Four Days Into Mexico and all’s well

As of Weds, July 20.

Four Days Into Mexico and all’s well we are 1547 miles into the trip – out of 3700 planned.

It didn’t take long to settle into a pretty smooth rhythm of driving, PEMEX stops, autopista (pay road) tollbooths and finding lodging or camps. Saturday, we left home around 1600 (4PM), meaning to hit the Arizona desert after the heat of the day faded. Yuma was still about 114 when we got there near 7PM. Farther east, we camped in the desert – a memorable night, but not a comfortable one. By the time we hit our bedroll near 2300, it was probably only 100 degrees and humidity zilch. Every breath of moving air was welcome.

If you’ve never seen the desert sky, you have missed a cosmic and humbling experience. Without polluting lights from cities, the stars are visible almost like a soup – denser than you can imagine – brilliant spots of light on deep, deep black. Sleeping out on Saturday, we saw this awesome display, and with that’s, some clouds gathered and spread, some meteorites burned into the atmosphere. And for ten minutes, big splats of warm rain landed on us and the air filled with this thick aroma of grain, smoke and wetness. Really awesome.

Growing up in the desert, Fred learned a great respect for summer heat. We were up and on the road by 0530, before the sun turned on the oven and even the least effort was too much.

Crossed the border at Nogales. No hassles, just the annoyances that guidebooks euphemistically call ‘border formalities’. Mexico is much improved in this department, and has a well-oiled process for issuing tourist cards and automobile carnet. While you can get your ‘cartes turisticas’ issued at the border, the only place to register your car is about 20 km south. At this checkpoint, there’s the feel of a highway rest stop, with booths for copying the necessary papers, and buying snacks and postcards, and the 10 or so bureaucrats in their windows, where they examine your papers and issue you your permit to import your car for up to 6 months.

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve spent much time in Mexico. So the contrast is all the more obvious; Mexico is cleaner, more prosperous, and more attractive than ever before. It’s nice to see this kind of progress. And our first two days

Our second night was in San Carlos, a beautiful harbor town outside of Guaymas. It’s harbor is surrounded by burgundy-brown desert rocks where it opens up to the Sea of Cortez. We found a nice hotel (nice means really good air conditioning and a pool.) Up again early, heading for Mazatlan. Bentley liked having his own bed. (PIC) We liked dinner and good margaritas at Blackie’s. (PIC) And a good nig’s sleep.

We couldn’t resist a stop in the old city in Mazatlan. It’s beautiful and very Old World in architecture, pace and style. We had a great latte and pastries across from the Teatro. Didn’t hit the road until about 9AM.

The scenery on this day was not so interesting – mostly farmland. Roads continued to be excellent until we neared Pto. Vallarta. Once we passed Vallarta and branched onto the coastal road (Ruta 200) progress was slower on curving, hilly, two lane roads. Even early in the day, my butt was becoming one with the car seat.

The area south of Vallarta is striking. Many luxurious hotels and homes are built onto the hillside, much more to our liking for their architecture and connection to the natural location than the majority of town. We’d been to Vallarta and nearby Yelapa about 6 years ago, but never saw this section. Next time, we’ll be staying in this area.

We had to drive at night (not recommended by anyone, including me!) to have any hope of reaching Barra de Navidad, our planned destination that day. Our first wrong turn of the trip cost us about 30 minutes, and we didn’t reach town until 9PM.

The extra hours were worth the effort. Barra (Sandbar) is a lovely resort town on the Pacific. The Malecon (seawalk) is along the sandbar, where you can rent a table with umbrella on the sand for the day. Fruit vendors sell their pineapple/ orange/ lime edibles and you can watch everyone boogie boarding and splashing in the surf.

Gas is $2.29/gallon, a treat for those of us in San Diego where gasoline prices are brushing up against $3.00. Pesos are a dime, so conversions are simple. Tolls as far as Mazatlan added up to $45. or so. After Mazatlan, tolls inexplicably get to be more expensive – just the short distance to Pto. Vallarta cost another $32.