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November 22, 2017
Day 10 [Wed 11/22/2017] - Mazatlan, Sinaloa to Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
I am alive and well and resting peacefully in the Comfort Inn on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Starting Odometer: 7,131
Ending Odometer: 7,455
Distance Traveled Today: 324 miles
Distance Traveled This Trip: 2,852 miles [7,455 - 4,603]
Refueled: Rosamorada, Nayarit.
Odometer: 7,259
11.897 Liters
$196.06 pesos
1:35 p.m.
$16.479 Pesos per Liter
$3.34 US Dollars/Gallon
OK. So, the ferry ride across the Sea of Cortez was nice. And, by that, what I mean is that, once the ship got out of the harbor (yesterday evening) at Pichilingue, it started to rock just every-so-slightly which sort of made you think, "I'm on a boat, baby!"
The the ferry is a very cool place because, all of these adrenaline-junkie adventure riders are sort of throttled through this one chokepoint. And all of the motorcyclists have to wait to board after the cars and trucks board. So, we're all corralled out there in the parking lot, and all of these loose groups of Mad-Max-style adventure riders are sort of trading in the Baja ride for a ride on the mainland.
And, what's fascinating is that, all of these people are just like brothers, right? I mean...they don't all even speak the same languages. Some are from Europe. Some are from the mainland of Mexico. Some from Canada. Some from the USA. So, people from all over the world, park their bikes on Level C, tie them down with their tie-downs (cinchos). (Thanks Home Depot. So glad I had that trick figured out.)
And, now, dinner is served, and so we all meet up in the dining room, and paper maps are pulled out, and the conversation begins. Everyone is drawing out routes through Copper Canyon and across the longest bridge in North America. Routes through Monterey, Mexico City, Guadalajara, etc.
And, this is the best part, right? All of these adrenaline junkies are drinking CocaCola Light or beer, and pouring over maps. "No...this route is better here....Through the mountains...this is the best route. Beautiful scenery on this one here...."
And, you're just dying, right? Like...fuck yeah... I'm all in. Let's go..
And some poeple ask me to ride with them, but the problem is that it's really not the direction I'm heading. My plan is to follow the coast, and I'd really like to do that. So, I'm not against doing Copper Canyon, but it's not really going to fit into my trip this year. I'm going South. (And east). But not North.
So, I turn down the invitations to ride with some of the groups, though it was greatly appreciated, and would have been fun. I decided to continue on my own.
The problem is that everyone is sort of shoe-horned onto the same boat, but everyone is heading in roughly different directions once we disembark, it seems.
But the ideas that are floating around in this room are just amazing. Everyone brings different ideas and suggestions. My one buddy has a book called the Lonely Planet Travel Guide for Mexico, I think. And it shows you everything to do in the country. It's a thick book, but very cool in that it tells you what to do, instead of just sort of riding through like I do.
Another guy has installed some software called Google Drive, which allows him to see all of his documents from any computer. (iphone, laptop, etc.)
Every person I talk to has WhatsApp installed. Apparently, I'm the last person on earth not to be using it.
But, it's brilliant because, you're coming together with all of these other people and there's just this fusion of ideas and planning and problem solving, occurring in the dining room over dinner.
Really a lot of fun. Hard to describe, adequately.
I talk to one person on the ferry that's been from Deadhorse to Ushuaia (Tierra Del Fuego).
He pointed out that, once you get to Ushuaia, you then have to backtrack 1,800 miles to get to Santiago or Buenos Aires. Great. Thanks for that bit of information. Chin up, right boss?
So last night, I slept like a baby, and then got up this morning. Walked up on top, and took some photos as we came into port at Mazatlan.
Now, one of the reasons I'm folling the Pacific coast of Mexico on this trip is because I wanted to see if it was more like jungles, or more like Baja. I mean, sure, you could look at a map, but where's the fun in that.
As it turns out, initially, the Pacific coast was prety close to the deserts of Baja that we'd just left. But then, as I go south, it gets greener and greener and by the time I get to Puerto Vallarta, it's like a freaking jungle with canopy growing over the roads and forming little tunnels and such.
So, that's one of the things I was curious about.
Now...back to Mazatlan....as I'm driving out of Mazatlan, and riding south on Mexico 15, I think that I have a suggestion for Mexico. Pick one day a year, when there won't be any open fires burning in the desert. Just to see what it smells like in the rest of the world, without constant flames and clouds of smoke everywhere you go. You should try it. Just one day a year without fires. See if you like it when the air is not choked with smoke 24/7. Just as an experiment.
Now, it's very hot at this point. So, I'm wearing less and less clothing. I'm putting sunscreen on the backs of my hands and on my nose/cheekbones. Because you could get a nasty sunburn down here very easily.
Eventually, I put on my gloves (these are the gloves that go inside of my new Artic gloves/mittens, as I lost of my of my North Face gloves on the trip.)
