Road Trip to San Sebastian, Talpa de Allende, and Tequila

Safely back at the dock, we decided to plan a trip inland to see the differences in culture between the coast and the farm country here in Mexico.  Our good friends, Tom and Mary Ellen were brave enough to join us for the trek for three days.  First we hopped a bus to PV airport to get a rental car, a trusty Nissan.  Then, Leif bravely drove out into the busy streets and on to the highway towards San Sebastian.  The countryside became drier and elevation rose as we closed in on our first stop up in the pine trees.  San Sebastian is a small town previously known for silver mining and now as a tourist destination with a beautiful church and courtyard.  We walked around the cobble stone streets and found a great place for lunch, Comedor La Lupita, at which the tour buses also stopped.  We stuffed ourselves with typical Mexican fare, beans, rice, chicken mole, quesadilla, arracherra or something like that, and of course the obligatory Pacifico.  The town was small and we decided to drive on towards Talpa, which turned out to be having a celebration of one of the Saints in the Catholic church this week.  The town was the end of a trek made by thousands of Mexicans from their home towns to the church in Talpa.  After walking for often days on end, and sleeping alongside the roads, each group of pilgrims would parade through town with a mariachi band accompanying them to the church.  The bands would then double back and repeat with another arriving group.  It was very festive, and the music was really well played and excellent.  We stayed in a tidy hotel, run by a couple who were very friendly, offering us information and a shot of tequila.  The drive into this town was a bit of a trial, as the streets in the main area were all closed off, and the outskirt streets were one lane wide with walls and houses on each side, and cars parked everywhere.  Leif did a masterful job not hitting anything! 
   The next day, Tom and Mary Ellen did the pilgrim trek into town early while we were still sleeping.  We all met up for a quick bite to eat at a local restaurant, Tom ordered something that turned out to be some sort of meat that was indeterminable, and my egg appeared to be rubber, but, the pancakes were excellent and the coffee hot and tasty.  Off to Tequila! We drove through more pines and cactus towards the drop into the valley, where we passed a rooster ranch.  It was interesting to see the cement "A" frame huts for each bird.  Not sure if they were for fighting or breeding.  We headed through Moscota, a typical rural town filled with closed shops, restaurants and cowboys walking or riding along through town.  It was around noon, and many places are closed at this time for siesta.  We have found that the towns light up at night, and are very quiet during the day in most places.  As we were driving along this road, for miles and miles we saw pilgrims walking towards Talpa, or stopped at the many roadside stands put up for this pilgrimage.  It was amazing to see how far some had yet to travel.  As we neared Tequila, we were driving on the "Ruta de Tequila".  Sounded good to me, although I'm not a fan of tequila.  Arriving in town, we discovered we had a nail in one tire, so we were careful to park facing out and checked out where the local llanterias (tire repair) places were.  Incredibly there were many of them! :)  We parked near the Jose Cuervo distillery and walked into the town square, finding a very upscale hotel for $50.  After dropping off our packs, off to a tasting.  The Cuervo distillery was a good choice to tour, we were late in the day and the last tour.  Our tour included an explanation of how tequila is made, as well as several tastings of the stages of each process.  The first, 55 proof, was enough to take the skin off your throat, fortunately it was only a taste.  The tour ended with a three tier taste of 1800, clear, reposado and anejo.  Each was tasted with three different scents of the glass, starting at the bottom third, then the center, then the top.  It was interesting to smell the different flavors in each part of the glass.  I confess, tequila is still not to my liking, but the 1800 anejo wasn't bad, and very smooth.  I didn't run right out and buy any though. 
   After a great night's rest, we were off to Chacala, which is north of Banderas Bay along the coast.  It was a long drive through hills and finally jungle until we reached the sea, and our favorite, Pacifico cervezas and fish tacos.  We sat under a shaded palapa and enjoyed the peaceful view of beach, a lone sailboat anchored out and a few tourists quietly sipping cocktails.  Ahhh.  After a yummy lunch, we drove off to the real destination, Costco, in PV.  Down here, there is a huge amount of tuna in cans, however... it is dark meat mush in water, and not much in each can.  We have taken to calling it cat food.  At Costco however, there is delicious solid white meat tuna, and large cans even.  We bought a case, plus a case of chopped tomatoes and Pacifico beer.  It was a little piece of heaven, even though I love shopping at the tiendas and seeing their assortment of great local fare, which we also purchase.  Some things are just necessary on a long voyage when all the meat you can have is out of a can.  And, sorry, I don't like spam.
   We made it all the way round the local roads and out into the country and back again, and finally the police caught up with us!   Out of the blue, a policeman signaled us to pull over.  We were stunned, as Leif hadn't been speeding or switching lanes, in fact he'd been passed more often than not.  It was the typical scam, after threatening to keep his license, he asked for 500 pesos and gave Leif's license back.  This left a bad taste for the local police, but, it's the norm down here from what we hear.


Talpa de Allende



Agave "pineapples" ready for sale by size.

Driving the backroads of Talpa, don't plan on passing.



Pilgrims walk, goats ride!





Leif, Tom and Mary Ellen outsid our hotel in Tequila.



One group of pilgrims at the end of their journey, waiting to enter the Church.

   Ah, home to the little barco and our own bed, as stiff as it is.  Now we are waiting for a weather window and some fuel filters before heading north towards Matanchan Bay and Mazatlan.  On a side note, there were some local student dancers last night at the open air theatre doing the traditional Mexican dances in elaborate costumes.  They were great to see and very talented.