The small city of Magdalena de los Opalos is really worth a go to, while it is a little bit far from the city of Puerto Vallarta. In fact, this city of 16,000 inhabitants is of a normal Mexican design, its extremely cleanse streets let you to stroll around the central sq. and the surrounding streets when taking pleasure in the freshness that you can’t come across in Puerto Vallarta. The quite a few opal mines encompassing the town have built it a recognized location of exchange for this gem and the stop by of the mines as effectively as the look for for opals for leisure have built it an intriguing tourist vacation spot to shell out a working day or two there.

See of the middle of Magdalena de los Opalos which is a typical Mexican village

Located on the freeway linking Puerto Vallarta to Guadalajara, 20 kilometers from Tequila and 80 kilometers from Guadalajara, so it is straightforward to plan a stopover during an tour in the area. It will just take 3h30 or 3h45 by auto from Puerto Vallarta, getting into account targeted traffic. 

See of the highway to get to the opal mines of Magdalena from Puerto Vallarta, shortly a more direct highway going by way of the jungle with enable to get there more rapidly.

Opal Mines, the most important attraction of the city

Founded at the commencing of the 16th century, the present town is organized around the church, the chapel and the convent situated reverse the central sq.. 

If this modest city is enjoyable when you are passing via, it is not extraordinary both, the interest of this 1 remaining the take a look at of the mines and the probability of seeking for opals there. Quite a few dozen mines are scattered in the region all over the metropolis, where by miners look for the volcanic soil for fireplace opals and noble opals that they can promote to lapidaries and jewelers in the city centre.

Mine tours are arranged by various jewelry outlets. I will not feel there is a tourism union, because when I went there, no one was capable to notify me about any firm taking care of tourism in the locality. You will have to organize you equally for accommodation and to manage your stop by.

The Opalos de México jewelry retail outlet found at 115 Calle Independenia (most important road crossing the city) and the lapidary workshop La Sorpresa at 43 México Street (30 m from the central sq.) offer you the chance to stop by opal mines. The pay a visit to is typically having to pay with the food items included.

To manage your check out, I suggest you to get a search at the Opalos de México website, whose web page is effectively accomplished and will give you plenty of data to know what to count on. Of all the opal shops and jewellery stores, Opalos de México seems to be the reference and particularly the one that encourages itself very best and provides (in my opinion) the most stunning stones in the metropolis.

Checking out the opal mine and heading down to opal hunt 

During our excursion to Magdalena, we were being fortunate more than enough to satisfy an ex-miner who made available to display us all-around an opal mine. So listed here we are on the way at 10:30 in the morning to a mine (whose title I forgot) north of the metropolis. It will take about fifty percent an hour to get there.

 I have not been ready to locate a map demonstrating the opal mines that surround the city. To come across out exactly where they are, you have to satisfy miners or jewelers who can provide you with details. It is particular that the satellite sights of Google Maps are a excellent way to locate mines from the sky as can be noticed in the adhering to photo, the latter go away an conveniently recognizable mark on the floor found from the sky.

Visiting such a mine is undoubtedly worthy of a go to, as it is an exciting experience. On the just one hand, the mines staying open pit, it is not needed to sneak into a filthy and inadequately shored blast gap, just one can stay on the edge and have a great overview of how minors operate in the mine.

They perforate the rock with drills and then insert explosives that fracture the rock. The miners then end crushing the rubble into tiny items in look for of flashes of light betraying the existence of opals. Whilst you are not likely to obtain an opal in this way when you take a look at, it is typical to uncover opal fragments in rubble piled up by miners outside the house their operating region. This photograph is an illustration of such squander showing encrustation of opals. 

The miners work on the ground with a hammer and gloves for all tools. The use of device equipment risking harmful the opals, they are only made use of to evacuate the rubble out of the mine. Our go to was an option to satisfy a pal of Felipe (pictured underneath) who expert the opal hurry in the early 60s and put in his whole daily life in the mines around Magdalena. That working day, a Saturday, he was on the lookout for opals to pass the time. Soon after all, why check out Tv set if you can hunt for opals.

The up coming picture demonstrates a few of somewhat improved equipped miners hunting for opals. The cavity the place they do the job has been dug with dynamite. They finish breaking the rock with a hammer in search of the existence of opals in them.

Mexican Opals and Fire Opals 

The 3 kinds of opals extracted from Mexican mines and utilized in jewelry are the typical opals, opaque and of variable shade, the hearth opals which are translucent and of coloration various from yellow to darkish orange and lastly the noble opals which have engage in of gentle characteristic of the diffraction of light rays on the microscopic structure of silica constituting the opal.

This mexican opal was extracted for a mine of Magdalena de los Opalos and weighs 22 carats

And in this article is the kind of the jewellery that can be completed with these a one of a kind opal gemstone.

Very good to know

For lodging, I propose the Actual Quinta Minas hotel, situated at the corner of Calle Allende and calle Francisco Javier Mina #49 (phone 386 744 0546), it is genuinely relaxed with the selection in between a double mattress , a Queen measurement bed or a King sizing bed. The rooms are spacious and clean with a rest room and hot h2o. The Television is a flat screen with cable involved. Costs are quite acceptable ranging from 250 pesos for the double bed to 350 pesos for the king dimensions mattress. It is found near to the sq. where by it is possible to eat both lunch and dinner.

For your opal purchases, you will have the prospect to purchase wholesale opals in rough stones in bottles with water. It really is a rip off, most incorporate boring stones and hydrophane opals which have terrific mild displays when in h2o and are opaque with no mild display when dry. I recommend you to go to a jewelry retail outlet to pick possibly your stones or your jewelry with opals, it will be safer.

Other Things to do

• Pay a visit to of the central square and the religious sites positioned there
• Visit of the Magdalena distillery approved to make Tequila, this just one is exterior the town, the ideal point is to call them to discover out how to get there.
• Stop by to the outdated Hacienda de San Andrés and La Quemada, the very first positioned 25 minutes from the metropolis and the 2nd just 10 minutes.