Cuernavaca to Puerto Vallarta and Back - 1999
On a bright Friday morning, we decided to head west to the Pacific resort of Puerto Vallarta by car. Most of the way is by modern superhighway, but the beginning gave us a choice of a one hour drive to Mexico City, followed by an hour going through it and then another hour getting to Toluca and the superhighway. Our alternative was a narrow two lane shoulderless shortcut through the mountains from Cuernavaca to Toluca. After some consultation, we opted for the latter.
Outbound
We left Cuernavaca, after a nice breakfast on the terrace, heading north along the libre, the free road to Tres Marias and Mexico City and quickly hung a left well before Tres Marias onto a road not on our map to Huitzilac, then through the Lagos de Zempoala National Forest to Santa Marthe (also not on our map). The pine forest ran up to 9,000 feet ASL and the perfect breakfast temperature of 25C dropped to 9C at the crest. Then from Santa Marthe on to Coatepec, Santiago de Tianguistengo, Atzipan, and finally Mexicalzingo. These towns were on our map, but some of the roads we took between them were not.
By now it was 11:30, so we had done 70 kilometers in 2 hours, a great average of 35 km/h, but faster than through the big city! Here we hit Autopista 55 north past Toluca to Atlacamulco where we picked up Autopista 15 which took us past Morelia and Lake Chapala to Guadalajara, a further 480 km in 5 hours, a more decent 96 km/h average. Actually, the last 3 hours we did more than 330 km.
Guadalajara
We had planned to stay at the Fenix Hotel and did, right in the heart of the old center of town. Guadalajara, noted as the drug capital of Mexico, is actually a beautiful city of 5 million, Mexico's second largest, and peopled by very attractive men and women, who looked quite prosperous. The city is surrounded by good Perifericos (Ring Roads) and Laterals (Service Roads), but as we were going downtown we went straight to the center (from the east) on wide, fast, busy but uncongested, six lane boulevards, such a dream compared to Mexico City.
The City was founded in 1542 and the Cathedral and many of the main government buildings and museums in the center are restored buildings from the 16th century. Guadalajara is the state capital of Jalisco, so it has many government buildings. After freshening up a bit in the hotel, we walked around some of the squares and along the many pedestrian only streets. Then we ended up back at the hotel for supper, then out again for a one hour caleche ride around the historic center and the University of Guadalajara.
On this ride, we saw a few restaurants that we probably should have eaten at, but another time. The horse, although blinkered, turned his head to the left regularly before changing lanes in the heavy city traffic, so that it seemed that he was in control rather than our driver. He even executed a very nice U-turn, after looking very carefully!
Onward
The next morning, we went west from downtown, again along busy but fast flowing wide boulevards right out to Autopista 15 again (it seems it goes right up to Nogales on the New Mexixo border). We headed toward Tepic in the State of Nayarit, but cut toward the coast on Highway 200-D and then down to Puerto Vallarta. Some of coastal 200 is very scenic, but not built for speed, two lane winding with many villages along the way. However, driving through this tropical jungle with the trees closing in above you is spectacular.
Puerto Vallarta
We arrived at our hotel for our one week stay early and immediately set out to explore. The hotel campus has one foot in the Marina Vallarta and the other foot on the Pacific Ocean. We set out to explore the Marina for restaurants and settled on a simple one called La Taverna. Carol wanted a "fishburger", which turned out to be a hamburger bun with a huge grilled fresh filet of MahiMahi, with a side of fries. Top that Macdonalds! Luckily, I had decided to join her and had the same. Lots of boats of all sizes and from many places, quite interesting.
I'll skip the parts about lolling by the pools and the beach and soaking up the sun, but we did come back nicely bronzed.
A three peso bus ride takes you to the town of Puerto Vallarta, which is a very nice compact clean town of cobblestone streets, interesting shops, restaurants and bars, all side by side in a section of about 20 block wide along the bay by about 6 blocks deep up the hills, all easily and safely walkable day or night. This is so much nicer than other Mexican resort towns where the restaurants are along strips and if you wander too far off the strip you are in seedy areas. The town is split in two by a river flowing into the bay and on the two extremities are the endless beach hotels.
One treat for a snack type restaurant was the Tapas Bar on Badillo Street, where we had hot tapas over a few beers and margaritas. We had Tequila Shrimp, Crab Cakes and a Tapenade with Parmesan, all delicious (except Carol said the margaritas were not up to her standard). We tried Roberto's Seafood in town as well, again MahiMahi, which although also called "dolphin" is actually a fish, not a mammal, resembling a "dorade", but uglier and tastier. Back at the Marina, we tried also La Paloma Dorada (the Gilded Dove), where we again had MahiMahi. It has great atmosphere and was very popular all the time. Sort of like Villefranche on the Riviera.
However the best for me for both food and atmosphere was the Mayan Palace hotel restaurant overlooking the ocean at night, MahiMahi al Mojo de Ajo (a huge filet with garlic) with a Smoked Marlin Tostados starter and potent margaritas. We spent a day at our hotel's sister resort at Nuevo Vallarta in the State of Nayarit, somewhat spectacular, more impressive than their Acapulco property, but still under construction in places.
