Mexico - Mainland Pacific Coast - July 9 to 26
- Thread starter viatierra
- Start date
jeffryscott
2006 Rally Course Champion: Expedition Trophy
great trip report ... I've been to Leon, and was so close to Guanajuato but couldn't get there. After seeing the pics I'm so sad I wasn't able to .. what a beautiful place. Necesito practicar mi espanol, yo quiero una viaje sur or something like that.
viatierra
Explorer
Road Report - Volcanoes part 1
This next part of the trip was definitely my favorite so accept my apologies up front if this gets a bit long. Throughout the entire area east and south of Guadalajara I did not drive any toll roads. I really wanted to enjoy the drive through the tropical mountains. It was fantastic! When I left Tequila in the afternoon, I needed to make camp that night at Parque Nacional Volcan Nevado de Colima. It is a National Park that allows camping in most areas. Finding the dirt road to the park was tricky because at times the signs used a different name. Zapotepeti is the native name for Nevado, the big volcano. I figured out what was going on with the signs later when a park ranger gave me a brochure with lots of great information. It was raining and the sun was starting to hang low in the sky when I finally got some good directions from a Pemex attendant. Worried about navigating in the dark, I asked him how long it would take to get to camp. He stepped back and looked the truck up and down and said, “For you? One hour!” Well, it took about 1 ½ hours and I wasn’t shy at all with the accelerator. The back road was steep, washed out and very curvy. The drive was ridiculous fun! I climbed higher & higher until I finally made camp. The GPS altitude read 12,345 ft. Once I flipped open the EasyAwn, it made a perfect little space protected from the rain. It was just enough room to set up my table & chair, make a couple of quesadillas, prop my feet up on the ladder and watch the rain.
Spending the day in Tequila worked out perfectly because my original schedule had me driving the park and climbing the volcano on the same day. Sleeping overnight at this altitude gave my body some time to acclimatize. However, the sleep was not uninterrupted. I had the whole place to myself until 4:30am when I heard the unmistakable sounds of tires spinning, digging and excited conversation. It was still raining and I was exhausted so I didn’t get up until daylight broke at 6:00. When I crawled out, I found a gorgeous rebuilt old Jeep with the front axle planted in a 4 foot deep eroded ditch. In the dark, these guys simply drove right into it. One of the three guys had a nasty gash on his forehead, but they had already done a good job of taking care of it. We talked & made fun of the guy digging for a bit when I offered to pull them out. Naturally, they tried one last time to free the vehicle on its own, and it drove right out… They were up to take early morning photographs of the volcanoes. So once they checked everything out, they grabbed their camera gear and headed down the trail. Dead batteries prevented me from taking any pictures of the Jeep in the ditch. It was a sharp looking truck! I loved the Doble Traccione badge.
This next part of the trip was definitely my favorite so accept my apologies up front if this gets a bit long. Throughout the entire area east and south of Guadalajara I did not drive any toll roads. I really wanted to enjoy the drive through the tropical mountains. It was fantastic! When I left Tequila in the afternoon, I needed to make camp that night at Parque Nacional Volcan Nevado de Colima. It is a National Park that allows camping in most areas. Finding the dirt road to the park was tricky because at times the signs used a different name. Zapotepeti is the native name for Nevado, the big volcano. I figured out what was going on with the signs later when a park ranger gave me a brochure with lots of great information. It was raining and the sun was starting to hang low in the sky when I finally got some good directions from a Pemex attendant. Worried about navigating in the dark, I asked him how long it would take to get to camp. He stepped back and looked the truck up and down and said, “For you? One hour!” Well, it took about 1 ½ hours and I wasn’t shy at all with the accelerator. The back road was steep, washed out and very curvy. The drive was ridiculous fun! I climbed higher & higher until I finally made camp. The GPS altitude read 12,345 ft. Once I flipped open the EasyAwn, it made a perfect little space protected from the rain. It was just enough room to set up my table & chair, make a couple of quesadillas, prop my feet up on the ladder and watch the rain.
