Impressions of Guaymas and beyond

I’m not sure what these blog posts will turn into, so I’m posting a journal entry from the last few days for now…

We stayed our first night in Guaymas in the RV lot portion of a nice hotel on the Sea of Cortez. The hotel looked nice. We didn’t get to experience the amenities because they were filming something by the pool. The RV spots were basic with one small tree and a handful of other guests. It was pricey for what it was. We brought Gus down to the rocky beach for some playtime while the local dogs barked incessantly at him up the shore.

In the morning we drove through Guaymas hoping to see the town, get gas, and find an ATM. It looked like the malecon could be a nice portion of the city, but we were too focused on the torn up street, lack of one-way signage, and attack street dogs to feel the need to stop and walk along it. The large sand/gravel/whatever factory at the end of it was a bit of a turn off as well. It seemed the entire city is under construction. Roads just ended mid-block in favor of dug out dirt three feet down, or there were huge concrete obstacles to navigate around. From the tire tracks down dirt ramps going into the torn up portions it looked like people were accustomed to this. I’m pretty sure we burned a few km of gas trying to get to the next ATM after finding the first one out of order. The town itself was gritty and didn’t seem to have much going for it , except the location by the sea and maybe the town church/zocolo (whose grounds were also town up). We were glad to be on the road.

After a valley of burning fields and smoke, the travel south was pleasant and included the derelict place in the title image of this post. That’s a 32 meter statue of a dancer of the local Yaqui people. Very striking to see right off the highway.

With the long drives I’m starting to make up stories about people I see. Today we passed a cowboy-esque man on a motorcycle in the median of the highway. Complete with white cowboy hat. He was on his bike at an upward ramping edge of a large gully the freeway bridged over. I think he was assessing the gully to make a valiant Evil Knieval style jump over it. I’m pretty sure I’m right, and sad to have missed it.