The "Long board Heaven" of La Saladita is where Shay came down with the surfing bug. We found the rustic accommodations and left point break of El Rancho, unadvertised and remote, yet the worst kept secret spot in Mexico. In Acapulco we got crazy traffic, VW Beetles and front row seats to see Acapulco's La Quebrada Clavadistas (Cliff-divers). Read about our experiences in the State of Guerrero!
　
At Last, a surfing breakthrough for Shay! We were excited to arrive in La Saladita. We'd heard the rumours of the forgiving, long left point break and had inside information that we might encounter a surfing 'celebrity' there. The surf reports had warned of difficult 4X4 access and limited facilities but after Baja we were well rehearsed for some primitive living. Upon arriving at the playa of La Saladita we were quickly reminded of how out-of-date these reports are. The road to Saladita is paved and in an excellent condition and the playa is lined with various accommodations and restaurants. To say that this place is popular with gringos is somewhat of an understatement, 60% of the population were Americans and Canadians and there were a lot of very fancy holiday homes dotted along the pristine coastline.
　
The break here is perfect for long boarders. It's also perfect for beginners like Shay and feeling safe in the gentle waves she was able to make a breakthrough in her surfing progress. After one dawn session, she sat on her board taking in the early sun reflecting off the calm, glassy ocean, there was a calm tranquillity about that moment, being one with mother earth, and that's when it all clicked into place and Shay realised what all the fuss was about.
　
Ollie made the most of his time by practising his nose riding and cross-stepping techniques. Nose riding (aka The Glide/Hanging 5 or 10) is where a surfer rides a wave with either 5 or 10 toes hanging off the front of the long board. It has been described by long boarders as the closest way to feel like you are walking on water. The technique is performed by determinedly cross-stepping up to the front of the board; a shuffle is a big NO-NO is long board circles.

Fatal Attraction
　
Ollie wasn't only perfecting his cross-step in the water. A rather determined, if not 'loco' Mexican grandma had set her sights on him and wasn't taking no for an answer. The hurdle of Shay, the 6ft blonde, Amazon girlfriend wasn't stopping her either. 'Mexi-Gran' (Shay had other names for her), 37 years and a true grandmother, was a rather rotund Mexican 'señorita' spilling out of an outfit that was obviously borrowed from her daughters closet. She had spied Ollie from a distance, she was driving her car and Ollie was perched on-top of the camper checking the waves. She screeched her little fiat punto to a halt and hot footed it over to the truck and before any introductions were made, propositioned Ollie. She failed to notice the tell tale sign of women's lingerie hanging on the washing line and her brain did not register that there was a 'girlfriend' on the scene although we now know that this is no a deterrent for her. When Ollie pointed out that he had a 'novia' (girlfriend) she tried to ply him with free beer. When the 'free beer' card didn't work either she proceeded to sulk. After a day of giving Ollie the cold shoulder and sending dagger eyes to Shay she decided the gloves were off. First she slipped Ollie her address and phone number with a little wink and nudge and later preceded to give him a love letter (in Spanish) while Shay was standing a mere 10 meters away absolutely gob smacked. If she hadn't of been so tragic it could have got nasty.
　
It was difficult to pin-point what the attraction to La Saladita was. The beach was clean and beautiful but was over-run with gringos. The waves were fun and gentle but they were crowded with accountants, house-wife's and pot-bellied, tattooed biker looking dudes. In fact, think of people who do not traditionally fit the 'surfer bill' and that's what the line-up consisted of at La Saladita. The prices of things were also a little more expensive, pushed up by the fact that a lot of millionaires had decided to set up their 3rd or 5th holiday mansions here. Despite all this we found ourselves consistently booking more nights at Paco's Restaurant/Camping unable to drag ourselves away. Fact is, we'd been seduced by Saladita much like all the others who kept coming back year after year, no expectations, no pressure and definitely no CSI here, team that with comfortable camping facilities and a consistently fun wave and you have 'Long board Heaven'.
　
The Ranch
　
We dragged ourselves away from our comfortable rut of La Saladita to experience El Rancho; we'd heard a lot about the Ranch and had high expectations. The unsignposted break was located to the north of La Saladita so we had to back-track slightly. Armed with hand-drawn maps from locals we'd met along the way and some verbal directions given from others in the neighbouring village of El Chico, we bumped our way through the countryside, past pig-sty's and chicken coups to the former secret break. The first thing we saw as we rounded the final bend was the green 73 Ford van and the two Aussie twins we had met at Abreojos. It was good to see them as they didn't expect the van to make it past Baja. We camped up next to Mark and Dave in what would have been a beautiful camping spot if not for the mountains of trash littering it. Mexicans, especially the in landers have no respect for their own coastline. While foreigners tend to carry their rubbish out and bury waste, the Mexicans just leave it there to spoil an otherwise idyllic spot. It really just doesn't make sense.
　
With only 5-6 people camped up at the Ranch and the remote, hard to find location you'd think that we'd have the waves to ourselves. How wrong were we! It seems the news of the south swell had reached far and wide and by 8am the place was jammed with gringos from neighbouring Saladita and locals from the area, all in all there were about 20 surfers competing for the waves. The wave was worth it though and Ollie managed to secure a couple of great rides before we moved on.