Spending the day in Tequila worked out perfectly because my original schedule had me driving the park and climbing the volcano on the same day. Sleeping overnight at this altitude gave my body some time to acclimatize. However, the sleep was not uninterrupted. I had the whole place to myself until 4:30am when I heard the unmistakable sounds of tires spinning, digging and excited conversation. It was still raining and I was exhausted so I didn’t get up until daylight broke at 6:00. When I crawled out, I found a gorgeous rebuilt old Jeep with the front axle planted in a 4 foot deep eroded ditch. In the dark, these guys simply drove right into it. One of the three guys had a nasty gash on his forehead, but they had already done a good job of taking care of it. We talked & made fun of the guy digging for a bit when I offered to pull them out. Naturally, they tried one last time to free the vehicle on its own, and it drove right out… They were up to take early morning photographs of the volcanoes. So once they checked everything out, they grabbed their camera gear and headed down the trail. Dead batteries prevented me from taking any pictures of the Jeep in the ditch. It was a sharp looking truck! I loved the Doble Traccione badge.
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viatierra
Explorer
Road Report - Volcanoes part 2
After breakfast and cleaning up, I hiked the volcano Nevado de Colima. It was 5 hours round trip. Now, my words and picture simply don’t provide sufficient justice for how terrifying, bizarre & life changing these volcanoes were for me. At the end, I was physically tired… but also totally emotionally spent. It was a spooky day.
The first part of the trail is an access road to a scientific observatory. At 13,000ft the observatory is situated next to the dead volcano Nevado which was hidden in cloud cover, and it overlooks the active volcano En Fuego from a whopping 5 km away. When I first came around the corner and saw the perfect triangular shape with giant gouges scraped down the sides and plume of steam pouring from the top… only 2+ miles away, I cussed nonsense for 10 minutes. There is no way that was rational place to be. It was awesome.
I walked up to the observatory and snooped around their seismic & other equipment. Next I ran into a group of 8 well outfitted athletes running the road. They seemed to be a bit older than college age and were ripped. What kind of athletic group trains in the middle of nowhere to run a 13,000ft road? Mexican Olympians? I wish I had the chance to chat with them and find out. They just waved and ran on.
Next I started to make my way up Nevado. There was no trail and it was covered in clouds, so it was impossible to get a read and plan an attack. At the beginning, there were footprints in the sand traversing around the mountain.
I followed those as long as I could until I came to a large, steep slope of lava rock. It was obviously the main lava flow. I don’t know the proper technique for climbing volcanoes, but this seemed like a reasonable place to start climbing. The rock was unstable and shifted under my feet regularly. Although it was very steep, I got the sense that I wouldn’t go far if I fell. The rocks created a surface that was quite irregular. A couple of times I found myself dead-ending into a vertical surface I wasn’t comfortable climbing, so backtracked and tried a different route. The scene was intensely creepy as various lava formations became visible through the clouds. Sometimes I thought about hiking on Mars or Frodo returning the Ring on Mt. Doom. I was utterly alone in a place I didn’t belong and truly afraid. I was having a blast facing down all of the fears and doubts.
After breakfast and cleaning up, I hiked the volcano Nevado de Colima. It was 5 hours round trip. Now, my words and picture simply don’t provide sufficient justice for how terrifying, bizarre & life changing these volcanoes were for me. At the end, I was physically tired… but also totally emotionally spent. It was a spooky day.
The first part of the trail is an access road to a scientific observatory. At 13,000ft the observatory is situated next to the dead volcano Nevado which was hidden in cloud cover, and it overlooks the active volcano En Fuego from a whopping 5 km away. When I first came around the corner and saw the perfect triangular shape with giant gouges scraped down the sides and plume of steam pouring from the top… only 2+ miles away, I cussed nonsense for 10 minutes. There is no way that was rational place to be. It was awesome.
I walked up to the observatory and snooped around their seismic & other equipment. Next I ran into a group of 8 well outfitted athletes running the road. They seemed to be a bit older than college age and were ripped. What kind of athletic group trains in the middle of nowhere to run a 13,000ft road? Mexican Olympians? I wish I had the chance to chat with them and find out. They just waved and ran on.
Next I started to make my way up Nevado. There was no trail and it was covered in clouds, so it was impossible to get a read and plan an attack. At the beginning, there were footprints in the sand traversing around the mountain.
