A great way to spend an afternoon people watching or shopping is in Pitillal(map), a small town ten minutes from downtown Puerto Vallarta. Pitillal is not a tourist town. You don’t get approached by time share or tour salespeople. No “specials deals” or “almost free, just for you my friend.”
When people describe Pitillal, they describe it as “real” Mexico. Packed into a few block area you will find hundreds of small shops that sell everything that you would ever need. Take some time to visit the shops. They are mom-and-pop type shops where you go to socialize and catch up on the day’s gossip as well as make your daily purchases.
To get to Pitillal, you can take a taxi which should cost about $45 pesos from downtown or Marina Vallarta. You can also catch a bus by Sam’s Club. Look for the buses headed inland marked Pitillal. Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel, the main church on the plaza in Pitillal. Inside the church is a huge wooden sculpture of Jesus which is said to have been carved from a single trunk. The sculpture alone is worth a trip to Pitillal.
The main plaza in Pitillal. Weekend evenings are especially busy. We always stop for an elote desgranado (a cup of corn kernels smothered in mayonnaise, cheese, chile, and lime). Much of the fun in Pitillal is stopping at all of the different street vendors to sample everything that they sell.
This stand sells sliced fruit, aguas frescas (fruit flavored drinks), and frititas (a fried potato chip type snack).
A side street a block from the plaza.
Some good links for more information and pictures about Pitillal: Banderas News - Pitillal Inside PV - Pitillal
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Loving this blog!
Thanks for the encouragement.
Do you kow of a shop called La Regional Talabarteria in Pitillal. I would like to know where it is? Any help would be appreciated.
I don’t know where the shop is but I’ll ask around to see if anyone knows.