Let the vehicles with no brakes pass you! Good idea.

Tuesday p.m.
Sunday morning we left Guadalajara bright and early – just after it got light 7:15. Got on the Periferico around 7:30. Arrived in Mazatlan seven hours later – only 304 miles. Not sure what time we got here as we changed time zones again AND daylight savings change was Saturday nite. Found out Mexico does do Daylight Savings time but doesn’t start it until April 3rd this year.
Most of the way here the Autopista was in good shape. The first part of the trip was a four-lane divided highway recently repaved. Noticed this sign - it says “Vehicles without brakes follow the red line.” The red line was painted down the inside lane.

Then the next sign – it basically says “Let the vehicles without brakes pass you.” Sounds like really good advice to me.

The red line has now moved to the outside lane – the sign in the distance says “1 km to the safety ramp.”

This sign says – “Don’t park in front of the ramp.” More good advice. The red line goes off the highway into gravel here.

Speaking of road signs there are some really strange ones here. And a whole lot of them. At one time I took pictures of them and put them on the web pages – four pages of them and I know I missed a bunch. Check them out Link
Once we were into the state of Nayarit the road narrowed down to two lanes – one each direction.

And it was still going over a lot of mountains so if we got behind a truck – we stayed behind that truck. As I mentioned in an earlier post the double yellow center lines and the hills and curves don’t seem to have the same meaning to the truck drivers as they do to us. Up a hill? Well I want to pass this double trailered semi.

this was the time we had to slam on brakes and pull over as there was on coming traffic and he couldn't make the pass

Following behind a 5th wheel heading home. This was at a check point where no one checked anything.

Just some of the hazards of the road. Going around the occasional bicyclist.

the truck is a double semi with two 52' trailers

Following behind a big truck with a torn up tire. Now we wanted to pass!

does he know he has a blow out?

An overloaded pick up stopped barely off the road.

The scenery was pretty though. Mountain, lava fields and farm fields full of bright green tobacco, sorghum with rust colored blooms, tall yellow green sugar cane, blue agave and new baby corn. Bright blue skies with white puffy clouds. And perfect temperature for driving without having to use the a/c. Lots of vendors – dried shrimp anyone? at the lots of toll booths. Seven toll booths in one day – USD$140 -
Drove through the outskirts of Mazatlan and headed to the Las Jaibas RV park again. Got in our favorite spot in the back. Just us there. After setting up and resting a little we went out for ribs and then to watch the sunset over the ocean.

It’s like coming home to be here.
There is another post I just finished right below this one about our second trip to Ajijic to see Jeff and deliver his stuff.