I followed those as long as I could until I came to a large, steep slope of lava rock. It was obviously the main lava flow. I don’t know the proper technique for climbing volcanoes, but this seemed like a reasonable place to start climbing. The rock was unstable and shifted under my feet regularly. Although it was very steep, I got the sense that I wouldn’t go far if I fell. The rocks created a surface that was quite irregular. A couple of times I found myself dead-ending into a vertical surface I wasn’t comfortable climbing, so backtracked and tried a different route. The scene was intensely creepy as various lava formations became visible through the clouds. Sometimes I thought about hiking on Mars or Frodo returning the Ring on Mt. Doom. I was utterly alone in a place I didn’t belong and truly afraid. I was having a blast facing down all of the fears and doubts.
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viatierra
Explorer
Road Report - Volcanoes part 3
Finally, I could see the top. It has two jagged & vertical peaks with little saddle in between. It took a long time to find a safe route around the towering rocks to the saddle. Near 14,000 ft I had the vertigo-type feelings from the altitude mixed with the queasy feelings from the volcano when I looked over my shoulder to see a huge, churning, cotton-candy cloud rolling in at eye level. Convinced I was going to die, I did everything but soil myself: my knees buckled; I fell to the ground and clawed the sand for something solid to save me. Then as the cool mist blew by, I realized that I’m a dork! From there I made it to each peak and ate lunch. My highest altitude reading was 14,042ft. The brochure said it was 4380m (14,370ft) but I didn’t think my GPS would be that far off.
I haven’t done too much hiking recently, so I was really pleased at how well my body performed. Altitude has never been much of a problem for me. No headaches, light headedness or stomach aches. I love the sense of accomplishment when making it to the top. Doing it solo, 1500 miles away in another country added new pieces to the experience too. Easily the coolest part of this entire journey…
Here are the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/viatierra/sets/72157601057989014/
Within a few short hours, I would be at sea level setting camp on the beach.
We’ll save that for the next update…
More to come,
Greg
Finally, I could see the top. It has two jagged & vertical peaks with little saddle in between. It took a long time to find a safe route around the towering rocks to the saddle. Near 14,000 ft I had the vertigo-type feelings from the altitude mixed with the queasy feelings from the volcano when I looked over my shoulder to see a huge, churning, cotton-candy cloud rolling in at eye level. Convinced I was going to die, I did everything but soil myself: my knees buckled; I fell to the ground and clawed the sand for something solid to save me. Then as the cool mist blew by, I realized that I’m a dork! From there I made it to each peak and ate lunch. My highest altitude reading was 14,042ft. The brochure said it was 4380m (14,370ft) but I didn’t think my GPS would be that far off.
I haven’t done too much hiking recently, so I was really pleased at how well my body performed. Altitude has never been much of a problem for me. No headaches, light headedness or stomach aches. I love the sense of accomplishment when making it to the top. Doing it solo, 1500 miles away in another country added new pieces to the experience too. Easily the coolest part of this entire journey…
Here are the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/viatierra/sets/72157601057989014/
Within a few short hours, I would be at sea level setting camp on the beach.
We’ll save that for the next update…
More to come,
Greg
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LexusAllTerrain
Expedition Leader
Great trip report, great pictures, and now how can i top that,
Maybe I need to take pictures from the inside of the volcano, which reminds me maybe I need to take an oxygen mask
Any way congratulations, you are a brave man!
Maybe I need to take pictures from the inside of the volcano, which reminds me maybe I need to take an oxygen mask
Any way congratulations, you are a brave man!
viatierra
Explorer
eurorom said:
Well, all I can say is that I'm in debt to you for the suggestion and info! You really came through for me. Hopefully, I can return the favor some day.
If anyone is interested, I have my GPS data and park pamphlet. I'd be happy to pass them along if someone wants to check the area out. It is an amazing stop...
4Rescue
Expedition Leader
Simply awsome. Question: do you have a route log (i'm interested in driving down to Mexico/central America as it is...), and what is the deal with the school? I work in a hospital (ER) here in Portland (as well as being a trained/hopeful Firefighter) and learning Spanish is at the top of my list for things I need to do. I think an imersion type experience would be the best way for me to learn the language caue that's how I learn best. Again, love the rip and great report.
