Utah to Costa Rica Road Trip

We really enjoy this city. (Ixtapa (Eek-stop-a) is the newer, hotel and tourist zone, Zijatenejo (Zee-wah-tuh-nay-ho) is the neighboring, older and larger fishing town.) I worked on my tan some more; we had all the food and drinks we wanted, including pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris, sin alcohol, of course. They even had a pool bar, with stools underwater so we could sit at the counter and get drinks while we were swimming. The kids loved that. Greg played some beach volleyball, Kevin stayed in the room most of the time though, because his foot is still hurting.

Kyah learned how to swim while at Ixtapa! There was a little girl about 6 who was swimming with us in the pool at our hotel, and she would swim with her head underwater. Well, that was all Kyah needed. She decided that she wanted to do it too. So she did, and now she can swim up to 10 feet with her head underwater. She can dive down and get things off the bottom of the pool and jump off the side into the pool with no one catching her. It’s awesome.

We left Thursday the 26th from Ixtapa and drove through Zijatenejo to pick up our laundry from a Lavendria ($12 US dollars to have it all washed and folded). Then we stopped at the Bodega to get some snacks and drinks, and finally headed toward Acapulco (Ah-kuh-pool-co).

We drove into Acapulco from the north, poor side of town, and our first impression was—CRAZY! The roads were small, it was extremely crowded, and they had some of the worst driving that I have seen yet! We at length made it to the tourist district, where we stopped to talk to some people representing a travel agency to find out about hotels. Three people came up to us and started talking and talking. They were drunk (but very nice and helpful) and they wanted to ride with us to go help us find a hotel We didn’t have any room, so they hopped a taxi and we followed them to look at some hotels, and then to the travel agency where they worked. They got us a good deal on a nice hotel on the beach, the Calinda.

It was a very nice hotel that is built in a cylinder shape so that there is a view from every room. Greg was a little frustrated because they charged us for parking (we had to pay to park at their hotel!) then because our vehicle wouldn’t fit in their underground parking (because of all our stuff secured on top), they charged us more to park next door! Unfortunately many of the tourist destinations seem to take advantage of the “wealthy” visitors that come (like when we had to pay US $35 for two medium Domino’s pizzas in Puerto Vallarta! “Just because we can” is what they said about why it was so much.)

By then it was very late, so we walked next door for a quick dinner at a restaurant owned by Walmart called Vips, a Denny’s, Mexican style. Then we all went to bed. When I woke up at 2:30 am with Aaliyah, I heard (faintly) music from a discotheque across the street that was still thumping, and when I looked out the window, there was plenty of traffic on the road still- crazy town!

After breakfast at Vips the next morning, we took off. We had a little bit of a bad taste in our mouth for Acapulco because of the craziness and the parking fiasco. We were also anxious to progress in our journey because we are a little tired of living out of the car. You wouldn’t believe how filthy it is. The kids’ snacks and drinks are spilled all over in the back- smashed bananas, mushy crackers, sticky juice. I think there is mold growing- and yes, I do clean it out every morning before we leave. But then they eat and drink in it all day long. As soon as we get to Costa Rica I’m going to get it detailed!

We came into Acapulco on the poor side of town, and left on the wealthy side (near the airport), and it was quite a contrast. It is really a very beautiful city, built right into the hills around a beautiful bay. It is somewhere I would visit again, but next time I would fly in!

Our plan was to pass through Pinotepa Nacional and to stay at Puerto Escondido. As we neared Pinotepa Nacional we stopped to fill up at the Pemex gas station (they have the monopoly in gas in Mexico). We asked if they take credit cards, because we had no cash, dollars or pesos. They did accept cards, so we filled up and the total came to $599 (pesos, remember). We gave them our card and…it was rejected. We just used it for breakfast two hours earlier. Now what do we do?

I remembered an emergency credit card I had in my wallet, so I went to look for it in the car (while holding Aaliyah and sweating in the 94 degree humid heat, with Kyah screaming that she wanted to watch a movie—on the DVD player that is not working AGAIN!—and Parker saying that he needed to go poop). I soon began to worry because my wallet was nowhere to be found. Greg then reminded me that I took it into the Bodega in Ixtapa (two days ago) to buy snacks and drinks—and that was the last time we saw it.

So now what, no cash, no credit cards, nothing! With visions of my credit card being stolen and all the money in our bank gone (our bank puts a freeze on the card when large or suspicious purchases are made), and being stranded in Mexico, wondering how I would call my mother for help, we gave Greg’s cell phone to the gas station for collateral and told them we would drive into town to try and withdraw money from the ATM, and I wanted to get on our online banking to see if there was activity I didn’t recognize. We found an ATM in Pinotepa, and Kevin and I waited nervously in the car while Greg went to use it. He climbed back in the car and said, “Well, I claim this seat to sleep in. It reclines!”

He was just joking, he was able to pull cash out, go back and pay for our gas, and when we checked our account online at the Internet café, there was no unusual activity. I still don’t know where my wallet is though. Perhaps someone will mail it back to the states.

Livin’ the Dream, Baby!