Zihua Brah!

“Zihua brah!!!!” had been on the tip of our tongue since the idea of the trip was born…. “Z-z-z-zihua”, “Zi-huat”, “Zihuatanejo” wiggled it’s way into so many conversations, it was fitting to finally meet the big “Z” during our last stay on the coast and furthest point south in Guerrero.

Quite the contrast to Nexpa, Zihuatanejo was a busy hub for tourism, a beautiful city stretched across the coast and neighboring hillsides.

A major harbor, beach, surf and seafood that attracted people from everywhere.

We were lucky to snag the last spot in the part RV Park, part fancy Restaurant parking lot, called ‘El Manglar’.

At first curious why the restaurant/campsite was called ‘the mangrove or swamp’, it became evident when we spotted a 10 ft+ crocodile just steps away from our margaritas…

The staff quickly advised that all pets should remain ‘on leash’, as the cocodrilos might become hungry.

Peering over the short restaurant fence, feet away, you could see the crocodile watching, motionless, except for the eyes… Which customer would come close next?…

Besides camping with the crocs, Zihua offered great food, beach time, swimming with Mozy pie, hip hangouts like “Loot” where we’d cool off with a cocktail in the afternoon heat, and …more Italian food! Haha!

Loot:

The Italian…

Our finale in Zihua ended with a delicious meal at a little Trattoria in the jungle. Walking up, you definitely felt like you had just stumbled into the heart of Italy. Art, music, down to the napkins and chairs…Italian.

We were shortly greeted by a man, wide as he was tall, just bursting with personality. He sang through the menu and made sure we had plenty of wine to start the night.

After licking our plates clean from the homemade pastas, cannolis and tiramisu, we starting speaking with our new friend to figure out how he had ended up in Mexico.

He smiled, leaned into our table hard and began…”This is-a- very good-a-story… you know, I be in Venice in the Gondola with girlfriend, drinking the wine, having the sex, smoking the pot… falling asleep, having more of the sex again…you know… the pot.. and then-a-one-a-day we do that again, and a-end up here!!…” He started giggling, trying to twist our arm into limoncello but we had to politely decline..too full!!

(We later learned that if he didn’t like customers, he’d literally chase them out of the restaurant or deny them food like the soup nazi…) Lucky for us, we had a warm send off from the trattoria and from Zihuatanejo. 😉

An incredible adventure down the coast, it was time to head inland.

Nexpa

As J sweetly summarized, Nexpa was “popcorn kisses and Pacifico dreams”;

a sleepy surf town we hunkered down in for a few days on the Michoacán coast.

Heat and humidity guided us to a rustic cabaña, right on the beach, steps away from a famous surf break.

We were welcomed by our gringo neighbor nicknamed, Memo, and caught a few other friendly surfer waves along the way.

It was refreshing to settle into such a relaxing little lugar…

Nexpa was a fine stretch of sand with one main tienda (small store with essentials), a campground, hotel, cabañas and a handful of restaurants…(One of which we frequented often for the best shrimp burritos and banana licuados).

Waves a little too good for me, J shredded the gnar, while I got in my much loved beach walks.

Afternoons were sunshine, swimming, hammocks…And of course, the palmitas (popcorn) and Pacifico sunset dreams.

Taking a small break from the beloved Mexican food… we decided nights were Italian.

¡Mama Mia! Just enough to wet our appetite, we look forward to an extended stay here in the future.

(And trust me, I’m going to practice my surf to get out there next time!)

Bienvenidos a Michoacán

One rabies shot later, we were leaving Manzanillo, Colima, heading towards the Michoacán border.

Bananas galore through Colima. Lush crop fields everywhere; ‘plátanos maduros’ more than anything, piled all over the place. (That is our lasting memory of that state…A beautiful drive, but… hot and humid in ol’ Pancho).

Sticking to our chairs, becoming one with our vehicle, we crossed the border!

Squealing to a halt at the first ‘lookout point’; we peeled ourselves out (just like one of those bananas) to take in the view…

Wow Michoacán…talk about exceeding expectations. The only thing comparable would be the Big Sur coast line on tropical steroids.

Dramatic cliffs, rocks, with pristine beaches outlined in palms down below. Every shade of green making the steep mountainous terrain more impressive. How had we not heard about this before?

Winding our way through the jungle, peering out at the vistas every opportunity, we started looking for lodging.

Narrowing down the options; J picked Marüata… Bienvenidos a Michoacán! Quite an introduction to this magical place.

The long drive was well worth it. Pancho didn’t fit under the camping palapa; so we went with a cabaña…

Mozy didn’t think it was too bad either.

French Canadian Francine

Leaving San Pancho, we started a marathon adventure South into new territory for both of us.

(No hunting the jaguars, okay!)