Cheers and no worries
Dave :safari-rig:
Cheers and no worries
Dave :safari-rig:
articulate
Expedition Leader
One question:
Was Frodo able to throw away the ring?
I must know how that story ends.
Was Frodo able to throw away the ring?
I must know how that story ends.
viatierra
Explorer
4Rescue said:
Here is the school I use. http://www.donquijote.org/
It is a pretty large company with locations around the world so they largely have their act together. Some of the materials provided were for studing "Spain" spanish which is slightly different.
Here's the cool thing... They have special classes for those interested in medical spanish. There were several nurses & med students doing this. Some had even arranged to observe at a local clinic. If you want, I can PM you the email address of the secratary, she runs the show and can answer all your questions.
Also, since you are talking about the emersion thing... most people life with a family during their stay. You can rent an apartment alone or a house with other students. All of this is coordinated through the school. It's a snap. Most family situations are good, but if you are not happy they will find another place for you. It happens all the time. HOWEVER, since I've done it in Guanajuato a couple of times I have figured out who some of the EXCELLENT families are. In the future, I am going to coordinate directly with them so I'm not rolling the dice. I have email addresses and phone numbers of places I would recommend.
As soon as I finish posting the rest of the trip, I'll do a wrap up with some of the other data you're looking for. If I've missed something, just pester me for more details. My route was pretty simple: South on Mex 45 to Guanajuato, bounce over to Guadalajara, North on Mex 15 to Nogalas. I can't beleive how EASY it was. I'm itching to go much further next time!
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LexusAllTerrain
Expedition Leader
HTML:
My route was pretty simple: South on Mex 45 to Guanajuato, bounce over to Guadalajara, North on Mex 15 to Nogalas. I can't beleive how EASY it was. I'm itching to go much further next time!It is very easy to travel in Mexico, they now have the great toll hwy system and it keeps on getting better!
I remember going into Hermosillo when i was 8 years old and it used to take 12 to 14 hours from El Paso, now I can get there in 7 hours if I need to!
Big change!
viatierra
Explorer
Road Report - Las Playas to Nogales
If there was a negative aspect to climbing the volcano in the morning and then driving the free roads through the jungle, it would be that I had to drive well past dark to reach my campsite. Driving into the night is not fun at all. Locals avoid it. Even at a routine inspection point, a police officer asked me, "What are you doing? Aren't you afraid?" Yep, I needed to get off the road ASAP. Not to mention I was exhausted from a full day. I finally located my campsite in the rain at 9:45pm. Playa Boca de Iguanas is about an hour north of Manzanillo.
The beach was beautiful, but it rained and rained. It was hot, extremely humid and the wind rarely blew. Without a doubt, my next truck mod is a fan in the tent. I opened all the screens and suffered a few mosquitoes just so I could feel the slightest breeze. To top it off, the tent started to collect water at both ends. I was stuck with a 4 foot square patch of dry padding to sleep on. When the morning finally arrived, I snapped a few beach pictures and anxiously packed up camp.
As I approached Puerto Vallarta, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd heard a bit of everything during my research. Well, I can see why it is such a destination! It is a fascinating location. You have ocean & beaches. You have these incredible mountains that sprout right out of the water, AND they are covered with lush, massive jungle. It is a confluence of gorgeous natural phenomenon. From my early departure, I was ahead of schedule so I tried to locate a couple of back roads into the jungle. My map showed a couple of nice loops and a fleet of yellow Unimogs are doing jungle tours, so I know they exist. However, after 2 hours of dead end garbage dumps I called it quits and moved on.
North of Puerto Vallarta, my brother recommended Playa Chacala. Unexpectedly, when I arrived the beach was packed! Apparently it is a popular beach for Mexican family vacations. Everyone enjoying the beach stays at nearby hotels. So it wasn't long before people started to clear out allowing me to claim some prime real estate for my campsite. I soon made friends with the family next to my campsite. Our conversation started off like many others during my journey: "Are you traveling alone? Why? Oh... Here, eat something!" Fransisco and his family kept me entertained and well fed all day. I say we had a great time because they were the last group to leave for their hotel. Then next morning at 7am, I poked my head out of the tent and their they were! The first group back at the beach was set up right next door. "Greg! I have coffee for you!" You gotta love Mexican hospitality... Playa Chacala gets my 5 star recommendation.
