Mexico - Tequila and Bucerías

Today I'm moving.

Morelia, in the state of Michoacán, has been very welcoming, but it's time to continue my discovery of Mexico. So I'm heading west toward the Pacific Ocean.

State of Jalisco

The road to Bucerías, a small town near Puerto Vallarta, is beautiful and mountainous. We go up and down... my ears pop and pop and... I discover new landscapes.

Candle cactus. Mexico is considered the "hotspot" for cacti. It is home to the largest number of species.

Tequila

All around me, on the mountainside, there are a multitude of agave plants. This plant, which is part of the same family as asparagus, produces agave syrup, sisal, and, of course, tequila.

credit: Internet

Suddenly, I understand why there are so many blue agave plants. I'm in the state of Jalisco, but more precisely, near the city of Tequila. This is the city where the national drink originates. The importance of the blue agave plant is such that more than 34,000 hectares have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO to protect the region's plantations.

Tequila, which I thought was invented by the Mexicans, was actually created by the Spanish in the 1600s. They were looking for a stronger spirit than the "pulque" drunk by the natives. So they introduced distillation, which they had learned from the Arabs, who in turn had learned it from the Greeks.

How many tequilas does it take to get drunk?

Just one, but... I don't remember if it was the tenth or the eleventh.

State of Nayarit

I continue my journey through the state of Nayarit, where my destination, Bucerías, is located.

In the mountains, there are "animal crossings" above the highway so that wildlife can roam safely.

The state of Nayarit has a very rich fauna and no effort is spared to protect it. There is everything from iguanas, lizards, coatis, deer, scorpions, coyotes, jaguars, pumas, crocodiles and even rattlesnakes.

To respect the environment as much as possible, tunnels were also built, such as the Guamuchil Tunnel, which is 1,080 meters long and crosses the hills of the Sierra de Vallejo. I must admit that I found it a little embarrassing for the Louis-Hyppolite La Fontaine Tunnel, situated in Montreal, which looks like a homeless place, compared to the tunnels I am going through here.

Bucerías is located in Banderas Bay, a magical place that welcomes humpback whales from Alaska, British Columbia, and California, which swim here to breed and give birth in the warm, sheltered waters.

credit: nationalgeographic.fr

It's been a long road, so for my first evening, I treat myself to a meal at a restaurant overlooking the sea and accompanied by Mayan dancing. What more could I ask for in life?