So, I'm trying not to get sunburned, and I'm rolling down Mexico 15 towards Puerto Vallarta.
Now...I will point out that my mother-fucking Waze app on my iPhone 6S Plus will not route me to Puerto Vallarta. Why? I couldn't tell you. But there are at least 6 different Puerto Vallarta's in Mexico (good job fucking morons....maybe be a little more creative next time?)
So, I can NOT get the Waze app to route me to Puerto Vallarta. Eventually, I get it to route me to Sayulita, which is at least in the same Time Zone. Nice job, Waze. Seriously. Fuck. You.
I've only gone about 80-100 miles when I find myself rolling through this little town named El Rosario where they're grilling chickens on the street, just like in Piste. So, I decide to stop for lunch at Escuinapa de Hidalgo in El Rosario.
Then, I'm off again, heading down Mexico Highway 15. THis road doesn't really follow the coast, per se. It's more a road that runs inland. I'm not clear that there is a road that follows the coast really, and I just stay on this road and try to run about 75-85 mph all day, really.
Like, 300 miles a day doesn't sound like it's that hard, but it's a lot of driving. The whole time, you're dodging stray dogs, goats, cows, horses, chickens....you name it.
Plus, the traffic patterns in Mexico are completely different than anything you've ever experience the United States. Like...if a guy is coming at you, and he gets into your lane, instead of thinking "Why is this jackass getting in my lane," you need to start thinking "Why is he coming into my lane?" Because, in Mexico, there can be dozens of reasons he's getting into your lane. Maybe:
1) Because there are speed bumps on his side of the road that will take the frame off of your car if you're going over 10 mph.
2) Maybe there's an animal crossing the road that is about to be in your lane.
3) Maybe he needs to pass someone
So, there are lots of reasons that drivers perform differently down here. You need to adapt to the new traffic patterns, not stay rooted in your old ways.
I turn off of Mexico Highway 15 and follow the signs for San Blas. San Blas is also the name of some islands off the coast of Panama. But here, it's a coastal town, apparently.
I follow the road down to the coast and pass a little park, of sorts. So, I double back to see what the park is about, and it turns out it's a park full of crocodiles.
Then, I double back because I missed my turn when I stumbled onto the crocodile habitat. Now, I'm following the signs to Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta.
At this point, the road gets a lot more interesting. Now, it's just a 2-lane black topped road, and it does somehwat follow the coast now, but it's twisting and turning and going up hill and downhill and now through dense jungle canopies and the land starts to look a lot like Hawaii.
But, every 5 miles is a new little town or village with the dreaded speed humps and then twisting mountain roads so that it's impossible to drive over 50 most of the time.
You wouldn't think that driving 300 miles a day would be that hard, but down here, it's pretty hard to do because the roads are not interstate grade highways like in the USA. Instead, it's just little town after town and lots of speed bumps and slow moving vehicles I have to pass.
Finally, about sunset, I come to this town, and it's another fucking parade and I'm like....God damned no wonder your fucking economy is in the shitter. Have you ever thought about putting down the freaking trumpets and getting to work? Like...who knows that they're celebrating now....there's this HUGE parade going all through this town and people holding balloons....countless balloons, and a guy comes by in a truck and starts handing me candy...and I'm like...WTF? Where am I?
And I see some people that look like Americans and I ask them...."Where are we? What town is this?" Like...I'm just beyond hope at this point. Exhausted. "Is this Puerto Vallarta?" I ask.
"No....this is Sayulita," he explains. "And we're not Americans. We're Canadians."
My GPS was taking me to Sayulita, so that was my confusion, I think. I still had like 30 km to go.
I'm so exhausted. It's hard to believe that it takes all day to go 300 miles, but the roads down here aren't great. Ugh. So tired. Ugh.
So, I roll into Puerto Vallarta and it's solidly dark, and I go into a curve, and manage to get into a line of those little speed humps that nearly sends me crashing to the ground. It's dark. I'm too tired to be riding. It's a miracle I didn't crash on their hidden speed hump traps.
I see a sign that says Comfort Inn and I pull in for the night. Ugh.
She wants 1,118 pesos for the night and I'm like..."Done". Make it happen. It's like....$60 USD a night.
Posted by Rob Kiser on November 22, 2017 at 6:57 PM
Comments
Hi Rob, if Waze continues to give you trouble, you might want to try this: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-city-navigation/id955837609?mt=8
It has maps you can download for off-line use for over 100 countries. That way an internet connection will never be a hindrance. They were all free last time I checked.
Posted by: MGB on November 25, 2017 at 12:48 PM
Mitch, This sounds like a good plan. I will look into installing this to see if it is any better than Waze. Waze is normally pretty solid in the USA, but it's been less than stellar down here.
Posted by: Rob Kiser on November 26, 2017 at 11:04 PM