We promised you more photos from the Hemmings Cruise to Mexico, and here’s another helping from the land of sun and sizzle. By the way, in my earlier post, I meant to mention that in this part of the world, grabbing a quick photo can be challenging for technical reasons. Everything is so brightly illuminated by sunlight, especially near the water, that the light meter in your camera sometimes overcompensate. There’s a marked tendency for your images to be either overexposed or underexposed until you have the time to set up the shot.
Here’s an example, one of the countless open taxis that are apparently unique to the port city of Mazatlan. I shot this in the taxi area just outside the cruise ship docking area, before we boarded a more conventional Ford E-250 van – air conditioned – for the ride into the city. So I didn’t ride with this guy. Once we got downtown, I was so smitten with the design that we flagged another taxi driver and asked him to take us back. Did he ever: For a negoiated price of $10 American, this lovely gent took us all over the city on a full tour, including the local Malacon and some beautiful interior neighborhoods – I’m not being sarcastic, either – that Americano tourists often don’t get to see. The taxi itself is a straight Puebla-built Volkwagen Beetle pan with a fiberglass four-door body. Docile and airy. Just right.
At the previous stop, along a boulevard to the seafront in Puerto Vallarta, I grabbed this image through our van window showing a punch-drunk Dodge Aspen hardtop at the curb, though absent any rust. I’m pretty sure the building in the rear was the back side of the local Ford dealership.
Then, we have this Coca-Cola truck. It’s a Suzuki 125 with an insulated box. They’re all over the place down there. Can you imagine a box for Tecate or Sol back there? Or maybe Miller Lite? The vendors could jiggle one of these right up the steps at Notre Dame Stadium, I bet.