who were coming to PV for a yoga retreat. Coincidentally, we were also marking our ten year anniversary of friendship between the three of us. Brina and I became friends back in college through a study abroad class whose professor was none other than our now-friend, Dr. Bucci.
Bucci (left) and Brina (right).
The two and a half days we spent with them went by quickly, but they were soul-nourishing. The amount of laughter that erupts when we’re with these people is astonishing. We laughed, we talked, we played fibbage (which led to a lot more laughing), and coolest of all, we went on an accessible food tour of Puerto Vallarta.
Vallarta Food Tours is known for their walking tours, but they also provide driving tours on select days. When we realized there weren’t any driving tours available on the only day we could do the food tour, we reached out to them and they were more than happy to accommodate our group with a private driving tour on the day we wanted (at no additional cost).
To put it simply, the food tour was incredible. We were all surprised by how much we enjoyed the experience and how much we learned about the hodgepodge that is Mexican culture.
In the U.S., most of us realize that American culture is a patch-work quilt of various influences from all over the world–a land of immigrants. Previously, when I’ve thought of Mexico, I’ve generally thought of it as one homogenous culture, in contrast from the U.S., without much external influence (apart from the Spaniards, of course). But our time in Mexico has taught us that this perspective could not be further from the truth.
Our lovely guide, Miel, in the middle.
Food is inextricably tied with culture. And on this food tour, our delightful guide, Miel, explained how there isn’t really any truly Mexican food nowadays. Here are a few ways that Mexican cuisine has been influenced by the rest of the world, according to Vallarta Food Tours:
Some spices and herbs that are heavily used in Mexican food originally came from India and China. (I can’t recall the specific spices and herbs, and other online sources aren’t very clear.)
The meat used in various dishes (lamb, beef, pork, chicken) were not native to Mexico; they were brought over on boats from Europe. Prior to Spanish colonization, indigenous people often used lizards, iguanas, and insects for protein out of necessity. Indigenous foods are usually served today with toasted insects, but they still usually feature types of meat that were a later addition to the Mexican palet.
Flour tortillas are rumored to have initially been created by Jewish Spaniards living in northern Mexico under persecution. We were told that in order to continue eating their traditional Challah bread without attracting negative attention, they flattened their bread to resemble a tortilla, creating the first flour tortillas.
Similarly, fish tacos wouldn’t exist as they do today without the influence of Japanese immigrants who used tempura to bread their fish in the Mexican markets. This inspired the now-famous breaded fish tacos that are extremely popular in Baja.
With our minds widened and our taste buds dazzled, we drove all over Puerto Vallarta sampling delicious food. By the end of the tour, our bellies were bursting at the seams, but we still managed to make room for Oaxacan ice cream and street churros. They were both well worth the cost of the resulting pain.
On the morning of Brina and Bucci’s flight back to California, we met up for breakfast tamales and ginger-flavored coffee from Cafe Es Todo (Mike’s favorite in PV). When it was time to say goodbye, I held them both tight, we exchanged “I love yous,” and then Mike and I hopped on the scooter and rode off.
Back to the Nature
With Brina and Bucci heading back to the states, there was nothing holding us back in Puerto Vallarta any longer. We hit the road, in search of a break from the bustling traffic and crowds of tourists.
Views on the drive out of Puerto Vallarta.
We pulled off the highway just past the town of Mascota and continued down a dirt road. We climbed in elevation as we passed through fire-scorched trees until finally reaching newly constructed cabins and an oficina.
Mike paid for a night of camping and the woman in the office directed us to the camping area, which was completely empty. We parked on a patch of red dirt in a clearing from the trees near the newly built bathroom building and pavilion.
Happy to be outside in the woods.
We sat outside in the fresh mountain air, talked about the posted warning signs of pumas, which apparently is just a different name for mountain lions, and watched Granger bound around camp sniffing all the things, happy to be off-leash again.
We quickly decided we needed more of this kind of camping over the next few days, so the next morning we headed to the Bosque de la Primavera northwest of Guadalajara.
Note: Bosque means forest in English.
Once again, we were the only campers in this large, wooded campground. For two days we didn’t do much of anything–we just enjoyed being in the woods and hanging out outside in the quiet space.
Migrating Monarch Butterflies
Every winter, North American monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains travel thousands of miles to their wintering spot in the mountains of central Mexico. During these winter months, you can hike through literal clouds of butterflies in the Santuario de la Mariposa Monarca.
