Paradise Found - Part 1
Hi everybody!
We’ve made it to Acapulco!!!!! 10 days and 1800 miles from Puerto Penasco were our journey began. Our first night on the road we made San Carlos, a well manicured resort town on the Gulf of California. We snagged a great camp spot on the local beach between some unknown bay and mountainous rock formations that looked as if they were corked volcanoes. Wow! Next was a big drive day of about 400 miles, which brought us to the small town of el Fuerte. The town is best known for its proximity to the Copper Canyon (much like the Grand Canyon, though some might say “grander”). There were many vacationers strolling about town to catch the train into the canyon, as there are no roads through the canyon. We opted out of the canyon visit, have to save something for next time. Instead we made Mazatlan, the first Mexican town on the Pacific. At the southern end of the Bahia de Mazatlan (Mazatlan Bay) perched way up 186 meters on a cliff is the lighthouse, second highest to Gibraltar’s. We promptly climbed to the top for the best view in all of Mazatlan. Just across the bay lies Isle de la Piedra with 14km of pristine deserted beach and a coconut plantation as far as the eye can see. It’s not technically an island since we were able to reach it by car, though most visitors arrive by boat (a five minute ferry ride across the bay), somehow we managed to find the road in the dark and headed out to the island (1.5 hour drive). We snuck in to the coconut plantation and drove along until we heard the waves crashing and set up camp. It wasn’t until the next day we discovered that the place we had accidentally stumbled into was the most beautiful beach on the planet tucked neatly into a coconut plantation.
After spending a couple days checking out Mazatlan and Isle de la Piedra we were back on the road. Based upon a write up in our travel guide we pushed on to the laid back surf town of Sayulita. Hippies everywhere! Somewhere between Mazatlan and Sayulita the climate became tropical. The days became warmer and the waves grew larger. We spent a couple days hanging in the sun and pushed on again to a hidden little gem called Maruiata. Again we arrived well past dark and had no idea where we were and on the verge of exhaustion we asked a little old lady if we may camp under her palm thatched palapa shelter on the beach. She happily agreed and within minutes our camp was up and we fell fast asleep to the roar of the waves (though we couldn’t see the water). When the sun came up we could hardly believe this place that we had (once again) found in the dark. Though not secluded like Isle de la Piedra, Maruiata was far more spectacular. It’s three small beaches separated by rocky outcroppings which formed tunnels and caves where the waves crash through as they seek shore . The water was churning and the surf dangerous for even swimming, but its magnificence unrivaled. There were modest palapas constructed on each beach where the owners cook and serve delicious home made food, of your choice. Here we met many travelers who came passing through but have stayed for months. Here is where we met a couple of Swedish girls both named M, who were on a botched up bicycle trip. Apparently one had gotten hurt on the beginning of the journey (Tiajuana) and the trip was all but ruined. We had almost helped them salvage their trip by offering the car as a sag wagon and the would be five of us on bicycle rotation. In the end it fell through and we pushed on to Acapulco.
Acapulco. We were happy to be checking into a hotel as we were as filthy as hippies. We arrived at the Mayan Palace just out side of town and settled in to our new found opulence. Not sure how we would adjust to this luxury we did our best, and lets say it wasn’t so good. We ended up all getting very sick during our stay, but if one must be sick, I’d suppose the Mayan Palace is the place to do it. Acapulco is beautifully set in a protected ringed by a small mountain range. It’s quite beautiful. Spring break was just starting up and the kids were getting crazy. We hung the best we could, but getting stir crazy to get back on the road. Dave and I did a dive which was very nice, but poor Mianh was still down with the sickness. The last noteworthy Acapulco activity was the legendary cliff divers. These guys are CRAZY. Dr. Dave says that in time the divers spines actually compress from the impact of these dives. Holy.
