Our first car trip in Mexico

Updating this webpage. In the late fall of 2007 we left on a winter adventure. The places we stayed and places we enjoyed may have changed.

Some places we found that were comfortable and well worth the money in Mexico. First in San Carlos. Here we found a little motel that was under $30.00 for a quite comfortable room. There was a humming bird feeder, a pool, and BBQ equipment for our use. There was a sitting area out side where we met some interesting tourists. They are nice little kitchen units. It is a nice community and was a pleasant visit. The owners only speak Spanish so booking might be a problem, but they are the nicest people and were very happy to help us with any thing they could. The place was called Departamentos Adlai and their phone number is 266-07-70 in Mexico. It is the sort of place we will stay every time through. You can get to it by turning right (away from the beach as you come in) at the first Extra store in San Carlos. It is about three blocks on your left and is almost completely hidden by orange trees so watch for it. Here are a few photos of the place.

A friendly female humming bird. Some of the more rugged coast line near San Carlos.

These little birds amaze me. There are amazing flowers everywhere.

This is a picture of the place we stayed, it had clean comfortable rooms and the staff were very friendly, but they could not speak English well. A cactus blooming in time for Christmas.

A friendly female humming bird. Some of the more rugged coast line near San Carlos. These little birds amaze me.

There are amazing flowers everywhere. This is a picture of the place we stayed, it had clean comfortable rooms and the staff were very friendly, but they could not speak English well. A cactus blooming in time for Christmas.

A friendly female humming bird. Some of the more rugged coast line near San Carlos.

These little birds amaze me. There are amazing flowers everywhere.

This is a picture of the place we stayed, it had clean comfortable rooms and the staff were very friendly, but they could not speak English well. A cactus blooming in time for Christmas.

Dorothy and Zoey. Captain Moe serving up some breakfast. One of the many humming birds at Captain Moes.

Part of the kitchen is out doors. A ride on the beach. Sunset on a sailboat.

A bird rides the evening thermals. Captian Moes front gate just pull the little rope it rings their bell. On the road somewhere in Mexico I took these awesome photos This could be the setting of a Western Movie.

Tranquility. Near Melaque. We headed down to Puerto Vallarta but found Bucerias instead.
Bucerias has much to offer, we were surprised. We stayed in Carmelita's Hotel in Bucerias. It was well located 2 blocks from the beach, close to the centro market, close to many of the better restaurants and close to shopping. During the evening we often walked to the centro market. Also close by is a roof top restaurant "The Red Apple" where we watched the dolphins play in the bay. On three occasions we have seen whales blowing water high into the sky. Once they were jumping right out of the water. The splashes were enormous. I wish I had my camera that day. A view from the rooftop restaurant. The whales were splashing just to right of the palm.

And a Sunset from the same rooftop. The Christmas carnival which lasted till the 23 or 24 of Jan. An interesting event with fun for every one. Simply Beautiful.

I don't know what type of tree it is, except that it is very big and has a lot of large flowers on it. Very beautiful! If someone knows its name drop me a line. Under this tree sat Pedro a Mexican carver. He was happy with his life and left me wondering about some of mine. More brilliant flowers everywhere.

Wall covered with orange vines. Carmalita's is where we stayed while in Bucerias. We look forward to staying here again. It is very clean and quiet. The rooms are small but they are well looked after. I recommend Carmelita's Hotel. From here we headed South to Barra de Navidad and Melaque
The scenery slowly became greener and more vibrant. The whole world seemed to slow down. We found Hotel Rio just as you drive into Melaque. It was very clean. The community has a central alarm clock that wakes the whole place up at 7:20... a bit early I would say. I just rolled over knowing it was a big mistake for me! We had a good stay, enjoyed the place and stopped by on the way back. The scenery was beautiful, we walked a lot on the beach. We also found many beachfront restaurants. Not quite ready. An outdoor kitchen that we used at Hotel Rio.

