Maruata – Acapulco : 503 km

Another long day today. Longer in fact – we set off at 8.30 and arrived at 6 in the evening. We're really starting to make some ground now, and it certainly feels a long way from Guzmán. Today was one of our biggest distances, most are in the region of 400 km, and after the first hour it was looking a bit grim. The road quality got gradually worse, and it was twisting and turning its way through the mountains, making driving quickly impossible. Luckily, once we got through the mountains we were out on the coast, on long straight roads with fantastic views and beaches. We were tempted more than once to stop and spend some time at several sandy paradises, but we knew that we couldn't afford the time.

We had our share of bad luck too. We were stuck behind a pick-up truck full of marrows for the best part of 30 minutes, whilst he drove at ten miles an hour and did his best to block any attempt to overtake. Nicky didn't find this that amusing, in the end simply stating that “he needs to sort his marrow life out”. Mexican speed bumps were also a big feature. They're about twice as high as any others I've seen, and you basically have to completely stop to go over them. This wouldn't be so bad if our car didn't have such a low undercarriage that we also have to go over them sideways. And then as if to add insult to injury – we were already wondering which loud crunch had done the most damage by this point – something hit our windscreen and put a lovely crack in it. The car's still running though, and now has character.

The other main theme running through the day was overtaking. Mexicans may drive erratically and irresponsibly, but they never seem to drive quickly. Add the fact that for any Englishman motorway means 70 miles an hour to how many miles we had to cover today and you get a lot of cars that need to be passed. The amount of abuse that many a poor Mexican got from me and Nicky was not inconsiderable.

When we finally got to Acapulco, we were faced with our first taste of big city driving in Mexico. Nicky's driving ability doesn't worry me in the slightest, but everybody else's does. Apparently having a license isn't an issue, and being a taxi driver gives you the right to ignore any of the relatively few rules that are actually in place. We managed to find it to our hotel though, which was very pleasant, and after a few 'chelas' went to watch the famous cliff divers. The divers jump off a 120 foot cliff into the sea. Not too bad if you know how to dive, but there are a couple of catches. One is that they have to climb up this cliff first. The second is that if they don't time their dive right with the waves crashing below them, then they don't land in water. All in all a very impressive show, even if they are a bit full of themselves.

We got back to our hotel room at nine, with every intention of going out. After sitting in our boxers drinking a few more beers though, leaving our nicely cool hotel room fan for the grimy and far too hot streets of Acapulco in search of a bar didn't seem such a good idea, especially since we had no idea where they were, it was a monday night, and we were both absolutely shattered. We ended up getting ten hours sleep instead. Looking back, a good call.

Related posts:

1. Colima – Maruata : 358 km
2. Palenque : Waterfalls
3. Acapulco – Puerto Escondido : 426 km
4. Palenque : Yaxchilan & Bonampak
5. Mexico D.F. : Xochimilco