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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Dec 06, 2009 07:00 PM Last day in Mexico...
Beaches and the landscape are here over all... Acapulco has few attractions to visit. One of them is old Fort San Diego located on the little hill over the beach. Built in 17th century by Spaniards and restored now it is housing the museum - they charge 41 pesos entry fee plus 35 if you want to use video camera. Other attraction is Rocqueta Island - they offer the RT tour to this island for 70 pesos but believe me - it is just tourist trap. Sailors are telling jokes in Spanish, one of them is diving to feed the fish and through the bottom glass you can see very limited sealife. The submarine chapel is just a bronze statue of Virgin Mary in the water - it is very hard to see and to photograph through the bottom glass of the little boat.
Of course I saw the show performed by the famous Acapulco divers - the clavadistas. They jump into the ocean from the rock up to 35 m high (there are different levels). There is only one show during the hot day - at 12.45 pm (they charge entry fee 35 pesos). They performed the same show at 7.30 pm and later in the night. I definitely prefere daylight - you can see the full scenery...
It is my last day in Acapulco and in Mexico... Time to get ready for the return flights...
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Dec 05, 2009 07:00 PM Hot Acapulco
I am almost off all my pesos. It is time to change few more dollars - some casas de cambio are open on Sundays here, but not the banks. In my country in exchange office they pay little more then in the banks for the foreign currencies. In Mexico -surprisely they are giving more in the banks, but it takes a long waiting, copying passport - you have to bring it with you...
It is very hot and sunny here so everybody escapes to the shade - hard to imagine that in Europe there is probably snow.
I stay in the k3 Hostel - on playa Condesa. It is overpiced. Cubic rooms without the windows and very bad light are 2,5 by 3 m only. I made the reservation expecting that the only hostel in such a popular place could be full. But it is almost empty - only 4 visitors. It is still low season and you can find easy for the same price other and better accommodation. Just shop around... I took a long walk along the bay enjoying the views, sun, warm water. At the end I took some good pictures fron the 23rd floor of Grand Hotel - you can go there - nobody care.
In the evening Acapulco is still hot, vibrant, full of music... I saw few processions in the streets - they celebrate the festival of the Virgen de Guadalupe... In the evening, sitting on the beach I enjoyed another great sunset. Can you believe that it is possible to drink 1 litre of cold juice in 10 minutes? An it was not enough...
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Dec 04, 2009 07:00 PM Naked man under celling fan!
You know I am writing as a freelancer for the press. Those guys from the magazines and newspapers often change the names of my chapters - just to make them more sensational. I do not like it but maybe it pays... *Naked man* sounds good, do not you think?
It is so hot and humid that I sleep here without any clothes and sheets...
After the morning swim it is the time to pack the backpack again and to go to camionera. I am going to Acapulco... Camionera in Zihua is located about 2 kms from the beach - going uphill it is better to teke local bus no.2 from the end of Juarez street - for just 5 pesos. Remember - I carry 16 kg backpáck and camera bag...
Segunda buses to Acaplcogo almost every hour - you pay 111 pesos and jump on the next available bus. They say i will take 4 hours - do not trust them - Mexican drivers are too optimistic and there is no fixed timetable - add an hour. On the bus you will meet a lot of localpeople and the real folklore: crying kids, men playing guitars for the tip. Old ladied goin to the market with their products...
Well - we were driving 5 hours through the greet hills to Acapulco. Taxi drivers in the littke VW cars were ready to deliver me to Condesa Beach but I preferred to take two city buses one by one - 5 peso each. I am in legendary Acapulco!
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Dec 03, 2009 07:00 PM Zhy - hua - ta - nekho!
Very difficult name for the foreigners... And here am I...
Can you imagine little pictureque bay surrounded by hills and filled by the white beaches, palms and blue water?
I woke up 10 meters from the beach, listening to the sound of the waves... Tropical paradise...
I stay in little run-down Hospedaje La Playa paying 250 pesos per room with the bath and fan. There are cheaper places in the town but they are not on the beach - here at sunrise time I can jump directly to the warm water and swim...
After breakfast (Panificadora=bakery is round the corner) I took a long walk to the next beaches in the bay Madera, Ropa and Las Gatas enjoying the views and taking pictures. It is very hot during the day - more then 30 deg. Celsius I believe, and very humid. Fruits are cheap. Bananas at the market cost just 3 pesos per kilo, oranges and mandarinas 4 pesos. But you have to go to the market - shops are more expensive...
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Dec 02, 2009 07:00 PM Road no 200. South along the Mexican coast...
Very tiring day... I took three segunda buses one by one to get from Melaque to Zihuatanejo (no direct connection). It took me full day. Fortunately I did not wait more then half an hour in Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas for the connection.
The road 200 is very picturesque: it is climbing the caastal cliffs, going down in zig-zags but... In the developed country such a roads are marked by green colors on the maps -as a scenic road- There are scenic points, little parkings etc. Sorry not in Mexico... I saw this great views of the rocky islands, cliffs and little sandy bays only in seconds through the 4-5 m high tropical bush. We have a rest stop for the driver somwhere inon the way so I climbed the ridge for the view and it was really great sample of wonderful coastal landscape - you will see the picture later...
