Day 5 and we are at our Winter Home

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico for  3 1/2 months

NEXT DESTINATION? Canada??

We had a good time in Mazatlan but it was time to head further south to our winter home in La Penita.  Thanks Dave Oakey for entertaining us  for an evening.   We left George and Henny in Mazatlan where they will stay until after Christmas before following us to La Penita.  The Maravillas Trailer Park is a nice little park, but does create some challenges when it comes to parking and turning around.  There is only one entrance/exit and the park is quite confined.  Craig and Bev had to do some fancy maneuvering to get out of there with the length of their truck and trailer.  Then the road between the bottom level and upper level leaves a bit to be desired.  We all made it unscathed with only our nerves tweaked a wee bit.

The trip from Mazatlan was uneventful and the roads were relatively good.  We paid some hefty tolls today which I am guessing put our total for the trip at around 5000 pesos or $300.00 Cnd.  Ouch!!!

Well we did a little research ahead of time, and our conclusion was that we would be turning onto Highway 200 in Tepic and going through "Skinny Town" or Jalisco, and then heading on down the mountain via 75 kms of one of the narrowest and windiest roads I have ever been on ending up at La Penita.  Skinny Town is a one way road down a narrow street with lots of pedestrians and parked cars and topes.  There is nothing impossible about it, just that you have to pay attention.

Then after Skinny Town was the most intense 75 Kms of driving I have done in a long time.  The road and lanes are narrow and there is about a 2 ft drop off right after the white line.  The curves are constant which is mesmerizing to start with, and add to that, that you normally meet a large truck or bus on about every 3rd curve.  It is 2 handed driving.  Actually it is quite gratifying to make it to the bottom unscathed!!  George told me he lost a mirror on this road one time when he clipped it on a truck on one of the curves!! Wow!!  For now this road is the best and fastest route from Tepic to La Penita and we will not hesitate to do it again.

We knew we were out of the mountain driving when we entered Las Veras.  This is a town that is near La Penita.  Almost home!!!

When we got to La Penita, we had to say bye to Craig and Bev.  They have been a great couple to travel with and Craig kept me punctual all the way along.  We will stop to see them a few times as they are only a few miles south of us.  They are continuing on to Lo De Marcos this afternoon, where they will spend the winter.  We got some Facebook posts of their new spot and it looks nice.  It is right by the ocean as well.  I stole a photo from Bev.

After we said goodbye, we headed over to our park.  It is quite a feat to get through the gate into our park with only inches to spare on each side as we have to judge our turn in perfectly because of the concrete fences on all sides which restrict our movement.  I was busy threading the needle so didn't take any pictures.  We were greeted at the gate with a nice sign to welcome us.  Thanks Suzanne and Robert and everyone else in her crew, who make our winters here enjoyable.  

Here is Pat and Harold's spot as well as our spot for a while.  

Kenia and Oscar were there to meet us and we had fun with them for a while. Kenia had to go back to her restaurant around 5, so we met there for supper and treats.  The name of her place is "El Cafecito".  She does frappes, waffles, hamburgers, fries and anything that is fancy.  She has a lovely little shop and Oscar likes to help with the serving.  He is such a little gentleman.  We had a great time with them today.

On our way home we walked under a lot of wires.  We looked up and noticed lots of birds sitting on them, and after a bit, we recognized them as purple martins.  We could tell by their unique chirp.  I don't know where they migrate to, but they are obviously stopping here tonight.  I will watch to see if they stick around.  There were thousands of them on the wires all up the street.

The Park is a pretty one and it is all lit up for Christmas.  It has a lovely pool to cool off in and a nice palapa to sit and watch the ocean in.  I missed sunset tonight, but they are spectacular here.  I hope everyone is ready for Christmas.  We are having a tough time getting in the mood wearing our shorts, and we are also missing our family at this time of year.  Hope your Christmas is a great one.