Mexico: Big Roads, Gravel Roads, and Friendly People

Plan B

Not all things go as planned. In fact most things don’t. This trip was also not what we had originally planned for the winter break. Certain known world events made us change our plan of a family visit in our home country. We had to come up with a Plan B with reasonable flights from San Francisco where we were going to spend a week prior to this trip. With limited options and in the most expensive time of the year, we narrowed it down to another trip to Mexico. We came with high expectations after a wonderful bike trip in the Yucatan the year before. Maybe that was also part of the problem.

Nine Hour Bus Ride

This time we decided to explore a new area with the general plan to bike from Mazatlán to Puerto Vallarta. The problem was that we flew into Puerto Vallarta and not to Mazatlán… Rik, an American who retired in Mexico, generously hosted us through Warm Showers for two nights. His impressive Casa, where he arranged two rooms for us to stay, was right in the centre of the “Zona Romantica” of town. We enjoyed walking around town and swimming in the ocean. The wonderful hospitality we received made our landing, and the beginning of the trip so much softer.

But we still had to get to Mazatlán. So this is how we found ourselves on a nine hour daytime bus ride with our two kids and four bikes. We already knew that the bikes would be OK on the bus, but we didn’t know if the kids would be?!

Luckily the bus had screens with video games, and combined with the iPad the kids were not bored at all… In fact they could have kept going. We arrived to Mazatlán around 10pm and still had to bike a bit to the little hostel we stayed at. Mazatlán was so lively during the night that our late arrival wasn’t an issue. It was the night before New Year’s Eve and seeing how busy and loud it was, we decided not to prolong our stay in Mazatlán. The next morning we were already ready to leave!

Boats Boats Boats

The easiest way to leave Mazatlán was by a small boat to a little peninsula (known as Isla de la Piedra) with very little traffic. In fact on this short trip we put our bikes on four different little boats in order to get to unique places and ride quiet roads. One of the great things about Mexico is that “anything is possible”. Three bikes and one large cargo bike on a tiny boat? No hay problema!  

A Quiet New Year’s Eve

Almost every first riding day offers some surprises and complications. Most of the first day went well, until we took a detour that didn’t really work out and we realized we might not make it to the little town where we thought we’d spend the night. When we passed by a big house with a little store at the front we decided to try our luck and see if we could camp on their property that night. That was our first experience on this trip of mi casa es su casa – they welcomed us with open arms, no questions asked.

Kai made friends with their little two year old and they rode in their electric kids’ jeep together… The dad didn’t talk much but he painted our family camping in their back yard. It was New Year’s Eve and for me there wasn’t a better place to spend the night other than being cozy in our tent. Neil was a bit sad though that he missed out on the countdown and seeing the ball drop down in Times Square…

Welcome 2024!

After leaving our friends on New Year’s Day we spent another night camping on the beach near a lively restaurant (luckily it was quiet during the night). We did our own Polar Bear Swim (another “tradition” Neil was sad to miss). It was definitely easier to do the Polar Bear Swim in Mexico than in Vancouver! We said a happy goodbye to 2023 and welcomed 2024!

To the End of the Road

After two nights of camping we were glad to spend a night in Escuinapa, in a nice hotel room. Unfortunately the way to Escuinapa involved 15 km of riding on the toll highway. Technically bikes aren’t allowed there, but it’s Mexico, and we heard from a few cyclists that no one really cares. The shoulders were very wide, but the traffic was fast and noisy, and the ride was mentally draining. We all sighed in relief once we were off the highway, on a much quieter road.

From there we basically rode to the end of the road to a tiny place called Teacapán. After our first few days of riding we all needed a break. This place really had that “end of the road feel” and was completely off the beaten track. We found a nice hotel with a pool and settled in for the next two days.

The Longest Beach

Then we arranged another boat ride to the other side of the bay. A short 15km bike ride brought us to Playa Novillero, the longest beach in Mexico – 80km long! We stayed in a basic hotel with a pool, but the highlight was definitely the beach.

On our short stay we enjoyed riding on the beach, swimming in the ocean, watching incredible sunsets, eating tasty fish right on the beach and drinking many coconuts. Feeling more refreshed, we were ready to continue our adventure.

Lotería till you Drop 

With the lack of Warmshowers hosts on our route we decided to try our luck with Couchsurfing again. Interestingly, there was a host in a small village that was just a short detour from our route. However, when we checked his profile it turned out that he was traveling at that moment and he was actually in… Vancouver. We decided to contact him nonetheless and we were amazed to get a reply back that his mom and family would be honored to host us!

So we made our way to the small village of San Felipe where we stayed with Ivan’s family – another highlight. The family, including his 80 something old mother, two of his sisters, his brother, their families and two kids, went out of their way to make us feel at home. They fed us more food than we could handle, made up the beds for us and most importantly introduced us to the famous game of Lotería!

It’s their family tradition to play every Sunday evening and they take it very seriously. They even play for money. We were done after about an hour because the kids were ready to go to sleep, but they kept playing till late at night!

Puppy Paradise 

In order to avoid some big roads we ended up taking a few gravel roads on this trip. Maybe a bit too many for our bikes to handle… When Gili’s bike gave in (the rim of the back wheel broke), we were luckily not on a gravel road, but still pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We took the first turn to a tiny gravel road where the kids and I sat under a tree. Within seconds we were surrounded by at least six puppies. The kids were so excited that the trouble we were actually in was quickly forgotten.

Then a man from a nearby house came to chat with us, and immediately put all his efforts (and his family) into trying to help us out. A few hours later, two car trips to the nearby town, a visit to the little village motorbike mechanic and many cuddles from puppies, Gili’s bike was fixed – with a new rim. In Mexico with some help and improvisation almost any problem can be fixed.

