Day 37 (417km): Twilight Zone

The first challenge of the day was getting through Acapulco and back on 200. I think Acapulco is the capital of VW Beattles. They use them as cabs, but we also saw tons of personal ones; they were everywhere. Getting through Acapulco wasn't too bad, but there was one crazy intersection where the traffic lights meant nothing. Buses would get stuck in the intersection and it took us three green lights to make it through (we were practically at the front) and there was lots of horn honking. Eventually there were signs directing us back to 200, but we had to take the Cuota route to Mexico DF first. We were on the road for 3km, and then had to pay a toll when we exited. Mexican toll roads are blatant theft! Then the real kicker, right after the toll booth was a section of road, maybe 3km, with probably 30 speed bumps. It was ridiculous. I'm sure glad I paid that toll.

Alberto: “OMG, that was a rough one”

Me: “Yeah I saw you bouncing all over the place so I slowed down more.”

Alberto: “What's that speed bump for??? Stopping a tank!?!”

The road was mostly inland today, so there wasn't much scenery. We didn't really even see any interesting wildlife. The destination for the day was Puerto Escondido. The bizarre thing about riding in this heat/humidity is that I now think 30 degrees is cold.

Arriving to Zicatela beach and subsequent Hotel strip (in Puerto Escondido) was like entering the twilight zone. We'd stumbled upon a gringo surfer community. Lots of funky shops, hotels, restaurants, and people walking about in flip-flops. A guy from the Sunshine Coast approached us to pimp his hotel. We were tired and didn't feel like shopping around so we accepted. It was 1 block up from the main beach avenue but it was a really nice set-up. Our room, and from what I can tell most of the rooms, have their own private set-ups. We had a deck, hammock and roof tanning spot. The room had AC (a deal breaker after wearing bike gear all day) and a kitchenette too. I totally want to come back here with a bunch of friends: Casa de Dan y Carmen. It would be a good place to stay.

Our room (poolside)

After a well earned shower we went down and walked the strip. We had dinner at a pizzeria. It was really nice because there was a breeze off the ocean and they made fresh juice.