Jorge’s Hideaway and Shrimp Shack is a Vallarta Favorite Serving Unique Seafood Dishes. I Interview Jorge Tovar, the Owner.
Also a Visit to The Saturday Olas Altas Market
An Interview with the SPCA Puerto Vallarta
An Interview with the folks from Pasitos de Luz, Puerto Vallarta
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Hello fellow travelers, welcome this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel show. I am your host Barry Kessler and I am just so happy to be introducing you to my favorite vacation destination, and maybe even yours, Puerto Vallarta Mexico.
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That music you were just listening to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. Those are La Palapa, Puerto Vallarta’s Oldest Restaurant on the famous Los Muertos Beach, and The El Dorado Restaurant and Beach Club right next door so you can enjoy that fantastic view of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at night in beautiful colors, or during the day in its grand splendor for breakfast, lunch or dinner, seated with our toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
This week I am going to a couple of places, one is the Saturday Market known as the Olas Altas Market in Lazaro Cardenas Park. Parque de los Azulejos. Then I take you to one of my favorite restaurants in Puerto Vallarta and introduce you to Jorge Tovar at Jorge’s Hideaway and Shrimp Shack, but before all of that, let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 14 of March 2019…
Dama Juana Festival de Raicilla
This weekend Mar 15, 16 & 17 you can’t miss the Raicilla festival Dama Juana on Cuale Island in Puerto Vallarta. Come to the 3rd edition of the festival and learn more about all the craft processes that hide
behind this spirit and that make it a 100% organic product. Get closer to the culture and traditions from Jalisco and taste this Mexican spirit. Dama Juana,The most representative cultural festival of Puerto Vallarta and Bahia Banderas. Did you know that there are different types of raicilla according to their
place of origin? Venture into the wonderful world of distillates and try Hacienda El Divisadero, from the area of Cabo Corrientes, one of the main producing municipalities. A wide variety of Raicilla producers,
creating creative delicious drinks from raicilla. Humm, that should be interesting. What does Dama Juana mean anyway? Oh I know, dam I wan another raicilla dude! Now… Oh, and be careful if you plan to use the suspension bridges on the way home. They’ll have live music shows, mariachi, ballet and delicious
food ceviche, presented by local restaurants. Entrance is free to all activities Mar 15, 16 & 17 at Instituto Vallartense de Cultura, el la isla de Cuale, Cuale Island. Sounds like a lot of fun so if you are in town this weekend, pick a day, Friday, Saturday or Sunday and get to Cuale Island and get plastered. I have all the info in the show notes at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com.
Spring Break in Puerto Vallarta and Sewage
It’s Spring Break time and just in time for that, there was a ruptured sewage pipe in Colonia Mojoneras, located just south east of the airport, causing a sewage spill into the Rio Ameca. And that was followed by an announcement from the Mayor Davalos, that there was a possibility that some beaches would need to be closed, to ensure the safety of visitors, and it seems that beaches near the mouth of the Ameca have been closed to swimmers as a precaution until things clear up. Let’s read from the Mazatlan Post, because they might tell you the whole story…if you know what I mean…
Source: Milenio
The Mazatlan Post
The rupture of a sewage collector contaminated the beaches, for which the Secretary of Health of Jalisco asked not to use the beaches or consume shellfish or raw fish.
Authorities decreed sanitary and environmental warning in the municipality of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco , after the rupture of the Central-North collector, which affected the protected natural area of the El Salado estuary and the beaches from Marina Vallarta to the Pitillal River.
The pipe of the collector system broke last Sunday in the colony Las Mojoneras, near the Port Convention Center.
The Secretary of Health of the State of Jalisco, Fernando Petersen Aranguren, suggested not using the beaches and called for tourists and residents not to consume raw seafood and fish, as it is contaminated.
“If there are bacteria. We do not recommend the use of the beach from a health point of view. The civil authority is the only one that has the capacity to make the decision to close it or not “to the public,” he said.
He informed that according to the Secretariat of Integrated Water Management, there is no black water leakage, but evaporation remains. The recovery and rehabilitation works could be extended for several weeks.
“It was an important quantity that drained over the estuary and has already reached the sea,” said Aranguren.
