*** This time of year - when many of us are heading back to paradise from our summer spots - is a good time for our popular series "Driving Adventures in Mexico." After much hesitation, I'd decided to run my father's journal of our "Driving Adventures in Mexico" on our drive drown last month, despite the fact it has numerous references to my poor driving abilities - The things I do for the safe of journalistic integrity! - Editor.
Zihuatanejo (pron: zee-WAH-ta-NAY-ho, or the shortened version…zee-WAH), is a picturesque Mexican fishing village located on the Pacific Coast, roughly 240 Kilometers north of Acapulco. The lifestyle and peaceful surroundings can be addictive, as my daughter Catherine had found out some years earlier while on a vacation to this area. She has been a part-time resident there since 1998, and now publishes a monthly English language magazine. ***
I had volunteered, in one of my weaker moments, to help her get her older model Jeep Cherokee from North Texas to Zihuatanejo, by towing the mostly unreliable Jeep behind my mostly reliable Suburban. This would require some serious logistical planning prior to leaving Texas. Some of the obstacles to overcome included, finding a tow bar capable of towing a 3500 lb. vehicle (safely) for more than 1600 miles through mountainous terrain. In addition, we spent many hours online, trying to find out what documents were needed at the border, what we could take with us, what is the most direct and easiest route to take, and finally, how to pack all of Catherine’s stuff into 2 vehicles to take with us on the trip.
Finally, as the day of departure approached, we felt confident that everything was in order, and we were ready to leave. A friend of mine, Bob, had agreed to go along with us to help me with the driving down and back, so on a bright Tuesday, the three of us, along with Catherine’s kitten Oscar, finally hooked up the Jeep, climbed into the Suburban, and pulled out, heading for the border at Laredo. This is my diary of the trip from hell…to paradise.
DAY 1 - Tuesday. Finally left at 9 AM with the Jeep in tow. With both vehicles loaded to the hilt, towing took a certain amount of getting used to, but after 20 or 30 miles, it became second nature and we were able to drive at normal speeds. On to Dallas, then south to Austin and San Antonio. Made good time on the Interstate, and only had to make 2 or 3 stops along the way. First stop was in Austin to pick up a duplicate of Catherine’s title to her Jeep (5 minutes and $5.40 later, back on the road to the border). About midway there, I decided to let Catherine practice pulling the Jeep. She was somewhat hesitant, never having pulled a trailer of any type before, but agreed to try it. After several miles of erratic driving on the Interstate, and almost causing some poor soul in minivan to run off the road, we made the decision that this was not the time for her to learn how to tow a vehicle. By unanimous consent, it was decided that Bob and I would handle the towing on this trip. After a couple of rest stops and 1 Wal-Mart stop (for groceries and last minute supplies), we pulled into Laredo around 7 pm.
DAY 2 - Wednesday (Crossing the border…the fun begins!)
Awake at 5 AM. Plans for today are to get to the border by 6 AM, clear customs, get our Vehicle permits and hopefully be on the way to Monterrey by 7 or 7:30. Around 6:15 AM, crossed the International Bridge at Laredo, and while most cars were waved on through by the Mexican customs agents, not so with us. I guess the sight of a big white suburban towing a Jeep Wagon was too suspicious for them…so of course, we are waved into the first slot. We let Catherine do the talking, after explaining the purpose of our trip, she was asked if we had anything that we needed to declare and pay customs (up to 30% tax) on. I could just imagine Catherine having to pay 30% of the value of everything she had crammed into the cars…and at the same time I was mentally calculating how many pesos I would have left when we got through this place. While she was talking to the inspector, I saw her pull out a stack of receipts, and give the inspector one of them. (What is she doing? I thought, this could get expensive?) He then wrote out a receipt and gave it to her, and said that will be $210 pesos (approx. $22 dollars). She told us later that this was the best possible thing that could have happened, because he only charged her for one item, when he could have charged her full value on all items. Plus this gave her the customs receipt which would give us a free ride at the next checkpoint. (Smart girl, she obviously takes after her dad.)
