Day 6Nov 6, 2010
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Perfect security for the bikes...
The street we call home for the night.
These mini bananas (many mini bananas) are my new favorite nack along...
| Day 6 - Puerto Vallarta to Zihuatanejo Starting Odometer: 30870 Miles traveled today: 440 Gas: Puerto Vallarta, oasis, Manzanillo, oasis, Zihuatanejo Left at 6:30 a.m. after a stop at the nearest Pemex and OXXO for coffee, water and pastries. As many times as I've been to Puerto Vallarta and drove the roads south I've always wondered what it would be like on a moto. Well, pure heaven comes to mind. It was a dream winding through the rainforest on perfect roads, clinging vines dropping from the canopy overhead, the morning sun filtering through. Absolutely wonderful. The "openings" in the forest gave us a corridor of tall grasses (6 to 8 feet high) which provided the structure for wildflowers to grow, their fragrance ever-present. More stretches of open road wound through the grasslands, then back toward the ocean. We had a wonderful stretch of perfect pavement to ourselves for about an hour. 3rd and 4th gear, 3500 rpms, cruisin'! Position, line, lean, accelerate...over and over and over. Made you wonder if you might ever tire of this "routine." I think not... The attention given to safe riding is second nature now - always scanning and focused on the literally thousands of topes that keep us (and the Parade Continual buses and taxis that run between villages) slowed and reminded that there are so many little villages that seem to exist in their own little "worlds." Being Saturday, there are lots of children. Many pile into trucks and are transported down the road to work in the fields. Others stay behind and, in one case, joined what seemed like an entire village (grandmothers to children) "cleaning up" the roadside of the grasses and overgrowth with machetes. Everyone had a purpose in this effort. Pride. I guess their CC&Rs were being enforced. :-) I notice now that my thoughts are more relaxed, only focused on the pure, important things in life...mostly my wife and family. There are even times when I think of nothing. How can that be? Ariived in Zihua, parked on a main street with lots of open air restaurants and bars. Outside seating seemed to stretch into all the alleyways. The best hotels (for us) were tucked here and there, down these alleys on the outskirts. Pete was helped by a "wheeler dealer" who showed him about six places until he settled on a pretty-much vacant hotel across from the owner that allowed us to lock the bikes (in "jail") right in the front lobby. Only one other longer-term resident was there and we never saw him. Perfect. Every one here was so kind, helpful and friendly and, interestingly, related. We found out that the buildings are all family owned so the atmosphere is like a continuous family reunion. Crashed after another long day of wonderful riding. |
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