The Megan-Mom team did not make it further than the semi-finals but ended up winning nice caps with the Sayulita logo and Bocci on the back, for being our division winners. Not bad for beginners, and we had fun!
Now it is time to do some exploring. We want to see a bit more of Mexico, and this is a good place to do some day-trips from. We've heard many suggestions so we'll follow up on some - Playa de Muertes to walk to, thursday market in La Penita, and San Sebastian which is an old colonial town just east of Puerto Vallarta.
Around Sayulita.
We are exploring the area around "our" town. We walked south along the beach and then on a dirt road around the point to Playa de Muertes, which is a beach next to a large, old cemetery in the jungle. The cemeteries here are haphazardly placed gravesites, some with elaborate statues and crosses, lots with flowers and flower arrangements, and some balloons and pinatas involved. It looks actually like a happy place instead of the somber places we know at home. Playa de Muertes was a bit busy so we decided to walk through the jungle following the one-lane dirt road up and over the point to another beach we had heard about. This one was more quiet (there were people there, however, maybe 10) and wonderful shells to sort through. Some rich and famous are having mansions built up on the hillside overlooking the beach. we spent some time there but the ocean was a bit rough for swimming. So we wondered back through the lizard-infested jungle, very hot now, to the first beach but that was even busier now so we walked back slowly to our campsite. Saw a few people from the camping who had just come in from a fishing trip. They had caught 6 dorado (dolphin fish) and someone was cleaning the fish for them. Of course the pelicans were right there to pick up the scraps! Dorado is a great-tasting fish, also known as mahi-mahi, it has a great blunt head and is related to tuna. It is greenish/yellow in colour but when in the water you can see why they call it dorado (gold) as it looks very yellow.A little more swimming in the ocean and then we called it a day.
Thursday we ventured into La Penita, a little village with a large market on thursdays. It was very very busy! Busloads of gringos and also lots of Mexicans come to this market to buy anything and everything. I found a great beanbakingpot for $5, Ryan a chess-set carved from stone and Earl some steakknives, and we got some glasses to drink from for everyone (we are getting a little tired from the tin cups and their "flavour"). Excellent lunch, very cheap but we had to wait a long time for it, nothing is rushed here in Mexico, you really have to have patience and relax and take your time with everything. On the way there and back we stopped in several other little places along the coast, all popular with tourists and snowbirds from Canada and the U.S.A. Once back we baked refried beans with cheese in our new beanpot and with fresh baked nachos and guacamole we had a nice snack for dinner. It is very quiet in town, no noise, no loud partiers. Yesterday evening we had a wedding on the beach so the mariachi band was a bit loud but fun music. Now the streets are practically deserted. All we hear at night is the waves crashing onto the beach and changing the beach so that tomorrow we'll have a new beach to explore.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Bocci ball tournament.
It looks like all is quiet at Sayulita ... beach nearly empty....but don't let that fool you - the Bocci tournament is underway and it's fierce competition. 24 teams battle it out for the semifinals on tuesday, and guess what? The Megan-Wendy team makes it to the semi finals. High hopes for tuesdays games - no pressure though..:o) we're on holidays!
Monday, January 26, 2009
monday jan. 26, bocciball tournament day
Wow, bocci is big here in Sayulita Trailer Park. 48 contestants, so 24 teams. 3 games today and the winners play the playoffs tomorrow. It's tough competition, some folks are very serious into the game and others are just having fun. It's a nice blend actually. The waves in the ocean are a little rough now anyway and we got very burned yesterday so we have to stay in the shade anyway. Didn't sleep much because of the bugs last nite, it was very humid and no wind so the mosquitos and no-see-ums were at a prime. Many people got bit.
Megan and I lost our first game, but we have high hopes for the next one. The last game we play a couple of serious players, that should be interesting. By then we will know the terrain very well (we play on the dirt roads) so we'll know what course the ball will take....
Megan and I lost our first game, but we have high hopes for the next one. The last game we play a couple of serious players, that should be interesting. By then we will know the terrain very well (we play on the dirt roads) so we'll know what course the ball will take....
Friday, January 23, 2009
Here are some pics of the campground we are staying in. The yellow building is what the condos look like, upstairs and downstairs, some with kitchen, some just a hotplate or microwave and fridge. To the right of the building, what looks like a garage is a little chapel where you can go for some 'time out', with a little altar and candles. The right picture shows the way to the beach, we are off on the left of the picture (not our BBQ, but the neighbours with the nasty chihuahua).
It's a nice little place and everyone is friendly. Mixed folks, old and young families. The kids spent all day in the water on their boogieboards with new friends, Megan's found a friend who is the same age as her, from San Francisco, and Ryan gets along with the girls brother who is a few years younger but who cares. They all get along great. That family has been coming here for almost 10 years already. Many folks here are returning customers, most staying from 1 to 5 or 6 months! Some people have a house here which they rent out and they live in the camping themselves, cheap living and a good income, the house is rented out pretty much all the time. Their girls go the the new American school here in town. There's on in P.V. too, by the cruiseship docks. The kids' new friends are homeschooled as well, but in their first year and doing some "school at home" and thus here on holidays as well.
I played bocciball today - the whole family is into it now. Looks like we'll stay here through the tournament on monday and finales on tuesday, followed by a fishfry and prizes, prizes, prizes. Sounds interesting.
Another popular game here is pingpong - 2 tables now and some fierce competition! It's nice (say the older people) to have some young kids involved. We get a lot of comments on how wonderful it is to see our kids get along with all ages here in the "pueblo". I blame it on homeschooling... :o)
Earl's getting a little wonderlust, wants to go explore. We may go do some exploring in the next couple of days, but the van is hooked up to laundry lines and such....seems like a lot of work....
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Veggin' in Sayulita.
Well, it never rained. This afternoon in Sayulita it's clouding over again but it's pleasant, warm, a bit humid but a cool breeze from the ocean. Temperature hovers from 25 to 30+ day/night.
I never wrote about yesterday, a grand thing: we left Puerto Vallarta and stopped to let Megan swim with dolphins. She's pretty excited about it, her aunt had done it a little while back here in P.V. so it seemed like a great experience. She got a 45 min. encounter with a mom and daughter team, there were only 3 people including M. so she got lots of one-on-one with the dolphins. A bit touristy, all the posing for pics with the animals, we didn't buy any pictures (couldn't bring our own camera in) because they were $25 USD per photo!
But wow what a memory. We had a bit of trouble finding the place, driving around P.V. hotels and then Nuevo Vallarta - don't try to follow the signs, just ask people. And ask many people, you'll get conflicting info whether it's tourists or locals.
But we did find it, were too late for our scheduled time of 10 a.m. but she could go at noon. so we hung around for a while, watched iguanas and sea lions and heaps of birds, very neat.
Then on to where we are camping now, we have nice neighbours (Ryan is playing Bocci with some men right now - serious games here!). Stay away from their chihuahua though. it's nasty.
Dogs, there are dogs everywhere. Tourists bring dogs, wild dogs, locals have dogs, dogs on the beach, dogs in the street.
and cats! Gatos everywhere. Most are shy, they're here to trim the rodent population I'm sure.
We met a guy on the beach today who makes music with his family. A Bob Marley kinda guy, you know, that look. Super nice, let us listen to some of his cd's and I bought 2. Cathy, if you're following the blog - wait until you hear this! He also makes and plays flutes. We will try to visit his studio which is a little north of here.
The waves today are awesome. Ry and Earl went out twice, and the first time broke one boogieboard, the 2nd time got "in the washingmachine", the waves are huge and really pound you down. Some guys were out with little kayaks, and surfers are always out, great action. Earl took some video.
I never wrote about yesterday, a grand thing: we left Puerto Vallarta and stopped to let Megan swim with dolphins. She's pretty excited about it, her aunt had done it a little while back here in P.V. so it seemed like a great experience. She got a 45 min. encounter with a mom and daughter team, there were only 3 people including M. so she got lots of one-on-one with the dolphins. A bit touristy, all the posing for pics with the animals, we didn't buy any pictures (couldn't bring our own camera in) because they were $25 USD per photo!
