Los Troncones Redux

Some of you may recall that we-un´s spent a few days at Troncones Beach last January with our pooches and thoroughly enjoyed our stay of what turned out to be a rather secluded beach in a remote area that seemed only lightly patrolled by the local fuzz if patrolled at all. We thought that this might make a good alternative to Puerto Vallarta or Manzanillo for Lake Chapala residents with its wide and, practically deserted beaches and magnificent surf. Driving from Lake Chapala to Troncones via the Guadalajara-Mexico City Autopista and Highway 37 through Paracho, Uruapan, Nueva Italia and the Infiernillo region was fun but a bit disconcerting as one traversed the somewhat deserted tierra caliente and Coastal 200 south into sparsley populated Guerrero and our minds were not set at ease as we passed convoys of army troops and federales in body armor and masks.

Well, we had planned to return to Troncones in May but changed our minds when, while scanning Google news citing Mexican violence, we ran across an article in a surder´s e-magazine warning other surfers from aroud to world to avoid Troncones because of violence against both visitors and residents there so we decided to put off any return trip to the area until things had settled down a bit.

After the short Troncones beach trip we headed back down to Chiapas for a few months and subsequently heard nothing of substance about that part of the Guerrero coast until yesterday when, while reading a web site specializing in information about organized crime killings in Mexico in general and trends in that sort of activity, I read that, according to statistical evidence available to the authors of the studies cited by the authors, the regional incidences of killings tied to organized crime were somewhat fluid in nature and, that, while violence of that nature had actually dropped off in Juarez so far in 2011, the murder rate has actually spiked in Guerrero during the same period as various narco gangs fight for control of the region.

Of course, we have the ongoing violence in Acapulco and inland Guerrero plus the ongoing violence reported around Apatzingan which is a bit close to our Highway 37 route to get to the beach but I am wondering if locals living nearer Los Troncones and Zihuatanejo might have some insights as to whether that is a good beach area to visit these days - and I am specifically referring to the area around Troncones, not Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. We could use a stroll on a deserted beach but not a hole in the head.

Re: Los Troncones Redux Mon 08 Aug 2011, 09:24 by Dave and Rosy

While visiting Zihua week before last, our long time local friends and hoteliers, Angel and Marilu - Posada del Palmar, cautioned strongly against visiting both Troncones and Barra de Potosi. We needed to imagine Rossy's playa la ropa as the deserted beach which in fact it almost was... not many tourists.

The offshore storms have stirred up the waters bringing an unprecedented amount of stuff ashore and in the water. I had not seen that much detritus ever before.

The drop in tourism has made some interesting changes... enjoy!

Re: Los Troncones Redux Mon 08 Aug 2011, 10:18 by **Peter**

Yep, heavy rains will bring loads of stuff down the rivers and washes and onto the beaches. Those wintertime clean beaches with crystal-clear water can look very different in the rainy summer months especially right after a storm in the pacific.

Those warnings about Troncones had to do with violence and narco activity I take it? Zihua remains fairly tranquil?

Don Cuevas Hates Troncones Sat 13 Aug 2011, 05:26 by Don Cuevas

We visited Troncones for 3 nights, back in Feb. 2007. I have never been so alternately bored and pissed off by a place.

First of all, I'm not a beach fan. I can take only a very limited amount of idleness. Maybe 1 day at most.

Our lodgings at Qunita d'Liz were basic but o.k.. The hosts were very pleasant, particularly the young women dressed in their swimsuits who brought us our coffee and toast each morning.

Food that we found in local restaurants was generally poor, overrated, or snobby. The best place was the taquería Norma, at the crucero, which opened every evening.

The famed Burro Borracho, IMO, is highly overrated. Its Tiritas de Pescado were good but its Coctel de Camarones was a disaster. It should be called a Coctel de Catsup, dressed with camarones. That may be the local style. Whatever. It's a crime against crustacea.

The Restaurant at Hacienda El Edén treated us like we needed baths and the service was chingado, but probably because they were trying to serve a large group at the same time. The pizza we had was passable. But keep in mind that that unpleasant supper followed almost immediately after the most egregious behavior on the part of the luxuriously "good vibrations" Present Moments Retreat Spa down the road.

