We all know that Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is a world famous resort destination and retirement haven. We also know that just about all of the Mexican Riviera cruise ships make Vallarta a normal port of entry providing the visitors with numerous fun and exciting things to do, sights to be seen, side tours to be taken, beautiful beaches to enjoy, etc., but few tourists ever really get to know the area, customs, and local history.

Puerto Vallarta is located in the state of Jalisco; the third largest state in Mexico with the Capital of Guadalajara which is the second largest city in Mexico. The greater metropolitan area of Guadalajara (including Zapopan, Tonala, and Tlaquepaque), has a population of approximately 4,000,000 residents, thus making it about the same size as Los Angeles, the second largest city in the US. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest city in Jalisco with a population of 350,000 people, nestled in the Sierra Madre foot hills along the shoreline of Banderas Bay on the Pacific Ocean.

At 3,000 feet deep, Banderas Bay is one of the deepest natural bays in the world with the Sierra Madre Occidentals to the north, the Sierra Madre Del Sur to the south, and the Trans National Volcanic Axis Range to the east. All three of these substantial mountain ranges converge at Banderas Bay, where more than 60 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, these mountain ranges were formed as the planet‘s crust changed forever. Much more recently, only about a million years ago during the Pleistocene age , volcanoes erupted in the region exposing a land rich in mineral wealth containing vast deposits of gold, silver, lead, zinc, copper, tin, and

The word opal was derived from the Roman word opalus (to see a change of color) as they popularized the opal around 100 BC and prized this gemstone above all other precious stones believing the holder to be charmed with good fortune. The Mexican fire opal, sometimes referred to as cherry opal, precious fire opal, sun opal, girasol (Spanish for sunflower), and Quetzalitzlipyollitli (gemstone of the bird of paradise) by the Aztecs, was used by the Mayas and Aztecs during the past millennium for ritualistic purposes and in various mosaics. Today, connoisseurs say that fire opals bestow courage, stamina, will-power and energy on the wearer; the warm, fiery orange-red colors are said to have a positive effect on the psyche and convey a profound sensation of warmth, peace and harmony.hundreds of other minerals. As a result, Mexico became the world’s leading producer of silver for centuries and has only recently fallen to second position in the world. A great portion of the Mexican silver has been mined in this region within a 100 miles of Vallarta.

Due to the rich volcanic soil, all tequila in the world comes from this area in Jalisco. With plenty of tequila, there was also a mood for music and dancing! Consequently, in this area within 100 miles of Vallarta, Mariachi music evolved (a symbol of the Mexican Revolution) as did the Mexican Hat dance (the Mexican national dance).

Much of the rich soil in the Vallarta region is also ideal for farming and with the location being on the same latitude as Maui, Hawaii, the climate is perfect for growing many fruits and vegetables. One example being mangos, where Mexico is the third largest exporter of mangos in the world.

Now that we know the area around Vallarta is rich with mineral and agricultural wealth, let’s take it a step further. It just so happens that approximately a dozen distinct classifications of minerals with hundreds of varieties exist in Mexico. As an example, the silicates class alone, contains more than 60 different minerals such as jadeite, zircon, topaz, and quartz, a subgroup of which includes amethyst. The carbonates class consists of bismutite, calcite, magnetite, dolomite, etc. while the sulfates class has gypsum, barite, cuprotungstite, etc.; many of these minerals being used for industrial applications. Finally, the mineraloids class which contains amber, obsidian, and opal; minerals that are frequently carved, ground, cut, and polished for objects of art, jewelry, etc.

Many of these minerals, including most opals, were formed during the Cretaceous period and brought to the Earth’s surface during the Pleistocene age. Of the 25 or so varieties of opals, the fire opal is the only naturally faceted opal and the most significant fire opal deposits are found in Mexico. One of the two largest sites for mining the Mexican fire opal, which just so happens to be the “national gemstone of Mexico”, is located near Magdalena, Jalisco; a small city located approximately 100 miles east of Vallarta that can be visited from PV during one of the ten hour day tours. Magdalena is in a region laden with igneous rocks, obsidian, volcanic lava, and more than 300 opal mines.

Mexican fire opals consist of silicon dioxide or silica spheres arranged in an orderly pattern with iron oxide dispersed throughout. It’s the iron oxide that gives the Mexican fire opal its distinctive brilliant flame-like colors of yellow, orange, and red. The three most important attributes of the fire opal are body colors, transparency, and play of color (differing colors when viewed from various angles). The greater the play of color, the more precious the gemstone. Because most opals are not faceted, they are generally displayed in the cabochon form. However, since fire opals are often found naturally faceted, they can be cut, polished, and mounted as cabochons or faceted stones.

Opal is the lucky stone of those born under the Aries sign and it is the birthstone of Libras. For those of us fortunate retirees in Vallarta that happen to be Libras, we’re able to obtain these spectacular birthstones virtually in our “back yard”. For those of you visiting Vallarta and just want to possess one of these prized gemstones, there are numerous fine jewelry stores in town; a number of which specialize in Mexican fire opals.

Now that you have a better appreciation for fire opals and where they come from, you’ll have one more reason for visiting and or retiring in Puerto Vallarta; the most magnificent resort destination on the Mexican Riviera, where brilliant fiery sunsets and opals abound.

Jim Scherrer has owned property in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for 25 years and resided there for the past eleven years. The mission of his series of 45 articles pertaining to retirement in Puerto Vallarta is to reveal the recent changes that have occurred in Vallarta while dispelling the misconceptions about living conditions in Mexico. For the full series of articles regarding travel to and retirement in Vallarta as well as pertinent Puerto Vallarta links, please visit us at Puerto Vallarta Real Estate Buyers‘ Agents and click on ARTICLES.



