Mexico Trip 2009

Dec 28, 2008

Well, one week before we leave on our first trip with the TC to mainland Mexico. Packing up the camper & trailer with 2 feet of snow out there is no picnic, but at least it is starting to melt. I will keep this blog thread updated throughout the 3-4 month trip.

Jan 8th:

Still waiting to leave. Flooding in Washington state has made it impossible for us to get south. Maybe in a day or 2. Sigh. On top of that when I filled the camper with water I discovered the circuit board in the water heater had gone during winter storage. Fortunately I got it replaced under warranty.

Jan 9, 2009

We have heard they are opening Snoqualmie Pass, so we have decided to leave today & take our chances. We are stopping at our friends Torklift in Seattle where they are putting stable loads on the truck for us to field trial.

We arrived at Torklift around 2 PM and found out that I-5 has now been reopened between Seattle & Portland so we do not have to attempt the pass. We had a super hitch installed on our truck fro our cargo trailer which is a big improvement over the 18 inch extender & then we looked for a Wal Mart top camp overnight in. It seems Wal Marts in the Seattle area do not allow overnight camping so we ended up spending the night at the Camping World in Tacoma.


Jan 10, 2009

We drove to our friends, Jim & Sandy Amos, in Oregon City this morning. The flooding in southern Washington is really bad, but at least the freeway is now open. We had been planning to stay overnight, but we decided to push on to Myrtle Creek to Glen & Becky's place (tankeryanker on the NATCOA Forum). This puts us back on our original schedule. It was below freezing over the pass, but no snow. As soon as we got to Redding the temperature had risen into the low 20's (70's F)

Jan 11, 2009

A long days drive to Sacramento today to Kathy & Ken's place. We arrived just in time for dinner (funny how that happens). Ken & Kathy have 2 large Rhodesian Ridgebacks, so we let Tomas out into the backyard to play with them. 30 minutes later they returned, but no sign of Tomas anywhere. We eventually found him huddle under a woodpile, terrified.

Jan 12, 2009

Another long days drive to Simi Valley (Los Angeles) to Jerry & Joannie's (Budster on forum). Fortuitously we got there just in time for supper again. LA is in the middle of a bit of a heat wave & its over 30 (86 F). After the cold snowy winter at home, we are not complaining.

Jan 13, 2009

Managed to get Tomas bathed today in the heat, so now he's pissed at me. I also washed the rear seat cover he threw up over. We headed out at 8 PM to Quartzite, AZ. This was to avoid LA traffic, even so it took 2 hours to really get clear of LA, and we arrived in Quartzite at about 3AM.

Jan 14, 2009



Got ourselves set up in the desert this morning & paid our $40 for the 2 week camping, although we will only stay a week. I went to lower our jacks & found out I had gotten the remote wet, and now its all corroded. I guess I need to bring it in winter. The reason I even checked is that I managed to jackknife my trailer into a jack when I backed out of Kathy's driveway in Sacramento & wanted to check it out. That was when I discovered none of them would work. I phoned Bob at Reico and he is going to ship a replacement to my buddy in Phoenix. We plan to be there in time for supper on Tuesday. Anyone who thinks $24 a year for a NATCOA membership is not worth it is kidding themselves. We have already saved about $150 this trip alone on campsites & meals. Not to mention making some great friends.

Jan 15, 2009

Not much today except sitting around & relaxing. We went into town to the used bookstore which is run by a guy who walks around naked except for a pouch over his private parts. Looks like a left over Hippy. Jerry saw him bend over & said he's tanned where the sun shouldn't shine. Fortunately I missed that.



There is an unbelievable number of RV's camped around here. I knew this was a big thing, but I never expected this many. Apparently this town has a population of 3500, but has as many as 3 million visitors over the month of January.









Jan 16, 2009

Took Tomas out into the desert for his walk at 8:30 this morning and he started to growl. I immediately realized he smelled coyote & put his leash on. We were only about 100 meters from the camper. A second later he spotted it & tore out to the end of his leash. He has gone after a coyote in the past at home, and there is no stopping him. I suppose when he was in Mexico & with a pack, they did this, but alone he is taking a chance. A moment later I noticed we were surrounded by 7 or 8 of them. I had to throw several rocks at them to get them to back off. Had Tomas got loose he would have been torn to bits. From now on he stays on the leash in this area and he goes into the camper when he is unattended. The ranger later told us that several people have lost small dogs here already this year.

We walked the 1.5 Km into town & the flea market. It is huge, You can buy nearly anything, most at pretty good prices. She suggested walking, which surprised me considering her bum foot. She was limping by the time we got back.

A few more of Jerry's friends showed up this afternoon. Now Jerry has a Class C we are the only Truck Camper in the group. The others have huge Class A's or 5th wheels. Nice folks though, in the past I have found people in Class A's rather snobby, but these guys are OK.

Larry Christensen & Dean Emerson showed up & got into a show & tell about handguns. My wife got freaked, she hates guns. Me, I find them fascinating. Not that I would own one, but heck the thought of firing off a couple of hundred rounds in the desert turns me on. Guy thing, I guess or maybe its just because I'm Canadian & its no no in Canada. One of these days I have to get back to my buddy, Ralph Lermeyer, in New Mexico for a few days, and have him teach me how to handle them safely.

Jan 20th

Left for Phoenix today & AZ Ramblers house. Hopefully my replacement jack remote has arrived.

Arrived in the evening & Bob at Reico came through for me. The remote was there. I love the Reico jacks, far better than Happijacs IMO, but have learned the same compartment as water hoses is no place for the remote.


