Jardin de Humo Restaurant and Bar in El Tuito, Cabo Corrientes, is Just 50 minutes from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Also Go Glamping in El Tuito at Agua Fria Wildlife Reserve

Then we Visit a Dive Bar Called The Gusto Lounge in the Cinco de Diciembre Neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta

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Hello fellow travelers, welcome to 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, in fact my new home, and maybe even yours too and that’s 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.

Contact Information For The Gusto Lounge in Cinco de Diciembre, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

• Address: San Salvador 262 48350 Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
• Phone: 322 244 7034
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGustoLounge
• Residencia Acosta Room Rentals

Contact Information For Jardin De Humo Bar and Restaurant in El Tuito

• Address: Calle Jalisco #8 48400 El Tuito, Jalisco, Mexico
• Phone: 322 321 8856
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090088915886

Information for Agua Fria Reserva Ecologica

• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/aguafriaecocamp
• Address: Carretera a Chacala km. #4 48400 El Tuito, Jalisco, Mexico
• Phone: 322 321 8856
• Airbnb Glamping Listing…Campsite in Jalisco · 1 bedroom · 1 bed · 1 bath

This week we’ll split up our locations. First, we visit a dive bar in the Cinco de Diciembre neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta, called The Gusto Lounge, and the owner Sergio Acosta proudly proclaims it a dive bar. It is…Sergio is a very interesting guy, and so is his bar.

Then we are going to take a 50 minute bus ride south east of Vallarta, from the Zona Romantica, along the coastline, then after stopping in Boca de Tomatlan, the bus goes 2,000 feet up the mountain, following the Rio

Horcones Gourge, to the ranching town of El Tuito. There we will meet Linda Asencio. Linda and her husband Tane Escalante, we’ve had Tane on the show before. Linda and Tane have a lovely restaurant in Tuito called Jardin de Humo where they serve great BBQ and smoked meats, they have vegetarian options as well, and a great bar. We’ll talk about their Restaurant, their Eco Lodge called Agua Fria Wildlife Reserve and El Tuito secrets.

We have Vallarta news and more. So let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 28^th of September, 2024.

The Puerto Vallarta Travel Show is being recorded from Conchas Chinas This Week

I’m once again coming to you from my outdoor studio on the balcony of the Condo we found on Airbnb for a steal, overlooking Conchas Chinas, and the Bahia de Banderas. Please excuse any odd noises like birds or traffic, or a panga winding out his outboard. Thanks for your patience.

Well, as I said last week, it’s slow season in Puerto Vallarta and during the month of September, known as Septi-Hambre here in paradise because during the month of September, many restaurants are closed for vacation or renovations before the high season kicks off after Dia de Los Muertos the end of October, and the word for hungry in Spanish is hambre. Therefore, the term Septi-hombre was born. The taxistas know it, the waiters know it…it’s really a thing. So, what do people talk about when there’s nothing to talk about? They talk about the weather. So how is Vallarta faring this year in the rainfall department?

So I reached out to two of my most dependable weather people in Vallarta, who actually have weather stations set up at their homes, and here’s what I got.

Angela, who has her station set up near the river in where Awaysis is,  Near Colonia El Coloso, has 8.33″ so far for the month of September and for the year, she has 39.10″.

Our friend Clark Curtis lives up the hill from Angela in Colonia Ramblasas, and he has 10.07 for the month and 41.05 for the year.

He says that “last year was dry also, about the same, but I have seen more than 70 inches a few years ago.”

So, according to Clark, Vallarta needs more rain or shortages are sure to follow. Actually, Hurricane John is churning his way north from the state of Gurrero, so we are most likely going to see some rainfall from that, and October is traditionally, hurricane season, so more rain is surely on the way.

As I said, Debra and I have been staying in a lovely Airbnb in Conchas Chinas for the first month of retirement in Puerto Vallarta, and time is fast approaching for us to move to our next location. We have a month reserved up in Gringo Gulch, with a city and bay view. I’ll be coming to you from there, next week’s podcast with a full report and pictures too. We’ll see what kind of sound issues we’ll have from up there, but gosh, we’re really going to miss this place in Conchas Chinas with the multi-million dollar view.

