Four beaches. One day.
We woke early on Monday to sneak Jiggs back to the truck for our big drive to an unnamed tourist town south of Mazatlan. We were going to meet one of my favorite bloggers: American Mommy in Mexico.
I wisely checked my email to discover that she informed me she will not be in Mexico on Monday. So, flexible guys that we are, we decided to simply drive where the mood directed us.
We took a quick stroll on the malecon in Mazatlan. Beach one.
A quick stop at the dreaded W---Mart, and we were on our way south.
I have heard such divergent opinions on San Blas that we decided to see for ourselves if it is heaven on earth or Dante's Inferno personified.
We drove through Sinaloa and slipped into Nayarit. Once again, the flora changed drastically from corn fields to mango orchards -- and dry rolling hills.
But the big change was the road. We went from toll roads to the narrow coast highway -- where there are plenty of opportunities for error, and little margin for them. Fortunately, we tested neither option.
When we arrived in San Blas, we found another heavy army presence at the city's entrance. I should note that today we saw more federales and army convoys than I have ever seen in Mexico. The obvious reason is Presence -- to show the narcoterrorists that they do not rule any part of Mexico.
I don't think the army presence colored my opinion, but I was not very impressed with the town. The beach gets very high marks, though. Beach two.
Our next stop was a sentimental one. I needed to see Chacala. As we drove through, I felt as if I knew almost every house and street due to Andee's very explicit posts. We even encountered one of her hated dump trucks.
I wanted to stay the night -- to walk the beach in the early morning in memory of our friend, Andee. However, we ran into the dog problem. No one would accept Professor Jiggs as a guest.
Chacala was beach three.
A short note on my good friend, The Professor. This trip has been very hard on him. And today has been one of the worst. He does not like the heat. But he insists on going where we go.
And where we went next was Rincon de Guayabitos. I had once considered this town as one of my retirement sites. I like it even more after our brief visit.
But this was Jiggs's first visit to a Mexican beach. He enojoyed the ocean,as always. But, as I feared, his back legs are so unsteady that he does not brave the water as he once did. But he ended up a soggy doggy as a result of his day at the beach. Beach four.
Darrel and I then had dinner at one of the little tourists restaurants that stand like aging dowagers along the main street of the town. We both ordered pollo con mole, a traditional dish that can be delicious or very suspect. I would like to be kind, but this dinner fell into the usual suspects file. I suspect the cook may be missing a Cadbury bar.
Tomorrow we are aiming for Puerto Vallarta, after driving through San Francisco and Sayulita -- two of my earlier retirement candidates.
Jiggs should be rested and ready for another day of adventure.
We woke early on Monday to sneak Jiggs back to the truck for our big drive to an unnamed tourist town south of Mazatlan. We were going to meet one of my favorite bloggers: American Mommy in Mexico.
I wisely checked my email to discover that she informed me she will not be in Mexico on Monday. So, flexible guys that we are, we decided to simply drive where the mood directed us.
We took a quick stroll on the malecon in Mazatlan. Beach one.
A quick stop at the dreaded W---Mart, and we were on our way south.
I have heard such divergent opinions on San Blas that we decided to see for ourselves if it is heaven on earth or Dante's Inferno personified.
We drove through Sinaloa and slipped into Nayarit. Once again, the flora changed drastically from corn fields to mango orchards -- and dry rolling hills.
But the big change was the road. We went from toll roads to the narrow coast highway -- where there are plenty of opportunities for error, and little margin for them. Fortunately, we tested neither option.
When we arrived in San Blas, we found another heavy army presence at the city's entrance. I should note that today we saw more federales and army convoys than I have ever seen in Mexico. The obvious reason is Presence -- to show the narcoterrorists that they do not rule any part of Mexico.
I don't think the army presence colored my opinion, but I was not very impressed with the town. The beach gets very high marks, though. Beach two.
Our next stop was a sentimental one. I needed to see Chacala. As we drove through, I felt as if I knew almost every house and street due to Andee's very explicit posts. We even encountered one of her hated dump trucks.
I wanted to stay the night -- to walk the beach in the early morning in memory of our friend, Andee. However, we ran into the dog problem. No one would accept Professor Jiggs as a guest.
Chacala was beach three.
A short note on my good friend, The Professor. This trip has been very hard on him. And today has been one of the worst. He does not like the heat. But he insists on going where we go.
And where we went next was Rincon de Guayabitos. I had once considered this town as one of my retirement sites. I like it even more after our brief visit.
But this was Jiggs's first visit to a Mexican beach. He enojoyed the ocean,as always. But, as I feared, his back legs are so unsteady that he does not brave the water as he once did. But he ended up a soggy doggy as a result of his day at the beach. Beach four.
Darrel and I then had dinner at one of the little tourists restaurants that stand like aging dowagers along the main street of the town. We both ordered pollo con mole, a traditional dish that can be delicious or very suspect. I would like to be kind, but this dinner fell into the usual suspects file. I suspect the cook may be missing a Cadbury bar.
Tomorrow we are aiming for Puerto Vallarta, after driving through San Francisco and Sayulita -- two of my earlier retirement candidates.
Jiggs should be rested and ready for another day of adventure.
