Take a Private Panga Ride to the Village of Quimixto South of Puerto Vallarta with Mario Cesar Morga
Have Breakfast Lunch or Dinner at Beachfront Restaurant El Volador on Playa Quimixto, and Talk With Owner Antonio German Michel about His Seafood Dishes and Strong Margaritas
Stop for a Drink on the Way to The Waterfall in Quimixto at the Cool Roadside Cantina, Andy Bar
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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.
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 your toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
This week we head south to the little seaside village of Quimixto.
We are going to take a ride with our buddy, friend of the show Super Mario. Captain Morga, from Boca de Tomatlan down to Quimixto, which is just south of Playa Las Animas. And while we are in Quimixto, we are going to talk to your bartender in paradise, Andreas Ramos Lopez, Known as Andy by
the folks who stop by his trail side Bar with an ocean view, appropriately named Andy Bar. And after you meet Andy you’re going to need some good food and drink if you are going to recover from a hike to a waterfall, or well, just because you are on a picturesque beach in paradise, we’ll take you to Restaurant El Volador where you’ll meet owner Antonio German Michel, his friends call him German. He’s a very cool guy. It’s a day trip to Qumixto on The Puerto Vallarta Travel Show, but before we get to Mario, Andy and German, let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 23rd of September, 2023.
Parts of Mexico to See a Lunar Eclipse October 14th 2023
Astronomers and sky watchers are all giddy, not about those crazy calcified aliens that looked strangely like ET, they dragged out a week or two ago, no, it’s an upcoming Lunar eclipse scheduled to take place the morning of October 14, 2023. Not all of Mexico will get to see the ring of fire total eclipse like they will in Villahermosa in Tabasco at 82% coverage of the sun, Veracruz at 76%, up north in Monterey 82% coverage and in Guadalajara, which should include Puerto Vallarta will see more than half of the sun blocked, 62% the morning of the 14th of October. The fun begins at 9:36 in the morning, and will progress along from there. And please remember, even though I’m not a doctor, remember to refrain from staring into the sun. I’ve been told that behavior can do damage to them. Like you could even go blind. There are special glasses you can get, and more than a dozen methods you can use to gauge the progress of the lunar eclipse. Google it. Do your own research. Oh wait….forget it.
Dollar Improves Against the Peso
We’ve been watching as the US dollar has dipped week after week all year long, and now finally, a bit of good news for Americans exchanging US dollars for pesos, From Mexico News Daily
Peso weakens against US dollar for 5th consecutive trading day
September 6th,
The purchasing power of people with US dollars in Mexico remains significantly less than it was at the start of the year, but considerably greater than it was when the peso hit its 2023 peak in late July.
If you exchange US $100 today, you should get close to 100 pesos more than you would have received just over a month ago.
The dollar has gained strength against the peso in the last five days, following steady appreciation of the Mexican currency throughout this year.
This year has been marked by a strong appreciation in the peso against the dollar, but that appears to be slowing. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
The Mexican peso depreciated for a fifth consecutive day on Wednesday, trading at 17.6 to the greenback in the early afternoon after closing at 17.42 on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg data.
Exchanging US $100 at the 17.6 rate nets the changer 1,760 pesos, whereas a transaction involving the same amount on July 28 would have yielded just 1,662 pesos based on the Mexican currency’s strongest position on that date.
With a USD:MXN exchange rate of about 19.5 at the start of the year, anyone exchanging a bill bearing the likeness of Benjamin Franklin would have pocketed approximately 1,950 pesos, or almost 200 pesos more than they would get today.
The peso reached its strongest position against the US dollar since late 2015 on July 28, but weakened almost 2% in August and has continued to decline in early September.
The last time the dollar closed stronger than 17.6 was May 31, according to Bloomberg.
Analysts at Mexican bank CIBanco said that the slide of the peso that began late last week with a decision by Mexico’s Exchange Commission to reduce a six-year-old hedge program aimed at reducing currency volatility “intensified” on Wednesday due to weak economic data out of Europe and China and decreased appetite for risk assets.