This place came complete with our own maid service, one day a week, and pool boy, who doubles as gardener and maintenance man for the building. And over the last month, we’ve gotten to know the maintenance man, pool boy, his name is Santos. And Santos is a sweet man, 56 years old, kinda short, but in good condition, and always with a smile. The condo building has 6 units with dipping pools on each of the 6 condo balconies. The

balconies of these units are adorned with beautiful potted plants, and the retaining walls along the balconies have planters, planted with bougainvillea, beautifully maintained. And every day, this man sweeps and mops the gecko guano and dirt and leaves in the hallways, trims the hedges, he is outside the building scrubbing the

sidewalk and stairs out front with a brush with bleach, to keep the moss from growing in the cement, so a tenant or a passer-by won’t slip. He scrapes chipping and bubbling paint, caused by the constant exposure to salty air and rain, and he is rolling around with white paint, repainting those chipped areas. This guy makes this place look like a million dollars. He works 6 days a week, and arrive at 9, and leave at 4.

One day, we were out of the condo the whole day, and when we got back, we went for a dip in the plunge pool, and Debbie looks at the bougainvillea hedge around the pool, and says hey, it looks like Santos was here to trim the hedge. How do you think he did that?

Now you have to visualize this. There’s like a balance beam’s width edge that goes around the pool, and that outside edge, if you fall off, it’s like a hundred foot fall to the street below. So, we are sitting there with beers in hand, and we are imagining what this guy did, to trim the hedge. I suggested that he probably just took off his socks and shoes and long pants, and waded into the pool, and trimmed the hedge that way. Then he climbed out of the pool and dried off and got dressed and carried on. Debbie thought that was weird, and said, I’ll bet he got on that 5 inch wall and trimmed it like that.

So, the other day I’m doing computer work and low and behold, Santos comes in, with a bucket of compost, sure enough, Debbie whispers, hey, look. So, I look over and there he was, standing on that 5-inch balance beam with the 100 foot drop. I couldn’t get the phone camera out fast enough, but this morning he gave us another show, he got on the balance beam, this time with the pool skimmer in hand, and I snapped a picture of Santos, the acrobat, and of the drop. It’s all in the show notes.

It turns out that this guy lives way past Ixtapa. He takes 3 buses to the base of the Hill, in Conchas Chinas, and then walks all the way up, almost to the top, where The Hotel Gran Miramar is. And he’s been doing that for 15 years. He’s very proud of his job, and he owns his own house because of that. Even though it’s way out in the boonies. We try to look for him before we leave the condo, so he can get an air-conditioned ride from an Uber to his bus stop over by Ley’s Supermarket in Cinco de Diciembre. Anyway, That’s my story about our hardworking maintenance man at our Conchas Chinas condo. Our soon to be someone else’s condo…lucky stiffs.

Suggestions and Disappointments

I can talk about a couple of places we’ve found that we really like…and a couple of disappointments as well.

Restaurant Bugue, Gourmet Burgers in Puerto Vallarta

If you have a hankering for a really decadent burger, there’s a new place called Bu Gue, it’s a concept created by Chef Salvador Carillo. I’ve had Salvador on, he has a lovely restaurant in Ixtapa called La Tienda Grande

where he does breakfast and lunch on Saturdays and Sundays, and dinner nightly 5 till 11, they are closed Monday’s and Tuesdays by the way, but getting back to this burger. I think it has to be one of the best burgers

I’ve ever had. The Patty was thick, perfect texture, not that weird pink ground beef you find down here, and the taste, off the hook. Imaginative toppings, plus10 homemade sauces to tickle the taste buds, they had these

crazy delicious parm bacon fries that were out of this world….Air-conditioned too. It’s right next to UVSC in

Fluvial…another brilliant restaurant from Salvador Carrillo….a must! I have pictures and links to get you there. And the price is very reasonable. That is as long as you don’t order a canned craft beer…it’s pretty pricy.

I have some pics I took inside, some food porn, and links to Bugue and a google map, in the show notes.

