Pristine Views Along The Way To Puerto Vallarta

The Wild Adventures of Roaming Hamsters...

Puerto Vallarta a.k.a. La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

We made it!  WE MADE IT!!!  Perhaps that isn’t anything too noteworthy for anyone else, but it certainly is for us.  Why?  Mainly because my panniers were hanging on by wing and a prayer (or, more accurately, some tie-wire and an extra strap).  After identifying the problem with my bike while in San Blas, I did everything I could to repair the problem.  Unfortunately, the tiny town of San Blas does not deal in metric bolts.  Our only hope was to get to Puerto Vallarta and go to Home Depot for the elusive bolt.  The probem in that plan is that there is about 100 miles of windy, hilly, bumpy roads between San Blas and Puerto Vallarta.  So, when I say “we made it”, trust me, it is a God-sent.

Here in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, we are staying with April.  She is a fantastic woman who has lived in México for the past 26 years, with her husband.  They’ve raised their children here, who now attend college in the U.S. and work summers in México.  April has been an absolute blessing.  Again, why, you may ask?  Because she actually has a FULL sized garage with workshop that is perfect for storing the bikes while the repairs are being made.

So, let me tell you a little more about our ride to Puerto Vallarta.  To start with, ever since we left Mazatlán the climate has been changing.  Sure, just North of Mazatlán, we passed the sign “Tropic de Cancer”.  Obviously, that means we entered the tropics, but it wasn’t until we left San Blas that we really began to see the lush tropical jungle fauna.  Now, when I say “jungle”, I mean, lots of green and kudzu-like vines that overgrow the palm canopies.

Anyhow, I digress.  The ride was really nice.  By-in-large, the road was smooth.  It was a two-lane highway pretty much all of the way.  Of course, every time the highway passes through a town, the highway becomes riddled with speed bumps.  Our average speed was 29.7 miles per hour.  But, that was also due, in part, to our overly cautious driving because of my bike’s condition.  But, the little towns all along the way were so gorgeous.  Tiny towns dotting the coastline, with lush greenery and banana farms in between.  It was truly an impressive ride.