At this point we left the International bridge and I got my first taste of driving/towing in Mexico as we made our way some 5 blocks or so to the Immigration/Car Permits office to get our travel visas and vehicle permits. We were able to navigate fairly well…considering my lack of knowing where I was going, and lack of confidence pulling a towed vehicle in crowded conditions…and after 10 minutes or so of following signs that didn’t seem to lead anywhere, we found the place. At this point, we all felt confident that we would be through and on our way in an hour or less…unfortunately, this was not to be. Bureaucracy at a border crossing is a sight to behold. Even still, despite the confusion, Bob & I were done in 45 minutes. In Catherine’s case, because of the an FM-3 situation that is just too long to get into, it took over 4 hours and 3 visits to 3 different immigration offices (none in the same building, naturally), before she finally got the proper paperwork to travel in Mexico. By 11:00 AM, she finally was cleared to leave, and although stressed to the max, we were all relieved to finally be “on the road again”, heading for Monterrey. The next big test would be the 15 Kilometer checkpoint, where cars are usually searched and customs assessed on all items brought into the country. But at this point, the inspector simply looked at our visas, checked Catherine’s receipt for the customs paid, and waved us on through without even searching the vehicles. She had obviously been correct about the value of paying the toll at the border, since this was the last inspection we would face the entire trip.
Now it was time to make up for the 4-5 hrs. lost at the border. We headed south and pulled onto the main toll road that runs from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey. Mostly flat brush country much like south Texas around Laredo, but as we get closer to Monterrey the terrain starts getting more hills and finally we come to a mountainous region just north of Monterrey. Our trip plan up until this time had been stick to the toll roads, find motels in the larger cities as night approached, thus avoiding having to drive at night in Mexico-which is known to be hazardous to say the least. We had originally planned to drive from Laredo to the town of Aguascalientes the first day, before heading south to Guadalajara. Based on the map and projected driving time, and our unexpected delay at the border, we elected to change our route and take a different highway to the city of San Luis Potosi. We made good time to Monterrey, (a large industrial city), took the pereferico (by-pass) around the northern edge of the city, and got back on the Cuota (toll road) towards Saltillo. 4 lane divided highway, with rough pavement, portions under construction, hilly and mountainous, and with wall-to-wall 18 wheelers and buses but only lasted for 80 or 90 kilometers. Next, we were able to by-pass Saltillo, and head south on another toll road which took us through a large mountain range with very steep grades, but other than having to drive in a lower gear, the road was good and the scenery was beautiful. Leaving the mountains, we drove through a large valley that was obviously a rich farming and agricultural area. Lots of large farms and fruit trees along both sides of the highway. At this point we were beginning to think, “Driving in Mexico ain’t so bad…good roads, pretty scenery, what more could you want?”
It is now approximately 6 pm, and as we pull into a Pemex station south of the Mexican town of Matehuala, to fill up with gas – Mexican Gas by the way is around $5.50 pesos per liter, or approximately $2.45 US per gallon—I notice that the left rear tire on the Suburban is almost flat. Luckily, there was a small tire repair shop behind the Pemex station, so we ease over to it and have the mechanic take off the tire to repair it. At this point we find out it can’t be repaired. Next step is to unload bed frames, suitcases, cat carrier and etc., get out the spare, have him put the spare on the suburban, and hopefully make it to the next town without another spare. At this point we have to decide whether to turn back and return 40 Km or so to Matehuala, find a motel there, or keep on going and try to make San Luis Potosi (another 150 Km) before trying to find a motel. Finally decide to head on to San Luis Potosi, even though its getting dark since the map shows a good Autopista all the way. Yet another poor decision.