• Phone Number:  +32 2 326 20 74
• Address: Av. México 334, Vallarta 750, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, 48314
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BUGUE.pv/
• Instagram Bugue.pv: https://www.instagram.com/bugue.pv/?hl=en

We also found an interesting place right up the road from us at the top of Conchas Chinas, The Grand Miramar. I didn’t even know this place existed, but it’s huge. About 150 rooms with the highest view in Conchas Chinas. I noticed the prices on rooms was pretty decent. They also have a sky lounge with an infinity pool a swim up bar and a restaurant.

They also have a buffet brunch up there for like 295 pesos. The space is air conditioned, and we did go to check out the brunch, but we both agreed that the quality of the food was just meh…The view was outstanding, and the fact that the place was air conditioned was also a plus, but the food is just too important.

I have links to The Grand Miramar, in the show notes.

Contact Information For The Grand Miramar, Conchas Chinas, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Website for The Grand Miramar: https://www.grandmiramar.com/en/

In the search for the best margarita in Vallarta we finally got the chance to drop in at Casa Traditional, near the church in Centro, La Inglesia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, to sample what a listener had written about, their LSD margarita.

So, we ordered their house margarita, along with some chips, salsa and guacamole. Now they do the tableside guac and salsa in molcajetes, which was delicious. A nice touch. And we saw a waiter delivering a flaming I don’t know, fajitas maybe. He was dancing around with these dishes on fire, and when the flames started dying down they would light more tequila on fire…it was quite a production. They brought the margaritas to the table, and even floated some extra tequila on the top. But as we got to the bottom of our glasses, we both decided not to order another. And that was a good thing because when we got the bill, they had charged us, for these two lime margaritas, 240 pesos, each. That’s like 15 dollars US for a margarita. So, buyer beware. And I’m scratching that Casa Traditional’s margarita off the list. Thought I’d let you know too.

We’re getting used to living here like we aren’t on vacation. Neither one of us have spent more than two weeks in one stretch, so for us, a month is pretty luxurious. Luxurious yes, but we have to keep on a budget, and watch the alcohol intake.

But we’ve learned a few things, and we’re learning every day. For example, we decided after shopping in several tiendas, where the checker entered in prices manually, that we were being taken advantage of. So, we are looking for stores where they use bar codes. We also have been comparing prices of the staples we use every day, and taking mental and written notes, so we know, within a few pesos a certain item should cost.

We have also become pretty good at stopping at a taco stand on the way home, and ordering up 3 or 4 meaty tacos to bag up, and take home for breakfast. Then in the morning, if you’re lucky enough to find that taco bag actually made it into the refrigerator instead of you, in a drunken stupor, leaving it on the kitchen counter to rot and be eaten by ants and God knows what. Or maybe your Uber or taxi driver got that bonus, right?

No, we take tacos home for breakfast. We dump the contents of the tacos into a pan and toss the tortillas away. Then mix in some scrambled eggs, some of that onion and chilis they’ll pack in the bag with the tacos. Then wrap that in a tortilla for a breakfast burrito. It’s cool to do the taco stand take-home thing, because they usually pack all the sides, like salsas, onions chilis in the to-go bag. So a tip for those of you who want to eat breakfast at home, after a long night of drinking….or not. So far, the hardest thing I’ve found cooking in Paradise, is that it’s really painful to fry bacon, without a shirt. And it’s September. I very seldom wear a shirt. Never buy a ripe banana, and wait till the next day, to eat it. It stands a pretty good chance of being black and spoiled the next day.

More handy cooking tips, coming in the following weeks. But right now, let’s get to our first guest, we’re doing to a dive Bar in Cinco de Diciembre.

The Gusto Lounge Vallarta’s Favorite Dive Bar in Cinco de Diciembre

A couple of years back I had this guy on the show. His name is Sergio Acosta. And Sergio owns a bar in the Cinco de Diciembre neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta called The Gusto Lounge.  I had a meet and greet with an

expat Digital Nomad group, and Sergio was there. And over the years I’ve been wanting to get to his dive bar ever since I talked with him way back in May 2021.

And since we are talking about the div-i-est of dive bars, of late, I thought I’d pop my head in to the Gusto lounge, to catch up with Sergio.

