The Dusty Back Streets of Troncones

From what we gather, Troncones was founded in the 1970s as a farming community. In the late 1970s they became an ‘Ejido’. An Ejido is a form of community-owned land governed by a local committee. By the 1980s, people were hearing about an ‘off the beaten path’ surf spot north of Zihuatanejo and word started to spread. In the early 1990s a change in Mexico’s laws allowed the privatization of Ejido lands and the residents of Troncones began to divide up beach front lots, many of which they sold to outside parties, other Mexicans and foreigners.

The new arrivals that had purchased the beach front land and built homes there, took an interest in the welfare of the community and helped with many improvements such as school renovations, a library, scholarship funding, a municipal water system, spay and neuter clinics for local pets and more. Everyone worked together to come up with common goals, even one that included respecting the natural environment.

The year, as in much of Mexico’s southern Pacific area, can be divided into two parts, the “dry” season and the “wet” season. The dry season starts about November 1st and runs till May 1st. It doesn’t rain during this time, the days are warm (30C) and the nights are cool (15C). Perfect weather for two Canadians trying to escape -25C weather, snow and winds.

We have been told that the wet season, usually has a higher humidity, slightly warmer temperatures and frequent showers, though the rain is usually at night or in the late afternoon and only lasts for an hour or two. During this time, the surrounding mountains turn a lush tropical green and wildflowers are abundant.

But we are here during the dry season and even in 6 weeks time, the stream on the road that we had to cross to get to the house has dried up and the leaves on many trees have turned brown and fallen down. There are less flowers.

On the main street in Troncones that is parallel to the beach, you can see lots of gringos walking or biking around. There are several low hotels or guest houses, restaurants, yoga studios, surf schools, tour operators and little shops. During our time here, we have pretty well stuck to the main road for anything that we needed.

But today, we decided to drive around and take a few photos of the dusty back streets to see how the village people live and to see some of the building that is going on away from the main drag. You’ll notice the red volcanic dirt on the roads and big volcanic rocks on the properties.Leia mais