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Published: February 9th 2011
Huevos divorcados
Divorced eggs - kept separate and one with green and one with red salsa!Feb 7th 2011
Lazaro Cardenas, Acapulco, Puerto Escondito, Arriaga... we are working our way down the Southwest coast of Mexico. Slowly, because the road, although paved, is narrow and winds through the coastal mountains up&down&right&left. It is hot -- it hit 38 degrees Celsius yesterday -- but our blue Volvo is running smoothly, and we're using the air conditioning quite a bit. There are many old VWs here and they often drive with the hood of their air-cooled rear mounted engine propped open to keep them from over-heating.
TT: The Volvo is an automatic but it has the funny manumatic transmission that can be shifted manually, sequentially like a motorcycle gear shifter. It is very useful (saves the brakes) in the tortuous up and down, sudden left and hard right roads that we have now had four days of.
Sometimes the views are spectacular with mountain cliffs opening out to the Pacific waves crashing below. In Guerrero state the vistas were destroyed by mounds of litter and household garbage everywhere in the countryside with marauding hoards of vultures circling a above, landing gracefully to pick apart pile of stinky unrecognizable offal. Very dispiriting. But Tarjei says "Don't judge people
from a vacuum of experience" and I suppose he's right. Who knows what we would do in Truro without the miracle of regular garbage, recycling, and compost collection.
High points of the last couple of days:
1. Military checkpoints getting more frequent and more thorough. We have been passing them 3 or 4 times a day but they usually just wave us through. They mostly look like child soldiers with uniforms and machine guns which are both way too big for them. This afternoon we were asked to get out of the car and the Volvo was searched (casually). Tarjei was quite excited because he wanted to show the sergeant that we did have 2 orange reflective triangles and a fire extinguisher (both compulsory for driving in Mexico). The Sargent was more interested in the spicy peanut butter in the cooler. I surreptitiously took a photo (VERY blurry -- Anita would be disappointed) and predictably Tarjei got upset (he's right of course -- these guys are serious!)
2. Puerto Escondito -- we had a lovely little secluded hotel near the lighthouse, with a view of the ocean. Beautiful sunset, new moon rising (has it really been 4 weeks
Great roadside restaurant
View from where Katy was drinking from the coconut since Savannah?!). Great little swimming pool for evening dip. Walked to the centre of town to meet my traveling cousin Barb from B.C. who has been there for a week. Had a fresh fish "al Oxaca" dinner, then shopping by candlelight at all the little shops on the main street (there were electric lights too, but the candles in glass vases made it quite romantic). There street was full of Mexicans with their families including babies, toddlers, teenagers, and grandparents. Such beautiful dark-eyed children, always seem cheerful, rarely cry. The shops had brightly-colored cotton blankets, embroidered purses, and silver jewelry. Bargaining was expected. Prices were quite reasonable. Lots of fun!
3. "Istmo de Tehuantepec" --we just drove through the narrowest part of Mexico, the isthmus just above the Yucatan. There was a fierce wind blowing from the East -- presumably from the Caribbean which is only about 200 km to the Northeast. There were fields of hundreds and hundreds of windmills, so I guess the wind blows constantly. The sky was perfectly blue above but there were a few drops of rain (thus ending our 37 day drought since we left Truro). There was a bright rainbow arcing over
Pelicans and gulls in Acapulco
In fact, this was the most interesting action on the beach at Acapulco when we were there! the fields of windmills -- symbolic I suppose. Lovely, anyway.
TT: Our last night in Mexico is in Arriaga, in the state of Chiapas. My vote for best coffee in Mexico goes to Chiapas! It's a great coffee growing area.
We just passed another military checkpoint but the soldiers were examining a bus, so we were waved through. And we have entered Chiapas state. Next: Guatamala!
KF and TT
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ocelot
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rainbow
SO INTENSE