But wow what a memory. We had a bit of trouble finding the place, driving around P.V. hotels and then Nuevo Vallarta - don't try to follow the signs, just ask people. And ask many people, you'll get conflicting info whether it's tourists or locals.
But we did find it, were too late for our scheduled time of 10 a.m. but she could go at noon. so we hung around for a while, watched iguanas and sea lions and heaps of birds, very neat.
Then on to where we are camping now, we have nice neighbours (Ryan is playing Bocci with some men right now - serious games here!). Stay away from their chihuahua though. it's nasty.
Dogs, there are dogs everywhere. Tourists bring dogs, wild dogs, locals have dogs, dogs on the beach, dogs in the street.
and cats! Gatos everywhere. Most are shy, they're here to trim the rodent population I'm sure.
We met a guy on the beach today who makes music with his family. A Bob Marley kinda guy, you know, that look. Super nice, let us listen to some of his cd's and I bought 2. Cathy, if you're following the blog - wait until you hear this! He also makes and plays flutes. We will try to visit his studio which is a little north of here.
The waves today are awesome. Ry and Earl went out twice, and the first time broke one boogieboard, the 2nd time got "in the washingmachine", the waves are huge and really pound you down. Some guys were out with little kayaks, and surfers are always out, great action. Earl took some video.
Monday, January 19, 2009
More Vallarta shots.
Here is a picture of the seafood sold on a stick, on the beach, one of the iguanas we saw on our stroll today, and the view from the rooftop (4th floor) kitchen as I was making pancakes this morning. The kitchen has no wall on one side, no windows, just a roof.
As you can see our hotel is on a busy street in downtown Old Vallarta. We walked to the old church of our Lady of Guadelupe today, there was mass going on and they sang a familiar song, Pescador des Hombres which we sing in church as well. We were inappropriately dressed to go in (they ask you have sleeves and no shorts) but we stood outside to listen.
Then we walked to the main road that runs along the beach to Nuevo Vallarta. Did some shopping - I mentioned before the mosquitos south were ferocious, the vendors here in the shops are quite ferocious as well. They don't give up! But they are always willing to deal and we got some nice things.
Our laundry was done by a lovely lady for $10 USD; we got everything we own here laundered except what we were wearing of course. Earl and I went shopping for a shirt for him and the kids mellowed out watching TV and computering. The noise up in the hotelroom from the road is enormous. It is LOUD. Cars, loud music (mexican!), kids yelling and laughing (all good), cars honking, there's some construction going on across the road somewhere that sounds like they are cutting metal ALL DAY...but we're in the city, what do you expect.
Tonight it's a Mexican Authentic fiesta showing 3 different native cultures and their dress and customs, a buffet meal and drinks all for $20 p/p and we got 1 child for free - not a bad deal.
A bit touristy perhaps.
Oh, walking through town we spotted iguanas, got some good pictures too I'll try to load them up.
Tomorrow we start the day with Meg swimming with dolphins! Then we'll scurry over to more quiet Sayulito. We've reserved our same campspot so that will be nice and relaxing, the kids love the surfing there. I love the fresh fish, shrimp and mahi-mahi mmmmmmm with lots of ajo (garlic). Even Ryan tried smoked fish today on the beach. They sell 4 HUGE shrimp or a stickful of smoked fish for $2 a stick.
Outside the room right now (waiting for people to get ready) we're watching the weather change, it's clouded over and it looks like actual rainclouds. We haven't seen rain for over 2 weeks...
The kids are getting hugely tanned and would look local except for the blond hair, on which we get lots of comments. The Mexicans love the blond hair and think M. is just the most beautiful thing....Earl says they don't know her yet...!
As always R. attracts the little kids, little boy the other day called out to M. but she didn't know what he was saying, but Ry cut open a coconut and shared it with him - made him a big hit.
I find people are quick to judge us to be just more touristas with mucho dinero but once you start talking to them and telling them how we are camping and they see our vehicle (!) they warm up and they seem to appreciate us trying our spanish. They are eager to learn english most of the time. There is a lot of "how do you say....." , lots of "gracias" and "por favor", good day and good evening, have a nice day, see you later, etc. Lots of pleasantries.
Buenos Noches, amigos!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The wild life.
Another croc picture....they are kinda intimidating up close in the wild.....not like in the zoo. The fence was no taller than 3 feet and pushed down in places.. The other picture is our little balcony in Puerto Vallarta, looking down the street to the beach. We're very close to everything here, all in walking distance. Going to explore tomorrow. And we're getting the laundry DONE - quite a luxury!
Jan. 18/09 Puerto Vallarta
The croc. was sunbathing, it was a big one. We did not feel so comfy camping next to the crocs even though there was a little fence along their pond...so we ended up camping in someone's backyard - the RV place that was still open (the others being closed or non-existent) charged $44 USD/nite and we're not into that. Also a lot of mosquitos and no-seeums.
Now we are in Puerto Vallarta at a little old hotel in the old part of town. Good deal, pool, kitchen, one block from the beach and walking distance to downtown and the large walkway along the beach called the malecon. Pretty good internet connection here so we'll be mailing people from here.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
10 tips from the road
1. don't park under a coconut tree.
2. always have toilet paper.
3. you will never get the sand out of everything or everywhere.
4. it will always take longer to get there than what 'they' say.
5. don't take anything for granted.
6. logic doesn't always apply.
7. don't bother dusting. do sweep once in a while.
8. always keep canned soup in the pantry.
9. smile a lot.
10. relax. enjoy.
A couple of other tips:
Always assume the toilet will plug when you flush.
Never assume kids are allowed.
Bring extra underwear.
don't forget your bathing suit.
You can never have too much sunscreen and bugreppelant. and babywipes.
You CAN have too much wind (in more ways than one).
:o)
2. always have toilet paper.
3. you will never get the sand out of everything or everywhere.
4. it will always take longer to get there than what 'they' say.
5. don't take anything for granted.
6. logic doesn't always apply.
7. don't bother dusting. do sweep once in a while.
8. always keep canned soup in the pantry.
9. smile a lot.
10. relax. enjoy.
A couple of other tips:
Always assume the toilet will plug when you flush.
Never assume kids are allowed.
Bring extra underwear.
don't forget your bathing suit.
You can never have too much sunscreen and bugreppelant. and babywipes.
You CAN have too much wind (in more ways than one).
:o)
thursday in Sayulito
Jan. 12 - mondayThis morning we took our time packing up and left Teacapan for the San Blas area.We navigated the maze of one-way streets in Escuinapa to find a bank to load up on pesos, then a Pemex station for gas and coffee at the Oxxo convenience store. Also some juice from the Jugo stand. Due to lack of espagnol skills we ended up this time with only Jugo de Naranja - orange juice. Nothing else. In Maz. we had a sort of fruit shake concoction, nice and fresh and fruity and good for breakfast. Guess we need to brush up on our spanish fruit words.The road winds up and around hills sorta like the road to Hana on Maui, Hawaii. It's jungly, too. We passed through some small, small villages and got bombarded with fruit-in-a-cup-sellers when crossing topes (speedbumps). About 5 or 6 of them stuck their arms right into the open windows of the van - very agressive sellers! We did buy some, it had coconut, cucumber, watermelon, papaya (yuk, tastes like cheese) and some sort of apple-pear thing. It came with a baggie with salt and some sort of chilliepepper spice. We put that on the cucumber slices. Not sure if that's what it's for, though.We decided on staying the night in Playa Amore, a nice little rv park next to the ocean on a little bluff. We had an early dinner in the fishing village, fish of course, shrimp and quesadillas.We met up with people we met at Mr. Moro's in Las Glorias. It gets a little stressful looking for a camping place when it gets to be around 3 p.m or so, just because we have no clue how far everything is really. The book does describe the routes very clearly but I have to continually flip pages and read descriptions, and it is easier just to drive by and if we like a place just pick that one. If you read ahead you always think there's a better spot just a little further on....We are contemplating splurging in Puerto Vallarta and getting a hotel and staying for a few days so we can walk around and explore the town and markets too.We have seen many different animals by now; iguanas by the riverside, geckos in the bathroom, frogs in the shower, big brown hairy spider, ants black and red, and many birds. Oh yes and a cucaracha. Really have to check your shoes in the morning. Good thing we've got flipflops!