Filet Minon, Cliff-Divers and Crazy VW Beetles
　
Over a week in Saladita and four days at the Ranch, we knew we had to get going south again. It was time to make up some ground. We cranked the air-con and headed to Pie de la Cuesta which is 10km north of Acapulco. Legend of the crazy Acapulco traffic, three hour traffic jams and demolition derby-esk driving made us keep our distance from the city. Pie de la Cuesta is a village located on a thin strip of land which has the ocean on one side and a pretty lagoon on the other. Despite its close proximity to Acapulco, it remains fairly tranquil, for now. After the exhausting drive we were both keen to unwind with a couple of drinks and a tasty meal in one of the beach resorts lining the playa. We chose a very plush looking resort which had an array of comfortable looking seats and couches and a mouth-watering menu with actual red meat. After months of eating tortilla's, refried beans and FUD hot dog sausages we were prepared to pay anything for a good steak. The Filet Minon was delicious and well worth the western prices we paid for it. Later that evening the beach club owners were celebrating their son's birthday and invited us to stick around for the mariachi band and a few free cocktails. It was a nice way to finish the evening.
　
　
The next day, with our heads pounding from our hangovers, we decided to chill another day in Pie de la Cuesta before continuing south. Both of us were keen to see the Acapulco cliff divers in action but wanted little city aggravation so we thought the easiest way to do this would be to take a taxi in and back out again after the show. A taxi ride in Mexico (Mexican made VW beetles) is pretty much like a thrilling ride at Disneyland, those drivers are absolute nutters but thankfully we survived to tell the story, albeit a bit greyer from the experience.

La Quebrada Clavadistas were not entirely what we expected. We had expected just random people diving from a cliff and not an actual four a day show that you pay to view; nevertheless it was still a spectacle to see. The divers descended down through the crowd to the ocean and swam to the cliffs, they then had to climb up to their jump off points. We had excellent viewing capabilities from the balcony of the La Perla restaurant, where we had decided to treat ourselves again to a juicy T-Bone steak. In our show there were a couple of dives from 25m and a solo dive from one brave soul at 35m. The divers not only have to dive from this height, but also make it far enough out from the cliff as to not hit the rocks on the way down. There is a gap of five meters between the cliff faces where they enter the water and the depth is only 4.5 meters.
　
After our meal we were shocked to see that the divers, still sporting their tiny speedo's, were waiting outside the restaurant ready for their tip. They deserved the tip alone for going out in public wearing their knickers never mind throwing themselves off a cliff!
　
Another Mexican state down. The next one up is Oaxaca (pronounced Wah-haa-kah), home to the infamous 'Mexican Pipeline' at Puerto Escondido, spicy cricket tacos and historic Mayan temples.