May 21, 2010 - Zihuatanejo - Mexico

May 21, 2010 I left Queretaro for Zihuatanejo yesterday about 8:45 and arrived at 4:00. 600km’s. Zihuatanejo is on the pacific coast about 4 hours north of Acapulco/8 hours south of Manzanillo and has a population of about 65,000. It doesn’t feel like it. It’s a pretty lazy beach town. It’s touristier than San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Today a huge yacht showed up in the bay. I wonder who owns it. There is a helicopter as well. The swells are very high today – much higher than yesterday. Maybe there is a storm blowing in. I thought that...

Apr 2, 2010 - Acapulco, Mexico

Acapulco, Mexico: Beautiful, very active bay and city of about 700k built up the surrounding hills. Old fort opposite the ship dock that was used to protect the gold and silver collected from interior Mexico and stored there for shipment to Spain. A government sponsored guide led us on a walk to the "Native Market" - about a 15 minute walk from the terminal - in the Old Town area. Definitely old town, in both appearance and smell. Large pipes were stacked along the street destined for a future sewer. Sidewalks were very broken, patched, and...

Feb 8, 2010 - Ixtapa Zihuatanejo

This port was also a tender stop, no pier so we got to shore using the tender boats from where the ship was anchored. This stop provides two uniquely different experiences. Zihuatanejo retains a rustic haven feel while Ixtapa, four miles down the coast, has the limelight of the modern paradise with luxury hotels, gourmet restaurants, shopping galore, golf, and beaches. We avoid the commercialism whenever we can and prefer tours where we can get a flavor for the local culture. Our first stop was at a local beach, aptly named Long Beach,...

Feb 7, 2010 - Acapulco

Acapulco was first settled in 1550 and was a major Mexican shipping port. Today it has a glitzy allure, surrounded by mountains, a crescent-shaped shoreline, clear waters, and many white-sand beaches. The area hosted many of the Hollywood jet set including John Wayne and his cronies. We visited the Los Flamingos hotel, which was a famous Hollywood hideaway. Pictures of celebrities in the open-air lobby showcase the golden past. We had a cold drink surrounded by colorful bougainvilleas. Many famous alcoholic drinks got their start here but...

Jan 29, 2010 - Acapulco

Wednesday 27th Day 18 Well today at lunchtime we arrive at Acapulco, looks stunning from the ship and it’s already humid with the sun streaming down (sorry to mention that). We have an early lunch before disembarking for a trip called amazing Acapulco. As we get off we are herded through a port terminal with hundreds of local stalls all trying to sell you their wares. At the same time another ship has just docked and they were in the same terminal. What with that and the heat it was like frying in hell, however we were soon on our coach...

Jan 28, 2010 - Zihuatanejo

Zihuatanejo is the dream "getaway" talked about in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption". This is an old World Mexican fishing village nestled around a small bay dotted with beautiful protected beaches and no high rises. Ixtapa is Zihuatanejo's nearby sister destination, and is a government-planned tourist resort that was begun in the early 1970s and constructed on what was once a coconut plantation and mangrove estuary. In 1968, the Bank of Mexico created a special fund for the creation of new tourist destinations on the country's...

Jan 27, 2010 - Acapulco

Well, I spent the day asleep having been up all the night before with a sick patient, but here's some interesting information about Acapulco! Acapulco is Mexico biggest tourist resort, and is also known as Perla del Pacifico. Acapulco is located at 16A° 50' N Latitude and 99° 54' W Longditude Acapulco is located in the Tropic of Cancer Acapulco is about 239 miles (385 kilometers) from Mexico City and 83 miles (133 kilometers) from Chilpancingo, the state capital of Guererro (the Mexican state of which Acapulco is its largest city)....

Jan 14, 2010 - Zihuantanejo to Playa Ventura, Guerrero

The section of Mex 200 south of Zihuatanejo is not nearly as scenic or twisty as yesterdays ride but still pretty good until you ram up against Acapulco. Last year Janine and I were stuck in traffic, in 33 deg C heat for at least 2 hours, trying to get to Old Acapulco, which is only perhaps halfway through the city. This time the heat was the same 33 deg C, and the traffic was as bad as ever. The only difference today was that I had no intention of stopping in the city if I could help it, so I let the GPS guide me through a route that sort...

Jan 13, 2010 - Manzanilo, Colima to Zihuantanejo, Guerrero

I filled up the bike in Manzanillo this morning and did not give much thought to where the next fill might be, seeing that I expected quite a few towns along the way today. This was potentially a mistake as there is a long stretch of over 130 km between gas stations along the Michoacan coast. From Manzanillo the end of this stretch is about 250 km. I get no more than 270-280 km out of a fill on this F800GS. I was spoiled with my Dakar which holds 39 litres and will give me up to 800 km on a fill. I am carrying and extra 3.6 litres of “just...

Jan 9, 2010 - Acapulco, Mexico; January 09, 2010

Another early morning awakening to a sunrise that looked liked an enchanting sunset. Everyone was grabbing the cameras to capture the moments. We have to rise early when there is an excursion planned because the buses fill & leave early (of course we are not the only ones to be aware of this) and getting ready by 3 people in one cabin is sometimes a scheduling challenge. Today we are going to the Pierre Marquesas Beach Resort area that is famous for upscale, quiet elegance, now run by the Fairmont Hotel chain. And spectacular it is. They...

Dec 11, 2009 - Zurueck in der Sonne!

Am 11.12. brachten dann Liz Mutter und ich Liz nach santa Fe (einem Stadteil von Mexico City), wo ihre Universitaet liegt. Von da aus sollte um 17 Uhr der Trip zur indigenen Bevoelkerung im suedlichen Mexiko starten. Nachdem ich mir noch die Uni hab schauen zeigen lassen (da laesst es sich echt gut studieren), mussten wir Abschied nehmen und ich bin mit Irma zurueck nach Toluca, denn ich musste noch einige Zeit rumbringen, da mein Bus nach Acapulco erst um 1 Uhr nachts ging. Was ich natuerlich dabei erstmal nicht bedacht hatte, war, dass...

Oct 3, 2009 - Ixtapa

Il y a une dizaine d’années, la famille de Marie a acheté un paquet touristique ou ils ont droit à une semaine d’hôtel 5 étoiles par an, durant plusieurs années, sur la cote pacifique. Christine, la mère de Marie, nous a offert une de ces semaines. Nous nous rendons a la ville d’Ixtapa en bus de nuit depuis Cuernavaca et après avoir fait des provisions pour la semaine, nous nous rendons a l’hôtel Pacifica ou la réservation est déjà payé (par le fameux paquet et l’aide de Christine). L’hôtel nous donne une chambre appart avec salon et...