From Puebla I headed straight westwards towards the Volcanoes of Popocatepetl and it's neigbour, Itzisomething. Popo is still active, which becomes manifest in a quite unspectacular and hardly visible trail of smoke over its peak. I passed wetween the two volcanoes on a dirt road and through a small national park, then I dived into the densely populated area south of Mexico city with its heavy traffic (mainly trucks and buses) and speed-bumps every 200m.As quick as I could I found a toll-road, which allowed a decent cruising speed and reached the idyllic mountain town of Taxco within a few hours. I immediately fell in love with this place - not because of its hundreds of white beetle taxis that fill the streets like ants - neither because of the expensive and poor-quality hotels but because of the way in which the white, well-tended houses cling to the steep mountain, connected mostly by stairways or steep and narrow cobblestone streets. It's fun to discover the small city center walking, climbing, ascending and descending on foot and almost without orientation. The narrow, steep, chaotic market below the church is a must-see. And it's also fun to take one of those VW bus taxi-collectivos, which can transport more people than you would ever imagine.

The next morning I started very early since I had to take a toll-free road and I wanted to avoid the dense traffic. It worked - I really enjoyed the first 100 or so km of twisted mountain road heading for Acapulco. Close midday, when the traffic got denser, I took the toll highway and reached my destination "Pie de la Cuesta" west of Acapulco quite quickly. I arrived early afternoon, so I even had time to get myself roasted on the beach and have a bath in the Pacific ocean. The beach was almost empty and the waves really infused respect - but they looked worse than they were. I waited until somebody else got into the water (without being killed by waves or undertow) and then tried myself. It was no problem at all, you just have to keep a look on the waves, otherwise they might surprise you from behind and swallow you.

I did not visit Acapulco itself. Despite its legendary name, it's not a very attractive city, mainly hotel and commercial complexes and loads of traffic and pollution.