To prepare for hours on the carretera, we made some mandatory stops in Puerto Vallarta for: much craved SUSHI, cigarillos and Mexican Mochas! (Tight timeline folks… 😉 )

Next destination: Punta Pérula en La Costa Alegre – a very fitting name for a long stretch of ‘joyful, happy coast’ in the state of Jalisco.

Parking it at the ‘Red Snapper’ RV park, we arrived, yet again, just in time for sunset, a happy hour swim, cervezas…and… a dog?…

This was the third black stray dog that had befriended us during our trip. Was it a sign…Maybe the third x really is the charm?

The lil tamale stayed by our side the whole stay; slept in the van, took a liking to the floor rug…or maybe she wanted the chicken milanesas?… She kept hopping into the van like it was home sweet home.

After picking out her ticks, giving her a bath and Dr. J taking care of her eye infection, the adoption conversations began…

Maybe if she’s still there in the morning, posiblemente we’ll decide over the next coffee… or was it every other person on the beach who kept asking if it was ‘our dog‘…

Our neighbor, French Canadian Francine, put us over the edge, “Do-a-something good eh? You take that dog, she’ll die here. I see her with you; it’s your dog.” …”Yes, good. You take her; she will have a good life now”.

Perhaps we couldn’t say ‘no‘ to Francine and her poofy little dog Be-Be. We’d be letting down all the Canadians at the Red Snapper really…

Those big, puffy eyes hopefully gazing into our souls, a hypnotizing stare urging “take me….” (sigh)…

Then, there were three…

Loading up the van with our new furry friend, waving goodbye to Francine, there would be a slight detour to find the next el veterinario.

Mozy

It was just another day on the Costa Alegre in Jalisco. I woke up in my sand patch, where the river meets the sea in Punta Pérula.

Passing time, chasing sand crabs and dragging around sea celeries, I saw them…

Two new visitors were approaching my beach. He threw a good stick and she gave a mean ear scratch.

They might be lost, so I showed them around…figured they might need someone to look after them.

After staying a while, the humans were growing on me. I always wanted a few of my own, but it’s a real serious responsibility.

This species is a lot of work. Sometimes ‘no’ means ‘yes’. They have mood swings, can be demanding, needy. You have to make sure they get enough exercise, give them enough affection. It’s a gamble adopting some, but I was feeling risky!

Rolling the dice, I took them in.So far, it’s going really well; my tail is wagging more than ever. I’m still deciding what to name them.

As for them, they like to call me “Mozy”.

La Paz

Barely missing the ferry, we found ourselves in La Paz for a few days. Not a bad place to ‘kill some time’… (The ferry from La Paz to mainland MX, Mazatlán, only runs every couple days).

Just like its name, La Paz is a very peaceful city, especially for being one of the largest cities and the capital of Baja California Sur.

Downtown was outlined by the famous malecón, sprinkled every few meters with sculptures… The Dove of Peace pictured above.

Amazing seafood, ice cream stands, calm turquoise-blue water, and white sand…

Lazy, lounging days of free beachfront camping, coffee, little hikes and entertaining people watching… our fav was our ‘jolly’ neighbor who would dip in the water, jog a few feet, skip back into the water, then play racquetball against himself, using their large RV as an opponent 😉

He was a friendly fellow, who enjoyed his food and drink. He even brought us a container of homemade ‘chocolate clam’ ceviche he had prepared the night before… Which I have to admit, I didn’t eat, but appreciated the gesture!

After cave dwelling and tide pool hopping, we enjoyed a nice long shower at Hotel Catedral and a finale dinner at a secret garden pizzeria decorated with cafe lights!

Beaches visited:

Playa Tecolote, Playa Tesoro and the best… Playa Balandra, known for “El Hongo” rock formation. (Looks like a giant mushroom), captured on many Pacifico cans…

Whale of a Tale

It was a Fourth of July firework frenzy of whales on the horizon…I don’t know what registered first when we arrived to East Cape…a splash or spout that first caught our attention…

It was crazy to see that amount of whale activity, all going on at the same time. Our eyes darted back and forth like a competitive foose-ball game, passing the binoculars like a hot potato. There…There…There!

(This pic does no justice so you’ll just have to picture it upstairs, okay!)

A whale popcorn explosion, bursting right out of the water in front of us, over and over… and over.

Entire breaches, fin slaps, belly flops…. the most amazing? A Momma and baby whale playing together, hopscotching their way across. We couldn’t peel our eyes off the show.

East Cape reveals more magic every time. The magician who keeps you guessing, making each visit more memorable than the last…

Not only did we binge watch the ‘whale show’ all day, the evening brought a whole other type of entertainment… the Beach Dairy Princess Parade…

Returning from snorkeling we found the van surrounded by cattle and the solar panels covered in drool (we were so lucky they didn’t get trampled!).

It was a complete spectacle… cows frolicking in the waves like ‘James Bond girls’… It was their time, they’re the boss, and with their mass; you’re just along for the ride, your being, or your vehicle, for their amusement. Period.

