On Saturday, December 22, we entered the state of Michoacan. As I mentioned in my previous post, this state took my breath away from the start. It is primitive, rugged, virgin. We stopped at the coastal town of San Juan de Alima, and decided to spend the night there.
The town is very small, with a handfull of hotels, only the most casual of food options, no gas station, no real grocery store, no cell phone service, and precious little internet to be found. We were able to get the internet in our room by asking for the room right above the main office at our hotel, where the signal could reach us. A good trick! It was very quiet at the beach, with a handful of Mexican tourists, and a small wedding reception at the nicest hotel.
Here I am just before sunset sporting my very favorite Huitchole earrings.
I will always remember this beach for giving us the gift of an amazing sunset. For a few brief moments, the sun was a perfect, blazing ball,
And then the whole scene turned lavender and fuschia once the sun set.
After sunset, we walked the tiny main street in search of dinner, and discovered the choices were casual and very limited. I ended up having hot cakes and a mango shake for dinner! And it was delicious.
The next morning we got back on the main road and started heading south. Here's a quick last look at San Juan de Alima.
The coastal road in Michoacan is a narrow two lane road with no shoulder and is very curvy. There is no cell service, and we sometimes drove twenty minutes or more without seeing another soul. In short, it is not for the faint of heart.
As we continued along the road, we passed a dapper UK gentleman wearing beige bermuda shorts, crisp shirt and a straw top hat, about sixty years old, driving a white VW bug that had conked out just past a curve heading north. He was standing next to his car trying to figure out what to do. We turned around and went back to help, and discovered that the cable to his accelerator pedal had snapped! Moments later, a middle aged local driving a pick up truck pulled up behind us, produced a rope, tied the VW behind his car, and towed the gentleman the twenty minutes to the next town. We drove a short distance and then turned around to head back south, and what a sight it was when we passed them! The pick-up truck, the rope, and the dapper gentleman behind the wheel of his VW, being towed to safety! Again I was touched with the kindness of the Mexican people.
We passed many fields of banana trees, with bags wrapped around the bananas to hasten the ripening process.
and a couple cutting some blooms from a roadside bouganvillea.
We were often up quite high on a cliff, and the views looking down on the coastline were breathtaking.
Our first stop of the day was Ixtapilla, because we were in pursuit of turtles, and heard we may be able to find them there. Although ultimately not at Ixtapilla, our turtle experience turned out to be pure magic, but that story is for another day!
Love to you all, and Buenas Noches....
Linda
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