jan. 13 - tuesdayWe packed up slowly in the morning and headed further south again. It is getting more jungly again, and more humid now. We drove through pineapple fields, yacca fields and we tasted yacca for the first time - very sweet, large fruit the size of a watermelon but prickly on the outside, grows on trees, kinda hangs like large melons off the tree. The fruit is large yellow bubbles inside with a pit. High in calcium the lady told us. We had stopped on the side of the road at a stand where a family showed us loads of veggies and let us taste some goodies. Megan had her wish - the man cut up a fresh coconut for her and we got the milk (actually coconut water, it's clear and was very fresh and cold and filling) and the coconut meat in chunks in a baggy with lime on it. Very tasty! 3 kg of little bananas, the best, ripe, sweet little bananas we've ever tasted! We drove to the town of Sayulito, on the beach we are camping in a small campground owned by a german fellow who's been here 30 something years already. He moved his car and that's our campspot for tonight. The roads are cobblestone and most people walk around town. We are seeing families both American and Mexican with kids and the feeling is generally relaxed. Lots of surfers here too. The ocean here is good for beginner surfers. It is a nice friendly atmosphere, a little cramped but easy to access everything on foot which is nice. We hear crickets, exotic birds and there are more geckos. Megan caught a small baby gecko. Now at night we hear that typical jungle sound, hissing and crickets and the ocean in the background. A little music, too, people laughing and talking. Very relaxing. The shot of tequila was helpful too, at dinner. The waiter insisted.... :o)
We'll be here another day, maybe leave friday for point further south. Doing some laundry in a washingmachine - yahoo!
jan. 13 - tuesdayWe packed up slowly in the morning and headed further south again. It is getting more jungly again, and more humid now. We drove through pineapple fields, yacca fields and we tasted yacca for the first time - very sweet, large fruit the size of a watermelon but prickly on the outside, grows on trees, kinda hangs like large melons off the tree. The fruit is large yellow bubbles inside with a pit. High in calcium the lady told us. We had stopped on the side of the road at a stand where a family showed us loads of veggies and let us taste some goodies. Megan had her wish - the man cut up a fresh coconut for her and we got the milk (actually coconut water, it's clear and was very fresh and cold and filling) and the coconut meat in chunks in a baggy with lime on it. Very tasty! 3 kg of little bananas, the best, ripe, sweet little bananas we've ever tasted! We drove to the town of Sayulito, on the beach we are camping in a small campground owned by a german fellow who's been here 30 something years already. He moved his car and that's our campspot for tonight. The roads are cobblestone and most people walk around town. We are seeing families both American and Mexican with kids and the feeling is generally relaxed. Lots of surfers here too. The ocean here is good for beginner surfers. It is a nice friendly atmosphere, a little cramped but easy to access everything on foot which is nice. We hear crickets, exotic birds and there are more geckos. Megan caught a small baby gecko. Now at night we hear that typical jungle sound, hissing and crickets and the ocean in the background. A little music, too, people laughing and talking. Very relaxing. The shot of tequila was helpful too, at dinner. The waiter insisted.... :o)
We'll be here another day, maybe leave friday for point further south. Doing some laundry in a washingmachine - yahoo!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Away from the City...towards the Jungle.
Well it's sunday today, I just found out as I was doing laundry (by hand!). Someone walked by and said "that's a lot of work for a Sunday". Then another lady came with clothespins which are a tremendous help as our undies were flying everywhere.
We are in Teacapan today. We have WiFi but I can't seem to get pics on the blog so you'll have to wait. It was a short drive, about 2 hours and we stopped for groceries which I'll tell you about later.
We left Maz. at 7 a.m. when there was enough light and the kids were ready to go - that takes the longest usually. We drove through the old downtown and past the hotelzone. Interesting place, not somewhere we'd pick to go on holidays though. As it was too early for the grocerystores to be open we took to the Mex. 15 and headed south, finding a free road and heading for Teacapan. After a while we noticed the landscape changing a bit, towards Culiacan, the capital of this state of Sinaloa, more hilly and more trees. And what agriculture, corn and tomatoes and peppers and such, oranges and limes and avocadoes, miles and miles of it all. Further down we found....Bob and Jim driving in front of us, whom we met in San Carlos and were going to meet up with at Las Glorias. We followed them through a small town but then they ended up going further south whereas we want to go to the beach again. Enough driving already! So we turned back into town, and did some shopping at a big Ley store. We are still looking for fuel for our campingstove. Kerosene. Earl threatens to stop at an airport if we can't buy any in town... appearantly airplane fuel is the same stuff. Then, after navigating the dusty narrow one-way streets a couple more times, we spy something that looks like home hardware store. We go in asking for gasolina blanca - which is the name, we learned from our chatty friend in Las Glorias - and lo and behold, lots of one-litre bottles of the stuff. No problema. We stock up to the surprised look of the storepeople, and look forward to cooking some meat and boiling water for coffee! We've been buying our morning coffee at the corner store Oxxo, not bad but not the same as self-brewed, eh?
Now we are ready to go, fully stocked. The little road to Teacapan winds through a birdsanctuary. Palm trees here, coconut groves and crocodiles. We are getting towards jungly land now. You can feel more humidity. We check out all the camping places and decide on the new one, Villas ..... oh I forget the name now and am too lazy to walk all the way to the office. Sorry, I'll let you know later.
There's a mile long sandy road, wide enough for the van and/or a motorhome but not for passing. At the end are some villas, little stucco'd houses for rent, and some concrete pads with hook up. Price $17.00 USD per night. It's cheaper to stay a week or more. But we just need 2 nights, so I can do laundry and it can dry properly. There are about 12 or so rigs here, many from BC some from Abbotsford! It's also very windy when we arrive, and looks like it's going to rain with lots of clouds. That cleared up overnight though, but we had lots of humidity in the morning. The sun finally burns that off around 9:30 a.m. and the laundry goes up with help of clothespegs from the Abbotsford lady, and here we are blogging.
The wind picks up again after noon so I have to check the laundry.
We also drove into the village of Teacapan yesterday, a little fishing pueblo with friendly folk, dirt streets, the bus can just make the corners. Big OLD diesel greyhound buses.
It's nice to relax again for a day, but we keep hearing stories of further south where it's warmer, good surfin', that sorta thing...
Hasta luego!
We are in Teacapan today. We have WiFi but I can't seem to get pics on the blog so you'll have to wait. It was a short drive, about 2 hours and we stopped for groceries which I'll tell you about later.
We left Maz. at 7 a.m. when there was enough light and the kids were ready to go - that takes the longest usually. We drove through the old downtown and past the hotelzone. Interesting place, not somewhere we'd pick to go on holidays though. As it was too early for the grocerystores to be open we took to the Mex. 15 and headed south, finding a free road and heading for Teacapan. After a while we noticed the landscape changing a bit, towards Culiacan, the capital of this state of Sinaloa, more hilly and more trees. And what agriculture, corn and tomatoes and peppers and such, oranges and limes and avocadoes, miles and miles of it all. Further down we found....Bob and Jim driving in front of us, whom we met in San Carlos and were going to meet up with at Las Glorias. We followed them through a small town but then they ended up going further south whereas we want to go to the beach again. Enough driving already! So we turned back into town, and did some shopping at a big Ley store. We are still looking for fuel for our campingstove. Kerosene. Earl threatens to stop at an airport if we can't buy any in town... appearantly airplane fuel is the same stuff. Then, after navigating the dusty narrow one-way streets a couple more times, we spy something that looks like home hardware store. We go in asking for gasolina blanca - which is the name, we learned from our chatty friend in Las Glorias - and lo and behold, lots of one-litre bottles of the stuff. No problema. We stock up to the surprised look of the storepeople, and look forward to cooking some meat and boiling water for coffee! We've been buying our morning coffee at the corner store Oxxo, not bad but not the same as self-brewed, eh?
Now we are ready to go, fully stocked. The little road to Teacapan winds through a birdsanctuary. Palm trees here, coconut groves and crocodiles. We are getting towards jungly land now. You can feel more humidity. We check out all the camping places and decide on the new one, Villas ..... oh I forget the name now and am too lazy to walk all the way to the office. Sorry, I'll let you know later.
