SDS

The journey here was awful.  The 15 was usually a very nice drive, but for this stretch it was one lane each way and there were so many slow moving double trailer semis it took forever.  When we finally arrived at 1am, we discovered it was a hole in the wall town that we only slept in.  The hotel was straight out of the 60s and quite run down.  Rotary phones and no outlets.  What more can i say?  Back on the road!  this time to Tequila!

Mazatlan is very touristy beach side town.  Beneath the Americanized restaurants and hotels are wanna be tourist traps and expensive meals.  Eric wanted seafood, but it was quite expensive all around.  We finally found a nice taco stand run by some very social locals.  Back on the road.

We arrived in Culican this evening.  An interesting little town with some very confusing streets.  They have a roundabout (i love those).  The only problem is that the signs are quite confusing.  The hotel had the most amazing internet.  I was able to fix my blog and video chat with the parents.  God i love technology.  We snuck out just a few moments ago to grab some grub.  Most everything was closed so we ended up grabbing some dogs from a street vendor.  On the way we found the most amazing cathedral.  Amazing in the night with the neon cross and all.

Beaches of Topolobampo

We drove down the coast to Los Mochis.  Stopping for some sites before we drove on to Topolobampo.  Amazingly beautiful beaches (though eric says the southern beaches are where it’s really at).  You could tell this was a tourist destination, but it was almost completely deserted on a Wednesday afternoon.  The sand was amazingly fine and the surf was warm.  They call this the Sea of Cortez in Mexico and the Gulf of California in USA.  We found a restaurant to grab some seafood and a sangria before playing in the water for a bit.  Unfortunately we didn’t have much time to play, we are still making up the time we lost in Nogales.  We want to make it to Mexico City by Friday

We arrived here tonight.  This place is the most bizzare yet.  If you spun me around three times i would believe i was in the valley.  Complete with super corporate mega-chains and prices larger the Tucson.

We originally passed right through Guaymas.  Supposedly one of the principle seaports in Mexico.  We drove through town trying to find the lovely shorelines and resorts we had read about.  We had to turn completely around and drive back in to find it.  Eventually we found a shoreline and some very vulgar local punks.  They started as a great way for me to practice my spanish.  Eventually it digressed to sexual innuendo and panhandling.  On the whole, not the experience i hoped for.  I don’t recommend.

We arrived in Hermosillo in the afternoon.  According to the guides this town was famous for it’s cathedral.  That was certainly on our itinerary, but first, food.  We found an amazing fruit and sandwich place.  A delicious chicken baguette with fruit and even a coffee for kira.  Not cheep by mexican standards, but awesome in every other respect.  The cathedral was lovely.  It had some very graphic depictions of Jesus and some beautiful chandeliers.

We also discovered a museum about the local native people.  Though we only barely made it before they closed, they were very nice and gave us a private tour.  They even gave us a taste of native mesquite medicine made from the sap.  There was even a school there on a field trip.  Some huts and some amazing murals.  Enjoy the pictures, there are more in my photo archive page.

Finally out of Nogales.  Not that i disliked it.  In fact it was sorta a blessing in disguise to break the car.  It gave us a chance to really get to know a city that we would have otherwise passed immediately.  We left early this morning and after gassing up at a giant filling station. headed out for Hermosillo.

We were wondering around the hills of Nogales when we found some locals barbecuing in their front yard.  The Gonzales’ were kind enough to offer us some of what they were cooking.  Not to mention a few beers.  We became fast friends.  I was able to communicate with the children through a combination of my spanish, their english and of course, pantomime.  Eric talked politics while I entertained with a few card tricks.  I even taught some tricks to the kids, they are all very bright and figured out one or two on their own.

We headed back into Nogales AZ today for parts.  They never sold the 88 Supra in Mexico, so the parts have been very hard to locate.  We finally found adequate replacements in America.  Tomorrow we should know if it resolved out problems.  If all goes well, we’ll be in Guamos soon.