Now play time was over. I had 2 days to get from North of Puerto Vallarta back to Phoenix. I needed to get to the Toll road and put down some serious kilometers. First, there was no Toll road. Then there was construction. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to get frustrated and peeved. When a wide open Toll road appeared, I was unable to deny the temptation to drive pretty fast. It wasn't long before I had a Federale chasing me down. Have you seen what they are driving these days? Black Dodge Chargers with blacked out wheels and lights mounted in those aggressive raked grills. A seriously intimidating looking machine! The Federale characters themselves are no picnic either... What happened next confirmed that my Spanish had reached a new plateau. He quickly informed me that I was just getting a warning, but he kept talking. He talked about the hassle of processing a foreigner with a foreign vehicle. He lectured me about my speed and safe driving. I began to think that he was simply stalling for a 'tip'. Next I jumped in and rattled off the longest continuous talk in Spanish of my life. I apologized, promised to slow down and admitted my mistake. Then, I just started talking about my journey so far, all the places I had been to, all the wonderful people I had met... Soon, He was shifting his weight from one foot to another... then he excused himself and sent me on my way. I bored him. Ha!
That night I camped in an open area a few miles outside of El Fuerte, near Los Mochis. The next morning, I had another Spanish breakthrough filling up with gas at the Pemex. I caught the attendant trying to cheat me out of some money. He had swapped my 200 peso bill for a 20 peso bill when I wasn't looking. Then claimed that I hadn't paid the full amount. The bills are different colors and easy to keep track of. Plus, I knew the 200 I handed him was ripped. I was 100% confident what had just happened, and I was furious. I lit into him with unconscious fury, all in Spanish. He quickly backed down and said that he just wanted to be sure I got my receipt.
I only tell those last two minor incidents to demonstrate that when I really needed Spanish, it was there for me. After 3 weeks and 3500 miles in Mexico, those were the only 2 negative encounters out of countless positive ones. Both worked out in my favor as well.
The final story of my trip happened outside of Magdelena after passing through the final toll booth. Last year, my brother and his wife had tough time crossing the border because their truck had mud on it. The US guards sent them back into Mexico to get it washed off before they could cross. A huge hassle. I knew that I wanted to just wash the truck before getting in the line to cross. Better safe than sorry. After leaving the toll booth, I pulled up to a store to buy a soft drink and use the restroom. Instantly, a couple of 10 or 11 year old window washers jumped on my truck to do their thing. I said "No, No, NO! I need the WHOLE truck washed. Can you do it?" Their little eyes popped out of their head like they had just hit the mother load. Good stuff.
Here are the pictures:
Thanks for following along and allowing me to share my journey.
Until next time,
Greg Stephens
All of the pictures from the Mexico 2007 trip can be seen here:
If there was a negative aspect to climbing the volcano in the morning and then driving the free roads through the jungle, it would be that I had to drive well past dark to reach my campsite. Driving into the night is not fun at all. Locals avoid it. Even at a routine inspection point, a police officer asked me, "What are you doing? Aren't you afraid?" Yep, I needed to get off the road ASAP. Not to mention I was exhausted from a full day. I finally located my campsite in the rain at 9:45pm. Playa Boca de Iguanas is about an hour north of Manzanillo.
The beach was beautiful, but it rained and rained. It was hot, extremely humid and the wind rarely blew. Without a doubt, my next truck mod is a fan in the tent. I opened all the screens and suffered a few mosquitoes just so I could feel the slightest breeze. To top it off, the tent started to collect water at both ends. I was stuck with a 4 foot square patch of dry padding to sleep on. When the morning finally arrived, I snapped a few beach pictures and anxiously packed up camp.
