Day 8 – Ticket to Paradise
Yelapa from the paragliding launch 2000 ft above
End of the road... to Yelapa
Two nights ago we met Luis, a retired veteranarian from El Tuito who, as with most English speaking folks we’ve met here was interesting to chat with and intrigued with our ride (and how we found our current location. He was our next ticket to paradise.
We disussed the problems with tortoise and jaguar poaching in Mexico, where to buy the best covert distilled tequilla (of which he gave us a sample) and our route and adventure. We were bummed at the prospect of being back on the main road the next day so he suggested we hit up El Tuito (his home town) and then Yelapa.
Yelapa
The only ways to get to Yelapa are by boat or by very substantial and reliable 4×4 vehicle. Even by mountain bike getting to Yelapa was a challenging endeavor for 4 weary riders.
After a lovely evening in El Tuito at the height of their 5 day religious festival, we ventured north to more parts unknown. At this point our legs are seriously fried, Greg has no brake pads and we are in good spirits but not certain how many more long, steep and loose climbs we can muster.
Yelapa to the beach
We would ultimately end up at sea level on this day but the route kept us high at around 2000 feet for a few hours… UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN… on a steep jungle road. Then we hit the paragliding launch ramp and our first sight of Yelapa far below. Gorgeous and enticing but we still had our work cut out for us. With no brakes for days,Greg was reduced to walking our severe downhill plunge to the beach, which ultimately ended up in a hike-a-bike through a creek bed to town.
Yelapa was the end of our ride and another piece of heaven in an otherwise distinctly challenging mountain terrain but not quite the end of our adventure. We got a boat ride to Puerto Vallarta (huge SHOCK to be back in ‘civilization’!) and then had to ride out to the airport to catch a local bus back to Punta Mita. With serious traffic and no shoulder on the road, the latter ended up being the most dangerous part of our entire 8 day trip and it didn’t help that we weren’t psyched to be back among many people and cars.
Some of my family arrived last night and we are all now staying in luxury in Punta Mita on the beach and I have that dicotomous sense of enjoying our relaxation time while a big part of me yearns for longer stretches of unknown road. I’m already planning another adventure.
The start of our 'boat, pedal and bus' to Punta Mita
I’ll be back at you with closing thoughts and until then we are surfing,snorkleing and planning a birthday party in a couple nights. If you are down this way stop on by…
Back at you soon,
terri