Hotel Rio. The pool. Hotel Rio's front gate. Melaque, a community from the past. It is a slowed down sort of town. With its cobble streets and tranquil pace. We have returned over the years and it seems to be completely resistant to the ravages of time. It is on the tropical coast, warm and moist. There are at least two villiages in one. There is the part that faces the beach and the other part that starts one block in. We found the food great in both places. More shopping off the beach too.

Surf watching while having breakfast on the beach. On the road again. This time we end up in Manzanillo. Here we find a busy city with a good economy. There were help wanted signs everywhere. Manzanillo has wonderful beaches and big surf. We stopped at a beach about 25KM south of Manzanillo and found enormous waves rolling in. They must have been 25ft high and just kept coming. It is an amazing place. The only thing that we found were the no-see-ums were bad during the evening. Bring bug spray. There was this rock in front of the hotel we stayed in Santiago a suburb of Manzanillo. I tried a lot of pictures but the spray kept eluding me. The sunsets were spectacular.

If you look closely you will see a fisher man still at work. Big surf at the black sand beaches South of Manzanillo. More surf. This was really large surf, maybe 30ft and it would just keep coming and coming. From what I could tell from the beach, it was awesome. Sunsets in Santiago. Sunsets in Santiago.

Dorothy and Zoey. Captain Moe serving up some breakfast.

One of the many humming birds at Captain Moes. Part of the kitchen is out doors. Sunset on a sailboat.

A bird rides the evening thermals. Captian Moes front gate just pull the little rope it rings their bell.

A ride on the beach. On the road somewhere in Mexico I took these awesome photos This could be the setting of a Western Movie. Tranquility. Near Melaque.

We headed down to Puerto Vallarta but found Bucerias instead.
Bucerias has much to offer, we were surprised. We stayed in Carmelita's Hotel in Bucerias. It was well located 2 blocks from the beach, close to the centro market, close to many of the better restaurants and close to shopping. During the evening we often walked to the centro market. Also close by is a roof top restaurant "The Red Apple" where we watched the dolphins play in the bay. On three occasions we have seen whales blowing water high into the sky. Once they were jumping right out of the water. The splashes were enormous. I wish I had my camera that day. A view from the rooftop restaurant. The whales were splashing just to right of the palm. The Christmas carnival which lasted till the 23 or 24 of Jan. An interesting event with fun for every one. And a Sunset from the same rooftop. Simply Beautiful.

I don't know what type of tree it is, except that it is very big and has a lot of large flowers on it. Very beautiful! If someone knows its name drop me a line. Under this tree sat Pedro a Mexican carver. He was happy with his life and left me wondering about some of mine. More brilliant flowers everywhere. Wall covered with orange vines. Carmalita's is where we stayed while in Bucerias. We look forward to staying here again. It is very clean and quiet. The rooms are small but they are well looked after. I recommend Carmelita's Hotel.

From here we headed South to Barra de Navidad and Melaque
The scenery slowly became greener and more vibrant. The whole world seemed to slow down. We found Hotel Rio just as you drive into Melaque. It was very clean. The community has a central alarm clock that wakes the whole place up at 7:20... a bit early I would say. I just rolled over knowing it was a big mistake for me! We had a good stay, enjoyed the place and stopped by on the way back. The scenery was beautiful, we walked a lot on the beach. We also found many beachfront restaurants. Not quite ready. An outdoor kitchen that we used at Hotel Rio.

Hotel Rio. The pool. Hotel Rio's front gate. Melaque, a community from the past. It is a slowed down sort of town. With its cobble streets and tranquil pace. We have returned over the years and it seems to be completely resistant to the ravages of time. It is on the tropical coast, warm and moist. There are at least two villiages in one. There is the part that faces the beach and the other part that starts one block in. We found the food great in both places. More shopping off the beach too.

