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Tecoman on the way to Manzanillo
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It's about 375km to Manzanillo and I'm driving west on MEX200 along the Pacific coast. The roads scenic path twists and turns with stretches of straightaways for passing or be passed. A country landscape against the rugged coast with horses, cattle, goats and beautiful skies. Driving into the tidy little town of Manzanillo I followed the signs to zona historica. Landing at the waterfront I parked in the shade and took to the malecon.
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| waterfront Manzanillo |
Walking around I enjoyed the maritime atmosphere looking out at the ships in the ready position. After a lazy lunch I found a Banco Azteca and exchanged some US$ for pesos$ a few steps from the ice cream place where I exchanged some pesos for some creamy icy cold goodness!! Hitting up the local supermarket I stocked-up on provisions, fueled up and headed west looking for camping along the coast.
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| waterfront harbor Manzanillo |
The public parking lots adjacent to the beaches are open 24/7 to parking or camping. I found a great spot against some coconut trees and popped my RTT for the night. Waking in the morning I made coffee, enjoyed the playa view and took a regadera $10 pesos at the public sanitarios just a door down from camp. It was another spectacular day sunny and breezy as I headed out on MEX200 going west.
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| Top; morning beach view Manzanillo bottom; wild beach camp Manzanillo |
Taking my time driving on
MEX200 there is a lot to see. A bunch of tiny little villages all contributing to the surrounding area. As I passed
Cihuatlan and
San Patricio on the other side is
La Manzanilla a little village nestled on the coast. Pulling into this little picturesque village I was thinking of camping.
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| top beach at La Manzanilla bottom brekkie at beach camp La Manzanilla |
Looking for camping I turned on
Sendero a Boca de Iguanas a trail that follows the coast around a fresh water swampy bog with signage saying watch out for crocs. Further I went along this trail the options for camping increased, I picked a small hacienda that had a sign for beach camping. I leveled my rig in the sand popped my
RTT and made camp. The beach was beautiful and empty the water was clear blue with a small perch of mountains in the background simply put "lovely".
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| my good buddy and camping guru |
My camp mate was the household dog who came by for a sniff, some pets and a snooze while I hung out reading and getting some beach time. I camped here for two nights before pushing on to
Puerto Vallarta 225km west on
MEX200.
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| top; coast south of PV bottom; cliffs going into PV |
MEX200 starts to head away from the coast and into a tropical jungle about 20km inland as you drive the winding path with the lush green scenery is also amazing. This stretch of road had very few gas stops so it is wise to fill up before pushing on.
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| cliffs at PV |
About 6 hours later after driving through some beautiful areas I entered
PV from the south along the cliffs. Just like any tourist town
PV was no different with tons of traffic, buses and taxis weaving in and out, while tourist crowd the
malecon. Driving through
PV was nice, knowing that I was just passing through.
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| top; Monkeys house middle; wild camp bottom; Bucerias beach |
About 25km from
PV is a little coastal town called
Bucerias, small and built up
Bucerias is home to many expats with some uncrowded narrow beaches. The main square was small but very busy as it is the entrance to the village market place and restaurant row. I parked in town on a sandy wash out just steps from the beach and popped my
RTT making this home for two nights.
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| free diving monument Bucerias |
Tacos Al Pastor and some very tasty fish & chips was the highlight of my stay throw in a couple of hikes up and down the beach and around town makes
Bucerias a very pleasant spot.
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| Tiny coffee house Bucerias |
Jumping back on
MEX200 I was headed back to a old camp spot in
Tepic before heading to
Mazatlan.
Hope to see you on the Trail!!..
🚙......
