Lietuviskas aprasymas zemiau
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Day 8: The Avenue of the Wounds
February 15, 2006
Exploring the little fishing town at dawn is another experience you do not want to miss. Get up early and head directly to the port (los muelles de San Blas) to wave "hello & so long" to the departing boats, watch the sun rising from behind the jungle, chat with the locals in the central square (the people in Mexico are always eager to have a chat!), then linger in town or have a lazy morning on a nearby beach and wait for the fishermen to return with the fresh catch. Around noon, the smell (in the positive sense!) of the fresh smoked fish will find and captivate your nose wherever you happen to be. Just head to the nearest stand or "pescaderia" and have a tasty lunch…
Puerto Vallarta is the next one on the list. We choose the minor coastal Mex 161 to Mex 200 at Las Varas and do not go wrong: both are narrow 2-laners, but very few trucks make them faster than Mex 15. The scenery is rewarding: flourishing banana plantations, tropical forests and vast fields of all sorts of green flora, at times interrupted by an odd village with a "palapa" style school… very unusual, and therefore interesting.
Located at the midpoint of Bahia de Banderas (Banderas Bay), Puerto Vallarta
turned out to be a rather large resort town with a lovely and lively center
and a much more laid-back oceanfront boarwalk ("malecon"). While
the "malecon" section is completely tourist-oriented, the old downtown
has managed to preserve the flavour of a traditional Mexican settlement. The
way the narrow cobblestone streets climb up into the hills right above the
bay, then descend and go back up the next hill, makes the old section of Puerto
Vallarta very reminiscent of the beautiful San Francisco.
Just a bit up north from Puerto Vallarta is the village of Bucerias, a lower-cost
alternative much appreciated by divers and low budget travelers. The long
stretch of white sand beaches make it an ideal place for free camping. One
of the numerous little hotels and inns will host those who prefer to do it
the civilized way :) There are also designated campgrounds around the area.
Next one on our map is the city of Colima along with the adjacent village of Comala. The former has been praised for the remarkable cleanness of its streets and parks, while the latter, according to the locals, is "El pueblo blanco de las Americas" (the White Town of the Americas). So we finally leave the coastal Mex 15 and head inland towards Colima with a particular interest, of course, in the snow white Comala There is no way to avoid a little stretch of toll on the Manzanillo-Colima route. The toll is USD 8.50.
Maybe we are no longer easy to impress, but we wouldn't recommend wasting
your time on either one. Colima appeared to be just another big and congested
city, while Comala had a neat colonial town center and several nice buildings,
some of them were even white… however, the narrow dirt pathways and cobblestones,
street construction, dust and the odd dunkey in the middle of the town were
all reminders of a more prosaic Mexico.
Colima and Comala might be a nice change for those vacationing in or around
the industrial Manzanillo, but if you are traversing the Americas, these two
should be low on the priority list.
Tip of the Day: There are 0 (ZERO) motels or hotels in or around Comala and everything in town closes early, therefore, if you decide to visit, go there during day hours. There is nothing to see or do there after the sunset. From Colima, take Avenida Benito Juerez (not Avenida Herrera as advised in some travel books) and go straight north about 4.5 miles.
Joke of the Day: If you are asking for directions, better make sure you really know the name of the street you are looking for. We had a good laugh (bet the locals, too!) when we realized that Zee had been continually asking for the directions to "Avenida Herida" (the Avenue of the Wounds"), when the real name of the street was Avenida Herrera (Herrera Avenue).
Cick on the pictures to enlarge
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Longing for San Francisco?
Puerto Vallartos gatves labai primena San Franciska |
The newest version of VW jeep - Volkswagen Taxi-Pulmonia :)
Naujausias VW modelis -- taxi-pulmonia :) |
A monument to several guys from THERE who missed their flight back...
Paminklas uzsibuvusiems ateiviams... |
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Please take me on one of these boats...
Tyliai bunda San Blas uostas... |
Take a break - ride a horse!
