Topolobampo is a beautiful-ugly port town, or an ugly-beautiful town. It is a Cinderella without a Fairy Godmother. With its hills, port, offshore islands and nestled in the bay, it's as beautiful a setting as a Greek Isle or Mediterranean city.

I gassed up at Las Mochis. It was still light. But in the few miles and minutes that it took me to drive to Topolobampo the sun set and I arrived in darkness. As I approached Topolobampo from a distance, it looked like a dark nebulous with three bright stars demanding attention: the church, flood lit on a hill, the Hotel Marina's marquee and the brightest of all, the lights of Circo Vargas.

I checked into Hotel Marina then walked the 6 blocks from my hotel and joined the circus crowd, or better said, I joined the children of Topolobampo. Few adults were among the crowd of 800. General admission was 25 pesos, about $2.25. But the children's joy was infinite.

A simple trampoline act had me laughing as they encouraged the kids to come join and take a bounce. And a BOUNCE they got. The pros timed their assistance and the kids got a ride into space with arms flapping and faces registering terrified pleasure. Then a dwarf clown took center ring and with the command of an orchestra conductor, he divided the audience into 3 parts. He pointed; we clapped. He took charge of 700 kids (yes, I counted) and we became a percussion band.

Topolobampo is a beautiful-ugly port town, or an ugly-beautiful town. It is a Cinderella without a Fairy Godmother. With its hills, port, (the deepest in Mexico, cruise ships can pull up dock side), offshore islands and nestled in the bay, it's as beautiful a setting as a Greek Isle or Mediterranean city.

But as I walked the town before 7 a.m., before restaurants opened, I saw an ugly face, as unattractive as a high school cafeteria destroyed in food fight. It looked as if a Giant 20 foot tall Graffiti Monster stalked the town by night with a broad marker and spray paint can. This Monster reached inaccessible heights and made me wonder about kids on ropes hanging from roof tops, and somehow like a Spiderman, tagging under the eaves and overhangs of the buildings. Amazing work.

The town is in sad economic decline. I asked, "What happened?" A taxi driver told me, "Contamination." Shrimp was once the livelihood for this fishing community but they disappeared when Pemex built an oil storage complex here.

Topolobampo has all the possibilities of a Mediterranean hillside beauty, which cruise passengers love to photograph in sparking sunlight. It could be a fine setting for seafood restaurants. But the Graffiti Monster with bold strokes and spray paint has created an ugly veil over Topolobampo.

This story is from my Forty Days in Mexico.
The previous story in the series is Rancho Las Tinajas.
The next story in the series is Culiacán.