Jan 21, 2009

We left Phoenix this morning with a stop at Campers World to buy an expensive voltage conditioner. We have been advised to use one in Mexico, where power varies somewhat. I got away without one on the earlier trip to Baja, but this is a new Camper, and I'd rather be safe. Better to spend $250 on this, than have to replace a circuit board in our fridge or damage our air conditioner, especially if that happens 2000 km into Mexico, where the chances of getting it repaired is minimal. We arrived at the border town of Nogales, AZ in the afternoon & checked into the Mi Casa RV Park which has definitely seen better days. It now looks like a scene out of Trailer Park Boys. We are locking everything. Some Canadians in a huge Class A pulled in on their way back from Mexico, with a non-functional fridge, so maybe the power conditioner was a good idea. I spent a couple of sweaty hours after dinner installing it. I bought the model you hard wire internally. Much more of a pin than the portable model, but fortunately I have a lot of tools with us. I can imagine how long the portable model, you hook up outside the RV, would last, before taking a walk.

The Canadians coming north told us that Mexican immigration are real sticky about 2 copies of all documentation; passports, vehicle registration, you name it, so we will do that in town here tomorrow as well as arrange for our Mexican insurance. We are now ahead of schedule, so no panic to cross the border.

Jan 22, 2009

We woke up to heavy rain this morning, the first we have seen in a week. Maybe it will wash all the dust off we picked up in Quartzite.

Jan 23, 2009

Spent the day doing some last minute shopping & getting Mexican insurance for the RV. We ended up using Don Smith this time. The RV Park filled up with Canadians today.

Jan 24, 2009

We got up early this morning to try to get through the Mexican border before the rush. We drove right through the border without having to stop, but the main immigration is actually 21 km south. Once we got there we first went into the office to get our tourist cards, Then to the copy place to get copies of everything from drivers licenses to birth certificates, then to the bank to get the vehicle permit & pay for the tourist cards. It wasn't not so bad, only took about an hour, we were expecting 4 hours. Tommy was sitting in the back seat looking worried, it's almost as if he knows he is back in his homeland. Maybe he does. The road south is freeway, but its toll and its not cheap, we spent about $20 to get the 4 hours south to San Carlos. We checked into the Totonaka RV park (www.totonakarv.com ) a clean modern park with full hook-ups and the price to match ($24 a night). It has net access & a pool so we will stay 2 nights. The town is pretty, but the beach leaves a bit to be desired. The main sewer outflow for the town is located on the beach opposite the RV park, so that is a bit of a turn off.

My new power conditioner shut the power off about 4 or 5 times, so I guess it was worth it. I measured the voltage at 132 V when it shut off







Jan 25, 2009

It's hotter than stink here and we just discovered that they filled in the pool. That does it for my wife. IF she is in the heat and has no water, its a scary thing indeed. We are headed 50 miles south tomorrow to what is supposed to be a beautiful beach off the beaten path at Hautabampito. I doubt there will be net access and if we like it we will stay a week, so I may not update this for awhile. See El Mirador RV Park

Jan 26th, 2009

We headed south today looking for a beach, we have ended up at Huatabampito, near Navoja. We passed through Cuidad Obregon on the ay. This town blew me away with its cleanliness. You would have sworn you were in a Canadian or US City. Not an item of trash in site, modern buildings. The cleanest town I have ever seen in Mexico. We ended up at the El Mirador campground here. This place is beautiful, right on the beach, we paid for a week. ($110) I will try to upload some photos tomorrow. I have net access, but it is slow.

Jan 27, 2009

Quite cloudy today so we will wait to take some photos. I managed to get my home dial tone on my digital phone this morning but it was too early to try to phone anyone, but at least I was able to clear out my voicemail. Amazing. When I traveled in India & Middle East 40 years ago, I had to go to American Express to pick up 2 month old letters from home, if I was lucky. My parents only got monthly reports if I was still alive or not. Maybe just as well considering some of the situations I got in, some of which I still haven't told them about. Now I get frustrated if I can't get my home phone number to work on a remote beach in Mexico.

I put the antenna up and was pleased to see I can get a couple of stations. The most entertaining aspect of Mexican TV are TeleNovellas, which are horribly overacted soap opera's that dominate 80% of Mexican TV in prime time. They are so overacted, they are hilarious even to those who can't understand any of the dialogue. The morning show on Televista, 'Hoy', is still dominated by news & clips of the previous day's soap opera events. World news takes a secondary role. 2 summers ago I became quite hooked on 'La Fea mas Bella' which spawned the grossly inferior American rip off, 'Ugly Betty'. At that time, life almost came to halt here, when it was on. It now appears to be finished and the latest hot one is 'Manana es para Siempre' which translates to 'tomorrow is for always', probably actually 'tomorrow is forever'. My Spanish has improved a lot over the last couple of years & I can now understand most of what is going on.

There is Lance 1181 camped here that was in an accident. The truck was dented, but when they took the Lance off the truck the welds on one of the front Atwood swing-out brackets failed and it tipped about 70 degrees over on its side, Took a bunch of hydraulic jacks & a couple of hours to get it back upright & on the truck. I pointed out the telltale crack at the bottom rear slide corner. Not sure if that was due to the fall or a structural stress crack. He got the jack bracket re-welded. I guess he should have got Reico jacks. I will get him in touch with Garth Olsen at Lance, maybe they can use the camper as advertising, it looks darn good for having been on its side. In this case it appears Atwood is at fault.

Jan 28, 2009

The net connection has been down for 2 days here so I don't know when this will get uploaded. The weather has cleared. I ran out of the whole wheat bread I bought with me today. All you can buy in Latin America, anywhere, is Bimbo bread. I've seen this stuff in every Central & South American country I've been in. To my delight I found one marked 'double fibre'. However, it tasted just like white Bimbo bread with brown dye in it. If Bimbo ever goes out of business I am sure the price of sugar will plummet. This stuff turns to a sugary goo in your mouth before you get a chance to swallow it.

