Colima

Colima got added to my list of places to go pretty early on - I'd heard about a volcano nearby that you could hike up, and I'd been told by a friend that it was a cool town as well. When I rolled into town I expected to spend one night there, but after spending the evening in town, I decided I needed to stay an entire day there and have a second night.

But you know what they say about plans and mice and stuff.

I arrived in Colima after a beautiful sunset ride following a not so beautiful flat tire. I'd been able to see the volcano as I rode through the beautiful canyon, and arrived feeling much rejuvenated by the scenery. I asked the hotel clerk about going up to the volcano, but discovered that it's actually pretty active right now so you couldn't go up it. I guess that explains the plume of smoke out the top.

Colima's central square

Some street art on the way to the square.

So I wandered into the central square, and found myself a restaurant to eat at. I ended up at a cool little place called "1800" (unrelated to the tequila) where I got some delicious sushi and a local beer, and pretty much had the whole place to myself.

A porter, and I followed it with a lager by the same brewery. Both delicious.

My sushi, which came with a side of peppers instead of wasabi. Two beers and this totaled less than $10

Since I had the place to myself, I ended up chatting with the waiter and the manager a bit (still pretty proud of myself that I can do that after just over a month learning Spanish). We talked about what there is to do in town, about the brewery and their beers, and a few other things. They told me I should come back the next night for salsa night because there was a band and the place was "lleno de chicas" (full of girls).

I told them I would if I could, but that I was headed to Boca de Pascuales the next night most likely.

"Ah Boca! You should definitely go there. Ask for Edgar."

Sure, ask for Edgar. Wait, ask for him where?

"Anywhere."

Just anywhere in town? Ask a random person if they know Edgar?

"Yeah, everyone knows Edgar. Ask for him."

After finishing up my food and promising I'd return if I could, I went for a little walk around Colima. One thing I've learned when wandering is to try to find the streets on Google Maps that used to be streets, but now are just pedestrian walkways - they tend to be big shopping/restaurant centers and have a lot of interesting sights, vendors, street performers, and more.

So I wandered down this alley, and got a chocolate-filled churro for $0.50 as my dessert.

The central square of Colima was really charming. Vendors selling homemade wares, two guys playing 80's and 90's easy listening covers, and a bunch of restaurants with their tables out on the sidewalks. But things were closing down, so I just sat and watched and finished my churro, and looked up a few things to do on my phone.

By the time I wandered back to the hotel, I'd decided on staying a second night in Colima so I'd actually get to see some of the town while it was moving, maybe check out salsa night, and also visit the archaeological ruins I'd heard about. I checked the weather on my phone, and saw a little blurb about some rain possible from a tropical storm, and then went to sleep.

*Ominous music*

To be continued...