Danny Beer - From the city of angels to the land of fire. Danny Beer, gringo on tour

There is a small village with about three shops. Soon after a sign points to an RV and camp ground. They have a restaurant too. One problem. No pesos. Americano dollars. Not important. Bueno. It is nice here. Very quiet. Cheap. And friendly. You relax with a few beers. It rains. It gets dark. Your hostess warns of a storm approaching. A typhoon or hurricane or something of the sort. No use worrying about that now. The tent is already pitched. It’s under cover. You’ll be fine.

It rains all night and all day today. There is a storm with lightning and all that but no hurricane. Apparently it is crossing through at Playa Azule, 100 km to the south and today’s destination.

A couple small villages cross your pass at nine km intervals and then nothing for thirty five km where you reach Campos. Lucky you stayed where you did last night. There aren’t any bank machines in Campos. You exchange some more Americanos and get some lunch.

It continues to rain. It lets up a little around lunch but returns with a vengeance. It’s not so bad though. The road is half covered in land slides twice further on. With only a couple km to go the road is flooded entirely. You put the bike in a low gear and go forward. You can see where big pot holes are under the water. Some of them. The water gets a little deeper and you need to rely on the ripples to spot the pot holes. Near the end the water is well deep. You peddle harder. Your feet get wet.

The kilometer markers end but you haven’t quite made it there. The road turns off and Playa Azul is another five km down the road. There isn’t so much here. And guess what. no bank machine. You find a hotel for about ten dollars which will also take your Americanos. It’s not much but it is better than the five dollar cabana otherwise available. Apparently there’s a bank machine at the next town. It’s not far, ten km or so, but haven’t you heard this one somewhere before?

It rains. You finally find an ATM, after only four days of searching. You stop for lunch and to wait out the worst of the rain. It lets up to the point where you can now remove your coat. There is a new toll freeway in place for fifteen km but it’s closed for use. The busy highway passes over at one point and you find your entrance on. There is no traffic at all. Just you and the tarmac and nice ocean views.

But the freeway ends as far as you’re concerned and you are forced onto the highway with all the not so nice traffic. But not everyone’s an asshole. You sure do meet a lot of them though.

After about a hundred km a sign points off to a hotel. It looks nice. Too nice. And not worth the six km detour to find out. You press on. Closer to your destination more hotels and motels present themselves. The price looks right until you see that it’s only for two or three hours. You keep going.

Your feet hurt. The day wears on. Eventually you get into town. Only a couple more km now so you ignore the hotels on the outskirts. You’ll stay for a couple of nights so what’s the use of staying on the outskirts of town. To pack up and move three km further on? Bear the pain now.

It is dark by the time you find the main drag and a hotel that looks good. Ten dollars isn’t bad. But a look at the bike and the price hikes up to fifteen. Luckily the ol’ bat’s daughter, you think, lets you go with ten. It sure aint the Hilton though.

This looks like a pretty happening resort. Lots of people about and even a few foreigners too. It might be worth staying up for a cerveza or three. Tomorrow needs to be a rest day anyway.

Yesterday is a day of rest, spent, well, resting in the resort town of Zehuenjeno. Or whatever it is called. You meet people and you enjoy yourself. This is a nice place. Better, and smaller than the other resort towns you’ve been through. Iztapa to the north draws the richer crowds.

It’s two long days to Aculpulco. You aim to ride about 120 km today. That’s half way. Traffic continues as before. It’s a little busy and once you are out of town roads cease to have shoulders. Bus drivers continue to endeavor to be the biggest assholes they can be. Ten overtake way too close for comfort in the first hour alone.

About an hour out of town, just before a bridge and on the right, is a nice looking restaurant with pool. Silly you for not turning back. But then you would be there all day. You pull in to a restaurant further up. It takes you a little while to realise that this is a school cafeteria. You keep looking.

Accomodation is plentiful except for where you want it. Tecman is only another twenty km further. Can you make it? There are a couple hotels just before Tecman but you press on. If you’ve made it this far you may as well do the five km more. Tecman only has one hotel in town but there are two more just on the other side as well. Ten US is cheap but of course you get what you pay for. Or you don’t get what you don’t pay for. No aircon, no TV, no toilet seat.

Vowing not to go back to the overcharging restaurant you ate at last night you find a nice little place and have tortas. You break your rear gears leaving you with just the front ones to play with all day. This means having to walk up whatever hills lie ahead.

After an hour, 80 km before Aculpulco there is a restaurant with swimming pool. It looks very nice but you keep going. Lunch can wait a little later.

With just twenty km to go a toll freeway presents itself. You stay on the highway where traffic does increase tremendously. You make it to Acalpulco and meet Sofia, a Chilena girl you arranged to travel down the coast with. And now it is time to get acquainted.

A guy from the hotel goes with you to find a bike shop and help not to get overcharged. It’s a long way until you find one. He does some interpreting and you go to eat breakfast. You go to pick up the bike but there’s a problem. The gear system is too complicated and will cost 150 US to replace. Or for 5 US you can have a new brake installed on the side of the handlebars. It all sounds well dodgy but it is a bit of price difference involved.

Best not to hang around watching so you go to find a second breakfast. It is now afternoon. Sofia left much earlier to beat the midday heat. You’ll catch up with her sixty km down the road. Hopefully.

It’s another twenty km or so to get out of town. Traffic is heavy. There is a big hill to climb. You get a flat tire, and another out of town. Your new gear system looks well dodgy but it works fine. The hills aren’t so big around here. Lots of pigs running about the place. You stop to let a sow and her two piglets cross the road.

You make it to San Marcos and find Sofia in the first hotel there. It’s quite cheap and even has a pool which you take full advantage of. There doesn’t seem to be much in town. A pizza restaurant looks like your best option for dinner.