As I approached Puerto Vallarta, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd heard a bit of everything during my research. Well, I can see why it is such a destination! It is a fascinating location. You have ocean & beaches. You have these incredible mountains that sprout right out of the water, AND they are covered with lush, massive jungle. It is a confluence of gorgeous natural phenomenon. From my early departure, I was ahead of schedule so I tried to locate a couple of back roads into the jungle. My map showed a couple of nice loops and a fleet of yellow Unimogs are doing jungle tours, so I know they exist. However, after 2 hours of dead end garbage dumps I called it quits and moved on.
North of Puerto Vallarta, my brother recommended Playa Chacala. Unexpectedly, when I arrived the beach was packed! Apparently it is a popular beach for Mexican family vacations. Everyone enjoying the beach stays at nearby hotels. So it wasn't long before people started to clear out allowing me to claim some prime real estate for my campsite. I soon made friends with the family next to my campsite. Our conversation started off like many others during my journey: "Are you traveling alone? Why? Oh... Here, eat something!" Fransisco and his family kept me entertained and well fed all day. I say we had a great time because they were the last group to leave for their hotel. Then next morning at 7am, I poked my head out of the tent and their they were! The first group back at the beach was set up right next door. "Greg! I have coffee for you!" You gotta love Mexican hospitality... Playa Chacala gets my 5 star recommendation.
Now play time was over. I had 2 days to get from North of Puerto Vallarta back to Phoenix. I needed to get to the Toll road and put down some serious kilometers. First, there was no Toll road. Then there was construction. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to get frustrated and peeved. When a wide open Toll road appeared, I was unable to deny the temptation to drive pretty fast. It wasn't long before I had a Federale chasing me down. Have you seen what they are driving these days? Black Dodge Chargers with blacked out wheels and lights mounted in those aggressive raked grills. A seriously intimidating looking machine! The Federale characters themselves are no picnic either... What happened next confirmed that my Spanish had reached a new plateau. He quickly informed me that I was just getting a warning, but he kept talking. He talked about the hassle of processing a foreigner with a foreign vehicle. He lectured me about my speed and safe driving. I began to think that he was simply stalling for a 'tip'. Next I jumped in and rattled off the longest continuous talk in Spanish of my life. I apologized, promised to slow down and admitted my mistake. Then, I just started talking about my journey so far, all the places I had been to, all the wonderful people I had met... Soon, He was shifting his weight from one foot to another... then he excused himself and sent me on my way. I bored him. Ha!
That night I camped in an open area a few miles outside of El Fuerte, near Los Mochis. The next morning, I had another Spanish breakthrough filling up with gas at the Pemex. I caught the attendant trying to cheat me out of some money. He had swapped my 200 peso bill for a 20 peso bill when I wasn't looking. Then claimed that I hadn't paid the full amount. The bills are different colors and easy to keep track of. Plus, I knew the 200 I handed him was ripped. I was 100% confident what had just happened, and I was furious. I lit into him with unconscious fury, all in Spanish. He quickly backed down and said that he just wanted to be sure I got my receipt.
I only tell those last two minor incidents to demonstrate that when I really needed Spanish, it was there for me. After 3 weeks and 3500 miles in Mexico, those were the only 2 negative encounters out of countless positive ones. Both worked out in my favor as well.
The final story of my trip happened outside of Magdelena after passing through the final toll booth. Last year, my brother and his wife had tough time crossing the border because their truck had mud on it. The US guards sent them back into Mexico to get it washed off before they could cross. A huge hassle. I knew that I wanted to just wash the truck before getting in the line to cross. Better safe than sorry. After leaving the toll booth, I pulled up to a store to buy a soft drink and use the restroom. Instantly, a couple of 10 or 11 year old window washers jumped on my truck to do their thing. I said "No, No, NO! I need the WHOLE truck washed. Can you do it?" Their little eyes popped out of their head like they had just hit the mother load. Good stuff.
Here are the pictures:
Thanks for following along and allowing me to share my journey.
Until next time,
Greg Stephens
All of the pictures from the Mexico 2007 trip can be seen here:
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articulate
Expedition Leader
ROCKIN'.
Boring the Federale, now that's hilarious. Great weapon.
Boring the Federale, now that's hilarious. Great weapon.
