TWO HAPPY CAMPERS

Rancho Buganvilias, Michoacán to Rancho Primavera, Jalisco //

It’s hard to believe that this is our last morning camped beside Heather & Adam.  We’ve been traveling around Mexico together since mid-December.  Being in each other’s company gave us all the confidence to explore the country far and wide and for a long time, it felt safer to be traveling as a pair rather than solo.  However, with months of travel now under our belt, we’re all feeling more comfortable.  Real-world experience has helped squash unwarranted fear.  

With our end destination being Colorado and Heather & Adam’s being Ohio, I’ve long wondered where and when we would part ways.  I’m happy knowing we’ve all reached a point in the trip where we feel comfortable enough to disband our convoy even though we’re far from the US border.  We exchange hugs and farewells before departing Rancho B but then continue to follow each other down the road one last time.  An hour later, when they turn north onto another highway, it feels surreal to watch them disappear from view.  

Not long into our drive, we reach the Michoacán/Colima state line.  In Colima, the highway is flat, straight, and wide, with banana plantations lining the road for miles.  Colima is one of the smallest states in Mexico but is home to the largest port.  Driving through Manzanillo, we see nothing but sea containers stacked high in shipping yards and commercial trucks moving those containers from place to place.  Our time in Colima quickly ends when we reach the other side of the state and cross into Jalisco.  

Option A for the night is a beach in Boca de Iguanas.  It’s 2 p.m. when we arrive, and the heat and humidity are fierce.  It’s a quick decision to continue driving for two more hours to Option B, an inland spot at 2,000’ in elevation that has the potential to be cooler.  Those two hours entail some of the most easygoing driving we could ever ask for.  There’s hardly anyone on the road, the shoulders are wide, and the potholes are few.  In El Tuito, we stumble upon delicious $1 tacos before making our way through the town center towards our destination for the night.

A narrow dirt driveway with massive trees on either side directs us into Rancho Primavera.  We meet Bonnie, the owner, who gives us a little tour of her massive property and tells us to park anywhere we like.  We settle on a spot in between some trees and a horse corral.  So far, coming up to 2,000’ in elevation is paying off.  The humidity is a fraction of what we’ve been living in for the last couple of weeks.  The bitch of it is, when living an outdoor-centric life, every environment usually has at least one con.  Not long after settling into our camp chairs, we realize that here it’s biting gnats and ticks that we have to contend with.  We each acquire several painful bites in short order, and two ticks have already made their way onto Mark.

I had high hopes of sitting still for a few days, but it’s looking like this might not be the place.  With only seven hours of driving between us and Mazatlán, it looks like the time has finally come to make a ferry reservation.  It’s time to make our way back to Baja.

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