Tonila Jalisco

Tonila is located on the old highway 54 just off the new carretera 54D and is only a few kilometers from the Colima border. It's a pretty little town, easy to get to and great views of the Colima volcano. Although most of the outflow of the volcano is coming off the other side of the mountain lately, Tonila often gets it's share of ash when the wind is right/wrong.

The old highway winds along the base of the mountain with a number of small towns between Tonila and Colima City. Heading into Jalisco from there you can take the slow but beautiful drive through the valley towards Tuxpan which is at the edge of the plateau.

Tonila Plaza

View of the volcano

Restaurant Pinar de Chayán just off the highway

Charreada in Tlajomulco de Zuniga

The charreada is the original rodeo developed in Mexico based on the working practies of charros or working hands. The modern events were developed after the Mexican Revolution when charro traditions were slowly disappearing. A charreada consists of nine events for men and one for women. Jalisco is the home of the Charreada

A friend got some free tickets for last Sunday, the usual charreada day starting around noon. This was a smaller competition compared to the large arenas in large towns but these guys may well compete elsewhere. Tlajomulco de Zuniga is southeast of Guadalajara in a valley north of Lake Chapala.

Made a good afternoon but I think this is a once a year activity for me

Team lineup

Horse got away





Link to web page with more fotos

Tapalpa Jalisco

Tapalpa is located in the Sierra de Tapalpa, which is part of the Sierra Madre, at around 6,700 feet. The nearest airport is Guadalajara, 1 1/2 hours to the north. Coming from Guadalajara one takes the toll-road to Colima toward the Pacific Coast and takes the Tapalpa exit. The Pacific Coast (Tecoman) is about 2 hours from Tapalpa.

Pine forests and large open valleys with pastures dominate the area. Main industries are lumber and agriculture and tourism that is mostly geared toward people from Guadalajara coming up to the mountains to escape the heat and pollution of the City.

Tapalpa has been chosen “Pueblo Magico” by a nationwide government program that promotes typical Mexican towns and helps with funding the upkeep of the town and with restoration projects.

Lots of people comment on how attractive Mazamitla is but Tapalpa is more roomy, still very Colonial and up in the pine forest. We weren't able to find the surrounding tourist sites so we headed south on a very nice road that soon turned to difficult dirt. Not wanting to back track we pushed on for 30 kilometers or so until we came into the agricultural town of San Gabriel (Venustiano Carranza).

Looking across town

Part of the town Plaza

If you like bricks

Las Piedrotas that we never found

Los Guachimontones

Los Guachimontones

One of the most spectacular archeological sites in the state of Jalisco is located close to the small town Teuchitlán and is named Los Guachimontones. The region is part of the World Heritage Site, listed by the Unesco, mainly around the municipality of Tequila due to its agave landscape and ancient industrial facilities related to the Tequila production. Los Guachimontones is an archeological site which was populated in pre-Columbian times. Featuring several shaft tombs , two ball courts and about 10 circular complexes together with 5 plazas. Most interesting are the circular stepped pyramids, which are unique among all known Mesoamerican pyramids. Archeologists have several theories about the origin and the usage of these pyramids, but most is still unknown. The culture, who build the Los Guachimontones actually is named Teuchitlan tradition.

Puerto Vallarta's History

During the first part of the 1800s, at the mouth of the Cuale River—then inhabited primarily by crocodiles—there were practically no human dwellers. Between the rugged sierra, the ocean and the powerful Ameca river, this beautiful piece of Mexican geography remained isolated from the rest of the world. The hubs of economic activity were up in the mountains, in the towns of Cuale, San Sebastián and Mascota, where silver mines abounded but where salt, an essential element for processing the metal, was not to be found.

In 1851 Guadalupe Sánchez, a boatman from Cihuatlán who used to bring salt from San Blas or the Marías islands to Los Muertos beach, became weary of waiting for the muleteers to come and pick up the load. Sometimes it would take them days to reach this solitary spot. As he was still a young man of 19 and had just married, Guadalupe saw it fit to establish himself in this beautiful place he would call Las Peñas. This, in a few words, could very well be the story of the founding of what we now know as Puerto Vallarta.

At the bottom of the page is a link to more Vallarta history than you may want to know

Beach Plaza on Playa los Muertos 1950's

Areal view of Vallarta in the 1950's

Vallarta Malecon in the 1950's

Virtual Vallarta Article