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tashby

May 11, 2008, 2:05 PM

Post #1 of 15 (4731 views)

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Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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We are currently in the Lake Chapala area and could use a break from the heat. I know this is a long shot....but has anyone ever traveled to Tapalpa with a dog? I found a place called Cabanas San Francisco that looks like it might possibly. I've e-mailed them, but not heard back yet. Also checked the "gringodogs" website, but nothing listed there.

Heck, it doesn't even have to be Tapalpa. Just somewhere pleasant with elevation that's an easy drive from Chapala. Thanks!

http://www.cabanassanfrancisco.com.mx/tapalpa.htm

http://www.cabanassanfrancisco.com.mx/tapalpa.htm

(This post was edited by tashby on May 11, 2008, 2:08 PM)

Don

May 12, 2008, 1:02 PM

Post #2 of 15 (4699 views)

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Re: [tashby] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Tapalpa is a very nice place, but I don't think you will find that much or any relief from the current heat we are having.

bournemouth

May 12, 2008, 3:07 PM

Post #3 of 15 (4687 views)

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Re: [Don] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Don - we've just had a thunderstorm and about an hour of gentle rain in the overall Chapala area - the temperature has dropped significantly - joy, oh joy, maybe the locals tales about an early and heavy rainy season are going to be right!

toddmc

May 12, 2008, 3:39 PM

Post #4 of 15 (4683 views)

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Re: [tashby] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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We just got back from a nice visit the Lake Chapala area and found it very hot.

So, you just head on out here to Patzcuaro. The temp is very comfortable.

I understand if you make arrangements ahead of time Casa Encantada will take a dog.
http://www.lacasaencantada.com/

Todd

*************************
Our new life in Patzcuaro: http://lifeinthecorazon.blogspot.com

tashby

May 12, 2008, 5:42 PM

Post #5 of 15 (4665 views)

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Re: [tashby] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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I don't know who to reply to so I'm replying to myself....does that make me senile?

Anyway, thanks Don. I gotta (gotta!!!!) think it's at least a leeeetle cooler up there because of the increased elevation. Please? If I beg?

And yes, Todd. We were in Patzcuaro just last week, only for a day though, and noticed that it was cooler than Morelia where we were staying. Hence the hope that a slight increase in elevation makes a noticeable difference. (Thanks for the Casa Encatada idea, as well. I understand Villas Patzcuaro can work with a dog, as well....)

And yes, bournemouth! Wasn't that rain this afternoon tasty! Still, I'm not counting on more tomorrow....or for the next few weeks, hence the post about dog-friendly accomodations in Tapalpa. Or Maximitla?

This is all part of a larger scheme, by the way, which involves visiting a friend on the coast of Nayarit (yikes! steamy!)....so I'm poking around for dog-friendly lodging as much as possible. Might head down to the coast through Manzanillo....then up to Nayarit....then via Compostela/Tepic etc. on the return. Or vice versa.

Thanks all!

(This post was edited by tashby on May 12, 2008, 5:45 PM)

Don

May 12, 2008, 5:43 PM

Post #6 of 15 (4664 views)

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Re: [bournemouth] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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We just had a cooling rain with lots of thunder and lightning late this afternoon and it cooled down all the stone, cement and bricks houses and streets, but I have a feeling it's only temporary. Hope I am wrong and the rain stays awhile.

(This post was edited by Don on May 12, 2008, 5:43 PM)

bournemouth

May 12, 2008, 6:25 PM

Post #7 of 15 (4658 views)

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Re: [tashby] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Tashby - if you go to Manzanillo, I think our personal favorite there, La Posada, will let you bring a well behaved dog. I certainly see people there with dogs:

http://www.hotel-la-posada.info/

I would think that during the week, there are enough cabin rentals in both Tapalpa (our favorite) or Mazamitla, that if you just drive up there, you'll find a place to stay with the pooch.

Yes, the rain was gorgeous and we feel so much better!

Don

May 12, 2008, 7:08 PM

Post #8 of 15 (4653 views)

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Re: [tashby] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Tashby-- I spent Sunday night in Guadalajara and it was hot. Returned home Monday to Sayula which is not that far from Tapalpa, but at a much lower altitude. Friends that were in Talpalpa Sunday, said it was hot. I also have some friends that spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday night in Manzanillo. They were very pleased with the weather in Colima. Said it was cooler there, than in Jalisco. I guess you can just make your choice and hope for the best. Good Luck.

bournemouth

May 13, 2008, 6:51 AM

Post #9 of 15 (4636 views)

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Re: [Don] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Don is right re Manzanillo - we have been to the coast twice in the last few weeks and on both occasions it was cooler than the Chapala area. If we ever decide to spend time away from home because of the heat, May would be the month we would go.

jerezano

May 13, 2008, 8:02 AM

Post #10 of 15 (4631 views)

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Re: [tashby] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Hello,

What's wrong with San Sebastian on the mountain route to Puerto Vallarta? You will find it at an elevation that is many degrees cooler than Lake Chapala. It is close. The drive up through Ameca is spectacular (indeed a bit frightening for the driver) is well-paved and San Sebastian is a tourist destination (by light airplane) from Vallarta. Two planes daily, one coming loaded. One returning to Vallarta loaded. Tianguis on Saturday, musical pick-up groups in the Plaza, and there is also a coffee plantation with coffee ground and roasted to order. See my (Guadalajara to Mascota to San Sebastian to Pto Vallarta) 2006 post here on the forum. (Search for San Sebastian)

Your dog will love the climbs through the hills.

