Barra de Navidad

We left Ajijic early on a Sunday morning. Lake Chapala had been dry and dusty, although sprinkled a couple times hinting at the rainy season to come. We were heading back to the Pacific Coast where it would be warm and humid. Descending to the coastal plain from 1,525 m (5,000 ft) on the paved road from Guadalajara to Manzanillo, we could feel the temperature and humidity increasing to 25°C (77°F) and 70% humidity. The air felt dense and heavy. What would summer be like at 35°C (95°F) and 90% humidity? 

Marlin-sailfish sculpture at the entrance to Barra de Navidad

We spent five weeks on the Costa Alegre (happy or cheerful coast), roughly 300 km (180 mi) of coast south of Puerto Vallarta to Manzanillo. A tropical environment, modest beach towns and uncrowded beaches attract Mexicans on weekends and holidays from as far as Guadalajara and Mexico City (link). American and Canadian tourists and snowbirds show up in the winter (November-April) when the temperatures are warm and it rarely rains, but their presence is not large like in Puerto Vallarta.

Hiking the Sierra Travesaño

Standing at 1,500 m (5,000 ft) in Ajijic looking up at the 2,500 m (8,000 ft) Sierra Travesaño made us want to put on our hiking shoes and find a trail. We found several hikes out of town in a guidebook by Teresa Kendrick (2007), including El Tepalo. Her directions were simple and straightforward – from Calle Jin (the main east-west street) follow Incarnación Rosas to Callejon de Tepalo up (north) to the entrance of El Tepalo – the canyon of the waterfalls. It was the end of the dry season, so we didn’t expect any water (and there wasn’t any). Our objective was the ridge where several white crosses were visible with binoculars from the village.

Looking up to the Sierra Travesaño

Tlaquepaque

Historically known as San Pedro, Tlaquepaque was eventually surrounded by Guadalajara as it grew and spread outwards. Now a city of about 600,000, Tlaquepaque is a few kilometers from the city center of Guadalajara. Tlaquepaque (pronounced tlah-kay-PAH-kay [link]) comes from the Nahuatl language and means “hill where the clay comes from” (link) referring to the city's long history of pottery making (link). We drove from Ajijic about an hour north to Tlaquepaque. We arrived before the shops opened, found parking and walked the streets photographing old buildings in the early light.

Ceramic pineapples for sale in Tlaquepaque

Guadalajara

Guadalajara is Mexico’s second largest city with a population over four million in the city and surrounding metropolitan area (link). It’s less than an hour’s drive from Lake Chapala. We took a bus from Ajijic ($50 MXN, about $4 USD) to avoid dealing with traffic and parking. The bus dropped us at the Antigua Central Camionera (old bus station*), which is more than a kilometer from the city’s Centro Histórico, the colonial center of the city, so we caught a taxi from the bus station.

Plaza Guadalajara looking toward the Palacio Municipal (built between 1949 and 1952)

The Centro Histórico is laid out like a cross from west to east when viewed from above (link). The cathedral lies at its crux surrounded by four plazas: Plaza Guadalajara at the head of the cross; Plaza de la Liberación at its base; Plaza de Armas to the south; and Plaza de la Rotonda to the north. The circular fountain in the Plaza Guadalajara is shaped like an oyster with rose petals alluding to the city's two nicknames: "Pearl of the West" and "City of Roses." The stairs lead to an underground parking garage.

Ajijic

We left the Pacific coast before Easter and headed inland to Lake Chapala. Semana Santa (Holy Week) was approaching and the beaches would be filled with vacationers, a kind of Mexican spring break. The drive from Barra de Navidad to Lake Chapala was uneventful. We took Mexico 200 south along the coast skirting mangrove-flanked estuaries and the port of Manzanillo. Turning north on Mexico 110, we passed through Colima, the capital of Mexico’s fourth smallest states, and picked up Mexico 54 to Guadalajara. Gaining elevation, we passed the impressive Colima Volcanic Complex, including Nevado de Colima at 4,300 m (14,000 ft), at the western end of the 900-km (560-mi) trans-Mexican volcanic belt (link).

Ajijic and Lago de Chapala

Los Toros y Las Sardinas

This is a story about life and death on a beach in Bahía de Banderas. The main characters are jurel toro, or simply toro, the local name for the Pacific crevalle jack (Carangidae), and sardina, the local name for the flatiron herring (Clupeidae). 

Jurel toro or Pacific crevalle jack

Sardina or flatiron herring

Los Arcos

Los Arcos (The Arches) is one of the most popular diving and snorkeling spots in Bahía de Banderas (Bay of Flags) and is visited by many of the local tourist companies (link) and dive shops (link). It comprises five granite islets from 5-50 m (16-160 ft) high about 10 km (6 mi) south of Puerto Vallarta. I snorkeled the rocks when we were here in early April and again when we returned in early June.

