Day 2 Travels in Mexico

WHERE ARE WE? Just outside Monterrey Mexico

We were up and on the road by about 8:20 this morning.  Archie was first to look out the door and he had that "Where are we?" look!!

A quick stop for some fuel and on the road.  The campground we were in last night provided a quiet sleep for us. The roads we travelled on today were absolutely fantastic.  Travelling Mexico is definitely a breeze.  We saw a lot farm land to start with and then it turned into desert, followed by mountains.  Mexico has so much diversity.  

I had a new co pilot today and the work was hard on him.  About 2 pm he just had to have a wee siesta!!  He was great to have along today.  Thanks Max!!

Jeep just followed along obediently like she is supposed to.  We even had to back out of a toll booth lane today about 50 feet and there was no problem.  Sue just kept the wheels straight and it worked good.  The key is to be dead straight between the Jeep and RRV before we start to back up.

During all of our previous trips down to Mexico and back, we have paid all our tolls in cash.  It's time consuming at the toll booth because you are normally in a line up to go through and you have to carry about 5000 pesos in cash just for the tolls.  So this year we decided to purchase Easytrip pass which just suction cups to the windshield.  The last 2 days we have really enjoyed it as we just slip through the easy pass lane and hardly have to stop.  Sue has an app on her phone and can call up every toll we pay right after we go through the booth.  Other than a small fee to purchase the reader, there is no extra charge to use it.  And when the total runs low, we just go to the app and reload it.  

We had planned to stop for the night about and hour north of Matahuala but when we got there it was only a bit after 2:30 so we decided to head down the road about 1:30 to just outside Saltillo to a Pemex there.  When we got there it was on the wrong side of the road and full so we headed up the road about another 35 minutes to another one.  It was small and mostly full.  Fany said, let me try finding something and she found a rest area just east of Monterrey that was attached to a Military installation. So needless to say our original trip of about 450 kms ended up just under 700 kms.  Because we kept adding to our trip in small portions it didn't actually feel that long.  Here is where we went.

We arrived at the rest stop about 5:30 pm just before the sun set.  It is a great place and we will enjoy the night here.  We are about 200 kms from the border.  Now without downplaying what has happened to some of our friends on the road, I can honestly say that Mexico as a whole is not a place to be be feared.  Yes there are some bad apples, but you can find them anywhere.  And I might fall victim to some less than reputable people, but for the most part, every person along our trips have been wonderful.  We have been trained to think there are only a handful of places worthy of an overnight stay, but if you look carefully, almost every fuel station or hotel has a wonderful spot to park overnight.  There are also many many little camping areas along the way as well.  I must admit that I feel every bit as comfortable boondocking here as I do back home or in the USA.  I hope I can keep reporting that fact.

We made it!

The army was here to greet us but they left

Parked up for the night

I missed the sunset but the colours from it setting behind the mountains was amazing.  Also the lights of Monterrey can be seen.  We have 2 hours travel to the border tomorrow morning, then off to Magnolia Beach.  Should arrive mid afternoon.  Time for bed.  Good Nite!!

Day 1 or the North Migration

WHERE ARE WE? Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico

Well the day has finally arrived to pack up and head north.  We planned on being on the road by 9 and we basically were except we took a long time getting going.  It is a slow process to get down chicken street with the trailers and RRV.  Jeff, Fany, and Max will be travelling with us out to Texas.  Its always good to have company.  I got RRV moved out of our spot and ready to go around 8 am.  

Jeff and Fany got their rig all hooked up and they headed out the gate.  Pretty tight fit!!  It brings back memories of maneuvering all 40 feet of the Ponderosa in and out of here.  

Abuela, Oscar and Kenia came to see us off this morning.  And Joel was there as usual just helping in any way he could.  Janelle from next door came to say goodbye as well.  I thought that was real nice of her.  And of course Jen and Ed bade us all farewell and we look forward to being back here in early November.

We headed down the road for a few hours with Max trying his darndest to make sure we stayed on the right route via his walkie talkie.  He was a good kid and only got about 3 stops all day.  We went from ocean to mountains to farmland to big city today.  We went through the middle of Guadalajara which was very busy but as long as you stayed in your lane everything was fine.  I would say it knocked a half hour off our trip going that way.

Breaker breaker 19, do you copy??

Which way do we go Max??

purple flowers in an agave field.

Neat bridge downtown Guadalajara

Navigator getting instructions from Max on the radio

Archie making sure we are on the right road.

Lots of Agave along the highway

We are stopped in Kikapu Parque Acuatico RV park in Lagos de Moreno.   Lagos de Moren is a wonderful town and we should stop and explore it another time.  The park we are in is like a kids theme park with wave pools, big pools, and full size elephants, giraffes, and dinosaurs.  The cathedral downtown looked amazing as we drove by the downtown area.  We will put it on our bucket list.

The RV spots are nothing to write home about, but it will do the trick for the night.

Here is a map of our trip today and oh yes, Temperature showed 29C this afternoon going down to 7c tonight.  Good Nite!!

Our Last Ocean Sunset in La Penita

WHERE ARE WE? Numero Uno RV Park, La Penita, Mexico

Well this is the day we have to get everything cleaned up and put away for the trip.  We are helping Ed and Jen get the place ready for a long rainy summer before we leave.  Archie and I went for what will be his last morning walk on the beach here.  He does like to challenge some waves once in a while and this time he got hit a little harder than he expected.  He loved it.

We had planned to go for breakfast with Kenia and Oscar this morning.  Abuela and Katherine came as well.  We had a lovely breakfast and a good time talking as much as we could.  We have a long way to go to learn Spanish I'm afraid.

After breakfast they came over to RRV and we spent some time in the pool and visiting around it.  We love having our Mexican family around us.

Ed and Jen treated us to pizza for supper tonight.  We sat out at the palapa and enjoyed our supper as the sun set behind us.  Jeff, Fany and Max joined us as well.

Tonight I headed back downtown to see the kids one last time.  Even the dancing horses were there to say goodbye to me. lol.  Oscar was running the Cafecito by himself and doing a fantastic job.

This is as far as we will see the sun hide behind the island.  Its been a great winter here once more.  We love having this place to hang out.  Its like living in a different world for 6 months of the year and we love it.  Good Nite!!

A Trip to Bucerius

WHERE ARE WE? Numero Uno RV Park, La Penita, Mexico

Archie and I saw an eel on the beach this morning.  It was just barely alive.  Apparently things in the ocean affect them in different ways.  This guy didn't make it but he was quite pretty.

We also took a little walk down to the construction site that we have been watching all winter to get a picture so we can see how much they do over the summer.  It will be interesting to see how much they accomplish.

About 9:30 we grabbed Jeff, Fany and Max and headed to Abuela's for birria.  Going for birria on Sunday mornings has turned into quite a tradition.  Its a good tradition though.

We took a little trip down to Bucerius today to check out Ed and Jens condo.  It is the nicest little comfy, homy place right on the ocean.  Ken and Rhonda are going to stay here for a couple days before catching their flight back to Saskatoon on Tuesday.

The reason we came here was to load up their kayak and bring it back to La Penita.  We strapped it on the roof and away we went.  We did get some weird looks along the way.

We went down to the Cafecito to see Kenia tonight.  Oscar was there too and we were happy to see him.  He is working as a mechanics helper in PV in a Auto shop.  He seems to like the work.  He has a couple days off so decided to come see us as well as to help out Kenia.  He is growing to be an adult way too fast.  Anyway we enjoyed our time there.

Another beautiful sunset tonight.  As you notice it is well behind the island.  We have one more day to see it before we start our northward journey.