March 9, 2018 - Playa Chuquiapan to Playa Maruata, Mexico

We took a short walk on the beach this morning before heading out. At the north end of the beach we noticed a shrine. We have seen several of these on the roads, but this was the first we have seen on the beaches. On the road they are for safe travels, but I am not sure if it is the same on the beach.As we pulled back onto Highway 200, we noticed this large house. It was pretty elaborate compared to most homes we see.This is more typical!We stopped a few times to look out at the ocean as we made our 74 mile journey today. Most of the small towns had roads that were pretty tiny and not sure we could negotiate them even in our small RV.Much of the MEX200 highway is winding and climbs up and down the hills along the coast. We passed several areas of beautiful flowers growing along the road.When we arrived at Maruata, we were able to camp at the same restaurant we stayed six years ago, Letty’s. We had lunch there and it was okay, but certainly not great. Tobey’s ceviche was so spicy, it wasn’t much like ceviche! We negotiated a $50 pesos to park next to their restaurant for the night since we are not using their bathrooms or showers.

Mid-afternoon we spent time walking on the beach and had forgotten what a steep slope it had! To the south there is a small turtle sanctuary/nesting area. It doesn’t look like it has been used in a while, but we did spot a couple turtle tracks out to the water.North of our spot, we stopped to watch the fishermen. These kids were not more than nine or ten years old and were quite the fishermen! A couple of the kids were using nets, but a couple of them, like the boy in the blue shirt, had fishing line attached to either a plastic spool or a plastic soda bottle. They were able to throw the line into the water, similar to a lasso, and reel in fish.The fish came in big schools, swimming quickly from the north to south. As soon as they came, the water would ripple and the fishermen of all ages, raced to get their lines or nets into the water – as well as the pelicans! It was amazing to watch! These guys had quite a haul.This boat motored in to the bay mid-afternoon and we met a couple that came ashore. They were from New York, but the other person on the boat was from Canada. They are making their way north, also.There are a couple islands offshore and we noticed the arch in this one.

Because the roads are so rough, we are often treated to unexpected surprises when we stop. Our paper towels seem to have a mind of their own and jiggle their way off the roll and across the counter. Any ideas on how to prevent this? It does make life interesting!  Tomorrow we will move further north stopping in Tecoman for gas, bank, and internet before hitting another beach.