At that point, we also decide to unhook the Jeep, and I will drive it, while Bob and Catherine follow me in the Suburban. We figure we can make better time this way…turns out our decision was wrong again. First of all, the Jeep is making a funny sound, like the brake shoes may be rubbing…this goes away in a short distance, so we continue on in the dark. Next the lights start flickering on the jeep, and it starts raining, and I can’t see worth a hoot. Then we hit a stretch of highway where it is being resurfaced, and there are no white lines. I’m now down to around 40 miles per hour. It’s raining, we are out in the middle of the desert, there are no lights anywhere, I can’t see worth a damn, and big 18 wheelers are blowing by me at 70-80 MPH. –and I’m thinking, “So, this is why you don’t drive at night in Mexico”— After what seems like hours, I finally find a place to pull off the road, get out and hook the Jeep back up and tow it the rest of the way.
We finally get into San Luis Potosi around 10:30 at night. As luck would have it, we can’t find a Motel, so I continue towing the Jeep into the downtown area. Bear in mind, San Luis Potosi is NOT a small town, somewhere in the neighborhood of 800,000 - 1,000,000 population. After successfully (but stressfully) navigating from one side of the city to the other, with no luck finding a motel, we stop and Catherine asks for directions to a nice motel. She is told there is a really nice one several blocks down the street, and gets the directions. We follow the directions, and after making several wrong turns, and having to stop and ask for more directions, we finally find the Motel/Hotel in question…turns out to be the Westin San Luis Potosi Resort. Their “Suites” start at $250 Dollars—not pesos, per night, so we decided that maybe this “nice motel” is a little too nice. They were kind enough, however, to give us a map of the city, and show us where the Holiday Inn was located. Finally found it, got a room (still not exactly inexpensive by Mexican standards), but at that point, as long as they took plastic, I didn’t even care about the cost. All of us collapsed, (except for Oscar…who was wound up and ready to play). Finally get Oscar locked away in his kennel and banished him to the bathroom. It’s after midnight and it is safe to say…we’re all glad to see this day finally end.
DAY 3- Thursday (Mountains and Crazy Mexican drivers)
After a leisurely breakfast at the Holiday Inn restaurant, we decide to go find a replacement tire for the Suburban. Found a Goodyear Tire store several blocks awayand they were able to replace the tire, mount it, balance it, and put it back on the Suburban…all for the reasonable price of $945 pesos. While waiting on the tire, a quick study of the map revealed that the road out of San Luis Potosi appeared to be 2 lane, and somewhat winding in nature. Judging from the high mountains surrounding the city in the westerly direction we were traveling, we elected to drive 2 vehicles through the mountains. Turned out to be a wise choice…one of the first ones so far on the trip. Catherine would drive her Jeep, and Bob and I would follow in the Suburban. We finally got out of SLP around 11 am, and for the next 100-150 Km, we got to see some spectacular Mexican scenery. At least Bob did, my eyes were glued to the road around hairpin turns, up mountains, down mountains, dodging 18 wheelers passing everybody on blind curves and buses, barreling around turns at breakneck speeds. When we finally got out of the mountains, poor Catherine was fit to be tied, seems she had never really driven in the mountains before, and is a little scared of heights. Not to mention the fact that her temperature gauge had been on borderline overheating all the way through the mountains with no place to pull over and nothing to be done about it, if there were. She was quite happy to hook the “#%$*” Jeep back up to the Suburban and leave the driving to us.
The rest of the drive to Guadalajara was less stressful, since we were on the toll roads most of the way. Pretty scenery with lots of lakes and never ending fields of yellow and purple flowers.
The city of Guadalajara itself, proved to be our next major test of nerves. This city of over 3 million people is located at the edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, and has some fabulous scenery surrounding it. Unfortunately it is hard to appreciate the scenery when your life is in danger from thousands of crazy Guadalajara drivers. Fortunately for me, Bob had the pleasure (??) of driving through this congested and overcrowded city for approximately 45 minutes…as we negotiated rush hour traffic towing the little Grey Jeep behind us. I am firmly convinced that if anyone ever does a sociological study of the life expectancy of persons living in Mexico, they will probably come up with something like “Average life expectancy…72 years of age”…with a footnote (**decrease by 50% if you drive). I’m surprised that we don’t have more Hispanic Nascar drivers…I would think they would be well trained and should be able to compete with no problems…well, enough on that subject.
