We had a general gameplan as we left Zihuatanejo for Troncones and how we were going to get there.  Just getting to Ixtapa was a bit of a struggle, as we tried to navigate through the neighborhoods of Zihua in our little ATV. We wanted to avoid the Zihuatanejo-Manzanillo Highway 200 as much as possible. Once we got to Ixtapa we were able to ride Boulevard Playa Linda out to San Jose Ixtapa. Ali found a road that cut across straight to Pantla, and that was where our adventure really began. On the map what looked to be a road or bridge across the river separating the towns was just the river. We found the most shallow spot and a combination of driving, pushing and pulling got us to the other side. After we crossed we saw a pickup truck and a motorcycle drive right through the “road.”

After lunch in Pantla, we took Diamante, the road that basically runs parallel to the highway, as far as we could before having to jump on the highway for the last 3 kilometers. Pantla is as far as the buses seem to go, so the only way to get from Pantla to Troncones is by car (or ATV or motorcycle) or taxi. 

Troncones is a village of about 600 people, but we had heard the population ballooned during the winter. We were surprised at how low key it was. We had the entire beach to ourselves. There didn’t seem to be much at all going on in town. There were a lot of nice houses, various hotels and bungalows for rent, and a handful of small restaurants and bars. But mostly it seemed deserted, especially considering we were there on a Saturday in January. The surfing is supposed to be great, but if you aren’t surfing there are plenty of places that are just as nice and closer to Zihua.

We drove up to Playa Majahua, 5km north of Troncones, then worked our way back south to see if we could find an alternate route home. The sun was starting to set and we didn’t want to try to drive across the river in the dark. South of Troncones the road to turns to dirt and then turns into more of a trail. But eventually it opens back up and we were able to make it to Pantla. From there we took Diamante, the road that runs alongside Highway 200, almost the entire way back to Zihuatanejo.  It was a much easier and more enjoyable ride back.

We are glad that we went to Troncones. I think we were imagining something more, so it was a little disappointing. But the ride out and back was a lot of fun. And we’ll probably give the area one more shot. Maybe next time we’ll plan an entire weekend there, and we’ll hit the “hot springs” too.