.... we see things as we are".....Anais Nin
Prologue.......
The heart of Mexico.....
... lies in its people.... we travel with an open heart... it beats to the rhythm of daily life here.... from the local who grabs you by the arm....taking you to the correct combio/collectivo... it's in the ladies who run the street-side taco stands, who light up when you greet them in Spanish.... to special moments we spend together over mezcal n beer learning Spanish.... sharing some English....it's the family on a panga boat who beam when you share snacks with them....the heart that swells with pride, when we compliment them about their children/their family..... to the rides offered as we stand alone in the middle of who-knows-where....... these are people who love their country...
... the heart beats here... but not all hear the rhythm... or open their heart.... sad, as many miss moments of magic...
.......Mexico's heart is a passionate one... it shares a vibrant soul with all of us... if only we reach out ourselves.... to see beyond the news.... to see a life filled with joy... from family walks on a Sunday in the town's plaza....to the love that beams from the old men/women who dance together on a Saturday night, while the band plays from the gazebo in the park.... these images.... these beats..... are there for us to see...to join.... to live.. to learn.... to love.... the spirit captures you and leaves you stronger...
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After Manzanillo, we go inland to the great town of Colima. It's a nice change after several weeks along the coast.
Flanked by a massive cathedral, coffee bars and cafes, with a gem of an old square in the historical centro, we settle into a great little hotel, Casa Danna, for several days.
We watch for a while, then get out to show how Canadians can dance the salsa, bossa nova, rumba. What fun!
The locals all appreciate our efforts and laugh at the concrete hips of these ol' nortes. Even meet this older dance master who looks like Shayne's father, who was giving dance tips to this local.
The Volcano hunt.....
This whole region currently has a most spectacular flowering tree called Primavera (spring), which lines many boulevards and parks as well as the ever present bougainvillea. ..
Then off to... Suchitlan...A quaint little village known for its hand-made wooden masks...
Returning to Colima, we catch a bus back to the coast for more beach time...This is a a major agricultural region. Coco palms, banana farms with plastic bags protecting the bunches from insects and birds as well as giant mango trees rising out of the dry jungle are evident throughout this area.
The Michoacan Coast
The coastline of Colima and Michoacan states....south of Manzanillo to Lazero Cardenas has plenty of beaches to explore. Michoacan alone has at least 60 named beaches of all sizes and shapes, with dozens more small nameless bays/coves. We've underlined the ones we visited.
This coastline is pretty isolated, with few services, little Wi-Fi, if any at all, no ATMS or banks. You have to come prepared with money in hand or do a many hour bus run to a larger centre.
What it does have is spectacular scenery, a rugged coast.. similar to Northern California/Oregon and stunningly beautiful beaches of all sizes and shapes.
If one traveled in a vehicle or were self-sufficient, you could spend weeks, if not months hanging out here.
This is the place to dawdle, if you wish... to be one of the few Nortes to be seen in these parts and visit classic Mexican beach towns with little to do - except walk the shoreline, dive through the breakers, drink beer, swing in a hammock, play crib, and watch another sunset.
While we didn't visit them all over nearly 2 weeks....Here are a few of our favorite things (beaches) that we managed to get to...by walking, by combo, (van bus), by hitchhiking, by asking..
Cuyutlan
......The Beach of 10000 chairs..
...While not quite in Michoacan...(just an hour or so south of Manzanillo)...It was the first stop for us..
The town looks to be in a time warp. Quiet and deserted at this time of the year, it literally goes crazy with 20 000 locals descending on it during holidays.
Famous for big surf and black sand, it is covered with palapas and beach chairs... (I say 10 000, Y says
1 000)...All empty in February.
Local combo to Cuyutlan...A lot of 'bad hombres' in this bus!! Not!
Some of the beach side restaurants...
View from our deck
Our hotel
Entertainment can usually be found on these beaches...this was a family playing their favourite instruments. ..Yvonne got invited to dance with the women while the men performed. It's always fun to follow one's ear...you never know what awaits. ..
Quads are a usual means of transportation on these flatter beaches by locals or the Policia, in this case.
Such a friendly local chicken BBQ officianado...