Los Arcos from Puerto Vallarta

Coastal Trail from Boca to Quimixto

We love to hike, so we were happy to learn of a two-mile trail along the coast from Boca de Tomatlán to Las Animas. Most tourists go by water taxi (panga) to Las Animas, Quimixto and Yelapa, coastal villages west of Boca. We asked about the trail in town and were told that it goes beyond Las Animas to Quimixto, over four miles (measured on Google Earth). We planned to start early, stop for lunch along the way and return to Boca by water taxi in the afternoon. We packed light, took several liters of water and snacks, wore sturdy trail shoes and started before the sun was over the hills behind Boca.

Start of the trail

Boca de Tomatlán

It’s cool in the morning before the sun rises over the Río Horcones. The breeze from the east is fresh and the leaves of the palm trees wobble as it swirls. White-collared swifts gather and wheel in the sky above the village announcing their presence with loud chattering. Noisy blue-rumped parrotlets fly through the trees in small groups at high speed. Great-tailed grackles are whistling and social flycatchers call from the tops of snags. 

Pangas on the estuary

San Sebastián del Oeste

Drive east into the mountains from the high-tourist areas of Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta and you will discover a rural Mexico moored to centuries of traditions, culture and architecture. At 4,600 ft in the Sierra Madre, San Sebastián del Oeste is only 40 miles northeast of Puerto Vallarta, but it is centuries removed in time.

Sierra Madre from Puente Progreso

Bucerias

Bucerias is on the Pacific Coast in the state of Nayarit north of Puerto Vallarta. It is located at the southern end of the Riviera Nayarita, 200 miles of coast stretching from San Blas in the north to Nuevo Vallarta south of Bucerías (link). We spent two weeks here in March.

The beach at Bucerias looking north to Cruz de Huanacaxtle

Founded in 1937, Bucerias was known as a place for diving and fishing (link). With a population of 17,000, it has cobblestone streets; brightly painted homes; a lively Saturday market; and shops, art galleries, restaurants and services to satisfy tourists and expatriates (expats) alike. We rented the downstairs of a duplex two blocks from the beach.

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is the anti-Mazatlán. It's a small town on the Pacific Coast south of San Blas. There are no high rises and few tourist hotels and RV parks. The industrial-scale agriculture we saw north and south of Mazatlán has given way to towns and villages surrounded by orchards and small farms growing fruits and vegetables. “The local people are hard-working citizens, fishermen, farmers, blue-collar workers such as waiters or waitresses, or small business owner” (link).

Street near Playa La Manzanilla

La Noria and El Quelite

We spent our first week in Mazatlán exploring the city from Playa Bruja (Witches Beach) in the north to El Faro (The Lighthouse) in the south, from the Zona Dorada (Golden Zone) to the Centro Histórico. We fought city traffic (turning on the Garmin when we got lost) and learned how to ride the buses. We shopped for groceries in the big-box stores (Mega and Walmart) and for fruit and fish in the Mercado Municipal. We ate lunch under shade trees with lovers and tourists in the Plazuela Merchado, and dinners at canvas-covered taco stands with dirt floors and wood barbecues. After a week we needed a break from the intensity of the city. We drove east into the foothills of the Sierra Madre to visit two villages known for their picturesque settings and handmade products of local artisans.

La Noria

La Noria de San Antonio is a colonial village in the foothills of the Sierra Madre about 40 km northeast of Mazatlán. It was founded as a mining camp in 1565 and prospered from mining into the 19th century (link).

Entrance to La Noria

Mazatlán's Mercado Municipal

Officially known as the Mercado Municipal Pino Suárez, Mazatlán’s central market was opened in 1900 and covers a city block in the Centro Histórico. The design was influenced by the late 19th century French ironwork aesthetic seen in the Eiffel Tower and fabricated by the largest foundry in Sinaloa (link).

Mazatlán’s central market

The roof sits atop 29 single-cast iron columns 10 m high and the locals began calling it the Iron Palace (link). The market was named after José Maria Pino Suárez, who was Vice President of Mexico when he was assassinated in 1913 during the Mexican Revolution (link).

Mazatlán

We crossed into Mexico in early February and stopped in San Carlos, a small town on the Sea of Cortez 250 miles south of Nogales. San Carlos is a popular destination for Americans and we had stayed there several years ago. It has a large, natural harbor, good sportfishing, fresh seafood and is less than a day’s drive from Tucson. We needed to work on our trip plan, the extent of which was to “drive down the Pacific Coast of mainland Mexico,” and unwind after traveling over 5,000 miles in January (125 by boat, 3,000 by car and 2,000 by air). 

Our next destination was Mazatlán about 500 miles south of San Carlos. It would be our first time in La Perla del Pacifico (The Pearl of the Pacific), a city of over 430,000 (link), and we needed to get familiar with the city map, especially given the warning of the State Department: “…any travel in Mazatlan (sic) should be limited to Zona Dorada and the historic town center, as well as direct routes to/from these locations and the airport” (link).

Dripping Springs

One of the pleasures of traveling is finding places that are beautiful or interesting. In the U.S., some of these places have been protected by local, state or federal governments to conserve nature, preserve history and viewscapes, and for public recreation. We found one of these places on our way back to Mexico.