He admitted that on the eve of the Easter and Easter holidays , it is important that people know that there are health problems in that area at the moment.
The SEAPAL Puerto Vallarta Water and Sewer Services continues to repair the collector.
“Work is underway on the construction of specific pieces that will be installed to reinforce the structure of the 48-inch tube,” the agency said.
Petersen Aranguren indicated that through the Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks of the State (COPRISJAL) they take samples every day.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Puerto Vallarta, Arturo Dávalos , explained that in the area of affectation there is presence of elements of Civil Protection to inform citizens and visitors about the contingency and the importance of attending recommendations. “It seeks to prevent possible damage to health,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Trust for the Protection of Estero El Salado, said that they are already placed airadores that inject oxygen into the estuary, in order to conserve the life of the living organisms that live there. For now, discarded dead fish and crocodiles.
On the other hand, the secretary of Tourism of the State, Germán Ralis Cumplido , said that the affectation did not reach the beaches when the stream El Salado empties into the sea and precisely at the height of Marina Vallarta.
“I’m not minimizing it. The technical information that I have so far from the Ministry of Environment is that corrective actions have been taken on the issue of containment of pollutants, “justified Ralis.
The beaches are monitored every hour, after the problem so that there is no greater damage.
“With the samples we will know when the water will once again be clean of bacteria,” Petersen said.
I have a link to the article in the show-notes if you want to see more.
Now as of a couple days ago, the broken pipe has been replaced, but there s still lots of clean-up ahead.
Letter from a Listener: Tuba and Casinos in Vallarta
I got an email from listener Adrian and it reads…
Hi Barry!
Thanks for putting out a great show. My wife refers to you as the late great Huell Howser of PV. Can you tell me about the drink Tuba? And what you think about the casinos in the PV area. My wife and I work for the airlines and travel to PV often.
Thank you,
Adrian B
Thanks for listening Adrian and those are very good questions.
What is the Drink, Tuba?
What is Tuba? No, it’s not a big brass instrument but rather a drink, served by gentlemen around town in Vallarta. You will see them on the Malecon, on the area just north of the arches and the ampatheatre. You will see them with these large gourd things, and a lot of times you will see them with spare tuba in other containers, waiting to fill up the gourd thingy.
I was surprised at the information about this drink, and it’s origins and the different takes on the drink all around the world where the coco palm trees grow.
Tuba, as it is called in Spanish, is a drink that is made from the sap of the coconut palm. In Mexico, tuba is mostly linked to the area around Colima, south of Puerto Vallarta. Men, called tuberos, climb the coconut palms to collect the sap twice a day. A combination of the harvested sap, coconut milk, ice, and sugar make up the drink.
While tuba selling may go back generations, the drink was not native to Mexico. In the 16th century, Spanish galleons that carried spices silk and other trade goods also carried this species of palm from which tuba is made.
Filippino sailors not only brought the coconut palm with them, but their knowledge and know-how of making tuba, a popular drink in their native land. The seeds of cultural crossover between Mexico and the Philippines stem from this time and the area around Colima proved a prime growing area.
Tuba is known in many other parts of the world, including India, Africa and Southeast Asia. It has many different names. In Nigeria it is called emu, in southern India, kallu, in Sumatra, tuak, and the Philippines and Borneo, share its Spanish name, tuba. In its alcoholic form, for which it is mostly known in other parts of the world, it is called palm wine, or toddy. Tuba, in Mexico, is usually consumed as a non-alcoholic drink.
And of course I have a link to the article in the show-notes.
https://www.vallartatoday.com/talking-tuba
And in Puerto Vallarta, the Tuba man will have plastic cups that he will pour in some cut up apples, some walnuts or pecans or peanuts, and he will pour in his special mixture of tuba. The sap of the coco palm mixed with that coconut milk, some sugar, and whatever the tuba man likes to add to bis brew.
It’s very good. And now you know all you need to know about Tuba and more except, is it good for you?
Aqua de tuba has been said to traditionally clean the kidneys and help prevent urinary tract problems. It is also reported to kill amoebas in the stomach.