Jan 28, 2009

I have no idea what is happening up north but it got cold enough to use the heat last night. Finally got a good enough connection to upload some pics. The lovely camper below was already here.










Cleared right up this afternoon after 3 hazy days & its getting very warm again.



January 30, 2009

Damn, I went to dump our holding tanks this morning & my sewer hose has hundreds of holes in it. The ride in the metal bumper has aced it & I don't have a spare. I may find one in Wal Mart in Los Mochis, but I'm not optimistic. I put an appeal on rv.net for anyone still in the US & headed my way, otherwise I will have to see what I can do with Duct tape. Make a note to add sewer hose to my list of spares to take next year. I also need to remember to get replacement U-bolts for the trailer. I remember my friends Al & Carol who came down here with a trailer a few years ago (& now run a B&B in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua) having problems with those.

Update: Put a note on RV.net & someone said to try Noe at Celestino, about 70 km north of Mazatlan. I sent him an email. Here's hoping. Oddly enough someone in Arizona also told me we should head to his campground so he was on the list anyway. Tomas seems to be settling back into being a Mexican dog. He spends a lot of time picking burrs out of his feet and tries to walk on the highway where possible. I now figure this is why so many Mexican dogs (Tomas included) get clobbered by cars.





January 31, 2009

A thick fog this morning. Very reminiscent of the "June Gloom" phenomena in southern California. A post on RV.net has netted me someone on their way down to Mazatlan. He will meet me there on Friday with a new sewer hose. I am thinking of dumping my tanks in a remote spot in the desert in the meantime. Yuck. A few extra scoops of 5 start happy camper sanitizer will help. I will try more rolls of duct tape first. Tomorrow we head south to Guasave just south of Los Mochis.

Feb 1, 2009

A frustrating day today. We headed out for Playa Las Glorias near Guasave. We got lost 4 times and had one flat tire which was actually the extender on my rear dual. A Pemex attendant helped me pull off the wheel & fix it and then refused any payment which was nice of him. We ended up in a small fishing village once when we got lost & in a bunch of corn fields on another occasion., the pother bad thing that happened was I accidentally cut someone off. he blocked the road and came at me quite aggressively with a major case of road rage. Fortunately, I have enough Spanish to apologize profusely & got him calmed down. It was silly mistake, I swerved to avoid a deep hole & he was about to pass at the same time. Glad we are finally here at Mr Moro's RV Park, 8 hours later. Will take some pictures tomorrow.

Feb 2, 2009

Gorgeous day today. Here are some photos









Feb 4, 2009

Headed south this morning towards Mazatlan. No incidents this time, but it was a brutal day for tolls. We paid about $40 in them. The road is good, almost as good as a US interstate, but they sure nail you in tolls. The question is whether I would burn the extra in diesel anyway taking the free roads.

We arrived at Villa Celeste in El Celestino, 78 km north of Mazatlan. This is a very pleasant, small RV park with very friendly owners. It is almost completely full of retired Canadians staying here for months. `We have booked for a week. The guy from Calgary, I met on rv.net, is supposed to show up here on friday with my replacement sewer hose. In the meantime, my duct tape job seems to be holding. How Canadian is that. Red Green would be proud of me. Regardless, I tested it first with my gray tank, not the black. Will post some photos tomorrow.

Feb 5, 2009








Feb 6, 2009

Rick, from Calgary rolled in this afternoon with the new sewer hoses. What a lifesaver. I wasn't sure how much longer my duct taping job was going to last. We found out my step son will be in Puerto Vallarta at the end of the month, so we will try to meet him. My sister in law will be there Mar 23rd so we want to be back there by then, especially since she plans to camp with us for a week. If everything works out that gives us 3 weeks to get to Zihuantenejo & back.



Feb 7, 2009


I forgot my mothers birthday yesterday. Oops

Some pictures of downtown El celestino:








Feb 8, 2009

An email from my neighbour today to tell me I have a flood in my laundry room. Apparently my front load washer is full of water. I have no idea how thta could have happened, but another neighbor managed to get it cycled through & turned off the after & cleaned up. Only thing I can think of is the house cleaner accidentally bumped against it & started it then shut the main water off before she left leaving it in mid cycle.

Noe, the owner of this campground took us all out to a Mexican Restaurant in the town of La Cruz, about 15 km from here tonight. We heard good reports of him & this spot further north, and they have all turned out to be true. A great guy. Many people come & spend all season here, year after year. Maybe us too in few years when we get tired of touring around.

Noe is the guy in the baseball cap at the far end of the table. My wife made me delete photos til I got a good one of her. She does not care if I have a stupid look on my face.





Feb 11, 2009

We got up early this morning intending to head for Tepic, about 1/2 way to Guadalajara. Someone here mentioned he had seen the Mexico map books in 'Mega' in Mazatlan so we headed there to do some grocery shopping & pick one up. We managed to get ourselves lost in Mazatlan but also happened to stumble upon the store. It did have the map book & we stocked up on groceries. The most precious find was 2 loaves of Orowheat whole grain bread. The Bimbo bread in the fridge is headed for the garbage.
By the time we got out of Mazatlan it was noon & we headed the 250 km down the toll Highway to Tepic. Toll is an understatement. By the time we got 85 km from Tepic we had already paid 550 pesos (about $50 Can) in tolls. We decided to exit off onto the free road. It was actually far more scenic, but rather slow & windy. We got to Tepic at 4:30 Pm & discovered the RV park (the only one) had closed. An hour and a half til dark and we don't want to be on roads in Mexico after dark.

