Adventures of a Vegetarian

On our mexico holiday this Xmas we rented a car and after 4 days in Puerto Vallarta drove all the way to the city of Colima, which is in the state of Colima. The drive takes a long time (5 hours), but you go through ocean road, forest, mountains, little towns, and finally reach the colonial city of Colima with the towering Volcano de Fuego as the backdrop. Colima is not really visited by foreign tourists, and is actually a very modern town on the outskirts. Although the downtown is very pretty and colonial. The things to do in Colima are to hike around the active volcano de fuego, visit the pretty little puebla of Comala, visit two archeological sites the ancient cities of La Campana and La Chanal, dating from 700 to 1400 AD, and two regional museums to see the pottery and statues from the sites.

Places to Eat in Colima:

There was a surprising amount of real mexican vegetarian food in this town that was AWESOME! First there is a great cafe called Sal Om Lux 5 blocks east of hotel Ceballos (main square Jardin La Libertad) on F. Co. I. Madero (the cafe shows up as “Lakshmi” on google maps). This is an order at the desk cafe / health shop in a huge building and everything is vegetarian. Try the varios: specifically tacos de guisados, soya ceviche tostada, and you MUST try the quesadilla combinado (with soy chorizo or mushrooms). They have serve yourself salsas. The food was fabulous and about $1-2 US per item! They also have a long list of veggie burgers, but the varios are better. They have great liquados and baked postres (desserts) too. The other restaurant we ate at was Ah Que Nanishe, a Oaxacan restaurant on Cinco De Mayo about 5 blocks west of hotel Ceballos. This place was unbelievable. In case you didn’t already know, Oaxacan food is one of the best in Mexico and they have a ton of veggie options here. Try the veggie tamale with mole for a starter. I got one chile relleno stuffed with squash flowers and the other with huitlacoche for the main course. The food was amazing and was about $15 per person for three courses. Side Note: If you have not had huitlacoche before, you must try it. I think you can only get it in Mexico (or central america). It is the fungus that grows on the corn plant and it tastes really good (albeit funky). You have to push your horizons when you travel so when there is a vegetarian delicacy you must try it! For dessert we got the pay de limon, yum….

Where to stay in Colima:

You have to stay at hotel Ceballos, which is run by Best Western. It is a beautiful multi level colonial building with internal courtyard, well appointed rooms with pretty Mexican furnishings, and is in the center of the action. Of course that means noise if you get a room that overlooks the main square, but you only live once. They have free parking and a beautiful roof top patio. if you want a quiet room you can get one in the interior but note it doe snot have a window to outside, only into the interior of the building.

What to do:

In town check out the Regional museum (in the main square – Jardin La Libertad) where they have artifacts from the ancient cultures of Colima and a replica of a shaft tomb downstairs and colonial period pieces upstairs. Also you MUST checkout the Museum of Western cultures (about 2 miles east of the center), also boasting a large collection of statues and pottery from the ancient peoples of Colima state. The top tourist attractions in Colima are its archeological sites. There are two settlements, La Campana (north side of town), which has a shaft tomb that you can climb down to and peer inside, as well as multiple plaza levels and buildings / temples. It reminded by of Teotihuacan although smaller. But the site is very impressive and apparently only 1% has been excavated. The other site, which has been very nicely excavated is La Chanal with well maintained grounds. This is also a very large site, but it is a little difficult to find. It is about 2 km north of Tercer Anillo Periferico by taking the V. Carranza Rd. north. Make sure to have a GPS or a map printed before you go, or you will have to ask someone in town for help. It is a large ancient city and is well worth the visit. There is another one, La Capacha, but our GPS coordinates led us to a field and the kids in town said there wasn’t anything there.

North of town, about 6 miles, is the little city of Comala. It has pretty white painted buildings and nice stores. Stop here for lunch, a licuado, and shopping, on your way to or coming back from the volcano.

You can take the main road all around the base of the volcano. On your way to the volcano you pass through the magic zone. It is an optical illusion that makes is look like you are accelerating uphill. You drive a few miles further up the main road and there is a side cobble stone road that you can take to get closer to the volcano and hike on the avocado farmland that encircles the base to have amazing views. The road is pretty bad so take it easy and make sure your tires are in good shape. But you don’t need a 4WD, however a manual transmission car helps (versus automatic). Having a GPS or smart phone with google maps already loaded helps you locate these spots. It would be hard without it.

