This is a collection of photographs I made after we left Punta Pérula and the beach.
Most are shot from the driving seat with my Lumix GX85 camera with a short telephoto lens set around 35 mm. That keeps the windshield frame out of the picture but battling glare and reflections means waiting for good light angles or shade falling across the road. I throw out a great many failures as my concentration is on the road not the camera. I hope they give a taste of life on the road.
We were traveling slowly on a torn up section of road here. I got the camera in time to photograph the random horse in the road moment.
Our gear was packed and Rusty knew we were leaving. He puts up with the road though he enjoys the destinations.
A repeat from a previous post of our approximate route from Punta Pérula to Santa Elena which is marked by the blue dot. We actually followed the south shore of Lake Chapala a wild rough road not usually recommended for foreigners but we were curious to see the wilderness.
Teocuitatlán de Corona, a lonely village filled for some reason with Guardia Nacional. They waved cheerfully as we stumbled past following Google’s blue line. No idea why they were there in force.
The rest of the village was sun beaten and dusty with hardly anyone around.
Some of the streets Google’s mapping sent us on were more like rutted alleys. The front wheel drive Promaster turns on a dime and scrambled up everything.
The highway across the fried lake beds south of Guadalajara are subject to dust storms apparently. I had to look it up but that is what a tolvanera is. They want you to turn on your headlights if caught in a dust storm.
Rusty wanders the truck stops. He likes human habitations much more than the wilderness I enjoy.
If you think Mexico is all donkey trails think again. They know how to engineer highways in difficult terrain.
Entering the city of Colima on a six lane highway:
A random elaborate sidewalk next to where we slept at a dusty truck stop outside the city of Tecoman.
Off to work as I walk my dog:
Dusk the night before. I tend to ignore the trash scattered underfoot and look aloft in truck stops. I’m getting used to Mexico’s contradictions I suppose.
Oil changes do not interest Rusty. This one in Manzanillo at Garza’s Oil and Tire shop. Excellent work while my dog slept.
5 comments:
I know you don't pay much mind to these but Teocuitatlán de Corona is specifically mentioned in a UK travel advisory that warns to limit movement to all but essential travel.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mexico/safety-and-security
Again, I know these advisories are of no consequence to you but just offering a possible explanation.
Oh I think this was pretty essential travel! Wait until you see the backroads of Michoacán…the foreign office will definitely be clutching their pearls! Thanks for worrying but if there is trouble ahead they close the roads.
"Thanks for the worrying"
I don't know, man. I traveled around the world for the Federal government for 36 years. Bombay, Karachi, Athens, Cairo, Europe, Singapore, Tokyo...I wouldn't say I worried but I always paid attention to the situation wherever I was. Just like I would if I traveled domestically.
You wondered what might be going on. I offered some answers and you let loose with some dismissive passive - aggressive response.
I wish you and your wife well. I'm following along, if you don't mind.
Safe travels.
I said thanks for worrying totally sincerely. I meant it. And I still do. I’m sorry if I sounded snarky. I’m just not very good at replying to comments. It’s my short coming and it’s why I prefer not to answer comments.
I am not a YouTube traveler. I rode a motorcycle to Cameroon in 1979 where I got hepatitis and had to be flown home.
I was a reporter in Central America during the civil wars in the 1980s. I was threatened by the secret police of Roberto d’Aubisson after I interviewed him and I was caught in protests and firefights. I got dengue fever really badly and was seriously ill.
I rode the great Siberian railway and was accused of being a spy. I did not get sick which seemed an achievement but I came away with an abiding dislike of communism and snow. October in Siberia is cold enough for me.
If I can get to Ushuaia with none of us getting sick, Layne Me Rusty or the van I will be happy.
I’d be happier if strangers stopped worrying. Please.
So I'll repeat. Again. I'm not worried for you. You seem to have things well in hand and seem to be able and prepared to handle just about any situation that presents itself to you. And I've been reading from the very start.
Just because people mention security awareness or discuss travel advisories doesn't mean they're worried. It means it's part of their travel regimen. The alternative, I suppose is a hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil approach and I'm not sure how healthy that is.
It seemed like you were wondering what what going on. I offered a possible explanation. Sorry if I came off as being worried for you.
And, with that, I think I'll keep my thoughts to myself from here on in.
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