Mazatlán, Sinaloa
A 15 hour boat ride put me in Mazatlan, Sinaloa at 8am. I had been warned by many that this was a more dangerous part of Mexico.
After checking into an airbnb I took off on my bike 20 Ks away to a Mexican water park. As luck would have it, half of my route along the shore line happened to be occupied by the return loop of an ongoing marathon. Sparse in number, there was no issue cycling past the runners. People were cheering along side and I even heard a mariachi rendition of the classic Rocky theme song! - it made me laugh out loud.
The nice thing about a small city water park: no lines. I was glad I made the Sunday trip out there to play with other people /families.
Leaving Mazatlán was crappy, as cycling out of cities typically is. But after taking a scenic detour out of the following town,
Acopaneta
I ended up in Acopaneta, a nothing special town that no one travels to. The kind of place where, after dark, finding something to eat is a challenge. After some terrible food and a horrible hotel experience I was happy to keep moving the next day back towards the coast.
I covered 85 fantastic miles in Nayarit that day. First on primary road (highway) for the large shoulder, but consistent truck traffic is unpleasant. Then secondary road with less large traffic but no shoulder, forcing traffic to constantly dodge me. Lastly tertiary road, where smaller/local traffic is less bothersome and the road quality still suffices. Props to Google maps, no other way I'd be able to find tertiary roads through farms, country side, and small towns to reach my destination. So nice to be out of the Baja desert!
San Blas, Nayarit
San Blas is one of my favorite spots along this section of the coast. A lovely, active plaza, few gringos, great food and great beach just down the street.
The plaza :
I discovered a phenomenon I found quite enthralling in this plaza. At sunset, hundreds of birds would descend upon these low trees and it created an aviary symphony :
The local bike shop
In the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta, I connected with a Warmshowers host who took me out to party. Cool party but someone stole my sandals??
One of the best sunset to date. The bay of Banderas has a little magic about it,
San Pancho, Nayarit
A once small town now growing with spill over tourism from Puerto Vallarta.
Tuito, Jailisco
Climbing out of Puerto Vallarta
before reaching this small, mountain, no gringo town
La Manzanilla, Jailisco
I've come across mostly Canadian and to a lesser extent American snowbirds, fleeing North America's winter for beach living in Mexico. La Manzanilla had a nice beach front camp community of Canadians who had been coming here for years. I befriended a number of these cutips, as they referred to themselves (white hair, white shoes).
I met a woman who worked at my Puerto Vallarta airbnb who I discussed my trip south with. She invited me to stay at her hometown neighbor's hotel for cheap. After finding my way there a week later at Christmas, she invited me to her house next door to celebrate Christmas with her family.
They were about 15 people and they stayed up until 3am! Drinking heavily, eating tons of meat, singing, and participating in a lovely gift exchange. It was something special for me to participate in.
I had a hard time finding a place to stay just passing through the city of Monzanillo. It being Méxican vacation week, affordable places were full. I was lucky enough to find a Warmshowers host who put me up on his floor for the night. Cycling out of the city, as usual, was pretty terrible.
San Juan de Alima, Colima
I found a more busy Mexican family vacation destination in San Juan de Alima. Despite sleeping in a hotel room, it didn't mean sleeping well. Méxicans have a different concept of consideration for others in regard to making noise /playing music
, I. E. they don't give a shit about anyone else and blare music late on the PM and early in the AM.
La Ticla, Colima
Like many places I've passed through, I had been suggested somewhere down the line to check out La Ticla. Only 30k from my day's origin I intended upon stopping by for a bite or something. Upon rolling into town a mile or so off the main road, it seemed pretty empty. But arriving the beach at the end of the road revealed tents, hammocks, and a number of younger people - something I had not seen much of the past few weeks. I got to talking with some people from Colima, the nearest city about 2 hours away, and soon decided to stay the night. Or rather 3 nights, as new years was upon us and this seemed as good a place as any to spend it.
This town strikes a nice balance of what travelers are looking for: not touristy, no commercialization, owned by indigenous people uninterested in development, no traffic, good food and a great beach.
There were some cabañas to stay in but most camped out or slept in close quarters hammock.
With some pretty basic bathroom /plumbing.
I befriended some folks from Colima who it seemed had a pretty nice quality of life in this portion of Mexico - a small city with great weather and close to the beaches. A desirable place to live if you ask me.
My time here was only partially marred by awaking at 3am new years day to a kid rifling through my handlebar bag on my bike next to my tent. I quickly got up and chased him, forcing him to drop my Gopro, but he escaped into the dark of night with my mp3 player and headphones.
Maruata, Michoacan
Continuing along the circuitous and hilly coastal road
I had to stay in yet another heavily touristed beach town full of Mexican families. Low on quality and high on noise (and theft, I was warned), I camped in Maruata for one miserable night between people blasting their music late into the night.
The construction around here is pretty meager, like this restaurant, where they hardly build out more than the cement frame. Quite ugly.
Barra de Nexpa, Michoacan
Surfers come for the surf break. And I met a number of folks who return here for a month at time. I found a soft spot in the grass for my tent and a spot to hang my new hammock next to an American who I befriended and spent the next 36 hours hanging out with. Found myself a shrimp burger and fries that hit the spot- 2 days in a row!
La Ticla, Colima
Like many places I've passed through, I had been suggested somewhere down the line to check out La Ticla. Only 30k from my day's origin I intended upon stopping by for a bite or something. Upon rolling into town a mile or so off the main road, it seemed pretty empty. But arriving the beach at the end of the road revealed tents, hammocks, and a number of younger people - something I had not seen much of the past few weeks. I got to talking with some people from Colima, the nearest city about 2 hours away, and soon decided to stay the night. Or rather 3 nights, as new years was upon us and this seemed as good a place as any to spend it.
This town strikes a nice balance of what travelers are looking for: not touristy, no commercialization, owned by indigenous people uninterested in development, no traffic, good food and a great beach.
There were some cabañas to stay in but most camped out or slept in close quarters hammock.
Maruata, Michoacan
Continuing along the circuitous and hilly coastal road
On the recommendation of my Colima friends in la Ticla, I skipped my original destination of Huahua for Nexpa. So glad I did. This little outcropping between the beach and a river is a little piece of paradise. Camping $3USD /night, cabaña $15USD /night, surfboard $10/day. The refreshing water from the mountains flows into the river and makes for tranquil swimming.
I had a hard time peeling myself away from this one!
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