ATVs and last minute things

So, the last day we had scheduled to ride ATVs. We didn’t even really want to go because we were so exhausted from the trip to Manzanillo. Lee found the receipt for the excursion and it clearly stated we could have no refund whatsoever, so obviously we decided to go.

We were told that you needed to be in the first in line to get the good goggles and the good atv. So, I asked the tour guide which atvs were best and he told us that the green and red ones were good. They put us in a yellow sort of chicken carrying, bus-ish crate/horse trailer and off we went for a 45 minute ride, right back to Manzanillo!! I was a little annoyed, ‘cuz they told us it was only a 20 minute transport, or I wouldn’t have signed up. The wind whipped us around on the trip, but we knew we would get filthy, so we wore clothes that didn’t matter and I had Lee’s baseball cap on.

We got there and guess what, all the atvs were green!! There were a few red ones and yellow ones in the back, but we could choose green, green, or green. I got the least scratched goggles for Lee and I and we had bandanas to put over our nose and mouth.
The ranch tour guide, Francisco was Mexican but spoke pretty plain English. He taught us how to turn them on, shift gears, and put it in reverse. I didn’t get the whole reverse thing, but thought I wouldn’t need it. I also thought he said the left front brake was best, but you’ll find that later I learned otherwise.

So, they had all the ladies start off in the front with Francisco leading. There was a heavier lady that didn’t want to ride her own atv so they had someone from the ranch drive her. We drove around in circles for a few minutes to get used to things, and then off we went down the long gravel road around the mountain.

The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, and there didn’t seem to be much dust kicking up. There was one time a accidently tapped the girl in front of me, but that was so embarrassing that it didn’t take long for me to learn to downshift or hit the brake to slow down. Downshifting was more smooth, but you know me, I do things the hard way, so I would hold onto the brake as hard as I could. I also figured out that I needed to keep some distance, and if when I punched it, I didn’t really go anywhere, it means I needed to shift up. Several times I lost track of what gear I was in and once I came to a stop in the road, so good thing the guy behind me was experienced with the whole atv thing.

Anyway, we drive down this long windy road with steep dropoffs but beautiful scenery, slowing to make sure we had all ten people and then taking off again. I couldn’t see Lee nor he me, so it took me a bit longer to get comfortable ‘cuz I knew the minute I turned around to see him, I would have an accident.

We reached a point in the road where the guide turned to the left and you could tell it was a steep drop off. The first lady goes, hesitantly, the next lady seems to brace herself, and her husband yells something like, “Go ahead baby, just take it slow, it’ll be alright.” So, I felt a little better that all the women were scared and the first guy in the group was behind me. So, finally I take off into this little area, and I made sure I could see no one because I didn’t want to bump anyone. That first drop was scary and then it got more intense. When I started the ride I thought, Oh, what a nice little jaunt through Mexican country, now I was thinking we were in the bush!! There were times I couldn’t see 10 feet in front of me and I had to lean over to get through things and I times corners wrong, but the atv stayed on track, and eventually I figured out that all I had to do was let the machine stay in the track.

We finally arrived on a beach. We had a 3 or so mile stretch to ride on. I started out going 20 or so miles an hour, then I got more comfortable slowly and opened it up. I mean, I was going about 50 miles an hour jumping sand dunes on the beach, and “getting air” it was so fun. I finally figured out that if I followed the tracks of the guide I could get better jumps. There was a time I got a little overzealous and didn’t slow down in time going over the downs, I rode the front left brake and just couldn’t stop before I hit the rocks. I didn’t know how to get it in reverse, so Lee had to come over and do it for me. When he got on he said it was shifting hard, and of course I didn’t notice since I never ride the things. He offered to switch several times, but I had gotten used to the machine, so I kept the one I had. Also, we signed waivers saying we wouldn’t get the atvs in the ocean. As I was trying to get the atv in reverse the ocean was coming up and up and up, finally Lee was able to back it up and it kept up from buying atvs in Mexico!! It was fun, though. Lee said he looked over when I was driving so fast and thought, “WHERE is she going???

So, we drove around for 30 minutes, then he took us through other stretches and I had to remember to stand to help ride the bumps. We came upon some old hotels on this beautiful beach, but there were men in full fatigues with rifles standing guard. Freaked me out at first, but the guide told us that they were protecting the sea turtle eggs. So, we drove through and he took us to a place where we left it in 2nd gear and went up the dunes and then down the dunes. They were pretty steep, so I was a little scared, but of course I got more comfortable. There was an annoying old man who kept circling up the wrong way and almost causing collisions, but I figured he really needed to cut loose, so let him tear it up.

Next, he took us back to the beach we had been on and he showed us a line of stingrays that would jump up in the air and then back into the water. They looked like birds in flight at first, but after watching I could see them jumping into and out of the water. That was awesome!! He said they do it just for fun, not eating. Proof that God has a personality I think.

We stopped off at a ranch and they opened up fresh coconut to drink and taste. I didn’t care for it. They also brought our fruit and then covered it in salsa. EWW!! Lee and I were more interested in talking to the family that lived there. They didn’t speak any English at all, so Lee asked them in Spanish. We found out they had been there for 45 years, and figured they were probably squatters all that time ago. The water had gotten very high several years ago and they had to move their set up (notice I didn’t say house) because there were crocodiles coming up in the water. . . . She had 12 children there. She had two grandchildren and 2 sons with her there. Her kitchen was like a brick oven –ish?? She has a place in town, but doesn’t like to live there because of the noise. Anyway, quite a different lifestyle. Chickens and ducks and a trash pile and poles wrapped with tent material to shelter them from rain. Makes you quite thankful for what you have and thankful for people who remind you that they are thankful for what little they have. Does that make sense?

All in all the day was really fun and I did a lot more daring stuff on the atv than I thought I would. Lee was aghast at my behavior on the atv, but was glad I was having a great time.
We went back to the resort, Lee finished our gift shopping while I read and swam in the pool. We went to the final dinner party where all the newbies were given a bracelet and they announced the trip next year to Hawaii.

About ten of us found a quiet place to sit and talk as we wound down from the week and got ready to pack. We had to have our bags out by 6:30 in the morning.