CURVA PELIGROSO!! (Dangerous curve)

Yesterday we headed up the Montanas/Mountains. It was 105 kms to our destination of San Jose del Pacifico, it took 3 hours to get that far and was a steering marathon! There are no foothills to speak of and the road was built years ago, so follows the lay of the land, or how Adrian puts it, they were being paid by the kilometer to build it:) Trips take two to three times what you would think because of the curva peligroso (dangerous curves)

There were many villages along the way none were on the map. The first villages had roadside stands selling bananas, the weather here is still very warm, but it cools off very quickly. We purchased 2 short fat bananas for 2 pesos, or less than 2 pennies CDN. I wanted to buy some of the roja bananas, but I wasn't sure they could be eaten without cooking. All bananas are called plantanos here, so I'm unsure which are Plantains and which are bananas.

Along the way we encountered 3 very long and very fast semi trucks coming down the mountain, the pilot car was so far out from them, we didn't know where to be, so we stopped in one of the very infrequent roadside pullouts to wait, glad we did, they needed the entire road to get around the corners and we would have been pushed over the edge.

San Jose del Pacifico is famous for it's cloud forest, views of the ocean (although we could see it) and magic mushrooms. The clouds roll in in the evening and cover the place, supplying a great deal of moisture which in turn grows the mushrooms they are famous for. The vegetation is also very unique, like the pine trees.

Once we got to San Jose del Pacifico, we headed for the hotel/restaurant that the guide book recommends. It is on the North end of the town, basically on the outskirts so was very quiet. We were very hungry by then as it was almost 2:00 and we hadn't eaten since early in the morning. The restaurant is really something, very clean, well built and decorated! This is unusual in small town Mexico, so it was a real treat for us. I ordered the Mushroom Quesedillas and Adrian had ham Tostados, both were very tasty, not much fat used to cook them, also unusual. We bought a few knitted items as they have quite a cold climate and sweaters, toques, gloves and scarves seem to be normal here. They seem to be quite obsessed with Pancho Villa (pictured below), perhaps he was a native son?? 

Cute little senorita at the restaurant

After our meal we asked to see some of the Cabanas/Cabins. Check out the fireplaces, I think they are actually used! They were more than happy to accommodate us, we didn't tell them we weren't staying, but maybe next trip.....

The "flight" back down the mountain/montanas was not as slow as up. We genuinely loved this little town and will make plans in the future to spend a couple of days here so that we can watch the clouds roll in and out in the morning and evening, as we missed it during our short trip.

Off to the Beach again today!

Bernetta and Adrian