Cataviña

Leaving for Mexico…Round 2! Tuvimos ganas to get down South pretty quickly.

Taking off early in the morning (this time), we were on a mission to the border… I mean to VG’s donuts…and then the border 😉

Veins surging with cinnamon twists; we powered through secondary in a few sips of coffee and were gone.

Destination 1: Cataviña. This curious part of the desert is about 7+ hours from Oceanside. Still quite a drive, it was a good goal for the first day. Coffee, coffee, coffee. There was the thermos of hot coffee, then the cooler iced coffees. Zzzzzzzzzz…

Cafeína cross the livestock friendly two lane highways. Cows, horses, goats, coyotes. (Do not drive at night).

Pulling in right at sundown added to the eerie but fascinating landscape. Similar to Mars but with plants fighting through the crusty surface; like alien hands reaching out their skinny, pointy fingers towards the sky…

We were welcomed at Rancho Santa Inès. There are a few campgrounds/RV parks in the area, but this one was the BEST. Just a short drive off the highway, offering spacious sites near a cool riverbed, and palm tree oasis.

After our sunset walkabout, we agreed it was a ‘cup of noodles’ kind of night before lights out.

Despacito

There they were… a stranded, foreign couple in the middle of nowhere, trying to flag down help on a two lane highway, in what J described as a “Dr. Seuss desert forest”.

Oh shoot… did I say “they”… I meant “we“…

You almost always start evaluating yourself from an outsider’s perspective in these types of situations….. “Would I stop for me?”

Haha, not to fear! As a couple, I’m pretty sure this was our 4th time hitchhiking… Yes, we’re real experienced “hitchers” 😉

The last time? Running down the El Yunque rainforest in Colombia, with all our luggage, trying to make the bus back to Cartagena…yes, we did score a ride (sweaty and everything) barely making our autobús. Woot!

We have the different ‘waves’ down…

This one was the forceful, double handed ‘parade wave’, communicating, “Hello, we are friendly… but, Please. Stop. Now. Thanks.”

Moments later, a small cargo truck with two men pulled off to see what the commotion was… Although, relatively calm, I could not remember the word for “tow truck”…

The stage was mine… It was like an anxiety ridden game of catchphrase… motioning and blurting out phrases, “we need a big truck for the van” … “You know the larger one to take the little one”… “The vehicle to put the other vehicle “…

“Una grúa?”…. “Si, si, una grúa”… There was only room for one of us in the cargo truck… (Neither of us wanted to leave the other alone…) After going back and forth regarding our options, the men offered to drive slowly behind us until we made it back to town.

The clanging from Pancho’s underbelly was concerning; we certainly didn’t want to make it worse. Guided to a mechanic, we posted up for a few hours to see if there would be a quick fix…

It was an interesting diagnosis to say the least. The mechanic had a hose cut on both ends and was using it like a stethoscope… holding one end to his ear and moving the other end to the transmission, engine etc. announcing, “Ruida aqui?…no… Ruida aqui…no… Ruida aqui?…Si, es el motor.. Tengo quitar el motor”.

Um… What…Remove the engine?!?! J and I exchanged some ‘I don’t think so’ looks. We quickly asked the mecánico if we could make it back to Ensenada. “Si, es posible…” That was good enough for us and really the only possibility at that point.

“Muy despacito”, he cautioned. Giving understanding nods, we thanked the mechanic for his time and started back North.

Just like the song…

“Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito
Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito”

Nervously stepping onto the dance floor, poquito a poquito, 40 mph for over 130 miles. We just kind of held our breath, encouraging each other along in this fragile dance down the highway… While stress was in the air; I’m proud we both did great at focusing on the positive ~ PMA alllll the way. The clattering had subsided some…fingers crossed…

Gracias a dios! Hours later, driving into this familiar area was such a relief… made it back to Ensenada.

A quick stop for tacos later, we were high-fiving; it felt like victory!

Punta Baja

Thick, juicy, gooey MUD.

Hundreds of earthy suction cups grabbed at Pancho, trying to wrap their tierra tentacles around his svelte body.

We were a sailboat in a distressed dirt sea, dodging Lock Ness Monsters!

The roads were not prepared for all the rain; one wrong turn from El Rosario and we were fishtailing through the country side, in search of Punta Baja.

Mi Capitán pulled it off, slipping, sliding, gliding, he manned our ship through the worst of the storm.

Just as the sun was setting; we successfully anchored at our destination: Punta Baja. Man were we excited to see that light house tower.

Pancho stood strong on the point, his proud chest puffed up in the ocean breeze.

Hallelujah… We cracked a beer and took a moment to exhale and appreciate being capsize-free. That was close!

It was our first time to Punta Baja; while we experienced some chaos getting there, the discovery made up for it!

Those who seek adventure will find it! …