We thought of staying overnight in a Pemex station and we needed fuel anyway. I told the attendant to fill it up and he misunderstood and though I said I wanted 100 pesos worth ( the words for fill it up & one hundred sound similar if there is ambient noise). I straightened that out and never noticed if he continued pumping or re-zeroed the pump. When I came to pay he charged me 100 extra claiming he had re-zeroed. I am 99% sure he did not, but I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. I think I got ripped for 100 pesos ($10). This sort of thing happens a lot at Pemex stations, you have to really watch them. The most common is not zeroing the pumps before they start pumping. They will do this before you have a chance to get out the truck, which is why I have a locking gas cap. I was distracted by the other attendant letting air out of front tire. He had checked the pressure, decided it should be 35 lbs (It should be 80 with E Class tires) & I had to argue with him that 80 was correct. He had dropped the one to 60 by the time I stopped him and their pumps would not handle more than that so I decided to run with 60 for a few miles til I got out of town & I could get my portable pump on it. I wonder if the whole air thing was a ruse to rip me off for 100 pesos. From now on, both of us will watch while they are pumping. I decided this was not a good Pemex to overnight in. Contrast this with the other Pemex station 2 weeks back, where an attendant refused money for helping me change a tire.

With an hour before dark we figured we could make Laguna de Santa Maria del Oro, which appeared to be about 50 km SE of Tepic. We made good time, but once again got lost, this time in the town of Santa Maria del Oro, which fortunately is not too large. In cases like this, the trailer is a pain in the butt. After finding our way out of town and with dusk falling, we came to the rim of a large crater with the lake at the bottom. 10 km of steep winding roads and we reached Koala Campground on the lakeshore just as it got dark. We are the only ones here and I guess we will try to find the owner in the morning. No internet service.

Feb 12, 2009

Well, this place is absolutely gorgeous. The lake is very reminiscent of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, albeit on a smaller scale. The lake is very clear & nice to swim in. I suspect it is quite deep, being in a volcanic caldera. It appears to be full of fish, I wish we had bought our gear with us. Apparently this place is owned by an Englishman who does not seem to be around right now. It has only 8 RV spots & about 5 bungalows. The son, Christian, is currently in charge. Despite the fact he looks very British, he does not speak a word of English. The price is right at $12 a night. A couple from France pulled in today in a Rapido Class A Motorhome. A very sensible sized Class A diesel, they shipped it over from Europe & are touring North & South America. We have decide to spend 2 or 3 days here. Tomas has found a female lab senorita he appears to have amorous intentions on, despite the fact we had him fixed.









LAP DOG



EUROPEAN RAPIDO CLASS A



THRESHING CORN HUSKS



Feb 15, 2009

We left the lake early this morning headed to Guadalajara. We decided to take the free road and it was not as bad as we thought. We stopped briefly in Tequilla and bought, guess what - a bottle of Tequilla. We also stopped at a roadside chicken place where I amused the locals with showing how Tomas can hold a piece of chicken on his nose til I tell him OK. Upon arriving in Guadalajara, we found that both RV parks there listed in the Church's book are closed. One is now condo's the other we simply could not locate, so we think it is also gone. We pushed south to the Gringo enclave of Lake Chalapa. Hit a massive traffic jam in Guadalajara due to an accident en route. There we found another RV park also closed. It was getting late so we headed for the western end of the lake where supposedly there is another RV park, Roca Azul. We arrived just before dark and this one is still open. I managed to hit one Tope at high speed, and now half the stuff in the trailer is one the floor, including one broken container of liquid laundry detergent. Our poor shelves are really in bad shape. I have to build sturdy wooden ones when I get home.

Feb 16, 2009

Well this place seems quite pleasant. It has a gigantic swimming pool. I think we will stay a couple of days, then head to the old colonial town of Guanajuato, about 5 hours east of here. This place is infested with Canadians. Fellow NATCOA member, Jerry Gale was here about a week or 2 ago. A few people recognized the NATCOA sign & remember him. I will try to catch up with him somewhere further south. Another NATCOA member, Peter Tomas is in Mazatlan. May hook up with him in Pt. Vallarta.











Feb 18, 2009

We left for Guanajuato this morning. We determined a route using the map that would avoid having to go through Guadalajara. Big mistake, we ended up in a small village with narrow streets, totally lost & had a heck of job getting the camper out of there. Just an inch to spare on each side on one street. Thank God we left the trailer behind at Chapala, or we really would have been in trouble. This delayed us well over an hour & we ended up in Guadalajara traffic anyway. However, we managed to arrive at the campground in Guanajuato before dark. The campground is huge, but no shade. One small group is here, but when they leave in the morning, we will have the place to ourselves. The power quality is not good, as soon as I plugged in, the radio started to buzz, a bad sign. It's generator time for the A/C.

Feb 19, 2009

Took a taxi into Guanajuato. This is the best colonial city in Mexico I have been in, a maze of hills, & tunnels. Here are some pictures.
















Feb 20, 2009

We drove back to Chapala today by another route. Once again we got ourselves lost once or twice. Funny thing about Mexico is you can pass a sign saying 25 km to a town and 3 km down the road another sign says its 35 km. We will spend one day here then move on. It was handy to leave the trailer behind for a couple of days, but this place is too Gringoville. Reminds me of southern Spain with condo enclaves. Next stop is Villa Corona which is only 50 km away for a night or 2.

Lake Chapala is polluted. I really fail to see why this place attracts so many Gringo's. They are apparently trying to clean it up. It is a large shallow body of water. Since about 40% of the lake changes each year, it is doable. Apparently it is swimable, but it doesn't appeal to me. it was drying up, but a few years ago the government prevented too much water being removed upstream & it is now 17 feet higher than it was in 2000. In most places it was only about 25 feet deep to start with.

