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TR: Texas to Puerta Vallarta
Just got back from a 10-day road trip from San Antonio, Texas to just north
of Puerta Vallarta. Excellent trip. Over 2,500 miles of driving, much of it at night and on back roads, despite warnings from many "mexperts" who assured us doing so would lead to our demise. Here are some pictures: http://chrissnell.com/mexico_2003/ Here are some video clips: http://chrissnell.com/mexico_2003/movies/ Here's the report: On Saturday, 10/22, we (me and my cousin) left San Antonio at about 9:00 p.m. and drove to Corpus Christi to pick up two friends. We left Corpus at about 12:00 midnight and headed south for Brownsville, Texas where we planned to cross over into Matamoros. We arrived in Brownsville at about 2:30, changed our money, and crossed the border. Registering the car was a breeze, and we were on the road by 3:00 a.m. We had originally planned to get a hotel in Matamoros for a few hours, but the selection was slim and the prices exorbitant. After inquiring into a few hotels, we then decided to push on to Cd. Victoria, about 180 miles down the road. We made good time for after leaving Matamoros and, after passing through several military checkpoints in the middle of the night (a bit scary for the uninitiated) rolled into Victoria at about 6:30 a.m. The road from Matamoros to Victoria is a simple two-lane affair, but there was no traffic in the middle of the night. Despite numerous warnings against driving at night in Mexico, the drive was quite nice. We decided to sleep for a few hours and rented 2 rooms at the Hotel Sierra Gorda, an older, once elegant hotel, with a beautiful, ornate lobby and an old-fashioned elevator complete with a pleasant operator. The rooms were a bit old and dingy, but we got a few hours of sleep nontheless. We all woke around 12:00 noon and walked around Victoria for an hour or so. Victoria is not the nicest Mexican town you will find, but it was interesting to see the market and watch people. We were the only Gringos we saw that day. We left Victoria and began heading for our next destination, San Luis Potosi, where we planned to have dinner. Mexican road signage leaves a lot to be desired, so we spent the better part of an hour trying to get out of Victoria and on to the road to SLP. We were soon negotiating the beautiful road that crosses the mountains to the west of SLP. After an hour or so of climbing, the road traversed a ridge for a while that afforded beautiful views of the dessert and towns below. The highlight of the drive to the top of the mountains was the funky English-language music we were getting from the radio station at the University in Cd. Victoria. All of the songs were popular American songs from the 60s-80s (including "Riders on the Storm," "Me and Bobby McGee," and Van Halen's "Jump"), but they were performed by the same mediocre cover band with the same lead singer. Bizarre, but entertaining. We soon descended from the mountains and were back into the dessert valley. The road from Victoria to SLP is all two-lane except for the last 50 miles, which is on excellent divided highways. Once we hit the divided highways, we spotted numerous people on the side of the road selling dried rattlesnake carcasses, a reminder of what lurked in the cactus beyond the road. We reached SLP at just after dark and headed for the Centro where we hoped to feast on some tacos potosinos, a local treat involving cheese, meet and vegetables. We ate dinner at a place called Cafe Obregon and then hit the road for Guadalajara, our destination for the night. SLP was really charming, with cobblestone streets and colonial buildings. A lot of young people were congregating in the town center that evening, so we got plenty of people watching in that night. Before leaving SLP, we stopped at a local Walmart Supercenter and stocked up on supplies, such as cereal and peanut butter. The Walmart kind of blew my mind, as it was just like what you find in the states. Next door to Walmart was a Home Depot. We left SLP at about 10:00 pm and began heading toward Guad on the vicious road that climbs out of SLP. Progress was very slow because we got stuck behind countless trucks creeping along at 10 mph. Passing would have been suicide. Eventually we climbed out of SLP and hit the open dessert where the road straightened out. Again, we were driving at night on one-land roads in Mexico. The drive wasn't too bad, but we did have a few scares while trying to pass the countless busses we encountered. The "topes" found on highways in small towns became a bit annoying, but progress was good. The highlights of the night included a section where the route followed a dirt road where the main, paved route was under construction. A bus in front of us kicked up a dust cloud so vicious that we could barely see 10' beyond the hood of my rig. Eventually the road reached a wider, divided toll road. We finally made it to Guadalajara at about 3:00 am, found a hotel downtown, and unloaded some of our stuff. The room, which cost us $40 for 4 people was pretty filthy, but we were too exhausted to care. None of us slept well because a bar across the street kept blaring out music all night, which was replaced by the sound of garbage trucks at about 6:00 am. We got an early start the next morning and, after walking around Guad for a few minutes, were on the