San Juan de Alima
After a side trip to Colima et al....we return to the beach and the little town of San Juan de Alima. This is a quiet, little beach town, just off Highway 200.
We walk in and find a great beach side room in a wonderful small hotel called Hotel Y Restaurant Parador.
The beach is extremely clean, with gentle surf along its nearly 5 km stretch. We spend several days walking, swimming and counting the # of people that pass by our beach side palapa...(we never get past 12 different people each day)....
This is a beach town with few Nortes living here....It would seem to be a more desirable place than Cuyitlan to buy property or hang out for the winter.
San Juan De Alima also has the last reliable wifi for much of the Michoacan coast south that we travel on.
Banks and ATMs on this coast are rare and far between.... as we head further south, we start to watch our pesos, rather than having to make a bank run by bus/taxi hours back north or south of us for several hours.
We also assume that wifi will happen, but are told and discover (after the fact) that wifi really doesn't exist in the towns we're heading to.
After several days of doing little, we sense it's time to move on...
El Faro De Bucerias
We head to El Faro (lighthouse beach).... following more spectacular coastline...
The little info we've found online, and in talking with locals seems to indicate that there should be some accommodation available and food to eat.
However, as we sense.... even the locals don't seem to know what exists just an hour or so down or up their coast.
The comfortable bus drops us off on the highway about 5km from El Faro. We hitchhike and get a ride with a people from Colima/Argentina.
They drive to the beach side village and drop us off. We wander through several hotels....All seem closed.... finally, one has rooms to rent, now to find food....One palapa is open....
Pretty meager pickings on a spectacular, small rugged cove, ringed with gorgeous off shore islands. Massive surf pounds the shoreline...Not a beach to swim in, apart from a tiny, protected cove at one end.
This is really a wild beach. The constant surf has carved out a beach with high banks and little opportunity to swim.
Still, the waves are spectacular!
As the room we wanted (with a king bed) doesn't have a key for it, we take the room with a tiny double. Yea, sounds like fun.
We wander the beach, finally finding food and the trio that had given us a ride from the highway.
They invite us to join them for an interesting afternoon of conversation and stories.
...on a deserted beach with an Argentinian musician and university professors...
And, we shared a special Argentinian brew ... instead of passing a pipe...we passed the mug....
After a sleepless night, in a double bed, we move on the next morning. Yvonne asks a lady we come across for a ride back to the highway. She agrees.... Shayne hops in the back of the pickup and Yvonne rides up front. The 5 km is covered pretty quickly and we arrive just in time to hop on the bus south.
Caleta de Campos
After nearly 4 hours (including a lunch stop), along more eye popping coastline/deserted beaches, we get dropped off at Caleta.
The town sits above another of those perfect little Mexican beach villages.
We walk through the town's 5-6 blocks of shops, street side taco eateries, past the plaza and even a drive through liquor store.
After checking out a few places, we settle into Hotel Yuritzi high in the bluffs overlooking the bay.
The beach has it all.. a picturesque bay, palapas lining one end, as are many of the fishermen's pangas.
The vast portion of the bay is empty. Perfect for walking, beach combing, day dreaming or playing games with the little sand crabs.
Our days float by....Morning walks, swims, afternoon cervazas 'n food at our favorite family run palapa....
Can you see Shayne?
..... evenings are spent walking down the main street of Caleta (people walk down the street as sidewalks are either too crowded or non existent)....having ice cream or tacos at street side stands.....
... there's not much night life apart from the 5-6 blocks of Caleta where people stroll, cars drive with their pumped up stereos blasting, or in some cases, horses are out with their riders, and people eat late...
... no wi-fi... no ATM.... no clubs etc... we are the only nortes visiting, apart from an American, from Tonasket, WA., wintering here.... a pretty tranquillo stay...
Our American friend invites us to join him for dinner to eat some fish he's caught. We drive a short distance to the surf town of Nexpa. A fabulous dinner is cooked at Martins overlooking the valley below.
And, another gorgeous sunset...
After several days though, we need to push on as our pesos are running out.... we head to Lazero Cardenas and grab a bus inland to Uruapan and wi-fi and ATMs!!
Adios for now!
Shayne y Yvonne
Additonal Random Photos
