October 24, 2007

As was driven home to us in Acapulco for the umpteenth time on our road trip, there is a different approach to environmental protection in Mexico and Central America than at home in Canada.

It had taken another huge day of driving from Puerto Escondido (380 kilometres, which on Mexican roads feels more like 700 kilometres) to reach our next destination, Acapulco. On our way, we came on two more military checkpoints, but they just waved us through.

Acapulco, which is in the state of Guerrero, was probably the largest (pop. 2 million) and most congested city that we had driven through on the trip.

It took us close to two hours to drive across town and out to Pie de la Cuesta, the small beach community north of Acapulco where most of the campgrounds are located.

In addition to the vehicles belching fumes, for part of the cross-town trek we were behind a driver who threw some 200 to 300 sheets of scrunched up white paper out of his window onto the street.

It made us angry and broke our hearts, but also made us thankful that we have made some progress in Canada in relation to keeping our cities clean.

In the end, the lengthy drive to the campsites turned out to be for naught.

They were too far from the city to be attractive to us, and the one that had been highly recommended - Playa Luces Kamping Acapulco Beach - because it has sites with private wading pools that look out on the ocean was overgrown and dilapidated looking and several days if not weeks away from being ready for the fast-approaching winter camping season.

So after re-fueling on sopes and quesadillas, we headed back to Acapulco's historic centre and settled on the $30/night Hotel Casa Amparo, which had A/C and secure parking across the street.

It turned out to be a good move - and not only because of the amenities - as it was only half a block away from the world famous La Quebrada cliffs where the muscular clavadistas (cliff-divers) throw themselves five times a day off the high cliffs and into the narrow, craggy channel below.

Acapulco Bay, which is almost a completely-closed circle, is magnificent to look at but the historic part of the city has a tired, 1970s feel to it. In contrast, the splashy hotel district - Zona Dorado - on the south end of the bay is full of modern, expensive hotels and malls and reminded us of Honolulu.

I wish I could blame the congestion in Acapulco for the fact that on the way out of town I side-swiped a streetlight, leaving our passenger-side mirror hanging limp and attached by only a few wires. But I can't.

Add another item for our return trip to the Go-Westy garage on the way home.

Key Facts & Figures:

-Hotel Casa Amparo: $30/night
-Cliff Divers Show: $3.50/person