Parked by the river in Talpa de Allende

The last time we did this route in March of 2016, I did a blog post titled "Next time we'll do this in a week instead of a day". I was referencing the fact that we drove all the way from Etzatlan to Puerto Vallarta on this same route in one day.

And here we are, doing exactly that!

We're doing it in reverse this time, but that doesn't matter. There is so much interesting stuff to see in this area, and very few tourists ever come through here.

We had two towns that we wanted to explore yesterday. The first was the village of Yerbabuena, located only a few kms up a hill the other side of Mascota. 

We parked at this odd building at the entrance to town.

There was nobody around, but the gate was open so we went in and had a look.

Very odd. Part museum, part chapel.

We hiked up to a religious overlook to get some views of the area.

Yerbabuena seems like a weekend retreat for wealthy people from Guadalajara.

The view looking back at Mascota where we had spent the night before.

Me, enjoying the view!

The chapel at the top of the hill.

Yerbabuena is quite pretty though.

Ruth at the village sign.

The central plaza.

There are two man made ponds.

With a walking path around them.

This pond had a lot of ducks.

We went back to Igor and had some lunch, and then carried on another 50 kms (30 miles) or so to the town of Talpa de Allende (pop 10,000).

Scenery along the way.

Years ago, this was the main highway between Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.

Today, it is very quiet.

we stopped at the viewpoint overlooking the valley where Talpa de Allende is.

Kevin, at the Talpa sign.

Entering town.

We drove through town and found a spot beside the river on the other side of town. Just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We're very close to a rough road river crossing where people drive though the water where it's about a foot and a half deep. It's kind of entertaining to watch.

People on horseback cross the river here too.

Igor, parked by the river at GPS 20.36842, -104.82263

We always clean up any trash around the site.

Another cowboy on horseback.

We had a totally quiet night.

Today, we are going to wander around town to see what there is to see, then there is a scenic hike we want to do that is part of the pilgrimage trail that hundreds of people do every easter between Ameca and Talpa de Allende.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duracell AA Batteries

And in Canada...

Check out the deals at Amazon.ca