We left Tecolotlan in the morning, and drove west along the highway towards Barra de Navidad. Not wanting to end up in Barra, our plan was to cut across the back roads and mountain ranges between this highway and the other one parallel to it, a hundred miles north, that leads from Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. This way, we could see some Mexican backroads and little towns.

Boy, did we get to see some back roads. As soon as we left the main highway, it was unpaved dirt-and-rock roads, or, when we got to a pueblo, cobblestone streets. We found that, once in the backcountry of Mexico, there were no road signs at all. This meant that, at any crossroads, we had to rely on our gut instinct for which way to go, or ask directions from a local. We did a lot of asking for directions, which helped sharpen our Spanish speaking skills.

Heading into the Mexican outback, we gained altitude, heading up into the 7000 to 8000 foot elevations. We forded several streams, (heading out on foot first to make sure the depth was not too much for our Renault Megane rental car). We went through dozens of dusty little villlages. Every native we spoke to was extremely nice to us and helpful.

As we approached the 8000 foot elevation and near the summit of our mountain pass, we asked for directions once again, and the local guy looked at the ground clearance under our rental car and said, in Spanish, that he didn't recommend we continue. He said that we'd have to ford a stream further along where the riverbed was lined with basketball sized boulders, and we could get stuck or damage the car. He recommended and alternate route; unfortunately this route added another 8 hours to our trip.

We decided to take his advice, so we took another dirt road and ended up in the town of Ayutla. There we stayed in the only hotel in town, a fairly simple inn on the town square.

If only we had known, the next town along that road, Cuautla, was a pretty scenic town with some nice hotels. Cuautla would have been a nicer place to spend the night.

The next morning we drove from there north to Talpa De Allende and from there back to P.V.

(Photo: Francois checks out the depth of a stream we are about to ford)