Some people fear street food in Mexico wondering if it’s sanitary. I quote the late Anthony Bourdain to myself to the effect that poisoning your customers is a poor business plan.
I thrive on this stuff. Grilled meat with your choice of sauces, salsas and various condiments. They make sandwiches in Mexico these days and a crisp grilled roll was a treat. Nothing against tortillas you understand but I do like bread from time to time!
It was a food stand set up in the parking lot of a truck stop on Highway 54D between Colima and Guadalajara. It’s a desolate stretch of freeway through farmland and mountains and no quirky roadside food vendors so we pulled into a stop to see what restaurants they offered. This was the funkiest and most authentically Mexican we thought.
A family operation. Smokey grilled meat cooked in front of us as we sat in a plastic chair watching.
When I got back from walking Rusty he wandered in but preferred curling up outside in the grass watching the trucks go by. He got his treats later back at GANNET2 where could eat in peace.
Simple delicious and low overhead. $2:50 per sandwich. You jack up the cost of the meal with a Coke around $1:50 each. We bought some extra meat to go.
Colima State is famous for Tuba which a fizzy fermented coconut juice concoction served with ice and peanuts.
I ordered a giant cup. And drained it.
She lives nearby and her husband is a waiter at a beach restaurant. Her eldest son is 18 and delivers ice. Yes they aren’t as wealthy as we are in the US but they live ordinary fulfilled lives with their families. There’s no reason to be afraid of these people.
The tuba seller bought some caramel popcorn from a passing vendor. So I followed suit.
Yeah. I have a sweet tooth. Breakfast of champions. Corn and coconut juice!
Rusty isn’t a fan but he enjoyed checking the neighborhood.
Layne caught me concentrating.
Oh and we got some fruit. Bananas are a major crop in Colima State.
Colima State is small and mountainous with intensive tropical farming.
A banana truck.
The road sign orders you to drive the shoulder to allow passing. My kind of orders! No tailgating or pushing or anxiety.
Sure enough! The magic third lane in action:
Roadside scenery:
We drove inland through Manzanillo and towards the city of Colima, capital of the state.
We got an oil change and a tire rotation with a front end alignment at an open air shop. He did good work.
We gave him a five dollar tip and he had us on our way in an hour and forty five minutes. The alignment was slightly out thanks to the roads but I noticed the wheel was perfectly aligned after his work. I’d go back!
We drove out of Manzanillo with a few good supplies Layne got at Walmart. I checked the tire pressures because no be adjusts the pressures when they rotate the tires! We stopped for the night at a rather dusty truck stop. Mexicans don’t idle their trucks all night so truck stops are much quieter than you think. They are trashed though with garbage found the edges!
In the morning of course we took a walk. There was a weirdly well built sidewalk traipsing under the trees alongside a dusty back road.
And we aren’t alone! Good day I said and he nodded. Where he was going I couldn’t say.
It was a long day’s drive fortified by the late morning sandwich.
With plans to stop at a campground for a couple of days we wanted to arrive with dinner cooked. Lathe’s favorite is roadside roast chicken.
This one was wood fired roast chicken. Too bad the ribs weren’t done.
Guess what? Rusty and I went for a walk.
Three wheeler cabs are popular south of Guadalajara all the way to the Guatemala border. Made in India from an Italian design.
Notice the giant double trailer on the highway. Each trailer is a full 53 feet long.
And by four o’clock we were home, honey. Charley’s RV Park in Sant’Elena de Jalisco.
Fifteen bucks a night. Strong WiFi. All to ourselves.