There's a mile long sandy road, wide enough for the van and/or a motorhome but not for passing. At the end are some villas, little stucco'd houses for rent, and some concrete pads with hook up. Price $17.00 USD per night. It's cheaper to stay a week or more. But we just need 2 nights, so I can do laundry and it can dry properly. There are about 12 or so rigs here, many from BC some from Abbotsford! It's also very windy when we arrive, and looks like it's going to rain with lots of clouds. That cleared up overnight though, but we had lots of humidity in the morning. The sun finally burns that off around 9:30 a.m. and the laundry goes up with help of clothespegs from the Abbotsford lady, and here we are blogging.
The wind picks up again after noon so I have to check the laundry.
We also drove into the village of Teacapan yesterday, a little fishing pueblo with friendly folk, dirt streets, the bus can just make the corners. Big OLD diesel greyhound buses.
It's nice to relax again for a day, but we keep hearing stories of further south where it's warmer, good surfin', that sorta thing...
Hasta luego!
And on we go...
Wednesday we decide we are ready to travel the 4 hrs to Los Mochis and Las Glorias. But in the morning while getting ready we start talking to some people, Jim and Bob. Left their wives at home and are travelling south to PV and beyond. B. has been coming down here and the Baja for oodles of years, he's a wealth of information and willing to share. Jim's along for the ride until later this month when he'll fly home.So we just had to compare notes and pick Bob's brain. He also regards the Church's book as "the bible" and he has an old copy, so he updated some things with my book, and it turns out they will come down to where we plan to go tomorrow. So we'll go ahead of them and meet up with them tomorrow again in Las Glorias.He told us of little out of the way beaches to camp at, places to watch out for and not dawdle and other places to boondock freely.So we left later than planned but very worthwhile spending the hour talking to Bob. Bob's got a boat and an ATV, too. Looks like Bob's the man...
We passed through some busy towns, Obrigon and Navojoa, they have wall-mart and home depot! We need to buy more campstove fuel. We are trying to ask but maybe are not using the right translations....got sent to a propane place.There are many horses and buggies in the median, people burning grass, gathering hay on the little carts, people on bikes on the freeway..donkeys and cows..many bumps in the road mostly when you get to a town, they are called topes and like speedbumps but don't hit them with more than 5 km/h or you'll loose your rear-end (of the van, of course...unless you're having other problems).Speaking of that, we're drinking only bought water in a big 5 gallon pail which we can get refilled for 1.50 USD. After our feast on seafood evening Earl actually had a bad stomachache which he was able to get rid of in a few hours (on the potty) but cramping lasted a couple of days. Thank you to our health food lady in Mission who suggested taking charcoal capsules with us~they work very well and much healthier than pepto or immodium. We still put GSE in the water we drink and I wash all fruit and veggies in water with drops of GSE in it, and wash my cuttingboard with that as well. We are also still taking acedophelus capsules but running out now. My cold is almost completely gone, I'm soooo glad. We're in the desert - I was bound to dry up at some point!
The book says a little over 400 km from Guaymas to Las Glorias. Well, we left Guaymas at 9:30 a.m., and we arrive in the dark around 6 p.m. We stopped twice, got gas and looked around in a Wall-mart, got some tortillas and meat for tonight. Also still looking for that campstove gas! The distances just kill us in more ways than one. Everything takes so much longer than we anticipate. There were 3 toll booths, 2 army check-points (they just slow us down, we don't have to stop), many topes and such slowing us down. The last 50 km or so was bad on our nerves. We are always hoping to camp before it gets dark, preferably with a few hours left to look around the area. Driving in the dark is just NOT recommended - half the people don't have lights, no insurance, drive very fast, no streetlighting or lighted signs so you are really driving blind. Lucky there is only one way in and out to this camping in Las Glorias. The town has dirt roads, although the main 'boulevard' is being paved with cobblestones but it is all dug up in the middle so you have to navigate through backroads (sand) to find the camping place. But it seems like a nice place, we're right on the beach, there are 5 other moterhomes here, at least 2 from BC. And our newfound friends are coming in tomorrow as well. Should be fun. We are glad to be here finally, but don't want to cut it this close (to sunset) again. Need to leave very early, first light I think when we do our next jot down to Mazatlan - something like 450 km.
The sights near towns and settlements are quite something for us to see. What we would call delapitated and run-down is quite normal here. Some buildings have no roof, just palmleaves or nothing. I don't know what they do when it rains (it must rain here sometimes?). Side roads are dirt, only the highway is paved. Many people on bicycles, and little mopeds. Everything is dusty. The area we are in now is kind of like the Fraser Valley, a big agricultural center. A great variety of food is grown here: corn, peppers, tomatoes, sugercane, pineapple, oranges, coconuts, cilantro. Probably lots more we couldn't identify. We see many cows in lots, and in the bush on the side of the highway, and horses in the median and in people's yards, and goats. Chickenbarns too. Lots of people mozying about, gatherings of folks looking a little bored or lost. Sometimes they are waiting for a local bus. Driving in the towns/cities is crazy, no lines on the roads, the signal lights sideways, 4-way stops where there aren't really any rules just be polite and smile, wave once in a while. People are helpful, and we are using our broken spanish to ask for directions more often.The kids are finally getting into saying a few spanish words out loud - they were too shy to do that earlier on. People dart in and out of traffic selling oranges and coconut and peanuts, or washing windshields, and one man just sat there on a little stool waiting for handouts, which he got, too. Quite brave, actually!
So we spent a day in Las Glorias at Mr. Moro's. Did some boogieboarding, played some pool with the staff here (at least we think they're staff..), one particularly chatty man is eager to learn english in exchange for helping us with our spanish.Made a nice long walk on the beach - which is flat, stretches for miles and soft white sand...lots of shells - and watched some guys swim out with a fishingnet and then pull it back in with fish. We drove to Boca del rio, a little fishing village, looking for fresh shrimp but didn't get any. Lots of signs, one man had dried shrimp, and so we ended up back in the campground and asked the restaurant if we could have some fresh seafood to go with our meal. We still had fresh salsa and guacamole with chips, and potatoes, but no meat. Well we got 3 meals for under 23 bucks, lots of fresh fish and shrimp and Ryan got chicken, with rice, salsa and salad and tortillas. I think we cleaned out the kitchen though. They are not very busy here so they were a little panicky when I ordered 3 dishes...We had heard stories about ordering something in a palapa restaurant (with the thatched palmleaf roof) and then seeing the guy on his bicycle going out to get the fresh seafood etc. and half an hour or an hour later you get your dish....it's true!!!!
The wind has died down a bit now around 8 p.m. and it is balmy. We set up the awning. If you haven't seen us camp yet in the van: the awning is a large camo tarp held up by rough poles and rope. Got lots of looks, even the locals come to sneek a peek. Guess we look a little odd, or maybe we look local and odd between the huge motorhomes here. Whichever, we feel pretty comfortable.
Our friends never show up. May have decided to drive through to Mazatlan today. You never know. No one seems to be on a schedule here.
Jan. 9 - friday. At least we think it's friday. It's hard enough keeping track of the date let alone what day of the week. We have other priorities! We left at 7 a.m. for our trek to Mazatlan. It says in the book 350+ km. so we figure 5 hours or something, from the way things have been going. There are a gazillion toll booths on the road to Maz. unless you take the free road. So this area is not cheap. We also filled up twice for gas. The gas price is the same everywhere at the Pemex stations (Mexican gov't. gas). You can also buy gas from a guy with a pickup truck and siphon hose but seems a bit suspect to us.