Back Again
CAA had recommended that for our return trip, we continue south along 200, past coastal resorts Barra de Navidad, Manzanillo, Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo all the way to Acapulco and then head inland back to Cuernavaca, but with our knowledge of that road, we decided to go back as we came. This allowed us to re-explore the old part of Guadalajara and take lots of photographs. This time, a week later, we had a whole afternoon there and already felt we knew the city. There are so many different squares, all with fountains playing and filled with people enjoying themselves, merchants selling things, music, puppet shows.
We had our main meal at a restaurant called La Feria, really a night club, where Carol could have "Pargo Veracruzano" and I had a steak "Tequila". Pargo is Spanish for "porgie" as in Porgie and Bess, a "marine fish similar to Dorade with well appreciated flesh about 50 cm long" according to the Spanish Larouse. Perhaps all good fish are "similar to Dorade", certainly red snapper (huachinango) would fit that bill too. I had forgotten to mention that about 20 miles north of Guadalajara, along 15-D, we had passed the town of Tequila, home to Jose Cuervo and Sauza, where the Blue Agave grows to provide sap for brewing and distilling into that elixir of life. The restaurant had the food listings on one side of the menu and a list of 50 different tequilas on the other, much as we would have wine lists. People order a bottle for their table and proceed to demolish it neat. We passed on that idea, perhaps if there had been four of us...
The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast at a Sanborne's across the street from a Macdonalds, having freshly squeezed orange juice instead of MinuteMaid, and eggs, bacon, homefries, toast and coffee instead of Egg McMuffin. We left at 10 am and were home in Cuernavaca before 5, tracing the same route as outbound. It seemed to go faster, but in the end took about the same amount of time.
Well, to be honest, it would have been faster had we not been stopped just outside of Santiago de Tianguistengo (see the start of this story), in the State of Mexico, only a few miles (kilometers) from our home state of Morelos.
A Sad Unfortunate Adventure
We first noticed him going into the town, behind us, and drove slowly to allow him to pass us, which he did. Then he pulled into a side street and stopped. We continued into the town and got lost retracing our steps of the week before. Signs are often missing at crucial locations in towns. We stopped when we saw we were obviously going astray, asked some locals and they gave us good instructions on how to find the road toward Coatepec and Santa Marthe. We retraced our steps again and found the road, and headed on our way.
Just about a couple of kilometers out of town, a police car appeared behind us with his lights flashing. We were obeying the limits and thought he was going by us, but no, he wanted us to pull over. There were two of them in a State of Mexico Police car, and one came out and stated that I was speeding. I said I was not speeding and told him what speed I was going. He was never behind me at my speed and he had no radar. His response was that with a nice powerful car like the one I was driving I must have been speeding. I should note at this point that they were driving an old beat up Nissan, a Tsuru, not known in US/Canada, but a poor cousin to the Sentra.
Perhaps he was not sure of his possible success with a speeding charge, so he asked for my licence and my "permit to temporarily import a foreign automobile". I gave him all the documents and then he noticed that my permit had the line for plate number blank. The whole of the document is computer printed by the National Army Bank of Mexico, and can't get any more official looking complete with a hologram. I said that was the way it was given to me and showed him how the VIN number on the permit and on my car matched. He was perhaps getting a little frustrated and said the document was improper and we would have to drive back to the town, and as it was a Sunday, have my car impounded as it was improperly imported, and the two of us would have to spend the night in the local jail to await the judge the next day, a Monday.
We hemmed and hawed a bit, explaining we lived only a few kilometers away in Cuernavaca, and surely we could come back the next day to see the judge. He said no and insisted that we turn around and go back to the town, so we turned around, not easy on that narrow two lane road with deep ditches instead of shoulders and with lots of trucks going by. We had no sooner started off with them behind, when they pulled us over again. This time he wanted me to open the trunk, which I did, and he did a perfunctory search for "drugs or arms". I guess that was not his real goal, but once we were behind the car out of Carol's earshot, he suggested that the fine would be 2,500 pesos, about $250 US at the exchange rate at that time, and if we paid that to him, then we would not have to go back to town for the night.
Then I knew what we were about. I dug into my pocket and pulled out what turned out to be 1,200 pesos and told him that was all I had with me. He continued for a while about the fine being 2,500, but then agreed to accept the 1,200. He said that now we were "friends" and insisted we shake hands on the deal. Meanwhile, due to the narrowness of the road, big trucks were slowing to squeeze by, probably becoming silent but knowing witnesses to the transaction. We said our goodbyes and parted. We had to turn around again to head home, and to do so we had to pass their car, by now on the other side, turn into a driveway and back out into the highway. This took some time due to traffic, but Carol used the opportunity to check their licence plates on the back of their car, as there was none on the front, and write it down.
Soon we were headed home, but they then stopped us again and asked for the piece of paper on which Carol had, perhaps too obviously, written the licence number down. He complained that he had thought we were "friends" and did I now want the money back and follow him into town? I said no, we were still friends and Carol gave him the piece of paper she had written the number on. We were quite shaken by now and wanting to get home alive and safe, were very apologetic and promised not to "make any trouble for them" and not reveal their licence number. Finally, we shook hands again and again insisted on being "friends."
When we got home, still shaken, and told our story, the locals said we should have hung tough, gone into town with them and called their bluff. The permit was completely legitimate and the only police that can challenge it are the federal police, no state or civic police. However, when faced by armed police on a country road, where no one else came to our assistance, we were smart not to try to strike a blow against corruption. We are alive to testify to that.
November, 1999