highway toward Puerto Vallarta. There was a lot of traffic in Guad that morning, but it was interesting mixing in with the locals on the roads. We got out of Guad by about 10:00 and, after some coffee at the Pemex station, were soon heading toward Tepic. The toll road from Guadalajara was a two-lane divided affair that rivaled interstates in the U.S. We made the obligitory stop at Tequila, the place where Jose Cuervo and a number of other Tequilas are made. Tequila is an interesting place to visit, wholly apart from the Tequila shops there. There you will find an array of quaint shops and cobbled streets. After buying a few litres of off-brand tequila, we were back on the toll road, toward Tepic. After an hour or so, we turned off the main toll road and gained the small, two-lane road to Puerto Vallarta. The terrain in this area was truly remarkable: sugar cane fields with groves of pine trees interspersed every few hundred yards. The sweet smell of sugar cane and pine is something I will never forget. We continued on toward PV and were soon climbing up into the lush coastal mountains. The road became windier, and we soon found ourselves getting trapped behind slow-moving trucks. Passing these trucks was unnerving at best. We soon descended out of the mountains and began heading back South toward Sayulita, where we planned to get in an afternoon surf session before heading on to Punta de Mita, our final destination for the week. Our excitement began to build as we caught our first glimpse of the Pacific near the town of San Francisco. We continued heading south through the densely vegetated costal region and soon reached the pull off for Sayulita. Once we reached Sayulita, a quaint fishing village that is beginning to become popular with tourists, the streets turned to dirt. We followed a dirt road to the beach, unloaded our boards and were paddling out within minutes of arriving. The time was about 1:30. The surf was excellent that day, clean and chest-high. After a 3-hour session, we enjoyed a dinner of Ceviche and Guacamole at a beach-front Palapa, where you could sit, sip on a cold Pacifico, and watch the surf. After dinner, we loaded up the boards and drove further South on the highway toward Puerta Vallarta until we reached the turn-off for Punta de Mita. We reached Punta de Mita as the sun was finally setting and checked into our home for the next week, a bungalow located in the back yard of an American expat. The bungalow was one floor in a two-story home, and it had an incredible roof-top cabana from which we could see Bahia de Banderas and Punta de Mita. We spent a whole week in Punta de Mita. We surfed there one day and drove to Sayulita, about 20 minutes away, via a beautiful dirt road through a lush jungle. On one day, we hired a boat to take us to the Tres Marietas, three small islands off the coast of Punta de Mita, and to several surf breaks in the area that are accessible only by boat. On two of the nights, we made the mistake of making the 45-minute drive into Puerta Vallarta at the behest of my single friends who wanted to check out the nightlife there. As one would imagine, the place was touristy, expensive, and full of Americans off of cruise ships. But my single friends had fun looking at the women there. On the other nights, we either drove back to Sayulita for dinner or indulged in one of the several tiny "locals" restaurants in Punta de Mita. We surfed for a total of 6 days and had an excellent time. Although the surf was kind of small at times, the weather was excellent and the water warm. The surf at Sayulita was crowded, but we always found we could pick off our choice of waves by hanging outside of the lineup and then paddling like crazy through the crowds. On Saturday, November 29, we got an early start from Punta de Mita and headed for Sayulita for a half-day session. As expected, the surf picked up that day to shoulder-high. After a few hours of excellent surfing, I begrudgingly loaded the boards, took a shower (10 pesos) at the beach-front campground, and headed out for the highway. By 1:30 we were back on the road toward Guadalajara. We quickly negotiated the costal mountains and were soon back on the super-highway toll road for Guadalajara. We rolled into Guad at about 5:00 and were greeted by a group of soldiers from the Mexican Army conducting searches. Not surprisingly, they flagged us down and directed us to pull of the road so they could search the car. It was a bit unnerving watching 18-year-old kids with M-16s search our car. Everyone has heard stories of Mexican officials planting contraband in cars and then shaking down the unsuspecting tourists for a mordida after threatening to send them to a Mexican jail. But these guys were very professional and courteous and seemed to be very proud of their job. After a few minutes they thanked us for our time and sent us on our way. In Guadalajra, we decided to head back home via a different route, through Zacatecas and Monterrey. After a quick snack stop at a supermarket, we were soon on the road toward Zacatecas. We left the suburbs of Guadalajara and began our climb into the Sierra Madres. The scenery was truly magnificent in this area, and we even spotted a huge waterfall off in the distance, similar to Bridal Veil falls in Yosemite. The road then descended into a steep canyon with what appeared to be a beautiful river in the bottom. Once