Quick update – at a little shack with a computer with flickering screen 🙂
Had a late start since we wanted to stay a little longer at the hotel in Zihuatanejo and because Marc´s laundry hadn´t dried up…
Slow progress today – the roads keep getting worse and worse – tons of road constructions going on.
Went through Acapulco stopping for lunch at a beautiful restaurant with a view of the bay. Changed my usual Pulpo al Ajo to Guacamole rejieno de Cangrejo – very tasty.
Right before lunch Marc was pulled over by a local cop for running through a red light… the usual scare tactic was employed by the cop saying that he would have to confiscate his license and his motorcycle and that we would have to go down to the station to retrieve it all for around US$80. We offered US$40 and it was all settled right there…
We then got lost at the airport and were pulled over again by the Federales for no reason – they just wanted to see our documentation. Very polite and skilled questions like what kind of work we did, why we were there and so on… no problems there – he thought it was funny that I said I was from Brazil but presented my Italian passport – I explained about the dual citizenship and that Brazilians need a visa for Mexico and Italians did not…
We hit the road again and It got dark so we pulled into a small beach, found a little hotel and are now going to eat and crash for some more riding tomorrow.
We decided to go through the coast and cross later going through Puerto Escondido since several people recommended it to us.
Photos and videos tomorrow night I hope 🙂
Hey Lucão
I will quote you here: “the roads keep getting worse and worse!”
Keep in mind that it will be a lot worse that that!
The southern you go the worse it gets!
Keep safe!
Roberto
puerto escondido…there is a famous little hotel over there that was the cover of an architectural digest some years ago..i think its nice to surf.
kisses..
mamy
i am happy to say corruption is alive and well in mexico.
we were nearly outside of Acapulco when i saw the cop waving/pointing to me. his gestures were so enthusiastic and expressive, it seemed like he was just excited to see a motorcyclist. i know that look. maybe he rides. perhaps he has the same bike. who knows. i waved back. but he wouldn’t go away. he had some lights on his car, but overall his rig was pretty sad. it was s nissan sentra. from the 90s. mid-90s. needed some paint and maybe a hubcap. if there was some police work to be done that required movement at a rapid pace, this policeman and his police sentra would not be capable.
i made sure lucas saw what was going on. if i am going to a mexican jail, i’ll need him to help translate any conversations i may choose to have with the other inmates.
after we pulled over, this is what i heard:
blah blah blah blah blah 800 pesos blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
i agreed on the equivalent of $40 USD to be paid on the spot. but he didn’t want me to give it to him. he wanted to be discrete. he had a procedure where i put the money in a piece of paper and then bring it to him after he returns to his car. i asked if he had done this before. actually, lucas took over and executed the actual hand off. he has more experience in dealing with corrupt officials. we ended the ordeal by asking him for some lunch suggestions.
hi marc you agreed for some wrong doing or by presuming he would invent some?
yes, i agreed to running a red light. but it was true. he had good reason to stop me.