“The negative bias toward assets of greater risk” – such as the peso – “stems from the idea that central banks, including the [U.S.] Federal Reserve, will have no other choice than to maintain their restrictive monetary policies to avoid a rise in inflation,” they said.
The peso’s depreciation on Wednesday increases the probability of a “sustained depreciation in the short term toward 18 pesos per dollar,” Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base, said on the X social media site.
At 2 p.m. Mexico City time, the peso had appreciated slightly from today’s low to trade at 17.57 to the dollar.
I have a link to that from Mexico News Daily, which they lifted from El Financero , that article is in the show notes at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com.
Peso weakens against US dollar for 5th consecutive trading day
and when I looked at the exchange rate this afternoon, we were at 17.21 pesos to the US dollar, so it slipped back down a tad. Oh well, we’ll be keeping a close eye on that.
JR Will Talk About IMSS Insurance Coming Up Soon
Last week I read an email from listener Cheryl who wanted to know more about IMSS coverage, or essentially, the Mexican medical system. And JR was listening in on the podcast and his ears perked up. JR said he’s happy to talk about the IMSS and how it works for him, so I’ll have him talk about it when I get into town the end of October and get his take on how it works for him. He did mention he hasn’t spent a night in the hospital here in Mexico either, so we’ll get the scoop from a Brit using the IMSS system in Mexico.
And speaking of returning to paradise to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos, Debbie and I will be once again staying with our buddies Ray and Debbie in Pitillal. These Canadians are super nice. In fact, Ray and Debbie were up in Canadia staying with family and a grandbaby, so we asked if we could fly
them down to LA to show them around as a way of saying thanks for letting us stay with them in Mexico. Well, Deb had to stay in Canada to help with the grandbaby, but we did get Ray to agree to have us fly him over to visit with us last month in Los Angeles. I told him if he wanted free lodging and a guided tour of LA, he’d better get on down before we sell our casa and move to Mexico, and he did! He’d never been, so we took him to Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Malibu, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, a California style pot dispensary. We even took a road trip to Las Vegas. He’d never been there either. We had a blast, I’ll tell you. They even had pot dispensaries on the Las Vegas Strip.
Actually, we’ve had Crissy the Brazilian, a great party planner in Vallarta, who I’ve had on the show, over to our house in Simi Valley with her boyfriend and a couple of their friends for brunch just recently too! Never a dull moment at the Kessler home. The soon to be sold Kessler home. Make your reservations now, before we move to Mexico for good.
Is Marijuana Illegal in Mexico? Will They Throw Me In Jail if They Find Me With It?
Speaking of dispensaries, I got this email from listener Stacey in Canadia. Stacey writes…
Oh…wait a second here. Weedie-weed-weed alert here. For those of you who’d rather I not talk about the hippie lettuce, please fast forward for about 3 minutes. Cover the kiddies ears…okay…here we go..
The email reads…
Barry, you and I briefly met last year at a Bank in PV. I’m still enjoy listening to your podcast. In several shows you talk about smoking weed. In Canada it has been legal for several years, I know several US states have legalized it. But is it legal in Mexico? I’d be concerned about spending time in a Mexican prison.
Stacey, I remember meeting you at an ATM on Juarez, the Banco Santander near Restaurant L’Angalo de Napoli and Vallarta Co-Work. Nice to hear from you and thanks for the email, and for listening Stacey.
Okay it’s a bit of a complicated subject, and all I can do is tell you what I do, and what my experiences are in and around Puerto Vallarta.
Pot, in Mexico, had essentially been decriminalized. If you are a Mexican, you can apply for a medical marijuana card, smoke and grow weed and so on. Kinda like we did in the states about 15 years ago.
So if you are Mexican, you can smoke legally, as long as it’s in the privacy of your own home. But if you are not Mexican, too bad. So for that reason, if you are a foreigner, caught with pot, you are still at the mercy of the police.