Feb 21, 2009

We have decided to stay here until Monday. We have found out that Villa Corona where we were headed next, is a Balneario. These are very popular in Mexico. They are swimming pool complexes and on weekends, hundreds of city folk with kids in tow, descend on them. This one is close to Guadalajara, so maybe several hundreds. They usually have massive loudspeakers with deafening music 24 hours a day. A Canadian refugee from there showed up here tonight with his ears still ringing. You do not want to be there on a Saturday or Sunday. It was one of these where we picked up Tomas, our dog, 4 years ago. I'm surprised he is not deaf. They are popular with stray dogs due to the large drinking dishes available.


Feb 23, 2009

This morning we headed out for Villa Corona. Since we needed groceries & some stuff from the pharmacy, we decided to detour into Ajijic first. That caused us some grief. There was no parking in the pharmacy parking lot, so I parked across the street & stuck my 4 way flashers on while Terry went inside. A policeman came up & told me I was in violation of 5 traffic laws and I would have to pay 500 peso Fine (about $45 US). He took my drivers license & my vehicle permits and told me to pull up a side street which I did. Under normal circumstances I would have insisted we go to the station & fill out the forms. Previous experience has shown me they usually let you off with a warning as soon as you suggest this, but on this occasion, if he agreed, I would disappear & dear wife would not know where I had gone. I offered him 200 Peso's (about $15), no questions asked & he accepted it, as I figured he would since he was obviously trying to shake me down for a bribe to start with.

The only problem he had made me turn onto a narrow street & had a heck of a time getting back onto the main road. I only had an inch clearance on each side in some spots and I could not back up because of the trailer.

Anyway eventually I managed to get around the block, & we went on our way. I don't think I have ever driven in this country without paying at least one bribe.

We arrived here in early afternoon. This park is pretty well full. It is a Baleanero and has several pools including hot springs. A good place to chill out for a day. Once again, it is full of Canadians.

Feb 25, 2009

We got up early this morning to head for Puerto Vallarta across Hwy 70. This highway took us over 3 or 4 passes and was very scenic, albeit slow. It was a little disconcerting considering the slide situation, but we made it across OK and promptly got lost in the outskirts of PV. We were trying to find an RV Park downtown to reserve for Sunday when Terry's son arrives. We eventually managed to find the place & it was full, but we succeeded in reserving OK. We then headed 50 km north to Sayulta.

Upon turning off the highway we encountered a sign saying the road was closed, which we ignored & found ourselves trapped with a massive hole in the road ahead of us. After 30 min of trying to turn around (I am starting to hate our trailer), we found what we thought was a detour. Suspicious of how it looked, we parked & I headed off on our electric bike to scout things out. I determined an acceptable route & we headed down a very bumpy road, including driving through a creek & managed to find the RV Park. This place is beautiful.

My Telus digital phone works on the WiFi here so I have my home phone number operating. Bonus.

Here are some pictures from Hwy 70.








Feb 26, 2009

Went up to inspect my roof today & found a minor tear on the front edge in the TPO. damn trees, they are hard to avoid with the narrow streets. I will have to try to repair it before I hit rain.

Sayulita:







Feb 27, 2009

We woke up this morning to vomit all over the camper floor. Tomas is sick. We wonder if it was the left over fried cactus we fed him. We weren't crazy about it ourselves, but we bought it in Wal Mart so we figured it had to be reasonably safe. Maybe its one of those things that is toxic to dogs. Anyway he did not eat all day. Anyone who knows Tomas, knows the importance of food to him, even more so than most dogs. We are a bit worried about him. He is already a big hit around here, everyone keeps commenting on what a great dog he is.

This campsite is the most expensive we have stayed in so far, $350 Pesos a day. That is $27 US. If we stay here with Terry's sister it will be an additional $7. We have averaged about 150-175 a night over most of the trip. This is close to Puerto Vallarta, which is why, I guess. We are going to check out the other sites up the coast within 25 km of here tomorrow. This is a gorgeous beach, but the waves can be pretty rough.

Feb 28, 2009


We drove up to Rincon de Guayabitos today to check out RV Parks there. None of them impressed us, but we checked into one for the night, Tomas still won't eat and anything he does eat gets thrown up. I am very worried about him. This is 3 days since he has eaten now. This is the best dog I have ever had, it would be devastating if anything happens to him.

Tough to sleep tonight, I'm not only very worried about my dog, the bar next door has live entertainment, the worst Mariachi band I have ever heard, bar none. On top of that they are letting off fireworks.

Mar 1, 2009


Tomas still won't eat. I have decided to try and find a vet, but it's Sunday. While I was inquiring, another Canadian in the campground was having trouble with their dog having convulsions. We got a hold of a vet in Puerto Vallarta, 70 Km south of here, and the woman running the campground offered to drive us there & back. We met the vet in the parking lot of Sams club & he did an examination of both dogs. He did not speak a word of English. He felt the other dog had had a heart problem and gave him an injection. A side effect was a drop in body temperature and hundreds of ticks started abandoning ship. It was weird to watch. Tomas doesn't have any ticks, but I have seen fleas on him. He is on the program. The vet examined Tomas & said he had a fever & wanted us to go back to his office for a blood test, which we did. A couple of hours later I had 3 sets of drugs for Tomas and a 900 Peso (about 80 Can) bill. I was still not 100% sure of what the diagnosis was, my Spanish is adequate, but not fluent, but the blood test was negative. Judging by the drugs, he thinks it's an infection of some sort. We drove back to Ricon where I picked up the camper & we drove back to PV again where we have a reservation.

I am glad we stopped a few days ago & made a reservation. The spot we paid for in advance is the only vacant one here. The rest of the campsite is filled up with a huge French Canadian Caravan. Apparently they are occupying most spots at the only other RV Park in town. The regulars here are pissed because they have been forced to park on at the side of the building which has hastily been converted to RV spots. Most of them are not too fond of my Francophone countrymen whom they consider rather rude, for the most part. I hate to say that has been my observation as well.