We traveled to Puerto Vallarta and Colima Mexico for our Xmas vacation this year. I will cover Puerto Vallarta (PV) first and then Colima in a separate post.

PV has something for everyone for a beach vacation. If you stay in North PV you are in the mega all inclusive resort zone. If you stay in the zona romantica you get the urban beach bum experience, laid back, but also in the center of the action. If you stay south of PV, in the mismaloya area, you get the more secluded, tropical small/boutique resort feel. But wherever you end of staying you have to check out downtown PV for the culinary treats, nightlife, and shopping.

Eating Out in PV Veggie style:

In downtown PV you MUST check out Planeta Vegetariana, about one block uphill from the cathedral. This place has delicious Mexican food at a great value, and is completely vegetarian. They do breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the menu changes everyday. 85 pesos ($6) for dinner includes salad bar, soup, bread, three main entrees, rice, beans, drink, coffee, and dessert. Also since it is buffet style, it is all you can eat. I highly reccomend this restaurant, we came back for dinner here twice. Can we say soya carne asada! If I had an option like this in LA I would be here once a week.

Another option in downtown is El Arrayan, this is not a veggie restaurant, but they have several veggie appetizer choices, and at least one veggie main entree, and great cocktails. This is a romantic restaurant (and a bit pricey) and they have live music some evenings. It is about 5 blocks uphill from the Malecon (pedestrian beach front).

During the day make sure to get a licuado (milk with fresh fuit blended in) at the Malibu cafe just one block south of the cathedral square, just off the malecon (on Xalisco). I recommend trying the mamey or guanabana (unique to carribean and Mexico) licquado or jugo (juice). They also have a veggie torta here, if you want lunch.

At least one night try out the mexican street food stands on on the malecon. There are a few options that are veggie. There is the delicous mexican concoction of roasted corn, cheese, and chili sauce, all in a cup, for 15 pesos. It is a popular mexican treat. There is also the roasted banana with strawberries and crema, my favorite. There is also a crepe stand that does several savory crepes, I reccomend rajas (poblano pepper) con queso. Also try the champuriddo (hot corn meal based drink with chocolate) or a horchata (rice milk with spices). As as vegetarian, if you can’t try all the food, at least you can try all the drinks!

North of downtown, opposite the sheraton is 100% Natural. This is a healthy food restaurant with many veggie options. The problem with this place is that the service is horrendous and they are often out of tofu and the other vegan meat substitutes. We sat and waited 30 minutes b/f they told us that, and asked us if we wanted chiken instead, go figure. I did not like their veggie burger. So caution on this place, although their juice selection is excellent.

Other options in any restaurant are to order a quesadilla con queso y verduras (veggies) or a chile relleno con queso (poblano pepper stuffed with cheese and but note it is egg battered.

Things to do:
The malecon is a must, it stretches for about 1 mile and is fun during the day and night. Lots of stores, street performers, and partying going on here into the wee hours of the morning. When you get to the intersection with the river head up river and check out the history museum (free) and the shopping stalls along the river.

About 15 miles south of town is the PV botanical garden. The bus trip (pick up at intersection of Aguacate / V. Carranza says Tuito on the front) is only 20 pesos and takes about 30 minutes. The botantical garden has nice hiking trails and two swimming holes / lagoons, a great restaurant, shop, and plants! The return bus you can pick up on the opposite side of the road at the palapita just a little bit up the road. The nicest beach is Mismaloya, and that can be reached by the same bus, and probably others. The best place for snorkeling in Los Arcos (large rock islands), which can be seen from mismaloya, but unless you are a really good swimmer, needs to be reached by boat or kayak. The best way to get around PV is by the local buses, they are frequent, cheap, and the front window lists where they are going / stopping. You can get the bus all the way to the airport if you want to save yourself $20 US….

But PV is fun, safe, relaxing, and feels like the real mexico (in parts). You can get by with just english too…..Enjoy!

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