To make a long and very unpleasant story short, after my piddly, wimpy massage by a highly self absorbed New Age girl, the management informed me that although they did accept credit cards (which they'd told me over the phone when I reserved.) there was a substantial surcharge. So when I offered to pay in pesos, the told me they only accepted dollars.

(Pardon me while I get my blood pressure down.)
The lying, scamming pinches hijos de pitas then converted my pesos to dollars, at a rate very advantageous to them. Such behavior ought to be illegal in México.

I would never have anything good to say about the Present Moments Retreat, other than the workmen did a nice job on the thatching of the palapa huts.
People like that (and they were gringos) ought to be deported to somewhere like the Islas Guanos off the coast of Perú to pass an eternal summer.

Los Troncones Redux Guano-island-lrg

Bienvenidos a las Islas Guano, cabrones.

Re: Los Troncones Redux Sat 13 Aug 2011, 10:16 by **Hound Dog**

[quote="Don Cuevas"]We visited Troncones for 3 nights, back in Feb. 2007. I have never been so alternately bored and pissed off by a place.

First of all, I'm not a beach fan. I can take only a very limited amount of idleness. Maybe 1 day at most....

Our lodgings at Qunita d'Liz were basic but o.k.. The hosts were very pleasant, particularly the young women dressed in their swimsuits who brought us our coffee and toast each morning.

Food that we found in local restaurants was generally poor, overrated, or snobby. The best place was the taquería Norma, at the crucero, which opened every evening....[/quote]

Well, Don Cuevas:

I must admit that we also are not that fond of idling on a beach for any extended period of time and can only stay in the beach places for the high-season minimum of three days and even then must devote some time to exploring nearby sights and cities just to pass the time. What we like about Troncones and such other of our favorites as Puerto Arista in Chiapas and various isolated beach towns and villages in Oaxaca is that they are funky beach towns with wide and fairly hard-packed beaches with magnificent surf where we spend much time walking our dogs. who flip over such beaches in isolation, at least during the work week, away from crowds of the dreaded human variety. The food in any of these places is usually just barely edible to OK and that we expect. Actually, one nice thing about Troncones is its proximity to Ziuhuatanejo where ther are some good restaurants based on the luck of the draw.

When reported unpleasant criminal activities have clearly eased up on the Guerrero coast, perhaps we´ll head back to Troncones just to watch the dogs go nuts on those miles of largely deserted beaches. For now, we feel a bit vulnerable in that isolated beach hotel we favor so its Puerto Arista or bust for now.

Interestingly, from our other home in the Chiapas Highlands, we have mas o menos equal access to Pacific, Caribbean or Gulf beaches and the wide, endless deserted beaches of the Pacific and the Gulf are what we favor for our dog babies. Dawg grew up in Coastal Alabama where dogs were welcome on the beaches but just a few miles down the road across the Florida line, dogs were not allowed on the beaches. What the hell are beaches for except running dogs, ogling babes, getting drunk and building Budweiser can pyramids? No wonder the housing market crashed in Florida after Dawg moved to Mexico.

Re: Los Troncones Redux Sun 14 Aug 2011, 01:53 by Don Cuevas

I admit,Dawg, that I enjoyed long walks along the beach, feet in the water just up from the surf line.

I also failed to mention that in Feb, 2008, the Pacific Cast in that area was suffering a heat wave. We could bear to be out from under our palapas only from dawn to about 10:30 a.m.; then from 5:50 to sunset. My wife's tolerance for the searing heat was even less than mine.

There was an iguana next door. First one we'd ever seen in its native habitat.

I also did like the surf sounds as I slept in our silo shaped palapa room. the one with the agua del mar al tiempo that came out of the shower head in our roofless bathroom.

There was also an appreciable electric frisson; a pervasive, palpable erotic charge to the Quinta D'Liz. Details will not follow.

Los Troncones Redux

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Los Troncones Redux