Pailsek - pajodinek! |
Same stuff, different town
Tradiciniai meksikietiski suvenyrai Bucerias turguje |
Nuvesk pelyte virs paveiksliuko, spustelk jos kaire ausele, ir paveiksliukas padides
8-oji diena: Visos kates nakti pilkos…
2006 m. vasario 15
Keliames ir vel labai anksti - net pradedam savim didziuotis! :) Viesbuciai San Blas taip pat verti tik pagyru: mazuciai, jaukus, gana originalus, o svarbiausia - svarus ir pigus. Dar karta apziurim tingiai bundanti San Blas, paieskom "Mana" pedsaku, pabendraujam su beveik visais sitokia ankstyva valanda jau nubudusiais gyventojais (didzioji ju dalis - uoste triusiantys zvejai). Draugiskumas ir familiarumas - bruozas, budingas, ko gero, bet kuriam mazam miesteliui ar kaimui. Taciau Meksikoj jis isreikstas daug ryskiau - prasilenkiant gatveje, kulturinga bent jau placiai issisiepti ir pasisveikinti, o viena kita mandagi bendro pobudzio fraze neretai perauga I ilgesni pokalbi, veliau ir biciulyste, pasikeitima adresais ir netgi kvietima pietu ar nakvynes. Zmones cia visada turi laiko zmonems.
Labai gaila, kad nesulaukem rukytos zuvies - zvejai dar neparplauke su ryto laimikiu, o mums jau laikas vaziuoti. Girdejom, kad apie pietus po visa San Blas pakvimpa rukomos zuvies kvapas, kuriam retas sugeba atsispirti…
I Puerto Vallarta pasirenkam kelia palei vandenyna. Puikus keliukas! Siauras, bet beveik nera jokiu eisma stabdanciu sunkvezimiu ir vos judanciu budeliu, kuriu paskirti daznai sunku net ir nustatyti. Mums is kaires - grazus papludimiai, is desines - tropinis miskas ir pelkes. Vel matom ispejamuju zenklu apie krokodilus.
Pakeliui pravaziuojam nemazai miesteliu, bet, is pirmo zvilgsnio, jie atrodo nuobodus. Neabejojam, kad ir juose atrastumem kazka idomaus, bet laiko tokioms paieskoms, deja, neturim. Pagaliau - Puerto Vallarta.
Tarp amerikieciu, Puerto Vallarta savo populiarumu nenusileidzia tokiems kurortams kaip Acapulco arba Cancun. Ir, ko gero, ne be priezasties. Miestas tikrai grazus, ypac senamiestis - siauros, nuo ilankos kranto (Bahia de Banderas ilanka) staciai I kalna kylancios ir uz kalveles vel besileidziancios gatves kazkuo primena San Franciska - sumazinta San Frano versija, smarkiai susiaurintom gatvem. Puerto Vallarta, nors ir kazkiek prisitaikiusi prie turistu ir ju $$, vis tik sugebejo islikti meksikietiskas miestas. Net ir kainos, kiek spejom pastebeti, normalesnes, negu Cabos'e.
Toliau - Manzanillo. Sis, irgi JAV gerai zinomas, kurortas, mums pasirode baisokas - purvinas, triuksmingas ir 100% pramoninis uostas, toks pats ir miestas, ir priemiesciai.
Colima ir Camala. Pirmasis - turistu knygoje isgirtas kaip "svariausias
Meksikos miestas", o antasis - paciu vietiniu vadinamas "El pueblo
blanco de las Americas" (balciausias Ameriku kaimas) - anot knygos, turistu
dar neatrastas stebuklas! Pirmasis buvo salyginai svarus, didelis, triuksmingas
ir daugiau niekuo neypatingesnis uz gera pussimti kitu pravaziuotu miestu
(gal vertetu isskirti labai paslaugius zmones: pasiklydus (kas mums ir atsitiko),
jie ne tik nurodys kelia, bet daznai ir pasisiulys palydet!). O antrasis -
Comala - absoliutus muilo burbulas. Miesto centras ir kelios gatveles gal
ir galetu buti puikiu ispanu uzkariautoju architekturos pavyzdziu, bet to
"gerio" daugiau ar maziau turi beveik kiekvienas miestas; o velai
vakare atsidurti mazyciame miesteliukstyje, neturinciame nei vieno motelio
ir nei vieno viesbucio, tikrai nebuvo musu plano dalis… Optimizmas (pagal
principa "rytoj bus dar blogiau!" :)), kaip visada, gelbsti, ir
ta pati vakara iveikiam 2/3 kelio iki Gvadalacharos. Nakvojam Ciudad Guzman.
Ryt is pat ankstyvo ryto mausim tiesiai I Tekila! :)
