Monkey Mountain

The day before leaving La Cruz we took a bus to a small town on the coast called Hiquera Blanca. Hiquera Blanca lies both on the Pacific Ocean and at the base of a small mountain called Monkey Mountain. Unfortunately there are no monkeys on Monkey Mountain at least not until Victoria and Alexander arrived. It got its name from a translation error between the indigenous people and Spanish settlers of the 1600’s. After getting off the bus we hiked through a beautiful little neighborhood with kids playing in a school yard, men working on home improvements, dogs barking and asking to be scratched behind the ears. In just a few blocks the cobble stone road ended and turned to a rough dirt road and began climbing along a stream. Soon the road became a rough trail and we were on the way to the top. No sign, no trailhead just confidence, and five adventurous spirits (we were joined by a friend from another cruising boat). After hiking for about 30 minutes the trail became single track and the jungle really surrounded us. There were fronds that with one branch could cover an entire house. There were roots and vines that Trazan would be proud to swing from. We saw countless lizards and some pretty amazing engineering feats from many different ant hills. Victoria and Alexander did not hesitate or slow up as we made our way to the summit through the thick, muggy 80 plus degree jungle. At the top we all rehydrated and took a few minutes to soak in the panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean in the distance, the beautiful beaches below and the endless jungles to the East. Yet again, a magnificent example of the glorious country of Mexico.