Day 11 – Mismaloya to Colima

Most of us were up by about 7AM and out under the cabana using the internet. Juan, who was the desk guy, introduced himself as a U.S. Latino from Fresno, who was out of work, moved to Mismaloya and found work at the hotel. There was no coffee at the hotel, so he volunteered his personal stash of instant. I declined, but Jim, Tom and Don accepted. A good kid.

We left about 9:30 without breakfast, with the intent of finding breakfast, but Roger and Ken had plans to stop at a special distillery first. On the outskirts of Mismaloya is Dona Beatriz Tequilla Distillery to check out her small boutique operation. We sampled (I know, I know, but these were probably 1/8 tsp samples) her mandarin, almond and coffee licors and each purchased one or more bottles of much delicioso ambrosia. I have an almond and mandarin. Mandarin is at the bedside while I muse and pen.

Once our souvenirs are safely stowed in the chase truck, we settle into a relaxed flow of corners and villages, until we find a spot for a late breakfast of eggs plus chorizo or bacon or , plus tortillas, of course.

Onward toward Colima and we take the offramp for the Colima libre(free) road. There is also a Colima quota, or toll road. Wherever there is a toll road, a free road is also available.
Anyway, we(Roger, Tom, Jim and me) park up the ramp, off to the side, and wait for Don(who is positioned the last bike) and Ken in the support truck. We wait, then wait some more, no Don. Roger eventually decides to go back to the last place we were together, a scenic overlook.



And here's the scenic overlook. Cool, huh!

When separated, the rule is for both parties to return to the last place we were together. No luck. He calls Ken, in the support truck, and leaves a message then returns to where we've been waiting by the side of the road.

We've done all we could to find them, and it's now up to them to find their way to the hotel. Ken should be able to handle that. We gather up and head the last 75 miles to Colima, using the toll road instead of the free road, as planned earlier. It's faster. We arrive at the hotel around 4:30 and Ken is there, but no Don. Ken had been trying to keep track of Don, who had missed the off ramp we were parked on. He'd then taken a second off ramp that led to the free road. He and Ken finally made there way into Colima on the free road. At that point Ken tried to signal Don to stop so they could discuss the route to the hotel, by flashing his headlights, several times, but Don evidently missed the signal, and pulled ahead of, then lost Ken. Ken gave up and went to the hotel, hoping Don would have, and use, the phone numbers provided for emergencies like this, of the hotels, plus Roger and Ken's cell phone. We all gathered in the Hotel America parking lot while Roger and Ken tried calling Don. No Luck. Eventually, Roger got a call from Aerostich in Minnesota that Don had called in to the headquarters for help. Finally contact was made. Ken and Roger took the pickup into town, found Don and brought him back to the hotel.  Whew, a lesson for us all. Make sure you have all the contact information with you on the bike, not in your duffel in the truck.



Hotel America with all of us lined up in valet parking..



Not too shabby..



Some courtyard..



Or maybe the other courtyard ???



Kenny and Roger checking in..





Back in the big city..!


Once Don was back in the fold we headed for dinner at the hotel restaurant and had some great food. I'd had 2 nights of beef and 1 of pork, so decided to try some shrimp that was breaded and fried with some nice chile spice. A good change of pace. I believe Jim had a Fettuccine. Off to bed to hope for a new and less dramatic day.