This brings us to here and now. Here is Puerto Escondido and now is March 20, 2005. Puerto is the most famous surf spot in all of Mexico home of the Mexican Pipeline. Oh it’s no joke. The waves are huge, no bigger than that, massive. I think I’ll do my surfing vicariously through others, but a body board might not be a bad idea. A full report will follow
We’ve made it to Acapulco!!!!! 10 days and 1800 miles from Puerto Penasco were our journey began. Our first night on the road we made San Carlos, a well manicured resort town on the Gulf of California. We snagged a great camp spot on the local beach between some unknown bay and mountainous rock formations that looked as if they were corked volcanoes. Wow! Next was a big drive day of about 400 miles, which brought us to the small town of el Fuerte. The town is best known for its proximity to the Copper Canyon (much like the Grand Canyon, though some might say “grander”). There were many vacationers strolling about town to catch the train into the canyon, as there are no roads through the canyon. We opted out of the canyon visit, have to save something for next time. Instead we made Mazatlan, the first Mexican town on the Pacific. At the southern end of the Bahia de Mazatlan (Mazatlan Bay) perched way up 186 meters on a cliff is the lighthouse, second highest to Gibraltar’s. We promptly climbed to the top for the best view in all of Mazatlan. Just across the bay lies Isle de la Piedra with 14km of pristine deserted beach and a coconut plantation as far as the eye can see. It’s not technically an island since we were able to reach it by car, though most visitors arrive by boat (a five minute ferry ride across the bay), somehow we managed to find the road in the dark and headed out to the island (1.5 hour drive). We snuck in to the coconut plantation and drove along until we heard the waves crashing and set up camp. It wasn’t until the next day we discovered that the place we had accidentally stumbled into was the most beautiful beach on the planet tucked neatly into a coconut plantation.
After spending a couple days checking out Mazatlan and Isle de la Piedra we were back on the road. Based upon a write up in our travel guide we pushed on to the laid back surf town of Sayulita. Hippies everywhere! Somewhere between Mazatlan and Sayulita the climate became tropical. The days became warmer and the waves grew larger. We spent a couple days hanging in the sun and pushed on again to a hidden little gem called Maruiata. Again we arrived well past dark and had no idea where we were and on the verge of exhaustion we asked a little old lady if we may camp under her palm thatched palapa shelter on the beach. She happily agreed and within minutes our camp was up and we fell fast asleep to the roar of the waves (though we couldn’t see the water). When the sun came up we could hardly believe this place that we had (once again) found in the dark. Though not secluded like Isle de la Piedra, Maruiata was far more spectacular. It’s three small beaches separated by rocky outcroppings which formed tunnels and caves where the waves crash through as they seek shore . The water was churning and the surf dangerous for even swimming, but its magnificence unrivaled. There were modest palapas constructed on each beach where the owners cook and serve delicious home made food, of your choice. Here we met many travelers who came passing through but have stayed for months. Here is where we met a couple of Swedish girls both named M, who were on a botched up bicycle trip. Apparently one had gotten hurt on the beginning of the journey (Tiajuana) and the trip was all but ruined. We had almost helped them salvage their trip by offering the car as a sag wagon and the would be five of us on bicycle rotation. In the end it fell through and we pushed on to Acapulco.
Acapulco. We were happy to be checking into a hotel as we were as filthy as hippies. We arrived at the Mayan Palace just out side of town and settled in to our new found opulence. Not sure how we would adjust to this luxury we did our best, and lets say it wasn’t so good. We ended up all getting very sick during our stay, but if one must be sick, I’d suppose the Mayan Palace is the place to do it. Acapulco is beautifully set in a protected ringed by a small mountain range. It’s quite beautiful. Spring break was just starting up and the kids were getting crazy. We hung the best we could, but getting stir crazy to get back on the road. Dave and I did a dive which was very nice, but poor Mianh was still down with the sickness. The last noteworthy Acapulco activity was the legendary cliff divers. These guys are CRAZY. Dr. Dave says that in time the divers spines actually compress from the impact of these dives. Holy.
This brings us to here and now. Here is Puerto Escondido and now is March 20, 2005. Puerto is the most famous surf spot in all of Mexico home of the Mexican Pipeline. Oh it’s no joke. The waves are huge, no bigger than that, massive. I think I’ll do my surfing vicariously through others, but a body board might not be a bad idea. A full report will follow
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