The good news is Tomas seems to be improving after giving him the drugs. He ate a bowl of rice covered in chicken broth this evening & has not up-chucked yet. We are wondering if he can't handle Mexican water anymore, so we have been giving him only bottled water for the last 24 hours. Maybe he has canine Moctezuma's revenge. Anyway if he makes it through the night without throwing up, I think he is on the mend. Thank God, we love that dog.

Terry's son, D'Arcy, showed up later tonight. He is staying at Los Tules just across the street. Great, we can use their pool.

Mar 2, 2009

Tomas is completely back to normal. We spent most of the day over at Terry's son's hotel using the pool.

This morning I went to an ATM and tried to draw out 3000 Pesos, about $260 Canadian. The machine only gave me 2200 Pesos which seemed rather odd. I went on the net and checked my account & discovered it took out $2347.42 Canadian. That was ridiculous since my daily limit is $400. I phoned my bank & they are doing a trace on it. Good thing it was an HSBC ATM, not a Mexican bank.

Mar 3, 2009

We drove D'Arcy up to Laguna Santa Maria del Oro where we camped about 3 weeks ago today. A 3.5 hour drive each way, but at least he got to see more of Mexico than Pt. Vallarta. Checked my bank account this afternoon & it seems they have fixed the $2400 mistake.







Mar 4, 2009[/b]

I went diving today. I have paid for some lessons for D'Arcy (Terry's son), but the guy he came down with is a diver, so we went together. Terry's foot is giving her trouble with fins, so she just snorkeled. The visibility was not great, but the neatest thing was, there are Humpback whales in the bay. I could not see them, but the noise from them, underwater was deafening. A new experience. I did see some pretty sizable moray eels down there, however. I much prefer the Caribbean, any dive I have done in the Pacific has been poorer visibility. A dive is a dive. I think I am now over 50 of them. I wish I'd started earlier in life.





[b]Mar 5, 2009

D'Arcy did his first ocean dive today. They took him down to 60 feet after only 2 hours pool instruction. I don't think that would have happened in Canada, but this is Mexico. Anyway he is hooked and wants to go for full certification. Without going into details, D'Arcy has had some rough life periods. I am very proud of how far he has come, and I think of him as my own son. Now I might have a diving partner as well. This is the first time he has ever been out of Canada. I think this trip has been a real eye opener for him. I still remember how backpacking my way across Europe, the Middle East & India changed my outlook on life when I was in my 20's.

Tomorrow we head south to Chamela about 2/3 of the way to Manzanillo. I doubt there will be net access there. I sent today checking out the route out of town since I have the camper off the truck. PV has the worst traffic so far to navigate through. I really hate driving here.

Mar 6, 2009

We said goodbye to D'Arcy this morning & headed south to Playa Negrito at Chamela. The road south of PV is quite slow so it took us about 3 hours to go the 124 km. We would have never found this place if we had not been given the GPS co-ordinates for the turn off. However, in case anyone is interested, you pass through the small village of Chamela, cross the bridge at the south end of town & it's the first dirt road to your right. Down the hill, turn left and it's about 2 km straight on. This is an idyllic spot. The beach is wonderful, no surf. There are 2 dead Moray eels on the beach, so there are tons of vultures. One of the eels is huge and Tomas decided that we would really enjoy the smell of dead eel in our camper, so he rolled on it. No net here, but our neighbor has satellite internet we can steal occasionally.















March 7, 2009

We like it here so much we have decided to stay a week. The owner got rid of the eel bodies last night & the vultures have gone. One of them, as you can see in the picture above, swallowed a fish net, which is what killed it. That was one big eel. I have seen lots of Morays diving, but that one was one of the largest I have seen. I'm rather glad I did not encounter it under water. We have sanitized Tomas as much as possible, but he still smells a bit fishy. Dogs can be so disgusting.

There are only primitive facilities here. No power or water or sewer, but we arrived with a full tank of fresh water & there are primitive semi saline showers, so we should be OK. The price is right; about $5 a night. That should neutralize the expensive RV Park back in Sayulita, 50 km north of PV, where we plan to spend a week with Terry's sister, Bobbi. With the add-on cost for her, that one runs $30 US a night. She flies in on March 21st & leaves March 28th. We would like to bring her down here, but that is too much windshield time for someone with only 6 usable days of vacation, and a 3rd person would severely strain our water resources here. There is also far more to do in Sayulita for someone with only a week to play with. Here, it is swim & read and not much else. There is also a cheap hotel right across the street if she decides a tent is not her thing.

My solar panels are putting out 7 amps most of the day so we don't even have to use the generator, except to run the A/C for 30 minutes & cool down the inside before going to bed.

From here we will check out some campsites in Malaque, just north of Manzanillo, & then I guess, it's time to start our slow journey north. After Terry's sister leaves, that gives us 2 weeks to get back across the US border before Terry's passport expires on April 19th. I guess we will have to leave the coast of Michoacan State until next year. I think next year, we will boot down as far as PV, quickly, & then explore the south coast & Chiapas.

We are thinking of heading home back inland via Las Vegas. We haven't been there in a while. I might see if my son wants to fly there & ride back with us.

It's Saturday night, & as is the case with most Mexican beaches, the partiers have descended with loud boom boxes, etc.

Mar 12, 2009

Well, its our last day here. We have done absolutely nothing except read & swim, which is nice. Tomorrow we head a bit further south again. Tomas has discovered the joys of crabbing. He spends hours on the beach stalking them. I swear that dog is part cat. Click the 2 links below for video's.

Tomas on the hunt

Tomas makes the kill, then is scared of dead crab

Mar 13, 2009

We arrived in San Patricio Melaque today. The Trailer Park here has a few spare sites now the bulk of people are headed north. Still mainly Quebequois in here, however. The ocean in front of here has scary breakers, but it looks safe to swim a bit down the beach.