By: Jim Scherrer

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Interested in Facts about ROTH IRAS?

More than 30 years ago during one of our first visits to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, while browsing through a small souvenir shop, we noticed a handful of small black objects high on a back corner shelf. They were covered with dust and obviously hadn’t been touched for years. We asked the owner of the tienda what they were and he indicated that they were obsidian artifacts; insinuating that they were very old and that obsidian was quite rare and virtually approaching extinction. Since this was the first time we had ever seen obsidian and being quite naïve, we thought they might be a good investment as well as nice conversation pieces, so we bought all he had; probably at his asking price!

Before we learn about obsidian, we ask exactly what are artifacts? Archaeologists define artifacts as objects such as pottery, jewelry, weapons, projectile points, tools, ritual items, etc. that were made or modified by humans of prior cultures. In our minds, that meant that the small figurines that we bought were hundreds, if not thousands of years old and made of a very rare and unusual glimmering black glass-like material. Wow, what a find!

Okay, let’s determine what obsidian is and how it’s formed. On the other hand, let’s first define what it’s not; it’s not a mineral because all minerals are crystalline and obsidian is not crystalline! Obsidian is sometimes classified as a mineraloid, however its composition is too complex to be a single mineral. Obsidian is actually a naturally occurring translucent glass formed as rapidly cooled rhyolite lava is extruded from an active volcano. The flowing lava is usually quenched in the presence of water, causing it to freeze so fast that the time required for crystal growth is lacking. These obsidian flows consist of glass usually containing more than 70% silicon dioxide. Very seldom is the obsidian colorless; most often it’s very dark or black due to impurities such as magnetite and hematite, both being iron oxide variations. Other impurities such as magnesium and titanium oxides may give it colors ranging from brown to green, while very fine gas bubbles or other inclusions create a myriad of beautiful colors and sheens.

Next, where do we find obsidian? Obsidian is located in a number of regions throughout the world; basically anywhere there is a volcano in the vicinity of water. In Mexico, the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt extends from Puerto Vallarta on Banderas Bay in the state of Jalisco all the way across the country to the Gulf of Mexico. Deposits of obsidian are present throughout this entire region with some of the most significant being in the state of Jalisco, within a hundred miles of Vallarta. A region referred to as the Tequila Valley, located in the Magdalena and La Vega lake basins near the city of Teuchitlan, Jalisco, is the location of the 9,600 feet above sea level Tequila Volcano, which last erupted about 200,000 years ago. Now we know that our friendly tienda owner wasn’t completely wrong when he told us that our prized souvenirs were old; at least the obsidian they were made of was old!

Obsidian, called itztli in the Nahuatl language, has been found at nearly every Mesoamerican archaeological site and can easily be dated and traced back to its place of origin. One such site in Jalisco is located in the Teuchitlan (in the Nahuatl language means the place of the first God) area which was the home of a pre-Hispanic civilization with approximately 25,000 to 50,000 inhabitants more than 2,000 years ago. This mysterious civilization which lasted until about 1,000 years ago was neither Aztec, Toltec, nor Maya. In fact, to this day, no one knows for sure who they were. The economy of this ancient metropolis, referred to as the Guachimontes site, was built on mining, working, and trading in obsidian, one of the most precious materials in early Mesoamerica. Obsidian was revered by ancient cultures and was one of the major barter materials, prized for its ability to be worked to razor-sharp edges for arrows and spears. Due to the low bulk of obsidian in transport and the resulting large quantity of useful items that could be produced from a small amount of material, it required less effort in trade which in turn contributed to obsidian’s widespread use. For many centuries, Teuchitlan was the cultural center of western Mexico with a trade network along a coastal route extending from Guatemala to Arizona.

The ancient Guachimontes site consists of a number of unusual circular shaped pyramids, each with a shaft tomb. Since discovering the site in 1970 and starting formal exploration in 1999, archaeologists excavating the shaft tombs have recovered a tremendous number of obsidian artifacts including tools, weapons, jewelry, ritualistic pieces, figurines, masks, and even mirrors. This newly discovered site is of such significance that on July 12, 2006, it was added to the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee of Unesco. It is in a region rich in mineral wealth and obsidian and is well worth the 10 hour day tour from Vallarta. Obviously, the items that we bought 30 years ago were not from this site since excavation had not yet begun at that time!

Obsidian is said to have healing properties, protecting the very sensitive from depression and blocking negativity of any kind. Some also claim that it is the stone of the soft and gentle hearted people of the world. More importantly, it is currently being used in cardiac surgery, as well-crafted obsidian blades have a cutting edge many times sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels, with the edge of the blade being only about 3 nanometers wide. Fabrication of these instruments is possible due to the fact that obsidian has no crystalline structure and can therefore be honed down to its molecular size.

Today, you can find beautiful, highly polished copies of the ancient masks, ritual items, animal figurines, jewelry, etc. in every dark color imaginable and in just about every store in Vallarta. They make wonderful gifts and display pieces as reminders of your visit to PV; just don’t represent them as being rare Mexican artifacts! Perhaps we didn’t obtain the last of the obsidian artifacts 30 years ago, but at $3.00 each, one could say that we got what we paid for!

Jim Scherrer has owned property in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for 25 years and resided there for the past eleven years. The mission of his series of 45 articles pertaining to retirement in Puerto Vallarta is to reveal the recent changes that have occurred in Vallarta while dispelling the misconceptions about living conditions in Mexico. For the full series of articles regarding travel to and retirement in Vallarta as well as pertinent Puerto Vallarta links, please visit us at Puerto Vallarta Real Estate Buyers‘ Agents and click on ARTICLES.



By: Jim Scherrer

About the Author:

Interested in Facts about ROTH IRAS?