It was already too late for us to keep going so we ended up camping in this nice family’s back yard. They of course insisted that we will sleep inside, but we thought it would be better for everyone if we’d sleep in our tent. They went out of their way to help us, feed us and made sure we could shower. In the morning it was hard to leave, it was like saying goodbye to family and the kids almost tried to sneak in their favorite puppy into one of the bike bags…

The Tiniest Island 

After that ordeal we finally made it to the tiniest Island Mexcaltitán, also known as the Venice of Mexico… That was another short boat ride that took us to one of the most unique places we’ve ever visited. As soon as we stepped out of the boat it felt like we were on a movie set. Everything seemed so picturesque in an almost unreal way. The island was also so small that no matter where or how we went we always found ourselves in the same place.

One Last Gravel Road

The gravel roads we took definitely offered a change of scenery and a complete off the beaten track feel. We came across horses, bulls, cowboys and many exchanges of “Holas” and “Buenos Dias”. But the gravel roads not only took a toll on our bikes but also on ourselves. Unfortunately the alternative meant sometimes going on busier roads, which were also not to our liking. After Gili changed his bike’s rim – we knew that gravel roads were not an option anymore as his wheel was a lot weaker.

Just before the town of Santiago the road got really busy with no shoulders and with lots of trucks. We made the decision to try the parallel gravel road most likely for the last time. Once on the gravel we felt much safer, but we also felt a bit defeated. It was a nice way to enter Santiago though, with no traffic at all, but there was no doubt that we all needed a rest and to think things over a bit.

Santiago

Santiago was a cute town, completely deserted of tourists, and with a nice trampoline in the middle of the town square, much to the kids liking. We enjoyed walking around, eating tacos, churros, and spending some time in our air conditioned hotel room.

One of the the many advantages of Mexico is that even small towns offer good bus connections to many places. We decided that we were getting tired of the riding, the big roads and the gravel ones. Everyone seemed like they could enjoy a few days on the beach, so we decided to catch the bus to Guayabitos, relax on the beach for a bit and catch our breath.

Beach Time 

Since we had left Mazatlán we had been completely off the beaten track so it was a bit of a shock when we got off the bus in Guayabitos – seeing so many tourists in one place. It turned out that this small beach town is a well known hangout for snowbirds, mostly from Canada! Our nice little hotel mostly had repeat customers coming back every year for a few months over the winter.

Nonetheless, we enjoyed many hours on the beach, in the pool, jumping on the hotel’s trampoline (well, the kids did), a short whale watching tour, and snorkeling at the nearby Coral Island. We also biked to another beach, Playa La Peñita, a bit farther away, and just enjoyed some “real vacation” time.

We thought we might be able to bike the last stretch of the trip to Bucerías. Through the help of Daniel, a Mexican guy Gili was in touch with through WhatsApp, we discovered that the road we were thinking of riding was a rough isolated gravel road. We again opted to take the bus to our last and final destination – Bucerías. There we managed to bike around on some nice bake paths through big resorts and by the ocean. It was good to have one last opportunity to ride our bikes before boxing them.

Boxing the bikes and getting to the airport were our last two complications on this trip. We decided not to head back to Puerto Vallarta, but our boxes were still there… Our Airbnb host arranged for a friend of his to take Gili to Puerto Vallarta in his beat up 1984 pick up truck. Two hours later Gili was back safe and sound with the bike boxes.

Boogie Time & Water Park

For our last two days in Mexico we should have gotten the “best parents medal” from our kids. First we spent a day boogie boarding at Playa la Lancha, near Punta Mita. This beach was a short walk through a forest and even had crocodiles at the one end. The waves were perfect for our kids and they just couldn’t get enough of it. Finally when we managed to drag them out of the water we caught the bus to Punta Mita, where Gili’s friend Daniel treated us to dinner at El Sueño de Mita, the restaurant where he worked. It was some of the most delicious Mexican food we’ve had.

The next day we headed to Aqua Adventures Water Park! Waterslides, lazy rivers, dolphins, sea lions, ziplines, and rope walks, again the kids couldn’t get enough of it all. So much fun was had but luckily the water park had a closing time which forced us to leave, ha ha.

Home Time 

It was then time to head home, or to the airport at least, and our host was very strict about the check out time so we couldn’t linger. But at 10am, an hour before we had to leave to the airport, we still hadn’t managed to arrange a van to take us to the airport… That was until Gili discovered that across our place there was a big van that could easily fit all our bike boxes. In Mexico you can just knock on someone’s door and ask if they can drive 4 people and 4 bike boxes to the airport in about an hour… The answer was of course yes, and we were back at the airport with no issues.

With a few hours to spare before our flight we had one last amazing lunch at Tacón de Marlin, the restaurant across the bridge from the airport. Surprisingly the flight back was half empty and with no furthers ordeals we were back in Vancouver a few hours later.

Despite some complications, Plan B, bike and road issues, we had a great time. The highlight of this trip was definitely the people we met along the way. Human kindness proved itself once again. Another great trip had come to an end.

Our Route

Here’s our approximate route. It involved a nine hour bus ride at the beginning – Puerto Vallarta to Mazatlán, and two bus rides at the end – Santiago Ixcuintla to Rincón de Guayabitos, and later Rincón de Guayabitos to Bucerias (not included on map). We also caught four boat rides – Mazatlán to Isla de la Piedra, from Teacapán to Botanero El Ototitos (a chartered boat), and to and from Mexcaltitán de Uribe. The map includes lots of other information on campgrounds etc., just click on it and turn on those layers if you are interested.