Our final stop on the cruise was Puerto Vallarta. A town of 144,000 in the state of Jalisco, it was once a busy little village of industries such as mining and fishing. That all changed in the early 1960s when the film crew and cast of “Night of the Iguana” showed up. Then everybody started arriving to the point where more than 50% of this place exists entirely because of tourism. Puerto Vallarta was the only place we visited where there was a lot of obvious building of high rises going on.As in Mazatlan the day before, we opted for a tour of old town Puerto Vallarta. Only this tour would end with a bonus, as we would head to a tequila factory outside of town to learn how the lethal concoction is made and to try a few samples.
As the bus was leaving “new” Puerto Vallarta bound for the older boardwalk area we noticed that there was a Wal-Mart and a Home Depot. Just when you think you’ve gotten away from it, there it is. The first thing we noticed about the boardwalk along the beach is that it was lined with beautiful al fresco sculptures called the Malecon.
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One of the many beautiful sculptures in old P.V.
Further down the beach we were able to watch a ritualistic event performed by an Indian group called Danza de los Voladores de Papantla (Dance of Papantla's flyers). It takes place atop a very high pole and you would not catch BowlingJoe up there without a harness, a parachute and a very large trampoline below.After a tour through the main cathedral and plaza of the town (Our Lady of Guadalupe in El Centro, with a fairly new construction completion date of 1951) it was time to head out to the country, specifically to a hacienda, where we would be greeting by the friendly employees of the Dona Engracia tequila factory.
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Papantla's Flyers of Puerto Vallarta
The state of Jalisco is a hotbed of tequila makers. We were told there are 81 in the state, far more than the rest of Mexico combined. Most are small operations, often with a taco stand and cantina also on the grounds, such as this one.
Tequila is made from blue agave plants. The leaves are useless and it’s the pineapple-like (in shape and texture but not flavor) sweet root that resides under the ground that’s coveted. The agave is crushed, cooked and placed in fermentation tanks for the distilling process along with the closely guarded yeast recipe. After that point it becomes blanco (white) tequila, which is essentially unaged, bottled and sold. Other types of tequila are those that are aged in oak barrels exactly as distilleries in the United States do. This is what gives the product its golden-brown color. Tequilas aged in barrels from three months to a year are called reposado (rested), while those stored for over a year are known as anejo (vintage). There are lots of other variations; too many to get into now.
The state of Jalisco is a hotbed of tequila makers. We were told there are 81 in the state, far more than the rest of Mexico combined. Most are small operations, often with a taco stand and cantina also on the grounds, such as this one.Tequila is made from blue agave plants. The leaves are useless and it’s the pineapple-like (in shape and texture but not flavor) sweet root that resides under the ground that’s coveted. The agave is crushed, cooked and placed in fermentation tanks for the distilling process along with the closely guarded yeast recipe. After that point it becomes blanco (white) tequila, which is essentially unaged, bottled and sold. Other types of tequila are those that are aged in oak barrels exactly as distilleries in the United States do. This is what gives the product its golden-brown color. Tequilas aged in barrels from three months to a year are called reposado (rested), while those stored for over a year are known as anejo (vintage). There are lots of other variations; too many to get into now.
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Part of the process of creating tequila
After the tour we settled down for a fantastic taco lunch featuring tortillas that were made in front of us and left the place with two bottles of the finest tequila in all of Jalisco: one blanco and one anejo. We’re not true tequila drinkers so we figure it’ll last us through two years or so of special occasions.
The trip back to the ship allowed us some time to catch a glimpse of rural Mexico. As one might imagine, these are people who are literally just scraping by. I’m not sure to what extent the Mexican government assists, but nearly every place we drove past on the country road had a sign out in an effort to sell food, jewelry, produce….whatever. They live a much different life than most of us back in the states, but that’s all most of them have ever known. And at the end of the day, like us, they simply want to provide for their families as best they can.
After the tour we settled down for a fantastic taco lunch featuring tortillas that were made in front of us and left the place with two bottles of the finest tequila in all of Jalisco: one blanco and one anejo. We’re not true tequila drinkers so we figure it’ll last us through two years or so of special occasions.The trip back to the ship allowed us some time to catch a glimpse of rural Mexico. As one might imagine, these are people who are literally just scraping by. I’m not sure to what extent the Mexican government assists, but nearly every place we drove past on the country road had a sign out in an effort to sell food, jewelry, produce….whatever. They live a much different life than most of us back in the states, but that’s all most of them have ever known. And at the end of the day, like us, they simply want to provide for their families as best they can.
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A typical street in rural Jalisco
This wraps up the ports o’ call. Next is the final chapter on the overall cruising experience to Mexico on The Vision of the Seas.
Did you get to meet Jose Cuervo? Is he as wonderful as Mr. Dan and Ms. West have led us to believe?
ReplyDeleteI only get half-credit for deciphering your remarks, Joe. The "Hey Nineteen" reference was right in my wheelhouse. But it was an internet-enhanced response to learn that Shelly West (daughter of Dottie West) had a hit called "Jose Cuervo" in 1983.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're on this theme, a Canadian singer had a hit with a song called "Black Velvet" in the late 80's. Do you know the answer, sans search engine? Anyone?
BowlingJoe
I think that would be Alannah Miles, but I don't remember if hers was the first or one of many covers. I think she's Canadian. I worked in a record store when the song was popular, and I'd swear every third person through the door wanted a copy.
ReplyDeleteLast night my son & I watched the bonus disc that comes with the Library copy of Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer. It's a whole disc of vaudeville entertainers, and one of the songs performed was an old favorite of my son, as performed by Sharon, Lois and Bram on the (Canadian) Elephant Show -- it's their theme song (something like "Skinnamarink") -- so we're checking to see if they copyrighted the song as their own so we can sue and live off the millions.
David, our resident lexicon of recorded music, is absolutely right.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I'd never heard of "The Elephant Show" so I pulled a quick Wikipedia on it. Apparently this kids' show had its run a bit too early for us to get in on it, from 1984-1988. Our son, Muffinheadedboy, was born in 1987. This of course, means that BowlingWidow and I are authorities on such Nickelodeon series' as "Clarissa Explains It All" and "All That".
In the meantime, best of luck with your lawsuit, David. We're in your corner.
Joe
In other music news, I'm sure you noted the recent passing of Davey Graham, the guitarist who was provided the foundation for the British folk music scene in the '60s. (He influenced Bert Jansch, John Martyn, Jimmy Page, etc, etc.) There's a book in the Sno-Isle system called "Guitar Man" by Will Hodgkinson that I recommend. Will decides to interview famous guitarists to pick up tips, and his Davey Graham chapter is sad and hilarious at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll check out that book. I did hear about Davey Graham although I know little of his music. Someone on the Al Stewart Yahoo list mentioned his death and that he and Al go way back to the Les Cousins days in London.
ReplyDelete