It turns out that this is the start of week long celebrations leading up to St. Patrick's Day, the biggest event of the year in this town. How an Irish holiday became the big event here is beyond me, but the town does have St. Patricio (St Patrick) in its name. My theory is when he banned snakes from Ireland, they all got sent to Mexico, since I have seen plenty. This is the way the Mexicans show their appreciation.

Actually, the real explanation probably lies HERE

Following a noisy parade through the streets of people carrying paper shamrocks, the whole town has descended into a flurry of fireworks & revelry which is terrifying poor Tomas. They set off a huge fireworks display in the town square, mounted on a bamboo tower that was a bit reminiscent of the movie "The wicker man". No safe distance rules here, bits of flaming debris rained down among the crowd. That was followed by men with large paper mache bulls loaded with lit fireworks running through the crowd, as they scattered, trying to dodge flaming fireballs. Needless to say we retreated, pronto. (see videos below). At first I misunderstood and was led to believe they were going to release real bulls in the street. I missed my opportunity to experience that in Pampalona in my youthful wanderings. I did plenty of other crazy things in my immortal youth





Videos

St. Patrick parade

fireworks display

fire bull1

fire bull2

Mar 14, 2009

Well, the fireworks started at 5:30 AM and at 7:30 AM the first noisy parade on the street in front of us. Sleep will be a iffy prospect this week.












Mar 14, 2009

Well another night of festivities, fireworks etc. I spotted the English language Guadaljara paper yesterday with the blaring headlines, "Mexico's Drug War spreads to Vancouver". Apparently they are connected and sure enough the Vancouver paper headline this morning says "17 hours of Mayhem & violence" with more drug gang killings. It is really getting out of hand . They need to do something before the Olympics or the US State Department will be issuing travel warnings for Vancouver.



We came across a puppy yesterday that looks a lot like Tomas. Our friends told us to bring one back if we found another. Unfortunately they are currently in Columbia, so we are trying to contact them by email. If he is a street dog, as it appears it is we may bring him back with us. Chances are we could find a home for him. The idea of a rescued Mexican dog appeals to a lot of people. He is cute.



For comparison sake here is a photo of Tomas just after we got him in Baja.




Mar 17, 2009

Well the big day has arrived. St Patrick's day. The festivities went on well into the wee hours of the morning with the usual 5:30 AM fireworks. At 7:30 AM the parade marched into the campground itself, ensuring everyone was up. Tomas got so excited he decided to grab his spider monkey & join the parade. He trotted off after them and then joined the parade through town, much to the amusement of everyone. I think he was the biggest hit in the parade. he is already well known around town here as the stuffed animal carrying dog. People now call him by name when I walk him through town.









Mar 18, 2009

We moved 50 km up the coast today to a lovely unserviced campsite at Tenacatita. Unfortunately, the hillsides at both end of the beach have been sold to someone who plans to build condo's, so this spot may be gone next year.









Mar 19, 2009

We managed to get ourselves well & truly stuck in the sand trying to get out of here this morning. Eventually, we unhooked the trailer & with sand mats, we got out. I then had to tow the trailer out with a tow rope. We have driven another 60 Km north to Punta Perla & checked into a small RV Park attached to a hotel. The nice thing is we can use the hotel pool. This is a wide bay with a long beach. We can see dolphins just off shore. Tomas managed to find another dead eel to roll on, so I had to bath him again.

Mar 20, 2009

Well I managed to get well & truly stuck in the sand trying to leave. I had problems getting the tires to spin no matter how much I reved, and it would not go into 4L, so I am wondering if I have a transmission issue. At least i have a warranty on it for another year & it seems fine on the highway. I eventually go out by unhitching the trailer which i then pulled out with a tow rope.

We drove back to Saluyita. Driving through PV is its usual nightmare. I lost a hubcap on a Tope, but there was no way to stop for it & retrieve it, so I now have to find another. Probably not til I get into the US. I then got pulled over north of the Airport in PV by the Policia for not being on the lateral. I had been previously told it was OK north of the airport, but the cop told me no, I had to be 1 km north of the airport. (maybe true, but who knows?) I had gone back on the main road 100 meters ahead of this so called limit. There was actually little option since the road ahead was so narrow due to a parked bus that I would have been hard pressed to get by. He tried to write me up for 1,200 peso's (ABOUT $100 Can). I bribed him with 500 which was probably still way too much, but I was in no mood to hassle anymore. This lateral business in PV is a real racket. There are no signs and they nail tons of Gringo's in RV's with it. You can't get upset about it, its just one of the experiences you have while traveling in this country.

Terry's sister arrives tomorrow morning.

Mar 27, 2009

A week relaxing without much happening. Terry's sister goes home tomorrow. The main road into this town is still blocked, so our plan was to leave very early on Sunday morning, the detour is a nightmare for an RV especially if you meet anyone coming the other way. There is a rumor the main road re-opens on Monday. If we can confirm that we will delay a day. It is getting noticeable more hot & humid by the day, so its time to think about getting north.


Mar 31, 2009

Well they did not open the road out of town on Monday, so we left at 6 AM this morning the hard way before there was much traffic on the road. A tight squeeze in a couple of spots & 2 trees i had to crawl under to avoid damage. We decided to do a long day & stick to the (expensive) Cuota's and drive the 350 km north to the spot we stayed north of Mazatlan. Cost us $60 in Tolls which effectively doubled our fuel cost. I think I will go back to the Libre when we leave here. We will probably stay for a couple of days. Nice pool here. This park has emptied out, though, only 4 of us here now, everyone else has headed north already.