Organ Mountains - torrey mountain yucca (foreground) and soaptree yucca

We left northern Colorado in a snowstorm and stopped in Las Cruces, New Mexico for a couple days to collect the remaining documents we needed to complete our tax returns and plan our trip down the Pacific Coast of mainland Mexico. With some free time, we went looking for hikes in the Organ Mountains east of Las Cruces and found Dripping Springs Natural Area. It’s managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and has a small visitor center at 5,000 feet and more than four miles of hiking trails.

Wandering on Whidbey Island

We spent a week on Whidbey Island in northern Puget Sound in January in weather ranging from cold rain and fog to shirtsleeves and sunshine where I tested the landscape capabilities of the Sony RX100. Whidbey Island was named by Captain George Vancouver for Lieutenant Joseph Whidbey who explored the island in a launch from Discovery in 1792 (link). Vancouver had a penchant for naming things after his friends – he named Puget Sound after Discovery Lieutenant Peter Puget, Mount Baker after 3rd Lieutenant Joseph Baker, Mount Rainier after Rear Admiral Peter Rainier, and so on (link).

Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve (NHR)
Ebey’s Landing NHR was established by Congress in 1978 as a partnership among the National Park Service; state, county and town governments; and residents of central Whidbey Island. It is administered and managed by the Trust Board of Ebey’s Landing NHR and is the first unit of its kind in the National Park System. The Reserve covers over 17,000 acres, most of which is privately owned, and includes Penn Cove and the town of Coupeville (link, link).

Farms at Ebey's Landing

Sidetracked in Seattle

We flew to Seattle in January to visit Rande’s family. It gave me a chance to learn my new compact digital camera, a Sony RX100. I wanted a good pocket camera to use when it’s inconvenient to carry a full-sized digital SLR and to be less conspicuous in crowded locations. I also wanted a camera that would fit in a compact housing for underwater photography. The RX100 is a photo-enthusiast’s compact camera (more details at the end). 

Main entrance to the Pike Place Market

Los Barriles

Los Barriles is a small town (pop. 1,174 in 2010 census) off the Transpeninsular Highway (KM 105) between La Paz and San José del Cabo. We drove by on a trip to Baja Sur in 2011, went back for two weeks in 2012 and for three months in 2013. Los Barriles translates as “the barrels”; according to legend, conquistadors buried gold in barrels in the hills overlooking Bahia de las Palmas (link). 

The town grew up around sportfishing, which caught on in the 1950s and 1960s (link) when small fishing resorts hosted Hollywood stars like Errol Flynn, John Wayne and Bing Crosby (link). The area has some of the best fishing in the world (link, link, link) and fishing tournaments with significant prizes (link).

Entrance to Los Barriles from the Transpeninsular Highway

Today, snowbirds, part-time residents, retired gringos and tourists mingle with the local Mexican community. Cows and goats wander the roads and ATVs (known as “quads”) are a primary form of transportation. The main street through town is paved, but everything else is dirt. With only a few tourist hotels, Los Barriles is still a bit sleepy and dusty. It’s the anti-Cabo San Lucas – no cruise ships call here and the town is quiet after midnight.

The Muralist

A beat-up Ford Aerostar pulled up below the house and honked. A man in his 70s got out and started up the steep dirt driveway. “Hello” he called out without seeing anyone. I stuck my head over the second floor railing; “hola” I replied. He was tall and thin and wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, tan shorts and a well-worn, long-sleeve dress shirt buttoned in three places. He was clean shaven except for a neatly-trimmed pencil mustache and he leaned slightly forward as he climbed the rutted driveway confidently, if slowly, in his flip flops. “I’m David, John’s caretaker. I lived in this house until last week and I left a few things behind. Do you mind if I get them?”

David at the house of faces

Three Hikes

Baja has many opportunities for hiking – the challenge sometimes is finding them. If you have limited time, go with a guide (link); most tourist hotels can find one for you. This is a good plan for extended hikes because hiking trails can be confused with cattle trails. If you want to do it yourself, you can find trails on maps and blog posts and by word-of-mouth.

This post highlights three recent hikes. Hike #1 – Sol de Mayo – appears on low-resolution maps of the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve. The maps can’t be used for navigation. We learned about hike #2 – Arroyo Palmillas – on the Baja Pony Express (link), an English-language website with news, information and announcements for the gringo community. We learned about hike #3 – Sendero sin Nombre – by word of mouth.

Sol de Mayo

Located near the town of Santiago (KM 85 on the Transpeninsular Highway) on the east side of the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve, Cañon de la Zorra (Fox Canyon) is best known for its waterfall (cascada). Rancho Ecológico Sol de Mayo and has an entry fee of USD $6. Hike upstream from the waterfall (elevation about 275 m) and you'll find pools and wetlands and a beautiful canyon.

Entrance to Rancho Ecológico Sol de Mayo