Trip to Hermosillo

Back safe again after our 2nd trip to Hermosillo. The drive there isn't bad, because you start on the bad road and the roads slowly get better, until after Altar it is a four-lane highway all the way to Hermosillo. Coming back, you hit the bad stretch when you're tired. Lots of traffic, you have to watch out for semis and buses who seem to believe they can just cut you off or drive in whichever lane they prefer at the moment. Plus a certain A-hole from Arizona that we were glad to see the last of. The route:

Anyway, the drive there is nice, it gets greener and more mountainous as you drive, and there were clouds of yellow butterflies all the way from Altar to Hermosillo.

Driving through Altar, I saw a sign that said, El Greigo. A Greek Restaurant!!! Yes, it's true. I doubt that we'll ever eat there, but it's comforting to know it's there somehow.

Here are some of the road signs we see here:

No rebase con raya continua No passing on solid line- largely ignored
Curva peligrosa Dangerous curve- beleive them!
Concede cambio de luz Dim your lights for oncoming traffic
Obedezca las señales Obey traffic signs
Use el cinturón de seguro Use seat belts
Tramo en reparación Road repairs ahead
Guarde su distancia Don’t tailgate
Si toma no maneja If you drink, don’t drive
Respete los límites de velocidad Respect posted speed limits
Puesto de control militar Military checkpoint
Gracias por usar el cinturón de seguro Thank you for buckling up
Topes Speed bumps
Un solo carril Single lane ahead
Disminuya su velocidad Slow down
Conserve limpia la carretera Keep highway clean
Zona de vados Washes in area
Cruce de peatones Crosswalk
Cinturón de seguridad obligatorio Use of seat belt mandatory
No maltrates las senales Don’t damage road signs
No circule por acotamiento Don’t drive on shoulder (WHAT SHOULDER?)
Modere la velocidad, su familia le espera Slow down, your family is waiting for you
Carril izquierdo solo para rebasar Left lane for passing only
Principia tramo de cuota Begin toll road
Use acotamiento para emergencia Use shoulder for emergencies (See above)
No exceda los límites de velocidad Don’t exceed speed limits
Transito lento carril derecho Slower traffic use right lane
No tire basura Don’t litter

One of the dangers of driving even on the four-lane highways is that there's no shoulder, no room for error. If you lose focus and drift to the side, you could easily go off the road and end up rolling over the scrub. So it's a tiring drive. OK, enough about that!!

Here is a nice church in Altar:


Hermosillo is a very pretty, very hip city, in the mountains, with tree-lined streets.


We stayed at the Araiza hotel, a five star hotel where they treated us very well. Our room was about $73 for the night. I had a great swim in their pool last night.


We ate out at a fairly expensive(for Mexico) restaurant. Carl had a 7-oz filet mignon that he said was fantastic, and I had a chicken breast in a mushroom-gravy that was also awesome. A Bohemian beer, a glass of wine, a 25% tip, and the total was 500 pesos, about $41.

OK, got to run to a party, talk later, glad to be home.