(Long) note: According to the Monarch Joint Venture: Unlike summer generations that live for two to six weeks as adults, adults in the migratory generation can live for up to nine months. Most monarch butterflies that emerge after about mid August in the eastern U.S. enter reproductive diapause (do not reproduce) and begin to migrate south in search of the overwintering grounds where they have never been before. From across the eastern U.S. and southern Canada, monarchs funnel toward Mexico. In March, this generation begins the journey north into Texas and southern states, laying eggs and nectaring as they migrate and breed. The first generation offspring from the overwintering population continue the journey from the southern U.S. to recolonize the eastern breeding grounds, migrating north through the central latitudes in approximately late April through May. Second and third generations populate the breeding grounds throughout the summer. It is generally the fourth generation that begins where we started this paragraph, migrating through the central and southern U.S. and northern Mexico to the wintering sites in central Mexico. Learn more here.
We didn’t realize this was a thing, otherwise we would have planned our timing better to visit the sanctuary at peak butterfly time. It was already mid-March and we feared that all of the butterflies would be gone, making their way back north. Even so, it was worth a try. Maybe there would still be some procrastinators hanging around, and if not, it seemed like a nice place to camp either way.
Our campsite near the butterfly sanctuary.
The Santuario de la Mariposa Monarca is located on the eastern border of Michoacán. We traversed the state from west to east, and the closer we got to the sanctuary, the higher we climbed in elevation. Soon, the usual collection of deciduous trees and undergrowth gave way to our dear friends, the evergreens, and the air became crisp. For a moment, it felt as though we were back in the Pacific Northwest.
We pulled into the large clearing marked on iOverlander and found a semi-flat spot to post up for the night. Down the hill behind some shrubs was another camper in a Land Rover, mostly hidden from view.
Aerial view of our campsite in the morning with a touch of frost.
Granger was ecstatic for the wide open space and the smattering of tasty little treats on the ground, also known as animal droppings. Apparently this clearing was used for livestock grazing, and we had a heck of a time trying to keep her from eating all the tiny little gifts the lambs and sheep left behind.
We stayed in this spot for several days enjoying the fresh mountain air and cooler temperatures. The sun was warm during the day, but once it set, we donned our beanies for the first time since Alaska and bundled up in sweatshirts and vests. This is the kind of weather that we both love–cool and crispy.
These little things are called Axolotls. They are native to central Mexico and unique in terms of amphibians as they remain underwater their entire lives, rather than going through metamorphosis and migrating to land when they reach adulthood. They are incredibly rare in the wild with an estimated 50 to 1,000 adult individuals as of 2020, and we had the pleasure of camping right by them. Interestingly, these creatures are also widely known in pop culture with characters created after them in Minecraft and Pokemon.
Hike to the Butterflies & Sad Goodbyes
Since dogs aren’t allowed in the sanctuary and I’m in no condition to hike, Mike ventured off to see the butterflies on his own. He politely declined the help of a hired guide at the entrance to the sanctuary, a decision he somewhat regretted a little while later when he realized he was a bit lost.
Soon, he found his way back on the right trail and followed it all the way to the butterflies. It was the most butterflies he’s ever seen in one place, but nowhere near the numbers we’ve seen in other people’s videos during the peak months.
His six mile hike, complete with incredible mountain views and these miraculous little creatures, was beautiful and peaceful. He enjoyed himself but admitted it was a tad lonely without Granger or me with him. I’m glad the butterflies at least were there to keep him company.
Our stay in the Sierra Madre Mountains of central Mexico was exactly what we needed after spending three weeks in the business of Puerto Vallarta. The clean air, sunshine and trees breathed their life back into us and recharged our batteries. We even had time to film our One Year Review of the Bowen Customs Camper Bed.
Showing off all the gear we can fit into our Bowen Customs camper bed for the video we filmed. Gear stored in the passenger side not shown in this photo.
As we drove away from this beautiful place and back down the gravel road towards the park's exit, our new friend, a local dog, followed us out. He had joined us for our last two days in this area and quickly worked his way into our hearts. He had a gentle sweetness about him. He was much calmer than Granger but they played wonderfully together. He gave Walker a respectful distance, yet he insisted on climbing into me and Mike’s laps whenever he got the chance.
He was absolutely precious, and I was worried he didn’t have anyone looking out for him. So as he followed us back towards the road, my tears flowed uncontrollably. At one point, Mike lied and told me he stopped following us to help lessen the feeling that we were abandoning this sweet boy to fend for himself. But as we reached the exit of the park, Mike watched as he peeled off of our trail and went up to a man outside who greeted him warmly.
We later learned from other folks who have camped in the same area that they knew our friend too. His name was Vino, and he was well-known and cared for by the local people. This made sense–he looked too healthy to us to be destitute, and he was way too lovable to be without some of it in his life.
If you ever find yourself in this wonderful part of Mexico, be sure to say hello to Vino for us.
Just hanging out like we’ve always been friends.