Now, unlike in the states and in Canada where the government acts as the locally approved grower/seller, I mean, if I buy $100 worth of weed at our local dispensary in Cali, after taxes I’m actually paying about $130.
The government makes a ton of money on taxing pot. So yeah, the government acts as the locally approved grower/seller, in the states, while the weed sold throughout most of Vallarta, is also sold by the locally approved grower/seller as well. Pick your poison.
Now, I’ve talked about the packaging of weed you buy on the streets of Vallarta. It’s generally packaged in a colored baggie. The color varies often times, with the seasons. Like during Halloween time you might find orange baggies, Christmas time, Green. Valentines day, pink. Not all the time with the color thing matching the holiday, but it does happen like that. Just saying. Each of the baggies you buy will have a small sticker on it, measuring like a quarter inch square with a special insignia on it. Sometimes holographic, sometimes not. It’s important to keep the weed you buy in the baggie you bought it in. That way, if you do get caught with it by the authorities, they will recognize it as being safe. In other words, it’s the locally approved grower/seller, weed, not from somewhere else. The cops will mess with you, but they won’t arrest you and throw you in prison with Martin the molester. They’ll try to extract as many pesos as they can from you, but you won’t get any Midnight Express or Papillion action.
I’ve always had a friend in Vallarta buy me the weed ahead of time so when I arrive, it’s there waiting for me. Now I have lots of options, because I know quite a few delinquents and freaks in town, and I know, you may not have connections like that. Yet.
Now the last time down to paradise I had, for the first time, the experience of buying a north of the border style disposable THC Vape pen. And it was good. And I’d suggest you try what I did, and just walk into an independent little vape shop in town, and ask them if they carry any THC Vape. You may be pleasantly surprised like I was. What are they going to do? Call the cops?
As far as the guys selling on the Malecon. You can buy from those guys. I’ve talked with a few. They’re very friendly. I’m sure you’ve been hit up by them from time to time. I get pummeled by them each time I walk by. I must have a tattoo on my forehead that reads sell me pot. I swear. These are the cigar and pipe salesmen who hang out from like La Palapa, all the way up to the OXXO on the Malecon extension next to Claudia’s Taco Time taco stand between the Sea Monkey at the Vista del Sol Condos and the Plaza Mar. Those guys. They’ll start with the cigars and pipes, then move to marijuana…mota…then to cocaine and easy women, chicas faciles…
These guys are pretty swift. A baggie of weed, like an ounce should cost you like between 300-500 pesos, if a local friend were to pick it up for you. There are now at least three grades of pot now being sold under the locally approved grower/seller, label, so as the quality varies, so does the price. The lowest grade being 300 pesos, middle grade being 500 and premium, 900 pesos an ounce bag. Now I’ve asked these guys for prices, and it seems they are getting 500 pesos for a quarter ounce of weed, but if you pressure them a bit, and tell them that you have friends in town who buy for much cheaper than that, they will adjust the price. A little.
If I were to buy from one of those pipe salesmen, I’d do it one of two ways. One would be, to sit at one of the beach bars in the area, like Burrow Bar, and wait for one of these guys to walk by, while you sip on a cold beverage, and offer you the entire package, and do the deal there. Pay for your drinks, and head back to your condo, or wherever you’re staying.
If you aren’t sitting on the beach, and you do plan to buy weed, be prepared before you get there. Put folded pesos in each front pocket. Have 500 pesos in one pocket, and 800 pesos in the other. Be prepared so you can reach in either pocket and pull out the exact change. When one of these guys starts his spiel, keep walking, talk him up as you are walking so he’s now following you, and get a price from him. You control the conversation as to what you want to spend. Agree on a price, either 500 or 800 pesos, depending on your comfort zone. Keep walking and ask him where he’d like to exchange the money for the mota. Make sure you are comfortable with the location, and when you get there, reach into your pocket to retrieve your pre counted pesos. If you planned this out right, you’ll know what you are grabbing out of your pocket moneywise, so you aren’t struggling to count the money. Make the trade, and walk straight back to your place to put it away, and of course to smoke.
