Troncones and Mazamitla (4/29/11-5/4)

Entonces, Troncones

'Entonces' is a word I never learned in school, yet it's a common, everyday word. It means 'then'. I thought it sounded good in the title. It's a long 253 miles over 6-1/2 hours to get from Playa Ventura to Troncones. The coast highway is one of those fast/slow roads. You get to go fast for a mile or five before another town with topes shows up. Plus, it does a lot of winding back and forth. Everything is brown awaiting the rainy season, and countless fields are set afire to clear for planting, leaving an annoying haze.


seaside food shacks

look for the La Fogata

North of Acapulco and 80 miles south of Zhuatanejo is the restaurant pictured. I stopped there for lunch and for 40 pesos I ate like a king. And the salsa adobo is the best combination of sweet and heat to come out of Mexico since Salma Hayek. Further along the coast road the ocean comes into view from time to time. Often, when there is any kind of space you'll find food shacks crammed in between the road and the beach, like in the picture.

 

the shower

Troncones

Making my way through the traffic zoo that is Zihua., the Troncones road is about another 20 minutes north. Much quieter and mostly upscale - rich gringos with second homes, or thirds, I suppose - I like it here. John and Sheri, from Iowa among other places, have started a small RV park in their yard across the street from the beach. It's late in the season and the heat and humidity are getting borderline, and it's too hot to even hang on the beach for very long.



My second night we walk over to the restaurant across the street and enjoy a few hours of good food and drink. John and Sheri are fun to hang with and I'd love to come back when the weather is more agreeable. Love the garden hose shower, which they promise to replace with a real shower soon. I hope this one stays.

Mazamitla

one of many cliff views

It's another challenging drive along the coast for 6 hours, and then 3 more hours north into the mountains, 344 miles in total. This marks the end of my days on the ocean, but the Michoacan coast affords some of the most beautiful views. Much of this coast is sparsely populated as it's very rough and the driving along the cliffs is very distracting.

P. Ventura to Mazamitla
black is prior trip
click to enlarge

Turning inland the road climbs towards the capital city of Colima and beyond that there is farmland cut with canyons making for more slow driving. The best thing about gaining elevation is going from 95 down to about 80. And the air is much drier. I get to use my blanket and my sleeping bag...low 50's at night. Nice.



I'm staying at the Hacienda Contreras, a campground owned by Barb and Sal, the couple I originally crossed into Mexico with way back in September, so I've been looking forward to seeing them again. The campground is outside of Mazamitla closer to the smaller town of Valle de Juarez. Both of these towns are already among my favorites. Great climate, clean, friendly and lots of good food.



Coco and the birria

Speaking of food, one day Barb and I drive into Juarez to go to the grocery store and we park on the plaza across from where Coco is serving up his special birria, something he's been doing for over 30 years. Birria is calf that has been marinated overnight and then slow cooked in the morning. It's served with a broth and all the usual sides. Think it tastes good? You would be right. 

Mazamitla church

Afterwards we drive over to the center of Mazamitla, a Pueblo Magico. I think the main magical thing about it is the pine forest climate. Many people from Guadalajara come here to vacation or have second homes. We park next to an old home and the owner invites us in to taste the family recipe for caramel. We both buy some. There is a band playing in the plaza, some of the wooden buildings look Swiss and the church here is a little different than most. All of this is magical, too.



with Sal and Barb

Even though I caught a pretty bad cold - from the drastic change in weather, I guess - Sal and Barb and I had some good meals together. They are both very kind. Sal was born and raised in Juarez so they know the entire town, it seems, making a trip into town even more special as they exchange greetings with most everyone we see. The campground is in a country setting on land Sal bought from his grandfather. This is an area I would like to come back to and spend some more time.