Some Good Effects of Neera. It is wholesome, cool & good for improving the health. Supplement for iron & vitamin deficiency. Clinical studies indicate medical applications for-asthma, tuberculosis, bronchial suffocation & piles. Believed to facilate clear urination and prevent jaundice. High amount of glutamic acid which is the amino acid used by the body to build proteins. High in inositol which beneficial for the treatment of eye abnormalities, eczema etc.
I watched a video of the tuberos climbing coconut palm trees and harvesting the sap. They climb up suing their hands and feet like monkeys, and they get to the top and they have already cut away the blooms from the stalk that grows out of the palm, kind of a reproductive thing, I’ll try not to get too excited here, and on this stalk where they cut off the flowers they attach a plastic gallon jug thing on the end, attached with string to the palm fronds above this stalk, and then they scurry back down from the palm tree. Twelve hours later, back they go with another empty jug, climbing like monkeys to the tops of these tall palm trees, and then they remove the plastic jug which now has that palm sap, they re-cut the stalk about a half inch from then end, and attach the next jug with the string, and take down the coconut sap. They have groves of these palm trees, descendants of the saplings brought over 400 years earlier from the Philippines.
I embedded a video in the shownotes of the entire process so check it out.
What are Casinos in Puerto Vallarta Like?
Okay now as far as the casinos in Vallarta, there are three of them. There are others in Nuevo Vallarta, but in Vallarta, Jalisco, there are currently three. The Crown Casino across from the Hotel Zone in Plaza Caracol , one across the street from the Marina Terminal called Casino Vallarta and the third is the one at the end of the Malecon, across from McDonald’s called The WinClub.
I don’t gamble so I have never ventured into the casinos in Vallarta but they have slots, they have black jack and poker tables, roulette, Keno, just not big and fancy like Vegas or something.
I reached out to my buddy David Ostlund from Chef’s Pass Food Tours, who I know has done the gamble in Vallarta and here’s what he said….
“I’ve gone to the WinClub Casino on the north end of the Malecona dozen times. Except for the last time, I had always won. The rules are looser than in the states, and the dealers screw up a lot. For example, the screw up counting, a lot. So when they screw up in favor of the players, the players never call them on it. But when they screw up in favor of the house, the players call them on it and call it a false game.”
“So, the odds on Blackjack are 51% in favor of the player if played exactly by the rules, but if the dealer messes up one out of seven hands, the odds tilt in the favor of the player even more.”
He says the first time he went there he played only the slots and he kept winning and winning. He thought he had won hundreds of dollars until he realized it was in pesos, so like $20 or $50. Ha!
He pointed out the last time he was there and lost, he decided to only bet the roulette wheel. He bet 500 pesos on red, odd, seven consecutive times and what do you know, seven times I a row it came up black even. Hummm.
Anyway, he pointed out that the clients in the casino are cheap. He plays 500 peso hands which adds up to $25 US, and everybody thinks he’s a high roller and he’s just playing the Vegas Minimum. He believes there is a maximum bet of 2,000 pesos, about $100 US. He says they use 6 deck card shoots so it’s easy to count cards if you are into that sort of thing.
So, there you have it, the scoop on Tuba and Casinos in Puerto Vallarta. Ask and you shall receive.
Okay, let’s get to the interviews.
The Saturday Olas Altas Market in Puerto Vallarta
If you are on the south-side of Puerto Vallarta on a Saturday morning, you can’t miss a wonderful market,
located right smack dab in the Parque de Los Azulejos, Lazaro Cardenas Park or Tile Park, there, I said all three.
The place is always packed with shoppers who are locals, part time residents, known as snowbirds and tourists. There are lots of the same exhibitors as you will find at the Thursday Marina Market, the La
Cruz market, you know, the market circuit, a different town or part of town every day, that circuit. But there are others as well. Lots of food booths, so go hungry. Gabino Sandoval the pull-tab purse maker is there, Xcocodiva chocolate is there, the chocolate Museum is there. The booth for Tile park is there. There’s music, dancing all sorts of excitement. So the first booth I stopped at you will hear about the market, then I stopped at two Vallarta Charities that I wanted to introduce
you to. The SPCA PV, and a wonderful charity called Pasitos de Luz, so let’s go right now, and meet some cool folks at the Saturday Olas Altas Market in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico…
Listen to The Podcast
Contact Information For SPCA PV
- Website: https://spcapv.com/
- Email: spcapv@gmail.com
- Facebook: Click For the SPCA PV
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SPCAPV
Okay, I have pictures, links and maps for the farmers market, The Olas Altas Market. Go there on a
Saturday or pretend you are there and go to the show-notes and see the pictures.
