The 1973 Acapulco Adventure Part 6

10 Mar

Having made our sketchy drug purchase upon immediate arrival to Acapulco, the boys and I were quickly off to our next adventure destination. My memory gets a bit faulty, but as I remember we followed the highway out of town and made inquiries along the way as to the illusive Roberto. Finally when a group of vendors all pointed in the same direction when we asked, “dónde vive Roberto?” we turned off the highway onto a sandy trail toward the ocean.

Highway market.

The narrow beach road proved to be a nightmare. We managed to damage the underside of the van crossing a dip or possibly a dry creek bed. The van limped along, but it was clear that we weren’t going anywhere for awhile, certainly not back to Cholula to start classes. Oh shit.

Parking the VW van in the shade until parts for repair could be brought from Acapulco.

We pulled/pushed into a clearing with the pacific not fifty meters (160 feet) away. The family who lived here looked at us as if we had dropped in from another planet. It took us days to figure out that the two room, dirt floor house and assorted shelters we had found were actually a fishing base camp. And btw, Roberto who lived further down the ‘road’ was out of town.

The language barrier was monumental, far beyond my one year of high school Spanish. The other worldly environment that we stumbled into took us days to make sense of. Our brains exploded with each piece of the puzzle we assembled. The bottom line was that a young couple with their three children and grandma lived in a two room mud and stick house with pounded dirt floor. The woman cooked meals for a group of men who slept on the ground during the heat of the day and fished by night. I watched intently the daily routine which did not include electricity or running water.

The kitchen entrance and three children.

We added interest to their lives, and they in turn went out of their way to entertain us. I have to break the story down because there were so many layers which included:

*Eating turtle eggs (it took me years to figure out what we had eaten). *Horseback riding *turning ears of corn into tortillas *cheese making *drying coconuts, going for a bath, and cold rum and coke.

I did not know that we were being offered turtle eggs. This was 1973.

I could not swim as the undertow was so strong and the pot was not very good so there was no getting stoned and yet somehow the days flew by. We slept on woven-mat cots which I now suspect belonged to the family. They gave us their beds! To be continued…

DOS TORTAS

11 Responses to “The 1973 Acapulco Adventure Part 6”

  1. RudeinNewYork March 12, 2023 at 9:38 am #

    We were so brave and adventurous back then. Is it better or worse now? Depends on who village and who is your host. Maya Balam was delightful, and we were welcomed by children and families alike. Dogs were indifferent.

    Liked by 1 person

    • afish25 March 12, 2023 at 9:50 am #

      I think calculated risk is the name of the game. However the world is definitely a more dangerous place. 🙁🥺

      Like

      • RudeinNewYork March 12, 2023 at 9:52 am #

        We went to Portland and Calif for Nov-Dec. It was a down poor and cold. Should have joined you in QR.

        Liked by 1 person

      • afish25 March 12, 2023 at 10:14 am #

        Definitely lowers the fun factor. Weather has been great here.

        Like

  2. Lois Leahy March 12, 2023 at 3:42 pm #

    Lord,Lord, they had next to nothing and they gave you what they could. ❤️❤️❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    • afish25 March 12, 2023 at 4:58 pm #

      Indeed. And they wouldn’t take a peso from us when we left.

      Like

  3. Jack Scott March 13, 2023 at 3:59 am #

    Shame the pot was a bit rubbish 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Emilie March 13, 2023 at 7:21 am #

    Fabulous adventure! How in the word did you get the van fixed?

    Liked by 1 person

    • afish25 March 13, 2023 at 10:59 am #

      My memory definitely has holes in it. Back in the day you could fix cars yourself and every Mexican was a mechanic.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Emilie March 13, 2023 at 5:39 pm #

        That’s true. Today it would be a whole different story.

        Like

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