I always stay at an Airbnb or a hotel that has a balcony or a rooftop, where I can enjoy my weed, without bothering anyone, and where someone won’t call the cops on me.
And that, Stacey, is what I can tell you about the weedie-weed-weed, in paradise. Call me if you have any questions. I’m a realtor…I’m listed everywhere.
Restaurant La Huerta BBQ and Grill Will Be Opening In Place of El Rio BBQ
And speaking of partying about town, I’ve been in touch with the new owners and operators of what used to be El Rio BBQ in Paso Ancho. The new venue is called La Huerta BBQ and Grill. La Huerta means The Garden, in Espanol, and I conversed with Jesus who told me they have lined up the top bands in Vallarta to play when they kick off their season. So far, they have The Geckos on Wednesdays, The Lovers on Thursdays, Friday’s they are still looking to fill that slot, Saturday’s they have the Trez Cuartoz and Sundays they will be having some western music with the Wendigos. So, it’s great to know that lovely venue beside the Rio Cuale, up in Paso Ancho, with those soaring cliffs, and little kids jumping fearlessly into the river from swinging ropes tied to trees on those cliffs. The BBQ, the bands…looks like all that great entertainment will take up where El Rio BBQ dropped off, at the Garden, La Huerta BBQ, Bar and Grill.
Contact Information For La Huerta BBQ and Grill in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550085522813
- Phone: +52 322 121 4631
- Felipe Angeles #245 Colonia Paso Ancho, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Stay tuned for more information as it comes in.
Okay, let’s get to our day trip to Quimixto.
Daytrip to Quimixto
Now the village and beach of Quimixto is located just south of Playa Las Animas, and according to our friend Samuel Recendiz from a few weeks back, Samuel says the hike is really easy from Las Animas to Quimixto.
You can take a panga, a water taxi, collective, from the Los Muertos Pier, all the way to Quimixto, or you can take a bus down to Boca de Tomatlan, and
hop on a water taxi, collectivo, at the pier, to take you to the pier at Playa Quimixto. Or, you can hike from Boca de Tomatlan, all the way to Quimixto if you want.
Your Private Panga Captain in Puerto Vallarta, Mario Cesar Morga, Super Mario
Now we had made plans for our private panga driver in paradise, and that’s Mario Cesar Morga, Super Mario who we had on the show when we went to Yelapa, and if you haven’t heard that episode, I’ll link it in the show notes.
Have a Plan Before You Walk into Boca de Tomatlan for a Panga or Water Taxi
So, Make sure you have a plan when you walk down from the bus stop, down the steep hill into Boca. Be prepared to be swamped by dudes with
clipboards, panga captains and guys working for panga captains. All wanting you to use their guy or their services. Be ready to negotiate, or to tell them you are taking a water taxi collective, and make your way towards the pier. Which by the way, is still being rebuilt, so they pick up on the beach next to the pier, at least, for now.
But I had plans and a reservation with Mario. My wife, my son Zachary and his fiancé and I took the Mismaloya bus to Boca, disembarked and headed down the hill into town and yes, we were being hit from all sides, asking how they could help, when Mario walked up, and rescued us from the mob. The minute he recognized me and called out my name, the crowd melted away, and we were off to his panga. Mario has a new panga which is so
comfortable to ride in. He’ll be telling us about it in a few minutes. But if you can, and if you want a personalized experience in this part of the bay, Mario is your man. Really. We sailed past Playa Colomitos and the Ocean Grill, past Playa Las Animas and past Quimixto. We snorkeled at Las Calettas, and Majahuitas, then we went back to Quimixto, which was almost deserted to be honest. Compared to Las Animas and Yelapa, Quimixto
was a ghost town. A beautiful ghost town mind you. Mario dropped us off at the small pier, moored his panga, and joined us for a walk into the town.
