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Published: November 27th 2007
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Acapulco
Bear diving After a calm crossing to mainland Mexico we were rudely awakened as soon as we got out of the ferry port. It was back to the Whakey Races, Penelope Pitstop accompanied by one of the Ugg brothers (That´s if you are old enough to remember that cartoon). As our maps weren´t that good we decided to stick to the Pacific coastline and if we ever got lost we just had to make sure that we had the sea on our right hand side. We have bumped into fellow travellers and picked their brains for good stop offs, they have usually laughed at our lack of maps (thanks Lew and Carol for your advice). The vegetation was very different to the arid, desert, cacti strewn landscape of the Baja. We were now driving through lush green rainforests with numerous types of trees and if I were David Bellamy I´d be able to tell you what they were but the best we could do was identify a coconut palm. Along the way we passed through countless little villages all with dogs, pigs, donkeys and cattle meandering around. So whoever the co-driver was at the time had to give a rally style commentary -
pig on the left - dead dog on the right - woman dressed as drag queen with basket of coconuts on head to the left etc.... On top of that to slow you down they sneak the odd speed bump in, we would call them sleeping policemen but in Mexico they are more like the size of sleeping sumo wrestlers. It was always a relief to get to our final destination for the day which has usually been a beach side trailer park or pitching up under a palapa (palm leaf thatched shelter thingy). On one occasion we comitted the cardinal sin of driving at night with all its perils and was too late to find a site. We splashed out and paid 15 quid on a hotel room to be awakened in the morning to the sound of trumpets and drums. We later found out that if was Mexico´s revolution aniversary day. Apparently they had quite alot of unsucessful revolutions but still have a day to celebrate each one. I hate to say this but the beaches stretch for miles, sand and warm surf and hardly a sole on them. The biggest worry at the moment is whether a
stray coconut may land on your head. We are stocking up on our vitamin C via the roadside stalls, the fruit tastes so much better, probably because it hasn´t been stuck on a container ship for weeks. With shopping and our day to day exchanges our Spanish is slowly improving apart from when we have lapses in concentration and ádios´becomes ádidas´. Before I hand over to Nik I must report a strange phenomenon concerning his behaviour. A few days ago we were strolling down a golden sun drenched beach flanked by palms when I noticed Nik smiling and waving at a small child playing in the sand. This I found extrodinary as normally he would have probably kicked sand over it or at the very least stood on its sandcastle. A couple of days later in a Mexican backstreet cantina we shared a table with a young Mexican family. Nik was sat next to a young boy who unfortunately spilt juice all over himself. Now Nik would usually stare blankly at the child and wait for a responsible adult to rescue the situation. On this occasion he immediately grabbed a napkin bent forward and cleaned up the mess. I was
Life´s A Beach
Sun, sea and sand shell shocked, I later asked him why the sudden transformation in his behaviour. After a brief silence and a thoughtful look he announced ´I think I may have matured to the point where I may be ready for parenthood´. A bit late now!
Acapulco, I´d obviously heard of it but hadn´t realized where it was. Now I know, a large resort two thirds down the Pacific Coast of Mexico. We were warned driving in the city was a bit of a challenge, this was a great understatement. Driving through Acapoloco is under a completely different set of rules. Firstly what is required is a white VW Beetle with a number on to give it a racing car feel. The horn should be used vigorously for the following reasons :- 1) If there is something in the way, 2) If there is nothing in the way, 3) If the day of the week ends in a Y . It appears to be bad manners if you stay in the same lane for more than 5 seconds or if you allow the space between you and the car infront to exceed 4cms. It is also desirable to have some form of distraction
Revolution Day
Young revolutionaries in the front passenger seat, such as 3 chickens, a goat and a woman breast feeding a six year old infant. Having survived the´demolition derby´into town in a creditable 23rd place, we went to watch the famous cliff divers. Pretty impressive stuff, a couple of hail Marys then assorted flips into the ocean below, timing the entry to coincide with a wave which apparently makes for a softer landing..... almost as dangerous as driving there to watch it. Couldn´t stop TC having a go.. he insisted honest. Back at camp we borrowed some kayaks from some generous American visitors( thanks Duane & Diana) for a paddle around a lagoon, awesome sights , fisherman, seabirds and seahorses ? Our next stop was Puerto Escindido which coincided with a fishing festival which was throbbing, live music and dead fish. Our last couple of days in Mexico we turned inland to the mountainous region of Chiapas. The highlight a visit to San Cristobal , descibed as one of the most beautiful towns in Mexico. A mixture of Spanish colonial architecture from the 16th century populated by traditionally dressed indigenous Mexican indians. To summerize our Mexican experience it has proven to be truly ´marviyoso´.
Sea Horses
Lagoon kayak The people have been very friendly and the Mexican maidens extremely attractive. Only the other day strolling along a golden sun drenched beach flanked by palms two scantly clad senioritas waved and smiled at me. I returned the gesture and was nearly caught by June but I managed to convince her I was waving at some snot -nosed brat further along. Even better, a couple of days later in a Mexican backstreet cantina we shared a table with a young Mexican family. I managed to elbow juice over Él´Bratto´next to me without being noticed. This gave me the oppotunity to put my head under the table to give Él Bratto´a quick dab and sneak a look at yummy mummy´s growler.....mmmmmmm...nice. Next stop Guatemala.
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Jayne
non-member comment
What a pair!
Hi guys, Thoroughly enjoyed your last blog but not as much as Wayne. Whilst reading he kept saying 'been there', 'been there' ,'done that' but was in awe of Nik's antics as he 'didn't do that'!!!! although wished he had. Keep having fun and supplying some fun escapism for the rest of us poor people. With love Jayne xx