Friday, May 12, 2000
The scenery as we sailed into Topolobampo was very beautiful -
mountains, mostly silhouettes because of the low sun, and the town
up on a hill. We didn’t stick around to visit the town though, as
we have heard there’s not much to see there other than the view
from the sea.
Topolobampo from the ferry
We caught a crowded converted school bus into Los Mochis (45
minutes, 10 pesos) and ate at a super-cheap taco stand by the bus
station. Los Mochis people are friendly, but the city itself is a
disappointment.
Took a 2-hour bus to El Fuerte, arriving about noon. The movie
on the bus used the word "Cajunes" in the subtitles. (Insert Beavis
laugh here.) Lucky for us, the movies on buses in Mexico are
usually in English.
El Fuerte is a bustling little place, sort of dusty but sort of
charming in a way. Better than Los Mochis. Got a 400-peso room at
the Hotel San Francisco, also mentioned in our "Moon Guide." It had
a nice courtyard with lots of trees and birds, a cool paint job
too.
The courtyard at the Hotel San Francisco
We went to a restaurant for lunch that ended up being all
mariscos (seafood). Jana had some sea bass she claimed was awesome.
Met an American ex-pat from Wisconsin there who talked our ears off
but gave us some useful bits of info for our trip. We then had to
rush for me to find food before 2:00 siesta closed down the
town.
After our siesta, we walked to the Río El Fuerte to catch yet
another beautiful sunset. Jana got eaten alive by jejenes
(no-see-ums) and had bites on her legs for nearly two weeks
afterward. We ate supper and then went back to the hotel and
arranged for a cab driver to pick us up at 8:00 a.m. for the
train.
Site of the no-see-um attack
El Fuerte
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