The Back Way to Saladita

When I asked local real estate visionary Dewey McMillin why he thought Troncones has gone 10,000 years of human civilization without the type of urban development that’s taken over other remote coastal places, he offered, “First of all, you have to have some crazy person come in. People won’t move into a deserted place. They’re afraid. It takes someone with an idea of what could be. And it takes a community getting behind that idea before anything can really happen.”

There are more than a dozen places along the desert coast of northern Chile—where it didn’t rain for 400 years—that have larger populations than Troncones, that had electricity, water and paved roads long before Troncones. I find that odd. When I first came here in 2012, it was February, dusty and dry, hot sun midday, cool and starry at night. It felt like paradise, an authentic self-contained Eden. I marveled at its freedoms as much as its surf. By the time I moved here full-time in 2021, I couldn’t believe my luck.

And then I got on a bicycle and explored my new backyard, rolling through La Pequeña, a grid of barely-there streets north of Majahua, going on further north, through fields with ocean views, into a coconut plantation, before coming to a river with an earthen bridge. It may sound primitive, but it felt like heaven, especially after nearly 30 years in Manhattan and the Hamptons. I crossed the river and kept going, discovering the villages of La Boca, La Salada and ultimately Playa Saladita, all within 35 minutes of my house. Not a single stop sign, traffic light or Range Rover. A few horses, some cows, a lot of goats and a couple of pigs. Barely any people.

I made that trip a lot my first winter, following tire tracks and going along hard-packed dirt roads that at times only led a barbed-wire gate or a thick bramble of jungle. Then the rains came, bringing mud and making arroyos. Travel was passable in a car, but I found it more pleasant on my bike, despite the treachery of deep puddles, hidden thorns and jagged rocks. Talking to my neighbors, both in English and in Spanish, I discovered that that’s the way it had always been, that the municipality of La Unión rarely sent road equipment this way and that local organizations and developers were focused elsewhere–even though the people who work in Troncones’ homes and businesses were using the roads every day. That seemed a little “off”, inconsistent.

Luckily, many of my neighbors between Majahua and La Boca agreed, as did the people in those two villages. Together, we formed a group called Los Vecinos, literally, the neighbors, and over a three-year period its members have reworked the roads, cleaned up the roadside garbage, put out trash barrels and tried to get people from racing on the beach between Majahua and La Boca. [Driving on the beach is illegal according to federal law, a point of contention among people who live along that stretch, but it’s a habit born of practicality because the roads have been so bad and because the rocky coastline attracts divers and fishermen working to feed their families.] We weren’t out to change what people were doing or how they were living. We were trying to help people get around safely. We got the roads cleaned up, smoothed out and passable year-round. Then we got help we didn’t expect.

A small culvert between La Pequeña and La Boca collapsed making crossing an estuary there dangerous for trucks, motorcycles and cars, an accident waiting to happen for the people driving through. A dump truck got stuck. No one got through that day. Motorcycle parts started littering the side of the road, drivers hitting the hole and falling off their bikes, picking them up and going on. The comisarios [mayors] of Troncones, La Boca, La Pequeña and La Majahua got together and appealed to La Unión for help. It came. The public works engineers from La Unión acknowledged the danger and set out to make a bridge where the culvert had been, the newly-elected county executive [presidente] of La Unión, José Francisco Suazo Espino, taking a personal interest in remedying the situation.

Meanwhile, the ejido of Lagunillas, the local land-management cooperative whose jurisdiction extends from La Pequeña to the southside of La Saladita, elected Benito Valdovinos as its commissioner. At the dedication of the new bridge this past April, Benito said he was committed to making the roads wider, safer for everyone, from La Pequeña to La Saladita. The 60-some people gathered on the new bridge laughed when Benito remarked that Troncones was “over”, “passé” and that the new development coming this way was going to make La Salada a better place to live than Troncones. That was quite a promise, a new line drawn in the sand. No one imagined how that might happen. Except maybe Benito. Within a few weeks, backhoes started widening the roads on both sides of the river, giving the back way to Saladita a whole new look.

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TRAVELS WITH BENITO

When heavy rains came in late May, Los Vecinos reached out to Benito asking if he might have the ejido crews and their equipment fill in where there were puddles. That repair happened nearly right away and it held up well until the intense rains of late September and early October brought back a more muddy, bumpy ride. Despite that, the roads are better now than they have been in any previous October.

In July, Benito drove me through where the ejido crews had done work between La Boca and La Saladita. He described how he imagined development would come to the area. The Irish describe excitable people as speaking without breath, that is, talking fast, barely inhaling or exhaling. Even though Benito grew up in Lagunillas, the son of a farmer, he has that quality about him. A few questions about his family and I found myself deep into stories of growing papaya, watermelon and corn as a kid, of his going to California and Washington state at age 20 to pick grapes, nectarines, peaches, plums, pears, cherries and apples; how he came back to Mexico to work for a water company and then delivered snack foods for Bimbo [the world’s largest bakery company, based in Mexico City, the owners of Sara Lee, Entemann’s and Thomas’]. He then bought a license to run a taxi. By then his kids were grown, one daughter becoming a psychologist in Colima, another running Lo Sereno, the luxury boutique hotel in Troncones, and his son working with him and raising a family in Lagunillas. He covered 30 years and it happened fast, just like that.

Talking again earlier this month about his work for the ejido of Lagunillas, Benito said, “My intention was always to serve my communities, to do something for the communities of Lagunilllas, La Boca and La Saladita because I’ve seen many things over the years that were not done right. Everyone works in different ways; everyone does their best but I saw good ideas never get anywhere, their potential was stuck, trapped, by narrow roads, narrow thinking. I’d take people through, from Majahua to La Saladita, talking about how ready to grow this area was, and all I’d hear is, ‘Oh, no, too much trouble. No access, no electricity, no water. No way.’