But the book warns us that free roads may take an extra hour, and we do NOT want to be on the road forever today. Short trips and fabu destinations from now on.We get into Maz. into a zone just before the Zona Dorado and then the big hotel zone. Just north of there, thinking it will be quieter there. Wrong! We find after quite a bit of looking and asking one campground, $32 USD per night for no amenities! Or a parkinglot style 'campground' for 16, so we try a little further into Mazatlan, another little yet more shady campground still $32/night and not so friendly neighbours, and so we venture on to another possible site. This is wedged between some big hotels and condo places, we don't need hookup for anything just use of the bathrooms but they still charge the same price. So we are asked to park in the back against the wall that separates us from the busy road, but clean (?well, for here) bathrooms and showers and the beach is 20 paces away. We can't see the beach for the big rigs but we can certainly get there in a hurry. We decide to stay one night, leave early in the a.m. as soon as we can. We'll go 2 hours south from here where hopefully it is quieter. But what do you expect in a big resort city like Mazatlan? I feel small, when I look up sitting here on the cement pad (we didn't bring any chairs or table) I see the condos and hotels towering over me. The moon is beautiful, not quite full yet but giving lots of light. We decide that on the way back we'll skip Mazatlan and go directly to Las Glorias. Everyone liked it there.Or maybe we'll stop at Huatabampito. Anywhere but here.There is a family here with 3 boys, in a van similar to ours. We talked to them a little bit, they're from Salmon Arm, first trip down the West Coast like us. They have been here 4 days or so, also tired of driving and decided to stay put for a few days. We will probably meet up with them down the road again, we are all going P.V. way it seems.
But mostly retirees with supertans and big bellies.We ate dinner at a little mom and pop place where locals hang out as well - always a good sign. We make sure the kids are hungry enough that they'll eat whatever's on their plate. And they do. A little bit of boogieboarding is great to work up an apetite.Ryan seems to be always hungry.
Kids and dad play chess at night. It's become a favorite game. We have a small magnetized version we took along. Ryan beat dad tonight! We can get wireless connection here if we pay, and we don't want to 'cause the camping is already twice the usual. So, we'll do the blog thing and e-mailing at another location.
We passed through some busy towns, Obrigon and Navojoa, they have wall-mart and home depot! We need to buy more campstove fuel. We are trying to ask but maybe are not using the right translations....got sent to a propane place.There are many horses and buggies in the median, people burning grass, gathering hay on the little carts, people on bikes on the freeway..donkeys and cows..many bumps in the road mostly when you get to a town, they are called topes and like speedbumps but don't hit them with more than 5 km/h or you'll loose your rear-end (of the van, of course...unless you're having other problems).Speaking of that, we're drinking only bought water in a big 5 gallon pail which we can get refilled for 1.50 USD. After our feast on seafood evening Earl actually had a bad stomachache which he was able to get rid of in a few hours (on the potty) but cramping lasted a couple of days. Thank you to our health food lady in Mission who suggested taking charcoal capsules with us~they work very well and much healthier than pepto or immodium. We still put GSE in the water we drink and I wash all fruit and veggies in water with drops of GSE in it, and wash my cuttingboard with that as well. We are also still taking acedophelus capsules but running out now. My cold is almost completely gone, I'm soooo glad. We're in the desert - I was bound to dry up at some point!
The book says a little over 400 km from Guaymas to Las Glorias. Well, we left Guaymas at 9:30 a.m., and we arrive in the dark around 6 p.m. We stopped twice, got gas and looked around in a Wall-mart, got some tortillas and meat for tonight. Also still looking for that campstove gas! The distances just kill us in more ways than one. Everything takes so much longer than we anticipate. There were 3 toll booths, 2 army check-points (they just slow us down, we don't have to stop), many topes and such slowing us down. The last 50 km or so was bad on our nerves. We are always hoping to camp before it gets dark, preferably with a few hours left to look around the area. Driving in the dark is just NOT recommended - half the people don't have lights, no insurance, drive very fast, no streetlighting or lighted signs so you are really driving blind. Lucky there is only one way in and out to this camping in Las Glorias. The town has dirt roads, although the main 'boulevard' is being paved with cobblestones but it is all dug up in the middle so you have to navigate through backroads (sand) to find the camping place. But it seems like a nice place, we're right on the beach, there are 5 other moterhomes here, at least 2 from BC. And our newfound friends are coming in tomorrow as well. Should be fun. We are glad to be here finally, but don't want to cut it this close (to sunset) again. Need to leave very early, first light I think when we do our next jot down to Mazatlan - something like 450 km.
The sights near towns and settlements are quite something for us to see. What we would call delapitated and run-down is quite normal here. Some buildings have no roof, just palmleaves or nothing. I don't know what they do when it rains (it must rain here sometimes?). Side roads are dirt, only the highway is paved. Many people on bicycles, and little mopeds. Everything is dusty. The area we are in now is kind of like the Fraser Valley, a big agricultural center. A great variety of food is grown here: corn, peppers, tomatoes, sugercane, pineapple, oranges, coconuts, cilantro. Probably lots more we couldn't identify. We see many cows in lots, and in the bush on the side of the highway, and horses in the median and in people's yards, and goats. Chickenbarns too. Lots of people mozying about, gatherings of folks looking a little bored or lost. Sometimes they are waiting for a local bus. Driving in the towns/cities is crazy, no lines on the roads, the signal lights sideways, 4-way stops where there aren't really any rules just be polite and smile, wave once in a while. People are helpful, and we are using our broken spanish to ask for directions more often.The kids are finally getting into saying a few spanish words out loud - they were too shy to do that earlier on. People dart in and out of traffic selling oranges and coconut and peanuts, or washing windshields, and one man just sat there on a little stool waiting for handouts, which he got, too. Quite brave, actually!
So we spent a day in Las Glorias at Mr. Moro's. Did some boogieboarding, played some pool with the staff here (at least we think they're staff..), one particularly chatty man is eager to learn english in exchange for helping us with our spanish.Made a nice long walk on the beach - which is flat, stretches for miles and soft white sand...lots of shells - and watched some guys swim out with a fishingnet and then pull it back in with fish. We drove to Boca del rio, a little fishing village, looking for fresh shrimp but didn't get any. Lots of signs, one man had dried shrimp, and so we ended up back in the campground and asked the restaurant if we could have some fresh seafood to go with our meal. We still had fresh salsa and guacamole with chips, and potatoes, but no meat. Well we got 3 meals for under 23 bucks, lots of fresh fish and shrimp and Ryan got chicken, with rice, salsa and salad and tortillas. I think we cleaned out the kitchen though. They are not very busy here so they were a little panicky when I ordered 3 dishes...We had heard stories about ordering something in a palapa restaurant (with the thatched palmleaf roof) and then seeing the guy on his bicycle going out to get the fresh seafood etc. and half an hour or an hour later you get your dish....it's true!!!!
The wind has died down a bit now around 8 p.m. and it is balmy. We set up the awning. If you haven't seen us camp yet in the van: the awning is a large camo tarp held up by rough poles and rope. Got lots of looks, even the locals come to sneek a peek. Guess we look a little odd, or maybe we look local and odd between the huge motorhomes here. Whichever, we feel pretty comfortable.
Our friends never show up. May have decided to drive through to Mazatlan today. You never know. No one seems to be on a schedule here.
Jan. 9 - friday. At least we think it's friday. It's hard enough keeping track of the date let alone what day of the week. We have other priorities! We left at 7 a.m. for our trek to Mazatlan. It says in the book 350+ km. so we figure 5 hours or something, from the way things have been going. There are a gazillion toll booths on the road to Maz. unless you take the free road. So this area is not cheap. We also filled up twice for gas. The gas price is the same everywhere at the Pemex stations (Mexican gov't. gas). You can also buy gas from a guy with a pickup truck and siphon hose but seems a bit suspect to us.
But the book warns us that free roads may take an extra hour, and we do NOT want to be on the road forever today. Short trips and fabu destinations from now on.We get into Maz. into a zone just before the Zona Dorado and then the big hotel zone. Just north of there, thinking it will be quieter there. Wrong! We find after quite a bit of looking and asking one campground, $32 USD per night for no amenities! Or a parkinglot style 'campground' for 16, so we try a little further into Mazatlan, another little yet more shady campground still $32/night and not so friendly neighbours, and so we venture on to another possible site. This is wedged between some big hotels and condo places, we don't need hookup for anything just use of the bathrooms but they still charge the same price. So we are asked to park in the back against the wall that separates us from the busy road, but clean (?well, for here) bathrooms and showers and the beach is 20 paces away. We can't see the beach for the big rigs but we can certainly get there in a hurry. We decide to stay one night, leave early in the a.m. as soon as we can. We'll go 2 hours south from here where hopefully it is quieter. But what do you expect in a big resort city like Mazatlan? I feel small, when I look up sitting here on the cement pad (we didn't bring any chairs or table) I see the condos and hotels towering over me. The moon is beautiful, not quite full yet but giving lots of light. We decide that on the way back we'll skip Mazatlan and go directly to Las Glorias. Everyone liked it there.Or maybe we'll stop at Huatabampito. Anywhere but here.There is a family here with 3 boys, in a van similar to ours. We talked to them a little bit, they're from Salmon Arm, first trip down the West Coast like us. They have been here 4 days or so, also tired of driving and decided to stay put for a few days. We will probably meet up with them down the road again, we are all going P.V. way it seems.