Once out of Guadalajara, we started the descent through the mountains towards the town of Colima. We passed through a large wide valley with a number of what looked like mud flats for miles and miles on either side of the road. Once again, the toll road was a good road, and the remainder of the day was pleasant as we made the 2 hour drive into Colima, arriving that evening around 6 pm. We had been assured by Catherine that Colima had a number of inexpensive Hotels near the downtown area and that we should be able to stay at one of them very reasonably that night. We were able to find a couple near downtown, but were not overly impressed with the security and parking facilities. Again we had showed up unprepared and had to go look for a hotel. We drove to the edge of town, and fortunately found a real nice hotel, el Costeño, that had a parking garage, a good restaurant, and the price of $400 pesos for a huge room with 4 beds, was also very reasonable. After an excellent meal, we were in bed by 10 or 10:30, ready to tackle the final leg of the journey tomorrow.
DAY 4 - Friday (The road from Hell…to paradise)
The last day finally. Our map showed that the drive from Colima to the coast would only be a short one. There, we would pick up the coast road (Hwy 200) near the town of Tecoman, then down the coast for another 200 or so Kilometers to the town of Lazaro Cardenas, then a short 1 1/2 hour drive on into Zihuatanejo. As we left Colima, we thought that we would be in Zihua by lunchtime. (HA!…when driving in Mexico…never assume!). After a pleasant 30 minute drive from Colima, we came to the intersection of Highway 200, and turned south on the Coast highway. A short drive later we came into the town of Tecoman, and had gone no further than 5 or 6 blocks into the town, when all streets converged into a traffic circle with streets leading in all directions and no signs telling which one was our hwy 200. We apparently took the wrong one and promptly got lost, and had to wind through narrow streets for 10 minutes or so, (no easy task pulling a Jeep with a car that is almost as wide as the street itself). We finally stopped and asked directions from a policeman, who pointed us in the right direction. Finally we were back on the road again, and “the road” grew progressively worse the further we went. We were now officially into the coastal tropical region. This time of year is just after rainy season and you can clearly see the effects on the road. The pavement was cracked with large potholes in it. It was narrow and every mile or so there would be a «Tope». (This is a Mexican phenomenon that is apparently near epidemic proportions on this particular road.) It is a large «Speed Bump», usually un-marked, and nearly impossible to detect until you are right on top of it. The purpose is obviously to slow down traffic in congested area, unfortunately, two shacks on the side of the road is considered a congested area. Normally you can see them in time to stop and ease over them, but towing the Jeep greatly increased my stopping distance, and on numerous occasions we would hit these monsters going way too fast. As if the overall poor condition of the road itself was not enough, we then came to a section of the coast road, that we have appropriately named the «Road to Hell». For one stretch of approximately 75 miles, highway 200 (the coast road) runs right alongside the Pacific Ocean. This is also an area of the Mexican Coast where the Mountains drop off steeply directly into the surf. The road was apparently cut out of the side of the mountain, and it is narrow, steep, dangerous, and likely to have rockslides, mudslides, pavement wash-outs, and everything else you can think of wrong with it. Not to mention that it is heavily used by 18 wheelers and large buses, who obviously know it well enough to drive 80 or 90 KM/hr around these curves. (My average speed pulling the Jeep was 20-30 KM/hr…and sometimes that seemed fast to me). I could spend hours telling how bad that road was, but the description «road to hell» says it all. The only thing positive I can say about this final day’s drive was, the scenery along the Pacific coastline was «Spectacular». Our planned 4-5 hour drive down the coast, ended up taking us over 9 hours, and when we finally pulled into Zihuatanejo around 6 pm that evening…my only thoughts were «Thank God we made it!!! Now break out the Bourbon!
October 2001
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