To get the roads widened this summer, I had to convince 33 land owners to allow us to open up the land alongside their properties. I had to talk to each of them, explain to them all the opportunities they were letting go, that now was the time to take advantage of the work and time they’ve put into their properties, that our opening the roads would allow for the electricity and water they’ve been without for so long. It’s development, but it’s being done our way. Not by some unknown development company. Both the municipality of La Unión and the ejido of Lagunillas want this area to remain beautiful and accessible, with homes, not hotels. Places for families to enjoy; something truly special, unique, keeping nature first, not making it as tight and closed-in as Troncones.”

There’s that comparison again–make it better than Troncones–because, right now, Troncones is the gold standard, its modern development happening over time with longtime residents and newcomers finding ways to work together without a lot of zoning, lawyers and turmoil. Until now. Benito sees the latest road work between La Boca and La Saladita as being part of a process that started more than a decade ago when potable water, water for household use, finally made it to Lagunillas, in partnership with the municipal authorities in La Unión. Improving infrastructure went to another level when the people of Lagunillas appealed directly to Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in-person, in 2019, asking for the road through town, its access to the highway, to be repaired. Benito recalls telling President López Obrador, “Our road is abandoned and full of potholes. There isn’t a place where a tire doesn’t fall off. It’s ruining our old cars, running them down fast. We have not been looked after by government administration after government administration.” He added, “A year later they came and fixed it for us.”

Benito is planning on going to Chilpancingo [the capital of Guerrero] later this fall to ask for help with the river crossing at La Boca. He explained, “We need a real bridge there, so people can get to work safely, without going on the highway and without going down that steep road into Troncones. It will also shorten the trip for anyone going between Troncones and La Saladita. We are doing a full survey. That bridge is going to need to withstand a huge amount of force. We’re looking at digging three and a half meters down. The design is going to need to let water pass through and we have to make the roadway wide enough for trucks, for two cars. It’s a lot to ask for. The ejido of Lagunillas is willing to help with labor, with our people giving their time. That’s how we work, how we get things done, and have them done right.”

In talking more about the bridge, Benito says he’s hopeful preparations can start this May, before the next rainy season begins. “I’m here, as el comisariado ejidal [commissioner of the ejido], for another two-and-a-half years. I want to get that project done in that time. I also looking to bring in water service and electricity to where there isn’t any right now. We already have the beginning of the water network. We’re only a kilometer short of the beach in La Boca, and there’s water in Los Órganos [a mango-papaya-coconut plantation area to the west of La Salada, south of Playa Saladita, that has a few houses]. We should have the whole area piped up sometime next year. The next piece we need is electricity, and we’re working with the federal government and CFE on that. Again, for next year.”

The ejido of Lagunillas isn’t just working along the beach. Plans are in place to make the hot springs off Federal Highway 200 more accessible. That dirt-road entrance, across from the exit for La Boca and Lagunillas, is set to be widened to eight meters in November, with its palm-lined parking area getting fresh gravel. The idea of adding bathrooms, having cabins available for rent and maybe even a little store is being talked about. The other changes have to do with La Unión being designated as Guerrero’s fourth tourist destination this past August, joining Acapulco, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, and Taxco in receiving the attention of both state and federal programs. That designation puts Lagunillas, along with Troncones, Majahua and La Saladita, in line for public works projects to improve physical and social infrastructure.

While no specific government work has been announced, the ejido of Lagunillas is already planning for its own growth. Benito pointed out, “We need to improve how people see our village. As a gateway to the La Boca-La Saladita area, we need to celebrate our heritage and what our people do, just as much as we need to fix our roads and provide the essentials people need, like housing and businesses, places for car repairs and construction supplies. That will help us all grow. We want Lagunillas to be a hub for people to find work and raise their families. There’s a need for a local bachillerato [high school] so our children don’t have to travel to La Unión, Pantla and Zihuatanejo to continue their education, a local school that can serve La Saladita, La Boca and Troncones. People will stay here if that’s available, if we deliver on that promise. To make that possible, the ejido of Lagunillas has set aside a parcel of land for that purpose. We’re thinking for the future, maybe five years, six years, ten years. A lot depends on the government and our being able to prove we have enough families, students to sustain a school. Lagunillas is already home to the mechanics, laborers, employees and teachers the region relies on; its veterinarians and doctors, too. If we continue to make it possible for our people to thrive, we will grow the way Troncones has, except better.”

Adventure amidst tranquility. Tranquility amidst adventure. It’s what I’ve come to expect when I go for a bike ride. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one who enjoys that experience and that the leaders of the community are working to find ways to preserve what makes that possible. In the next few weeks, the public works department from La Unión will be sending graders, backhoes and trucks to level and recontour the roads in Troncones, with their work continuing onto La Saladita and the mountain road from Majahua to Lagunillas. Keep an eye out for those crews. While they’re working here, they’re staying in local houses and being fed by local restaurants. Know that they’re re-shaping our present as much as our future, that they’re making a way for our community to become more accessible and inviting. Oh, and that earthen bridge between La Pequeña and La Boca was crossable last Wednesday, still partially shin-high underwater, but crossable in a Jeep.

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If you want to help out the road crews, contact your local comisario.

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Links: https://www.guerrero.gob.mx/2025/07/la-union-brilla-como-nuevo-destino-turistico-resultado-de-la-estrategia-de-promocion-del-hogar-del-sol/

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