But mostly retirees with supertans and big bellies.We ate dinner at a little mom and pop place where locals hang out as well - always a good sign. We make sure the kids are hungry enough that they'll eat whatever's on their plate. And they do. A little bit of boogieboarding is great to work up an apetite.Ryan seems to be always hungry.
Kids and dad play chess at night. It's become a favorite game. We have a small magnetized version we took along. Ryan beat dad tonight! We can get wireless connection here if we pay, and we don't want to 'cause the camping is already twice the usual. So, we'll do the blog thing and e-mailing at another location.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
a day of rest jan. 6.
Well here we are last night eating our dinner in the Palapa at a restaurant without windows on the beach, here in San Carlos.
Today we did laundry, but at 1.50 a load the dryer was not an option and we went to Algodones beach (BIG SANDY) and let the wind do a good job. Everything was dry within 2 hours. The kids ran around, playing in the water a bit, but it was cold, and we ate lunch - fresh made salsa and guacamole and chips - and relaxed. Then we visited Guaymas and a grocery store. Very interesting in spanish. We definitely need more practice with the language. We are consulting the phrase book all the time.
Then back to the same campground as last night, after checking out another one which didn't seem as friendly. After all, there's all these canadians here!
Around dinner we consulted the map and the Church's book "Mexican Camping" to figure out our next move. We all agree not to drive toooooooo long. But what is too long? If you leave at 8, drive 4 hours you can be at the next camping at noon and have lots of time to look around the area and set up camp. But who wants to get up and go at 8? We're just having coffee at that time usually. Ryan is usually still all sausaged up in his sleepingbag! So, wait and see. We'll decide tomorrow. Our neigbour here from Edmonton, in his 40+ foot bus, with trailer, has driven down to Mazatlan and says there are very good roads there, better than what we drove yesterday. No problem driving down south.
Decisions, decisions.
jan. 4/09Leaving Tucson we thought we would stop at the bank, the camping world store, and wallmart. Well, we found the first two no problemo, but then Wallmart was another story. We spent too long trying to find it and now we didn't have time to go to the Desert Museum as planned, because we want to be at the camping in Nogales on time which is before it gets dark. We've been arriving and making food in the dark when camping too often!So that was a bit disappointing but we look forward to crossing the border tomorrow. Major rainstorm on the way to Nogales! But no flash flooding which would maybe have been kind of interesting. We passed many adobe style little houses which is the main building style around here. The landscape is still sandy, more shrubbery now and grasses, red dirt. The rain stopped after about half an hour.Nogales is a very small town. The Mike and Terri Church book suggested staying the night before crossing the border at Mi Casa RV park. We would NOT recommend that! It is a trailer park with mostly full time residents, some run down trailers and some (3 or so) spots for large dieselpushers in the middle. The office was closed, no one in sight, and we skidaddled outta there fast. But where else to go? We couldn't go more south, the border was there. On the map it showed a Patagonia State Park 11 miles east. Well, worth a try. Turns out to be a real oasis! Except it is at an altitude of over 3000 feet which makes it kinda chilly - again - at night for camping! We just can't seem to get away from the cold! And, it was raining again!But we highly recommend this little campground by the lake. It is peaceful, only 3 others here in the non-hookup section, flush potties and all the hot showers you like! $15 a night, pretty good. We have been kinda surprised by the prices here in the U.S. Everything is comparable to home, nothing cheaper. Few places the gas was $1.45 per gallon, but U.S. dollar vs CAD doesn't really make it a 'deal'. Mostly the gas has been $1.80 average per gallon. We have picked up a little propane mantle lantern, since we have been working with candlelight. That was a good investment ($15), lots of light and no noise.
Monday morning we head over to Sanborn's for Mexican car insurance. The man assured us we would be safe the routes we are planning to take and places we want to see (we told him mostly main roads down the coast to Puerto Vallarta). We got 6 months worth' insurance as it was cheaper than doing otherwise. Membership was included and provided us with mapbooks etc., and a lawyer in case of accidents (well, a number to call).Then we were off to the gasstation to fill up, check fluids in the motor - all good - and off to the border.Without any warning we were across a little speedbump next to the U.S. borderstation and here we are : Bienvenudos a Mexico!!!
About 2 minutes later we passed through a toll booth, $3.50USD.Then about 10 minutes later we arrived at the customs office/banjercito where we got our tourist visas and vehicle permits. Some line-ups which looked short, 4 or 5 people, took about 1 1/2 hours. We received copies and copies galore, all stapled together, and a decall to put on the windshield of the Van. Now we can officially drive in Mexico.So we follow this toll highway all the way down to Hermosillo, pass 2 more tollbooths - they seem to be between 3.50 and 4.50 each time, USD - and find our way through the town. Hermosillo is a busy city and as long as you pay attention it's not too difficult to navigate through. we didn't take the bypass (couldn't find it) so just followed the signs south to Guaymas/San Carlos.The roads aren't lined or marked always, and the traffic lights are horizontal with only the far left light on, the next light is faded and the next two don't work. Oh sometimes they have an arrow on the far right light. The drivers are ferocious! You really have to pay attention. Not much room on either side.The roads are bumpy and narrow, without shoulders. No rest stops, peeing has to be done at a gasstation but you pay/tip the guy there and he provides you with toiletpaper. Then someone is busy cleaning your window right away so you tip him as well. We're talking 2 or 3 pesos each time, around 25 cents. Not much but we exchange big smiles and please and thank you's.We are waiting to see the ocean now...Oh yes we passed through our first army checkpoint, guys in camo with machineguns and heaps of sandbags, an armoured vehicle or two, and they didn't say anything just waved us on. We were not intimidated nor scared at all.We are not seeing many motorhomes or fifthwheels...good or bad? remains to be seen. We did get questions at the toll booths about the sticks we brought on the roof. They are the poles to keep our awning up, of course (we use rough treelimbs and a huge army-camo tarp). It looks a little weird perhaps to some people. We do still get "looks"...There are donkeys and cows on the side of the road sometimes. Many little chapels with statues and painting on the rocks of the Virgin Mary.
Well, finally around 5:30 we see the OCEAN!!!!! It's taken us 10 days of driving to find it, endless miles through desert landscapes, but here it is at San Carlos (sister city to Guaymas), a nice little secluded bay. We follow the book to a campground the authors say is their favorite, and it looks nice and clean and a very nice gentleman tells us he has room for us for $16 a night. We decide to drive a little ways up the road and check out the RV campground the book says "many people swear this is the nicest place in all of Mexico". It turns out to be a parkinglot, no landscaping, new building it looks like but with a parkinglot around it where a few big buses are parked. Nowhere nears the ocean, either. So, we go back to Totonaka RV park and ask if we can have that no-hookup site. Nice clean washrooms and showers, big laundry, across the road from the beach! We like it, although it is not a state park of course. But there are some nice trees and shrubbery separating us from the neighbours. We walked to a restaurant where we ate fresh seafood (Megan had her shrimp!) under a palapa listening to and watching the ocean (no windows), with a clear sky above with many stars and half a moon. The temperature is a balmy 20 degrees celcius at 7 pm. The breeze feels a little cooler but still, we are not freezing like last night; or the last umpteen nights before that!Now, it REALLY feels like we are on holidays. It smells like ocean, roasted garlic and onion, and barbeque, and there's chirping in the air from little creatures. We are relaxing.....we're in Mexico!
