TRONCONES

I took a trip or is it I made a trip?  Perhaps more to the point, I planned a 4-day excursion to spend three nights and two full days on the beach in Troncones, Guerrero, MX.  What used to be a small, sleepy, fishing village is now beginning to resemble a California sub-division, located about 20 miles northwest of Zihuatanejo on the coast.   We visited there 10 years ago and with my memory of that relaxed visit intact, I figured it couldn’t have changed much.  Wrong! It looked like the entire village is under construction with new houses, hotels and apartments being built for the onslaught of more visitors and residents.   A couple I met from SLC are building a beach house on the north end of the village where there is excellent surfing.

Setting that aside for a moment, the beaches are still pristine, the water warm enough and the views of the ocean on the west side and the jungle on the east side of this narrow, one-street village are spectacular. There are some excellent restaurants, good choices of places to stay, and lots of activities from tours and yoga to swimming and surfing and a little nightlife if that’s your thing.   I opted for Casa Delfin Sonriente, a small hotel with 4 suites and 2 rooms on the ocean with a great view about 46 meters from the beach.  If you are in the U.S. that converts to about 50 yards.  Why the U.S. did not adopt the metric system along with the rest of the world is another story. casadelfinsonriente.com/

* Featured photo Is one I took of an early evening sunset from the hotel.

The trip from San Miguel to Troncones was listed at 6 hours so I figured If I left around 8 AM, I could be there between 2 and 3 PM.  Expect the unexpected.  There was a horrendous crash on a two-lane, heavily traveled highway, Route 14D, in the mountains about an hour north of the intersection with Route 200 that runs along the coast.  Traffic was stopped in both directions for  10 miles and several hours while they cleaned it up and cleared one lane so traffic could begin to move, slowly alternating north and south, a few vehicles at a time.  About 3 hours later, I reached the scene of the accident that had involved a couple of large trucks one of which was carrying new cars that had all caught on fire.  Adjust, adapt and keep going.  I arrived between 5 and 6 PM.

The small suite I had reserved on the second floor had a clear view through a few palm trees directly to the beach and ocean.  When I arrived, there was no one to check in but I found someone staying there who showed me up to my room.  He pointed out lots of stairs and steps including a ladder to the sleeping loft in the room and the clincher was no AC.  Howard and his wife had stayed there for the past 4 years, at least two weeks at a time. He suggested I might rather take a room on the first floor that had AC since the temperature was in the 90’s and very high humidity. Wise choice.  Eventually, Maria showed up as she is the manager and said yes, that was fine, no one else was coming as far as she knew.   There is a lovely swimming pool, a beautiful garden, shaded areas for lounging and reading, and plenty of places to sit, think and write.   Breakfasts are included.  The high season was just starting, late November/December through April.

My purpose for the trip was a personal retreat to take some time in a beautiful place and immerse myself in the surroundings without the need to accomplish anything.  I used the time to reflect, clarify, set some intentions, rest and relax, walk and swim, and eat well. Mission accomplished, I set out for home early one morning, stopping at the entrance road to fill up with gas and arrived back in mid-afternoon.  The drive through the mountains and farmland was scenic, many more toll roads than I recall from a decade ago, and some are not in good condition.  All things considered it was a good trip and worth the effort and expense.  If you want to visit Troncones, there is information available from a variety of sources.

https://www.troncones.net/