Contact For Pasitos de Luz Puerto Vallarta
- Website: http://www.mexonline.com/pasitosdeluz.htm
- Cell phone: 322.135.8856
- Email: administracion@pasitosdeluz.org
- Pasitos de Luz Facebook
Jorge’s Hideaway and Shrimp Shack in Puerto Vallarta
Next, I want to take you to one of my favorite restaurants in Puerto Vallarta. It’s called Jorges Hideaway and Shrimp Shack, and it really is hidden away. If you walk south on Olas Altas, that’s the street that goes past Andale’s, the Playa Los Arcos Hotel. And you walk south a couple blocks, you are steadily going up
hill and you reach Calle Pilitas, and you hand a left, you will see signs pointing you to Jorge’s Hideaway and Shrimp Shack. Almost to the end of the dead-end street. Unless you knew where it was, you would never know it was there. It’s surprising that anyone can find the place at all, but people manage to fill the
place almost every night during the high season. The inside of the restaurant is pretty, colorful and welcoming. There are about 10 or 15 tables. Maybe a little romantic lighting. Some music. Good service and a very nice owner, So let’s go right now to Calle Pilitas #206, and let’s meet my friend, and now yours, Jorge Tovar, From Jorge’s Hideaway and Shrimp Shack, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico..
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Thank you Jorge. I have pictures of some of his dishes, the restaurant, of Jorge and his sons as well and a map to take you to the front door of the hideaway, so it is hidden no more.
Contact Information for Jorge’s Hideaway and Shrimp Shack
There is so much more but that should do it for this week.
- Address: Calle # 48333, Pilitas 206, Amapas, 48399 Puerto Vallarta, Jal
- Phone: +52 322 889 6928
- Facebook Page: Jorge’s Hideaway Facebook
Next week, stay tuned for more on the ground reports from Puerto Vallarta Mexico, with travel tips,
great restaurant and excursion ideas and more. Until then, remember, this is an interactive show where I depend on your questions and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. If you think of something I should be talking about, please reach out to me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending us your message.
And remember, if you are considering booking any type of tour while you are in Puerto Vallarta, you must
go to Vallartainfo.com, JR’s website and reserve your tour through him, right from his website. Remember the value for value proposition. His experience and on the ground knowledge of everything Puerto Vallarta in exchange for your making a purchase of a tour that you would do anyway, you’re just doing it through him as a way of saying thank you. It costs no more than if you were to use someone else so do it. Really. 
And when you do take one of these tours, email me about your experiences. Maybe you can come on-board and share with others what you liked or didn’t like about the tour. Again, contact me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending off a message. Don’t forget his maps, his DIY tours and his revitalized Happy Hour Board. I have links to all of those in the show notes.
And once again, if you like this podcast, please take the time and subscribe and give me a good review on iTunes if you would. That way we can get the word out to more and more people about the magic of this place. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Remember I made it easy for you to do just that with each episode I
create. But if you haven’t been to my website, you really need to have a look there. I have the links to the places we talk about, interesting pictures and the more all right there in my blog-posts and show-notes for each episode of the show so check them out for sure if you haven’t already all-right? All right.
And thank you to Dave and from the SPCA Puerto Vallarta, Help the furry ones, thanks for all you do, and maybe you can consider helping out at the shelter while you are in town, and what about the fine folks at Pasitos de Luz and Casa Connor. What a wonderful group. Think about donating time or money to this cause. I have links and contact information for all of these charities, and thanks to you Jorge Tovar from Jorge’s 
Hideaway, go there, have a special meal and let Jorge know you heard him on The Puerto Vallarta Travel Show.
And thanks to all of you for listening all the way through this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show. This is Barry Kessler signing off with a wish for you all to slow down, be kind and live the Vallarta lifestyle. Nos Vemos amigos!
I absolutely love Tuba. They begin al meals at Tintoque Rest in the marina with a free shot of Tuba! Yum!