Next-to-the-Last Stop

Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017--Ballenita to Puerto Lopez

As we left Ballenita, we passed several high-rise condominiums along the beach frontage.  They  must be where  most of the expats I saw at  the supermarket live.

Every coastal town here is similar--poor and ugly.  Mantanitas was the most developed due to its popularity for surfing and partying.  But it, too, had lots of unpaved streets and ugly shacks.  Puerto Lopez is the same.

I am staying at the Tuzco Lodge.  It is quaint and interesting.  One of the main reasons for choosing it was it's distance from the center of town where it can be noisy at night.

Today was a day, after first traveling here, for checking things off my to-do list.  First, I got a returning-to-Texas haircut.  Next, I explored town while investigating tour compnies.  I decided on one recommended by two guidebooks and booked a day trip for tomorrow.  Next, I walked to the bus terminal which is 30 minutes out of town and bought my bus ticket for Saturday which will become one of my two worst travel days of the trip.

While at the terminal, I ate lunch at a restaurant in an open-air palapa (thatched roof canopy).  I had a type of flounder which was very tasty.

I will go back out briefly, but I will spend most of the rest of the day in my room.