Monday morning we head over to Sanborn's for Mexican car insurance. The man assured us we would be safe the routes we are planning to take and places we want to see (we told him mostly main roads down the coast to Puerto Vallarta). We got 6 months worth' insurance as it was cheaper than doing otherwise. Membership was included and provided us with mapbooks etc., and a lawyer in case of accidents (well, a number to call).Then we were off to the gasstation to fill up, check fluids in the motor - all good - and off to the border.Without any warning we were across a little speedbump next to the U.S. borderstation and here we are : Bienvenudos a Mexico!!!
About 2 minutes later we passed through a toll booth, $3.50USD.Then about 10 minutes later we arrived at the customs office/banjercito where we got our tourist visas and vehicle permits. Some line-ups which looked short, 4 or 5 people, took about 1 1/2 hours. We received copies and copies galore, all stapled together, and a decall to put on the windshield of the Van. Now we can officially drive in Mexico.So we follow this toll highway all the way down to Hermosillo, pass 2 more tollbooths - they seem to be between 3.50 and 4.50 each time, USD - and find our way through the town. Hermosillo is a busy city and as long as you pay attention it's not too difficult to navigate through. we didn't take the bypass (couldn't find it) so just followed the signs south to Guaymas/San Carlos.The roads aren't lined or marked always, and the traffic lights are horizontal with only the far left light on, the next light is faded and the next two don't work. Oh sometimes they have an arrow on the far right light. The drivers are ferocious! You really have to pay attention. Not much room on either side.The roads are bumpy and narrow, without shoulders. No rest stops, peeing has to be done at a gasstation but you pay/tip the guy there and he provides you with toiletpaper. Then someone is busy cleaning your window right away so you tip him as well. We're talking 2 or 3 pesos each time, around 25 cents. Not much but we exchange big smiles and please and thank you's.We are waiting to see the ocean now...Oh yes we passed through our first army checkpoint, guys in camo with machineguns and heaps of sandbags, an armoured vehicle or two, and they didn't say anything just waved us on. We were not intimidated nor scared at all.We are not seeing many motorhomes or fifthwheels...good or bad? remains to be seen. We did get questions at the toll booths about the sticks we brought on the roof. They are the poles to keep our awning up, of course (we use rough treelimbs and a huge army-camo tarp). It looks a little weird perhaps to some people. We do still get "looks"...There are donkeys and cows on the side of the road sometimes. Many little chapels with statues and painting on the rocks of the Virgin Mary.
Well, finally around 5:30 we see the OCEAN!!!!! It's taken us 10 days of driving to find it, endless miles through desert landscapes, but here it is at San Carlos (sister city to Guaymas), a nice little secluded bay. We follow the book to a campground the authors say is their favorite, and it looks nice and clean and a very nice gentleman tells us he has room for us for $16 a night. We decide to drive a little ways up the road and check out the RV campground the book says "many people swear this is the nicest place in all of Mexico". It turns out to be a parkinglot, no landscaping, new building it looks like but with a parkinglot around it where a few big buses are parked. Nowhere nears the ocean, either. So, we go back to Totonaka RV park and ask if we can have that no-hookup site. Nice clean washrooms and showers, big laundry, across the road from the beach! We like it, although it is not a state park of course. But there are some nice trees and shrubbery separating us from the neighbours. We walked to a restaurant where we ate fresh seafood (Megan had her shrimp!) under a palapa listening to and watching the ocean (no windows), with a clear sky above with many stars and half a moon. The temperature is a balmy 20 degrees celcius at 7 pm. The breeze feels a little cooler but still, we are not freezing like last night; or the last umpteen nights before that!Now, it REALLY feels like we are on holidays. It smells like ocean, roasted garlic and onion, and barbeque, and there's chirping in the air from little creatures. We are relaxing.....we're in Mexico!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
still preparing to cross the border..
Here is the Colorado river in Yuma.
Jan. 3/09 – o.k., so we didn’t cross the border…yet.
We decided this morning in Calexico that it might be better if we go through the Nogales border crossing in Arizona, after talking to the lady here at the Best Western hotel. She was a wealth of info, being from across the border herself she could tell us the gas prices (a little higher actually in Mexico than here in the southern states), the roads to take and to avoid, and so we decided to take the #8 through Yuma on to Casa Grande and Nogales where we hope to spend the night before crossing. We are seeing Alberta licenceplates now on the road. Passed through Imperial Sand Dunes rec. area where there was miles of sand and millions of dunebuggies and atv’s – we had to stop Ry from drooling but he was able to get pictures. Crossed the Colorado river (very innocent looking here in Yuma) then into the state of Arizona.
Quick stop to check out a GPS at Best Buy…with Mexico on it hopefully.
We decided this morning in Calexico that it might be better if we go through the Nogales border crossing in Arizona, after talking to the lady here at the Best Western hotel. She was a wealth of info, being from across the border herself she could tell us the gas prices (a little higher actually in Mexico than here in the southern states), the roads to take and to avoid, and so we decided to take the #8 through Yuma on to Casa Grande and Nogales where we hope to spend the night before crossing. We are seeing Alberta licenceplates now on the road. Passed through Imperial Sand Dunes rec. area where there was miles of sand and millions of dunebuggies and atv’s – we had to stop Ry from drooling but he was able to get pictures. Crossed the Colorado river (very innocent looking here in Yuma) then into the state of Arizona.
Quick stop to check out a GPS at Best Buy…with Mexico on it hopefully.
We crossed into Mountain time now, so we're one hour ahead of you at home. That threw us off as it got dark and we hadn't found our campsite yet. So, another motel in Tucson and we can internet a little more. The distances are longer than we expected. This day from Yuma to Tucson is a long, dry, deserty run. It seems to last forever!
Today is sunday and we will try to get mex. insurance for the van today and doing some sightseeing (there's a great desert zoo here not to be missed) and cross the border tomorrow, monday. We need to exchange some money too. The weather is cloudy here, but still t-shirt weather. Got an e -mail from our friends who are in rainy San Diego now. Tomorrow it's supposed to get nicer and sunnier again.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
message for our LC!
Laura from SelfDesign, would you please e-mail us so we can send you the weekly report? I have lost your contact info......somehow..... :o)
Friday, January 2, 2009
jan. 2 We're at the border!
Monday dec. 29
South of Sacramento in Merced, we’re in our t-shirts, driving with the window open! I think we’re finally on holidays “officially” now! We are passing through groves of citrus fruit, olives and grapes, very flat land with concrete storm drains or aquaducts every so often. Everything looks really dry, almost desert-like. We see solar panels being used, windmills, lots of radio towers and many trucks on the road. We are not on the I-5 anymore but on the 99 South towards Fresno. Megan is reading her Harry Potter 1 book and Ryan and I play chess in the back.
We’re thinking of you all at home in the snow….. and smiling :o)
Tuesday dec. 30 – we are on the road AGAIN, boy it sure takes a long time to find warm weather…..the scenery is so very different from home here south of Bakersfield. Now loads of orange groves, soft rounded shaped mountains on the left with higher ones behind it, and all flat farmland with wheat or citrus or grapes on the right. We are heading more east now, away from L.A., into the hills on our way to Joshua Tree park. Quite a few motorhomes and fifthwheels on the road, some from BC!
The I-58 takes us up in the hills and there are enormous boulders dotting the hilly fields. Windmills and turbines large and small along the ridge of hills, 100s of them at Tehachapi and Barstow. Wind and solar power is popular here. Small Joshua trees on the sides of the road. We are now in the Mojave Desert. We saw a coyote and there are little rodent holes in the ground.
We moved the bench seat in the van to the back bench position, creating a large open space in the middle of the van with the kitchenbox and pantry box/worksurface for making sandwiches along the way. When camping we fold the bench down, plywood on top and voila – double bed and 2 sleep on the floorspace on foamies.
We passed the town of Boron where 20-mule team Borax comes from. There is a huge open mine pit. Close to San Bernadino the Joshua trees get taller. Everywhere there are new buildings, homes, industrial sites and infrastructure half finished and/or empty with Lease signs on them.
Palm Springs – nice little town, ritzy, but everywhere you have to be 55 years or older and no kids allowed. We had to drive out of town where there was one Sam’s pool and spa RV place where we spent the night, not cheap! It has hot springs pools so the kids had fun swimming and we old ones soaked in the hot springs. It is hot during the day but cools off at night, still a little jacket is all that’s needed over the t-shirt. Earl’s wearing his holiday shirt! That means it’s officially holiday time now.