So let’s go right now, to Calle San Salvador 262, just a few blocks up from the beach, and let’s re-connect with a very cool dude to know in paradise, Sergio Acosta, and the Gusto Lounge, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

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Thank you Sergio. Sergio, as you can see, is a good guy to know, in paradise. I have all his contact information, and well as pictures of the Gusto Lounge, and a map that will take you to the front door of the dive bar. Checkit out in the show notes.

Contact Information For The Gusto Lounge in Cinco de Diciembre, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

• Address: San Salvador 262 48350 Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
• Phone: 322 244 7034
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGustoLounge
• Residencia Acosta Room Rentals

Jardin De Humo Restaurant and Bar in El Tuito, Cabo Corrientes, Mexico

Contact Information For Jardin De Humo Bar and Restaurant in El Tuito

• Address: Calle Jalisco #8 48400 El Tuito, Jalisco, Mexico
• Phone: 322 321 8856
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090088915886

Information for Agua Fria Reserva Ecologica

• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/aguafriaecocamp
• Address: Carretera a Chacala km. #4 48400 El Tuito, Jalisco, Mexico
• Phone: 322 321 8856
• Airbnb Glamping Listing…Campsite in Jalisco · 1 bedroom · 1 bed · 1 bath

Okay, next we are going up to El Tuito, to visit a restaurant and bar, not even closely resembling a dive bar, no, this restaurant is situated in a lovely garden setting, and it’s called Jardin de Humo, or Garden of smoke,

translated to English from Spanish. And the guest you will be hearing from is Linda Asencio, who, along with her husband Tane Escalante, run a couple of businesses in El Tuito. One of them, we’ve already visited, and that was with Linda’s husband Tane, and that was Agua Fria Eco Lodge in El Tuito. But Tane and Linda have a new place, and it’s a restaurant and bar and that is Jardin de Humo.

Before we get to Linda’s story, let’s review how you are going to get to El Tuito from Puerto Vallarta, and then back again.

You can take an UBER or a taxi to El Tuito from Vallarta. If I look at my Uber App right now, and get a ride from my condo in Conchas Chinas, let’s see what that’s going to cost me…811 pesos, or about $42 US. Not bad in a pinch, but I like to travel cheap, and with La Gente.

So, I get the bus to El Tuito, which you can now find in the Zona Romantica at the corner of Basillio Badillo, and Aguacate.

I’ll put a map of it in the show notes. That bus will take you all the way to El Tuito in about 55 minutes time, for about 35 pesos, I believe. Busses leave every half hour or so, and the last bus out of Dodge, or Tuito, is 9 o’clock.

Now when I began the conversation with Linda, I didn’t know that she actually came to Mexico on a mission…not one of those Mormon missions, no. She came to Puerto Vallarta, with the Peace Corps. That blew me away, and I learned so much from her, besides their delicious BBQ and bar. In fact pay close attention to Linda’s tips for finding raicilla and other El Tuito specialties, that is, if you are into those kind of things.

So let’s go right now to a lovely beer garden setting, tucked not too far from the main plaza in El Tuito, let’s go to Calle Jalisco #8, and have a chat with Linda Asencio, from Restaurant Jardin de Humo in El Tuito, Jalisco, Mexico.

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Thank you so much Linda. What a lovely story, and what a lovely restaurant, Jardin de Humo is. I have pics in the show notes, and also, don’t forget we have got that extra bonus of Agua Fria Wildlife Reserve, in El Tuito. I’ll link up their Airbnb listing in the show notes as well as photos and maps.

Information for Agua Fria Reserva Ecologica

• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/aguafriaecocamp
• Address: Carretera a Chacala km. #4 48400 El Tuito, Jalisco, Mexico
• Phone: 322 321 8856
• Airbnb Glamping Listing…Campsite in Jalisco · 1 bedroom · 1 bed · 1 bath

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 Sergio Acosta from the Gusto Lounge. Vallarta’s favorite Dive Bar in Cinco de Diciembre. Also remember Sergios 500 peso crash pad for when you are in a bind. I have links and such, in the show notes.

Thanks to Linda Asencio from Jardin de Humo in El Tuito. Stop by for wonderful drinks and BBQ when you are in El Tuito. Also look into Agua Fria Wildlife Reserve. I’ll have the maps and links in the show notes as well.

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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