There are nine hotels probaly some of which will accept your dog. If not, there are furnished cabins for rent and an eco trourism center (e mail available) and yes, they should will accept your dog. Everything is overflowing Saturday night. Late Sunday might work out with all the Vallarta tourists leaving in the early afternoon.

Oh, on the pavement. When we were there two years ago the last few kilometers from the highway into San Sebastian were still unpaved. Lots of dust. Also be sure and gas up in Mascota on the way because there is no Pemex at San Sebastian. The closest PEMEX is in Las Palmas on the Vallarta highway.

Take jackets. It can be cold up there.

Hasta luego. jerezano.

(This post was edited by jerezano on May 13, 2008, 8:21 AM)

tashby

May 13, 2008, 11:55 AM

Post #11 of 15 (4614 views)

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Re: [jerezano] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Hi again all,

Thanks. I was just in San Sebastian last November and it is sweet. Just wanted to go somewhere new, to me, on the way down to the coast. (By the way, at that time the road between La Estancia and San Sebastian was almost entirely done, only maybe a few hundred yards or so left to pave. The road into S.S. is excellent.) And now it's confession time...

A recurring nightmare of mine, and I mean literally not figuratively, is being flung off one of these mountain passes in a car or a bus. That road into Talpa de Allende, for example, scares the bejeebus out of me. The giant cross/shrine between Mascota and Talpa honoring the victims of a particularly deadly bus accident doesn't help matters, and that's not even an especially dangerous spot, relatively. In addition, on the previous trip I mention, I hitchhiked and caught a ride for one leg between La Estancia and Mascota. The driver was the quintessential macho guy. He was a skilled driver, but he drove fast and used ALL of the road, whichever lane was handy on blind curves, etc.

I don't think I want any part of driving that route. Not yet, anyway. I'm slowly coming to terms with driving in the mountains, and it's getting better, but still.

So yes. That's why I'm thinking of doing the route down the cuota toward Mananillo, then up 200 to the Vallarta area, then continuing on the loop north and heading back through Compostela/Tepic, etc. My understanding is that the only edgy part of that route is the stretch between Las Varas and Compostela. So I'll just deal with it.

bourneouth, thanks for the rec on hotel la posada in Manzanillo!

(This post was edited by tashby on May 13, 2008, 11:59 AM)

jerezano

May 13, 2008, 4:36 PM

Post #12 of 15 (4592 views)

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Re: [tashby] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Hello tashby,

You said, and you are right:>>So yes. That's why I'm thinking of doing the route down the cuota toward Mananillo, then up 200 to the Vallarta area, then continuing on the loop north and heading back through Compostela/Tepic, etc. My understanding is that the only edgy part of that route is the stretch between Las Varas and Compostela. So I'll just deal with it.<<

That stretch is particularly bad if there is fog. So an easy round-about is at Las Varas continue on up the coast to Los Cocos and then on to San Blas. At San Blas head for the Mazatlán-Tepic highway and then on to Tepic. This is the recommended route for people trailering boats or driving large RV's. From San Blas there is a gradual climb to the highway but it isn't mountainous driving. You don't start really climbing until you hit the autopista.

Have a good trip. jerezano.

(This post was edited by jerezano on May 13, 2008, 4:43 PM)

tashby

May 14, 2008, 9:38 AM

Post #13 of 15 (4561 views)

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Re: [jerezano] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Thanks again, Jerezano.

Hmmmm. Looking on my Guia Roji, that end around via San Blas etc., looks like it would add a LOT of time to the drive. Maybe an additional hour and a half, at least? Unless that stretch between Las Varas and Compostela is an absolute horror, I'm inclined to drive it.

I mean, it can't be thaaaaaat bad, can it?

Heh.

jerezano

May 14, 2008, 12:48 PM

Post #14 of 15 (4546 views)

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Re: [tashby] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Hello tashby:

You said:>>I mean, it can't be thaaaaaat bad, can it?

No, it isn't. Still it is probably the most dangerous part of the whole trip. (I have driven from Las Varas to Compestela and vice versa more than four times, once going uphill in a fog I will never forget. From Manzinillo all the way to Compostela and return twice.) Almost all of the many curves are blind and people in both directions are impatient, particularly in the uphill direction behind slow-moving trucks. You will not have the problem of looking over the edge and not seeing bottom, you can't see over the edge because of the jungle. The problem is the traffic. Don't get impatient and try to pass on a blind curve because the down traffic comes at speed.

Road surface is good but narrow and twisting two-lane. This particular stretch is part of the State & Federal Highway Improvement project for 2008.

Hasta luego. jerezano.

Doriabar

Jun 3, 2008, 9:39 PM

Post #15 of 15 (4494 views)

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Re: [tashby] Tapalpa Lodging (with a dog)

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Has anyone suggested San Blas a beautiful little beach pueblo about and hour north of PV, not far from Chapala, don't know about your dog but if its a small one and quiet, just smuggle him in, Mexicans don't care as long as they don't see it.