we reached the bottom, however, we caught a wiff of the river and saw the grotesque patches of foam floating in its currents. We immediately realized that this river was probably the ultimate sewer for the many residents of Guadalajara. The road continued on through the mountains. We stopped at one high point and took in a beautiful sunset. Our timing was perfect, as we emerged from the mountains and found ourselves on relatively straight roads just as the sun finally went down. After a few more hours, we pulled into Zacatecas at about 10:00 p.m. We found Zacatecas to be charming. It is a very colonial town with beautiful architecture and cobbled streets. We found a decent hotel in the heart of downtown, got cleaned up, and found a little restaurant for dinner. We walked around the town for a while and soon retired to the comfortable beds of our hotel. After a wonderful night's sleep, we got up early, eager to take in more of Zacatecas. Two doors down from our hotel we found a panaderia and stocked up on several varities of pan dulce, which we consumed over cups of café lechera at a local restaurant. We then left our hotel and were back on the road by noon. The highway from Zacatecas to Saltillo was pretty uneventful, except for another search by the Mexican Army. We made good time to Saltillo and continued on toward Monterrey. By 5:00 we reached Monterrey and decided to stop for Dinner. Monterrey is famous for Cabrito (baby goat), so we stopped at one of the most popular restaurants for cabrito, El Rey de Cabrito. The cabrito was good, but the décor (wood paneling and mirrored ceilings) leaved a little to be desired. The owner of the restaurant must have some sort of complex, as there were at least 3 dozen blown-up photos of him and various Mexican celebrities plastered on the wall. Monterrey is a very prosperous city. It really was no different from any city in Texas, with fast-food restaurants and convenience stores. We left Monterrey by about 6:00 and decided to head toward Ciudad Aleman, which boarders Roma, Texas, thinking that the crossing at Laredo would be crowded (this being a Sunday). We encountered another military checkpoint, where we were searched again. This time, however, the guys searching us were friendly and were asking us about our surfboards. At about 9:00 we reached Ciudad Aleman and headed for the International Bridge. There was quite a bit of traffic, so it took us awhile to get through Mexican customs (to surrender the vehicle permit) and then to get across the bridge. On the American side, we were held for a few minutes and were subjected to benign questioning by a Border Patrol Agent. After a few minutes we were on our way. We hit the highway toward Corpus. Once back on U.S. highways, I quickly realized how much we take our roads for granted. The route from Roma to Corpus includes several tiny, two-lane Farm-to-Market roads, but these roads, with the reflectors and wide shoulders, were far better than most of the roads we encountered in Mexico (except for the divided superhighways). We finally rolled into Corpus at about 1:30 a.m. Being too exhausted to continue on to San Antonio, I stayed over in Corpus for the night. My cousin and I got an early start the next morning, and arrived back home at 10:00 in the morning. All in all, it was an excellent trip. Mexico is such a vibrant country, so full of life. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the locals, taking in the food, and driving the roads. It was a great adventure that I will never forget, and I cannot wait to return. |
#2
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TR: Texas to Puerta Vallarta
Thanks for a great post! It is very nice when people take the time and
effort to share their experiences on this newsgroup! We will try and do the same on our 70 day trip through Mexico this winter. Ed |
#3
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TR: Texas to Puerta Vallarta
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I look forward to reading your trip
report. Wow, 70 days in Mexico! I'm envious. Enjoy your trip. RD "Ed Gray W0SD" wrote in message ... Thanks for a great post! It is very nice when people take the time and effort to share their experiences on this newsgroup! We will try and do the same on our 70 day trip through Mexico this winter. Ed |
#4
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TR: Texas to Puerto Vallarta
Raoul
Good trip report! All that driving would have killed the fun for me, but you had plenty of drivers no doubt... Glad you had no trouble with the night driving. All it takes is one "Oh ****!" to turn a fun adventure into a booger ugly nightmare..... Don |
#5
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TR: Texas to Puerto Vallarta
"Guess Who?" wrote in message ... Raoul Good trip report! All that driving would have killed the fun for me, but you had plenty of drivers no doubt... Glad you enjoyed it. The driving was half the fun! Even the searches at the military checkpoints were interesting. Actually, I did all the driving myself, save for about 150 miles when I was simply too exhausted. Glad you had no trouble with the night driving. All it takes is one "Oh ****!" to turn a fun adventure into a booger ugly nightmare..... Indeed, but that is true of everything we do, even driving in the states. RD |
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