Mexico

Back in the day, when I worked a 9 to 5 job, the kids were still in school, and when we coasted along in suburbia, I never gave much thought to Mexico.When I did let my thoughts drift beyond the here and now, they washed up on the shores of Europe. I was Euro-centric and am still. I'm fascinated by European history and culture ... from the Roman Empire to today's headlines. Being born in Germany and raised in a German household here in the US helped keep the tie to Europe strong for me.

We made several trips to England, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Ireland, soaking up the culture, exploring the differences between lives there and our own mundane lives in the outskirts of Milwaukee. I suppose a Parisian coming to Milwaukee might find it exotic and exciting to escape the hum-drum routine of sleep, work, chores, kids, TV ... repeat day after day. That's the thing about vacations, isn't it? You leave your world behind to engage in a small scrap of adventure.

But trips to Europe are expensive, even when traveling on the cheap as we did, so they were rare treats. As the years clicked over and the concept of retirement appeared over the distant horizon, we began to think seriously about where to spend some of that retirement time. Someplace close, so economical to get to, someplace inexpensive, so the restricted retirement budget would suffice, someplace to take us out of our comfort zone just enough to keep life interesting.

For us, spending winters in a purpose-built retirement community in Florida or Arizona was out. We thought about buying property in New Mexico and building on it, but we figured water would become a big issue in the American Southwest someday soon. And indeed, water is fast becoming the new oil. So we created an exploratory committee consisting of me and Mary. We'd take vacations in areas that matched the criteria we deemed important to find out what suited us. As it turned out, Mexico was it.

Our first toe-dips into Mexican culture were in Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa. Granted, we stayed in resort hotels so our experiences were less than authentic. It was like staying in a resort hotel in Miami, LA, or San Diego ... offering all the amenities US tourists want and staffed by Spanish-speaking personnel.  

La Manzanilla offered us much more.  A small fishing village on the Pacific coast about 140 miles south of Puerto Vallarta, 40 miles north of Manzanillo, La Manz features a 4-mile beach, gentle surf, more restaurants per capita than New York, and an in-season population of like-minded expats, mostly from Canada. Few of the permanent Mexican residents there speak English so learning Spanish was step one out of our comfort zone. There are no vast resort complexes in La Manz. Pretty much, La Manz doesn't accommodate you, you have to decide to accommodate to La Manz if you're going to be happy there. 

Getting there

We drive. We would fly, but since our three dogs would feel abandoned if we left them in Idaho for five months, we have to take them with us. Round trip airline tickets for two people command a steep tariff these days. Add three dogs to the mix and you're looking at a major financial commitment, one we're not able to make right now. So, drive it is. 

Our route to La Manz is slightly longer than 3k miles. We're typically on the road for 8 to 9 hours a day, stopping at La Quinta Inns along the way since it's the only major chain that doesn't frown on fuzzy friends. We usually leave Sandpoint around the middle of November, before the big snow flies and the bone chill arrives. The trajectory goes like this:

• Sandpoint to Rigby, Idaho (to visit my brother and his wife, and to be with my 93-year old mom who's in a facility there).
• Rigby to Ft. Collins, Colorado (a long day but worth it because Ft. Collins is a cool little town).
• Ft. Collins to Kansas City, Missouri (our daughter lives in KC so we spend Thanksgiving with her, usually our son flies in from LA to join in the fun).
• KC to Denton, Texas (Denton's another cool little town).
• Denton to Laredo, Texas (Laredo only because it's right on the border).
• Laredo to the Columbia Crossing (We back track up I35 to Texas 255 to get to Columbia. The crossing there is uncrowded and, with permits and stickers procured on-line, it takes about 15 minutes to get through. Worth the short detour. We've crossed at Nogales, Arizona a couple of times. It's crowded, time consuming, and a general all around hassle. The crossing from Laredo to Nuevo Laredo is just as bad, if not worse, according to friends who've taken that route).
• Columbia to San Luis Potosi (the Westin Hotel in SLP, while pricey, is pet friendly. Last time through the hotel was undergoing a face lift undertaken by the new owners. Whether it will remain pet friendly is up in the air).
• SLP to La Manz (This takes us through Guadalajara, where we inevitably get lost. Coming and going, we've been through Guadalajara about a dozen times, so you'd think we'd have it all figured out by now. No chance, here's why: on most major thoroughfares in Mexico to make a left turn you have to get into the far right lane, something like a frontage road. Exit ramps to these streets are placed about every quarter mile or so off the main drag. Unfortunately, my GPS map of Mexico does not take this into consideration. I get notices on the screen telling me to take a left in 300 yds., by which time I've passed the relevant exit ramp. There's a lot of back-and-forthing involved.)

Once we're through Guadalajara, it's a pretty strait shot to La Manz, past Colima, Manzanillo, and through Cihuatlan and Melaque. 

We take the Cuotas (tollways) when driving in Mexico wherever we can. They're well maintained, spacious, and allow you to zip along. They're also safe. And we never drive at night.