April 3, 2009

We spent 3 days at Noe's and today we decided to drive about 130 km north to a Balenario (Aquatic Park) near Culican to break up the trip to to Huabampito a bit. We arrived around 11 AM and this one is real fancy compared to most. Like most, however, it features crowds & loud music. We ended up camping near the obnoxious teenager pool which was full of young hooligans or couples with raging hormones necking in the pool. Can't decide if I was disgusted or jealous. Tomas was quite intimidated as they seemed to delight in getting him wet, something he hates. Since this is the same sort of place we originally found him hanging around in, maybe it explains his dislike of water. However the quantity of discarded hot dog buns also explains why he was hanging around one of these to start with.

About 6 PM, they decided it was time to come around with the DDT spray truck & gas us. Fortunately, I spotted it coming & madly rushed around closing all windows & vents and shutting off the A/C. We sat there sweating inside for an hour while it dissipated.

Today is the start of Semana Santa. This place will be a zoo tomorrow so we are not staying.





April 4, 2009

We woke up at 6 AM, so we got packed up & pulled out around 7 AM. Our destination is Huabampito which is the second place in Mexico we camped on our way down. We figured its about a 6 hour drive on the free roads so we wanted to make an early start.

We arrived around 1 PM. The place is empty of RV's, a contrast with the way it was when we came through in January. We can, however see quite a few Mexican campers here for Semana Santa. There are teenagers dressed up in costumes collecting coins. I have no idea what it is all about, I figure it must be one of those combo Indian religion & Catholicism things that are so prevalent in Latin America. As you can see in the far left of the photo below, Tomas is also trying to figure it out.




April 5, 2009

We decided to spend another night here. Sunday traffic can be heavier. Besides we are maybe expecting some friends in a Class A from North Vancouver to catch up with us today. The strangely costumed kids showed up again today en masse. Trick or Treat, Easter edition.



Semana Santa clean up crew:




April 6, 2009

Left about noon for San Carlos. The map showed a shorter more direct rout than heading straight out to the Cuota, so we took that. Big Mistake. The hurricane that came through here last summer took out the road and we spent 2 hours negotiating through rivers & corn fields until we finally made it out. A lot of guess work about where to go. I am glad I have 4 wheel drive, we needed it in places. I was quite worried about getting trapped, as it's tough with a trailer you can't move by hand. We got here just before dark & have gone to the fancier El Mirador RV Park this time. Its pricey & fancy, pool, tennis courts, fancy RV pads, but we will spend 2 nights. Tomas threw up his dinner & is not feeling well, maybe it was the bumpy ride.





April 7, 2009

Tomas appears to be more chipper today. He probably ate something disgusting on the beach yesterday. Just a chill out day today. This place is mainly empty, a big change from January. A guy in a Lance from Washington State showed up. He drove his wife & 2 kids all the way down here for spring break week. I gave him a NATCOA brochure. He seems interested. Told him about the Anacortes Rally at the end of the month.





April 8, 2009

Today we drove up to Santa Ana, about 100 km south of the border & checked into a small RV park, run by Edgar & Anna a distinctly eccentric couple. Good place to make a run for the border from tomorrow.



April 9, 2009

We got up early to try & beat the border rush. We stopped at km 21 to return our tourist cards & vehicle permit. That was the easy part. There was a 2.5 hour line up to cross the US border. They went through our camper and confiscated a few vegetables, but that part was not a huge hassle. We then drove to just south of Tucson & overnighter in a Casino where we gambled away $2. Neither of us see the big thrill in Casino's, but is seems a big thing among seniors. Anyway free camping is always good.

Border backup






The infamous Wall



April 10, 2009

We made a stop at Camping world to change out a defective water pump we purchased on the way down, and then headed up to Cochise Stronghold Forestry Site where Jerry, a friend of ours (Budster on the forums) is camp host. Apparently Cochise himself is buried somewhere in this campsite although no one knows exactly where. Maybe Tomas will manage to dig him up. Already up here were Chet & Janet from Tennessee (Sleepy on Rv.net) whom I have never met, but he met my family 2 summers ago when we were actually traveling down near their area. Very nice couple and Chet can actually out talk Terry which takes some doing. We will spend 2 nights here then head for Tombstone which we have never visited. This is the coldest we have been in months, this place is high altitude, & we need the heat at night.





April 12, 2009

It's Budster's (Jerry) birthday today so we went out to breakfast with Chet & Janet & the birthday boy, and then headed fro Tombstone to do the tourist thing. Gunfight at the OK corral reenactment, the whole bit. We plan to spend the night here then go meet Chet & Janet again at the Casino In Chandler just outside of Phoenix.

Chet & Janet




April 13, 2009

Left Tombstone, this morning. You really need 2 days to see this place, so we will return next year. Headed for the Casino in Chandler where Chet & Janet are camped. When we got there, Merri & Steve Duncan whom I have conversed with on the phone before were there. They have a Bigfoot which was a lemon from the word go, so it was interesting to see the problems with that. The first substandard Bigfoot I have seen. That evening I made a comment to Terry that we had not encountered Bill & Mikell Adair this trip. They are a couple from Juneau, Alaska in a Lance that seem to appear at some point during nearly every trip we make. They are not stalking us or anything, in fact we like them a lot, but it's an odd coincidence. It's happened in both the US & Canada.


April 14, 2009

Headed up to Lake Havasu this morning. We pulled into the State Park just south of it for 2 nights. It is unseasonably cold. Nice area, though. This is where London Bridge was moved. Nothing real special about it, neither was there anything special about it when it was in London.


April 16, 2009

We drove to Vegas today & checked into Sams RV Park. 10 minutes after parking, Bill & Mikell, from Juneau knocked on the door. They just happened to be camping here. Actually they are here for a family gathering to see their son off to Afghanistan. This is just too weird. They are on their way north so we may travel together.


April 24, 2009

Haven't had net access for awhile. We are now at the NATCOA Rally in Anacortes, Washington and only an hour from home. I think I will declare this blog officially closed for this year. We want back in Mexico. It's too cold here.