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Dec 01, 2009 07:00 PM Segunda to San Patricio
No, do not write about the time unit. Segunda is here the second class on intercity buses. It is slightly cheaper (like 25%) then primera (1st class) but the segunda buses are slower, non a/c and the buses stop anywhere for everybody. Well, sometimes in the Mexican outback you have no choice because primera buses go only at night and you want to enjoy daylight scenery.
I took segunda bus from Puerto Vallarta along the coast to San Patricio Melaque. It cost me 150 pesos. Calculating your trip across Mexico at the moment you can approximate travel cost using the rate: 1 km= 1 peso...
It took me 5 hours to reach San Patricio... Locals do not care about [San Patricio[ they use now only the name Melaque now.
Melaque and the sister town of Barra de Navidad are both located on the wonderful bay.
I took me an hour to walk along the wide sandy beach to get to Barra. There is the monument of Miguel Legazpi - famous sailor who sailed from here in 1564 across the Pacific to colonize the Philippines... Lovely, peaceful place...
Coming back to Melaque I enjoyed another wonderful sunset.
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Nov 30, 2009 07:00 PM Mexican Riviera !
There are already direct buses from San Blas to Puerto Vallarta. They charge 118 pesos for the 3-hours trip through the narrow road.
It was rainy evening when I reached Vallarta. Camionera is located far north from the center of the town so I took the local junk bus for 6 pesos to get to the old town where cheap accomodations are located. Can you imagine? It took me almost an hour to pass thruogh the side streets.
Cheapies are located on Madero street and there is a good choice - Ana Liz charges 190 pesos per room.
Sunny morning gave me a chance to enjoy the beauty of the town: long, palm-fringed promenade, Guadalupe Cathedral and the green hills around... Vere few tourists... But a lot of Americans and Canadians has appartaments here... Hot and lovely day with a romantic sunset at the end! I will have my favorite rhum in papaya to my dinner again! Buenas noches!
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Nov 29, 2009 07:00 PM Crucero San Blas
Thanks to all of you who send me greetings and wishes - sorry I cannot answer all of them....
San Blas is now sleepy, little town on the coast, about 35 kms off the main road. I took a bus heading from Mazatlan to Tepic - 4,5 hours, 200 pesos - and asked politely driver to leave me at crucero /junction/ San Blas. It was already completly dark when he left me there. Hitchhiking in the dark is unsafe, but I did not have the other choice. Few cars passed by ignoring me. Finally I was lucky: I jumped on the last bus coming from Tepic.
San Blas is charming. Spaniards built here a little fortress to protect their ships anchoring in the mouth of the river. You can see romantic ruins - walls and churches. I found accomodation in the family-run Hotel Morelos. They charge 200 per room with fan and bath. From my experience it is not easy to find in nowadays Mexico something cheaper. Once I saw a room for 130 pesos but it was dump and not so clean... Bring mosquito repellent with you - flies are very nasty!
People are nice here when they recognize that you are not a rich gringo but a backpacker from far-away Europe...
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Nov 28, 2009 07:00 PM Second high lighthouse in the world
What I visited so far on my ´09 Mexican trail could be described as Mexican outback... Now it is the time to relax little bit and to enjoy the sun and the warm Pacific Ocean. Mazatlan is the first city on the Mexican Riviera I visit.
It was early morning when I was climbing the hill overlooking both - the long beaches of tourist Zona Dorada and the port. On the top of the hill they built in 1882 the second high lighthouse in the world - the light is on the level of 157 m above the sea. A lot of sweat, but the view is rewarding...
The highest lighthouse is in Gibraltar - I saw it years ago.
Mazatlan has interesting old town - narrow streets full of colors - very quite on Sunday morning. No cruise ships in the port so I had the old town for myself... Pleasure stroll... I stay in the beach hotel Sands - just 500 m walk from the camionera. It is still low season so they charge only 250 pesos for the huge room - it is really good deal if you have companion... To be on the beach just cross the street!
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Nov 27, 2009 07:00 PM Iron church and the junk ferry...
Gustave Eiffel designed for the World Exhibition an iron church... After exhibition they brought it to... Mexico. You can see it in Santa Rosalia. Small but interesting.
I decided to come back to the Mexican mainland - there in a little junk ferry sailing 4 times per week from Santa R to Guaymas. I paid 605 pesos and embarked the junk after obligatory double security control... Few passengers aboard - enough place to sleep in the salon on the seats in front of the TV...
Sea of Cortes was calm and in the morning I desembarked in Guaymas. Well - the town is here nicely located at the bottom of the red hills, the main attraction is the former jail - reminding rather city hall with a clock tower...
Then it was a long, 13-hours bus ride with a locals from Guaymas to Mazatlan. Distances are large in Mexico... A 1-litre bottle of coke cost 10 pesos in the supermarket, I consumed two...
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