vandenberg - 8-12-2005 at 08:23 PM
Mainland trip
Anybody interested in a month long trip we took to the old colonial cities in 
central Mexico ?? Lve in Loreto and did trip last April for 4 weeks.
bajalou - 8-12-2005 at 08:24 PM
I would certainly like to hear about it.
Natalie Ann - 8-12-2005 at 08:50 PM
I would very much like to hear about it.
vandenberg - 8-12-2005 at 08:58 PM
Bajalou
It was quite a different trip then coming down the Baja. Took the ferry to Topolobampo and went inland from there. Went to all the colonial cities/
Enjoyed the hell out of it
Garry - 8-13-2005 at 10:38 AM
Hola, Ed, if you post the story,besure an warn them about the bumping an wallet story. Thanks Garry, I would like to read it again also. Where will
you put it, in Trip Reports????
vandenberg - 8-13-2005 at 01:10 PM
Here goes !!
Took the ferry from La Paz to Topolobampo. Was late like usual and didn't get there till about 11 pm. It was easter time and the ship was packed. Lots
of fun. Reasonable drinks, a band ( good ),dancing and a general party mood. Driving into Los Mochis ,we passed several motels with price signs like $
115 and $ 130. Too expensive for me, so drove into town. Made wrong turn into a badly marked one way street. Red light,stop!! Explained to cop that I
was looking for a hotel. Was told to follow him, while he had my license( Mexican ) and guided me to a hotel a few blocks away. Got my license back
and was happy enough to give the guys $ 20.00. Next day went to Maztlan. Good road. Mazatlan was a zoo. Forgot about spring break !!.Decided to go on
towards Durango. Know a guy on the way there in Copola and spend 3 days there. About 2000ft ,a beautiful spot right in the jungle. Still have jaguars
threatening the cattle. The highway from Mazatlan to Durango is one of the prettiest roads I have ever been on and according to the people in Copola
is the most scenic one in Mexico. In Durango we decided to stay as close to downtown as possible, since that's where all the colonial architecture is
mostly preserved. We were a block from the cathedral, and within walking distance of most sights.
After 4 days we went on to Zacatecas, which turned out to be my favorite town of all the ones we visited. Beautiful buildings, cobblestone streets, (
with the Mexican girls navigating in their stilleto heels ).Went on the cablecar to get a birdseye view of the city, and visited an old goldmine. From
there we traveled on the autopista to Guanajuato, a very pictoresque town with underground roads going through the whole town. Found a great looking
hotel. Was a former hacienda and still had the old 3 ft thick walls surrounding the grounds.Spend a week there and made some trips to the surrrounding
villages,where a lot of ceramics are produced. Santa Rosa was the one I can remember, since my wife bought a sh.t load of it. The to San Miguel de
Allende on a very picturesque road. Spend a week there with a friend of my neighbors. San Miguel has a large gringo population, and to go with that a
few beggars and kids selling chicklets. The only town we experienced that. A little side trip took us to Dolores Hidalgo, where the Mexican revolution
started. Lots of ceramic shops there, but the town was the least clean of all the ones we visited. Had some gorgeous Jacarandas in the town square
though . Next stop was Queretaro, a town with some beautiful churches and a well preserved 1/2 mile long aquaduct. This was as far south as we got.
Onthe way back we basically did the same roads. Stayed in some other smaller towns,Freshnillo comes to mind. Nice small town close to Zacatecas. By
the time we got to the ferry and made our reservations it was 2pm. and the ferry didn't leave till 11pm. I had a brainstorm and told the wife that the
$ 120 motelroom was probably in pesos ,since the most expensive room we encoutered was $75. So ,back we went and found out I was right. The motel guy
looked at us kind of funny and we couldn't understand why. Found out though. A kid guided us to a automatic garage door and let us in. Only way in and
out of the room. Nice room ,great shower, and a stripjoint type dancing pole in the bedroom. And only xxx TV. Took my picture in my skivvies hanging
onto that pole and made that my last year's X- Mas card. Got lots of comments. Ferry back was nice and quiet. All in all this was a nice trip, that I
would highly recommended to anyone. Most of central Mexico is at 6000 ft or higher. Zacatecas is over 8000ft. At that altitude the weather never gets
too hot, and I never had difficulty breathing like I had playing golf in Tahoe. Go figure !!
bajajudy - 8-13-2005 at 02:13 PM
Wow I wish I were there now. It sure is HOT here. How hot is it in Loreto?
We have been talking about doing a similiar trip. Just out of curiosity...what kind of tags do you have on your vehicle and what kind of vehicle is
it?
vandenberg - 8-13-2005 at 02:50 PM
VEHICLE
I have a Toyota Crolla with California tags. Gets great mileage,one of the reasons I bought it.
bajalou - 8-13-2005 at 02:59 PM
Thanks for the story
foghornleghorn - 9-2-2005 at 06:43 PM
Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!