Our first stop was a sweet little bar, built right off the road with a sweet view of the bay, from the tables and chairs under a palapa. The bar is called Andy Bar, and well, let’s visit with the guy who runs the place, Andreas Ramos Lopez, Andy, from Andy Bar, in the village of Quimixto, in Cabo
Corrientes, just south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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Thank you Andy! Make sure you have a drink with Andy after you hike to the waterfall, or he actually has to-go cups, if you want to get a head start on your buzz. Andy also has local raicilla. Just saying. I have pictures, Facebook links and more in the show notes.
Contact Information For Andy Bar in Quimixto, Cabo Corrientes, Mexico
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076233692024
Now, the kids, our son Zachary and his fiancé headed up to the waterfall, from Andy Bar, while Mario walked us through the village and clear over to the far side of the beach, almost to the far north end of the beach, to a lovely palapa. A beach restaurant called El Volador. The flying fish.
Contact Information For Mario Cesar Morga Panga Captain in Boca de Tomatlan, Cabo Corrientes, Mexico
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariostoursthebest
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariostoursvallarta/
- Whatsapp: +52 322 168 9620
So before we talk with the folks at this lovely restaurant, let’s see what’s new with our friend Mario Cesar, Captain Morga, Super Mario, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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Thank you Mario. I love that guy, and you will too. I have all his contact information in the show notes. His panga is top notch, and Mario, he’s the best. I met Mario through our buddy Jimmy Plouff from Vallarta Food Bank. Mario was volunteering his services and his time to help the food bank deliver
Beach Clubs Along The Cabo Corrientes Coast
- El Anima Beach Club: https://www.instagram.com/anima_pv/
- Majahuitas Beach Club: https://www.majahuitas.mx/ and https://www.instagram.com/majahuitas/
- Casitas Maraika: https://casitasmaraika.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/casitasmaraika/
life sustaining supplies to the coastal villages damaged by hurricane Narda in late September, 2019. We took the show down there back in 2019. That’s where I met Mario. Mario also was one of those warriors who went to battle against the folks who wanted to build that dam on the Rio Horcones. Well, his work and the work of many others paid off, they took the matter all the way to the president of the republic, and stopped the project, for good.
That’s the kind of guy Mario is. He has a great outlook on life, and he will take care of you so don’t hesitate to hire him to take you, and your friends and family out for a great day on the bay.
Next, we meet a very nice, soft spoken man, Antonio German Michel, German, the guy in charge at this very cool restaurant, Restaurant El Volador, on the beach, in the little village of Quimixto, Cabo Corrientes, just south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexcio.
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Contact Information For Restaurant El Volador in Quimixto, Cabo Corrientes, Mexico
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063499987430
- Phone #: +52 322 273 6247
Thank you German! The food was delicious and the margaritas, the raicilla…everything, was just lovely. I have pics in the shownotes, Facebook links and a map, to get you right to the palapa on the beach, El Volador, in Quimixto, Playa Quimixto, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
You have to go there if you haven’t been. It’s a quaint village and lovely, very uncrowded beach.
Okay, that should do it for this week, 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 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 follow share with a lover of Puerto Vallarta or give me a good review wherever or however you happen to be listening. 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.
Thank you to Mario Cesar Morga, Captain Morga. Mario is a great guy to know in paradise. He’s a great panga guide, a fishing guide and he knows the Bahia de Banderas. I have all his contact information in the show notes. Thank you to Andres Ramos Lopez, Andy, from Andy Bar. Stop by his cool bar
on the way back from your waterfall trek, or skip the hike and just drink. I have all Andy’s information in the show notes. And thank you so much to my friend Antonio German Michel from Restaurant El Volador in Playa Volador in beautiful Qumixto. The food is delicious it really is. And the drinks, very good. Excellent raicilla and margaritas. I have all the contact information in the show notes at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com ..
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.
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