Surf watching while having breakfast on the beach. On the road again. This time we end up in Manzanillo. Here we find a busy city with a good economy. There were help wanted signs everywhere. Manzanillo has wonderful beaches and big surf. We stopped at a beach about 25KM south of Manzanillo and found enormous waves rolling in. They must have been 25ft high and just kept coming. It is an amazing place. The only thing that we found were the no-see-ums were bad during the evening. Bring bug spray. There was this rock in front of the hotel we stayed in Santiago a suburb of Manzanillo. I tried a lot of pictures but the spray kept eluding me. The sunsets were spectacular.

If you look closely you will see a fisher man still at work. Big surf at the black sand beaches South of Manzanillo. More surf. This was really large surf, maybe 30ft and it would just keep coming and coming. From what I could tell from the beach, it was awesome. Sunsets in Santiago. Sunsets in Santiago.

Dorothy and Zoey. Captain Moe serving up some breakfast.

One of the many humming birds at Captain Moes. Part of the kitchen is out doors. Sunset on a sailboat.

A bird rides the evening thermals. Captian Moes front gate just pull the little rope it rings their bell.

A ride on the beach. On the road somewhere in Mexico I took these awesome photos This could be the setting of a Western Movie. Tranquility. Near Melaque.

We headed down to Puerto Vallarta but found Bucerias instead.
Bucerias has much to offer, we were surprised. We stayed in Carmelita's Hotel in Bucerias. It was well located 2 blocks from the beach, close to the centro market, close to many of the better restaurants and close to shopping. During the evening we often walked to the centro market. Also close by is a roof top restaurant "The Red Apple" where we watched the dolphins play in the bay. On three occasions we have seen whales blowing water high into the sky. Once they were jumping right out of the water. The splashes were enormous. I wish I had my camera that day. A view from the rooftop restaurant. The whales were splashing just to right of the palm.

And a Sunset from the same rooftop. The Christmas carnival which lasted till the 23 or 24 of Jan. An interesting event with fun for every one. Simply Beautiful.

I don't know what type of tree it is, except that it is very big and has a lot of large flowers on it. Very beautiful! If someone knows its name drop me a line. Under this tree sat Pedro a Mexican carver. He was happy with his life and left me wondering about some of mine. More brilliant flowers everywhere.

Wall covered with orange vines. Carmalita's is where we stayed while in Bucerias. We look forward to staying here again. It is very clean and quiet. The rooms are small but they are well looked after. I recommend Carmelita's Hotel.

From here we headed South to Barra de Navidad and Melaque
The scenery slowly became greener and more vibrant. The whole world seemed to slow down. We found Hotel Rio just as you drive into Melaque. It was very clean. The community has a central alarm clock that wakes the whole place up at 7:20... a bit early I would say. I just rolled over knowing it was a big mistake for me! We had a good stay, enjoyed the place and stopped by on the way back. The scenery was beautiful, we walked a lot on the beach. We also found many beachfront restaurants. Not quite ready. An outdoor kitchen that we used at Hotel Rio.

Hotel Rio. The pool. Hotel Rio's front gate. Melaque, a community from the past. It is a slowed down sort of town. With its cobble streets and tranquil pace. We have returned over the years and it seems to be completely resistant to the ravages of time. It is on the tropical coast, warm and moist. There are at least two villiages in one. There is the part that faces the beach and the other part that starts one block in. We found the food great in both places. More shopping off the beach too.

Surf watching while having breakfast on the beach. On the road again. This time we end up in Manzanillo. Here we find a busy city with a good economy. There were help wanted signs everywhere. Manzanillo has wonderful beaches and big surf. We stopped at a beach about 25KM south of Manzanillo and found enormous waves rolling in. They must have been 25ft high and just kept coming. It is an amazing place. The only thing that we found were the no-see-ums were bad during the evening. Bring bug spray. There was this rock in front of the hotel we stayed in Santiago a suburb of Manzanillo. I tried a lot of pictures but the spray kept eluding me. The sunsets were spectacular.

If you look closely you will see a fisher man still at work. Big surf at the black sand beaches South of Manzanillo. More surf. This was really large surf, maybe 30ft and it would just keep coming and coming. From what I could tell from the beach, it was awesome. Sunsets in Santiago. Sunsets in Santiago.