Dec. 31 (it doesn’t feel like december or new-years at all!) we went exploring the desert. Our friends have been here before a few years ago so they had some choice spots to show us. The main roads are paved but side roads are mostly sand, sometimes soft too. We hiked up a hill where our names are now written in the box on top by the american flag. It was a hot hike in the desert and we caught a gecko to study (and release), saw quail and jackrabbits and a roadrunner. How different this landscape is from home! Then we went to a mobile home park where someone had a grand kumquat bush and we asked if we could fill our pockets. The man had a few orange trees as well – there’s nothing like an orange straight from the tree! We found some grapefruit and orange trees on the side of the road too but they were green still. We’ll leave those in the car for a few days.
We overnight newyears’ eve in Joshua Park at 2000ft. altitude. It feels like we’re on top of the world. At night it really cooled off and it was super clear so we could see lots of stars. Someone had a huge telescope out just for that purpose. Mom’s cold is acting up quite a bit, we hope to get rid of that soon. It is not comfortable specially at higher elevations it seems. We walked into an oasis here in the desert, with huge palmtrees right where the water bubbles from the ground. It was very cool to walk in a dry riverbed which is sometimes full of water when there is a flash flood. We followed the riverbed for a ways, wondering where it would end up, into the Salton Sea perhaps?
Jan. 1, 2009
Happy New Year from Joshua Tree Park in California! After breakfast we explored a place called Hidden Valley another 1000 feet up into the Park. There’s traces of snow on the hills and side of the road but we’re in t-shirts and shorts. Hidden Valley is a place where cow hustlers used to hide the stolen cattle in this natural corral surrounded by huge boulders, rebrand them and move ‘em out. We walked all around the corral and some of us couldn’t resist climbing. Lots of people like to climb the steep rockfaces with all the gear but our lot climbed with sandals and flip-flops and did very well. Quite a work out! The scenery here is amazing, sandy desert with yucca plants and joshua trees and cacti and then the huge boulders and rocks precariously balanced on top of eachother. We learned at a visitors center how this is done, geologically, and also about the creatures that live in the desert. I’m glad I was ignorant of the tarantulas and scorpions…..otherwise I may not have slept so well.
A quick lunch and we’re on the way to the Salton Sea, 200 feet below sea level.
This is not what we expected at all.
Now camping here is kinda interesting. It smells funny. There's no greenery. The pelicans are very funny. Wonderful sunset and sunrise but we left early in the morning again. Passed fountain of youth and then onto El Centro. We had breakfast together and then parted ways with our friends who are going on to San Diego. We continue south, find a hotel for the night and inquire about Mexican car insurance and paperwork. We plan to cross the border tomorrow into the Baja. By this time we just want to see some ocean and warm WARM weather! It has been a little cool at night for some of us. And we're still dreaming of warm ocean breezes.
We've had a wonderful time travelling with our friends and their GPS - such a handy device! - the kids loved being and discovering together. We'll keep in touch with them through wireless internetting as much as possible.
South of Sacramento in Merced, we’re in our t-shirts, driving with the window open! I think we’re finally on holidays “officially” now! We are passing through groves of citrus fruit, olives and grapes, very flat land with concrete storm drains or aquaducts every so often. Everything looks really dry, almost desert-like. We see solar panels being used, windmills, lots of radio towers and many trucks on the road. We are not on the I-5 anymore but on the 99 South towards Fresno. Megan is reading her Harry Potter 1 book and Ryan and I play chess in the back.
We’re thinking of you all at home in the snow….. and smiling :o)
Tuesday dec. 30 – we are on the road AGAIN, boy it sure takes a long time to find warm weather…..the scenery is so very different from home here south of Bakersfield. Now loads of orange groves, soft rounded shaped mountains on the left with higher ones behind it, and all flat farmland with wheat or citrus or grapes on the right. We are heading more east now, away from L.A., into the hills on our way to Joshua Tree park. Quite a few motorhomes and fifthwheels on the road, some from BC!
The I-58 takes us up in the hills and there are enormous boulders dotting the hilly fields. Windmills and turbines large and small along the ridge of hills, 100s of them at Tehachapi and Barstow. Wind and solar power is popular here. Small Joshua trees on the sides of the road. We are now in the Mojave Desert. We saw a coyote and there are little rodent holes in the ground.
We moved the bench seat in the van to the back bench position, creating a large open space in the middle of the van with the kitchenbox and pantry box/worksurface for making sandwiches along the way. When camping we fold the bench down, plywood on top and voila – double bed and 2 sleep on the floorspace on foamies.
We passed the town of Boron where 20-mule team Borax comes from. There is a huge open mine pit. Close to San Bernadino the Joshua trees get taller. Everywhere there are new buildings, homes, industrial sites and infrastructure half finished and/or empty with Lease signs on them.
Palm Springs – nice little town, ritzy, but everywhere you have to be 55 years or older and no kids allowed. We had to drive out of town where there was one Sam’s pool and spa RV place where we spent the night, not cheap! It has hot springs pools so the kids had fun swimming and we old ones soaked in the hot springs. It is hot during the day but cools off at night, still a little jacket is all that’s needed over the t-shirt. Earl’s wearing his holiday shirt! That means it’s officially holiday time now.
Dec. 31 (it doesn’t feel like december or new-years at all!) we went exploring the desert. Our friends have been here before a few years ago so they had some choice spots to show us. The main roads are paved but side roads are mostly sand, sometimes soft too. We hiked up a hill where our names are now written in the box on top by the american flag. It was a hot hike in the desert and we caught a gecko to study (and release), saw quail and jackrabbits and a roadrunner. How different this landscape is from home! Then we went to a mobile home park where someone had a grand kumquat bush and we asked if we could fill our pockets. The man had a few orange trees as well – there’s nothing like an orange straight from the tree! We found some grapefruit and orange trees on the side of the road too but they were green still. We’ll leave those in the car for a few days.
We overnight newyears’ eve in Joshua Park at 2000ft. altitude. It feels like we’re on top of the world. At night it really cooled off and it was super clear so we could see lots of stars. Someone had a huge telescope out just for that purpose. Mom’s cold is acting up quite a bit, we hope to get rid of that soon. It is not comfortable specially at higher elevations it seems. We walked into an oasis here in the desert, with huge palmtrees right where the water bubbles from the ground. It was very cool to walk in a dry riverbed which is sometimes full of water when there is a flash flood. We followed the riverbed for a ways, wondering where it would end up, into the Salton Sea perhaps?
Jan. 1, 2009
Happy New Year from Joshua Tree Park in California! After breakfast we explored a place called Hidden Valley another 1000 feet up into the Park. There’s traces of snow on the hills and side of the road but we’re in t-shirts and shorts. Hidden Valley is a place where cow hustlers used to hide the stolen cattle in this natural corral surrounded by huge boulders, rebrand them and move ‘em out. We walked all around the corral and some of us couldn’t resist climbing. Lots of people like to climb the steep rockfaces with all the gear but our lot climbed with sandals and flip-flops and did very well. Quite a work out! The scenery here is amazing, sandy desert with yucca plants and joshua trees and cacti and then the huge boulders and rocks precariously balanced on top of eachother. We learned at a visitors center how this is done, geologically, and also about the creatures that live in the desert. I’m glad I was ignorant of the tarantulas and scorpions…..otherwise I may not have slept so well.
A quick lunch and we’re on the way to the Salton Sea, 200 feet below sea level.
This is not what we expected at all.
Now camping here is kinda interesting. It smells funny. There's no greenery. The pelicans are very funny. Wonderful sunset and sunrise but we left early in the morning again. Passed fountain of youth and then onto El Centro. We had breakfast together and then parted ways with our friends who are going on to San Diego. We continue south, find a hotel for the night and inquire about Mexican car insurance and paperwork. We plan to cross the border tomorrow into the Baja. By this time we just want to see some ocean and warm WARM weather! It has been a little cool at night for some of us. And we're still dreaming of warm ocean breezes.
We've had a wonderful time travelling with our friends and their GPS - such a handy device! - the kids loved being and discovering together. We'll keep in touch with them through wireless internetting as much as possible.
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