The best laid plans. . . . . .

OK - so last we spoke the plan was to head home through Colorado, Wyoming and Montana . . . . well, it's never that simple.



We had a little problem with the truck - initially the mechanico thought that we had blown a turbo (whatever that means) and we were looking at a big expensive repair. But, as luck (and I use that term loosely) would have it, it wasn't the turbo, but a sensor . . . . so, in a little auto mechanic shop in Anthony, New Mexico we got that fixed and are now on our way again.



But wait . . . the weather in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana is going sour . . . . so back to Plan "A". We are off to Tucson tomorrow, and then to Casa Grande, and I (de Beeb) will fly home on March 2nd. Arturo will have to wait until a good weather window, and hopefully will be back in Water Valley soon after that.



Unfortunately, the "Nowhere to be and all day to get there" doesn't apply here - as I have to get back to work, and to Kipper, and of course Keri/Jon/Isaac/Paddy (due any day now)/Chris . . . we just need to get home and get our lives back in some sort of order . . . enough of this lazing around!



Take Care - and "Felices Viajes" to all our travelling amigos.



Arturo y de Beeb

Sunrises and Sunsets

Beaches

Homeward Bound

Well, we are homeward bound. Yesturday, we crossed over the border into the USA, and are now in New Mexico, just west of El Paso, Texas. Travelling north from Guadalajara was another interesting adventure! The cities in the interior of Mexico are really not “fifth wheel friendly” but we made it through. The toll roads are excellent, and we made good time heading north. The country side is unique – and we have experienced some of the most beautiful scenery. As we travelled north, and got closer to the border, we became a bit more apprehensive as we have had news of some “troubles” in Chihuahua City and Juarez. We have been travelling with another couple from Victoria, and it was a nice to have the company. On Saturday, we spent the night in an RV park just outside of Chihuahua City – and other than the horses, we were the only two rigs in the park. Of course, before getting to the park, we took an unexpected tour of one of the “rougher” neighborhoods of the city. I think I’ll just leave it at that . . . .

Along the road to the border, we were stopped twice by the military for inspections. It’s not too bad, though. The young men (and they look really young) just come on to the rig and look in all the cupboards – just in case . . . The only unnerving thing is the machine guns – but that’s just the way it is in Mexico. At the border crossing, they are actually in bunkers with machine guns pointed at the vehicles.

I took this picture from the mirror as they were checking Pete's rig (probably shouldn't have done that!)

Throughout this trip we have seen so much – and yet so little. Here’s a little list of the agricultural areas we have been through in different parts of the country – corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, melons, pineapple, coconut, bananas, papaya, corn, pecans, peanuts, corn, apples, oranges, limes, grapefruit, lettuce, cabbage, corn, tequila, mangoes – did I say corn? I have probably forgotten something – and these are not just little mom and pop operations, but huge farms and plantations that go on for miles and miles.

It’s interesting to be across the border – and having access to things that we take for granted – like good electricity, potable water, water pressure, WIFI, no topes (speed bumps) and it just seems so much easier here to get around – perhaps it’s because we can actually read the road signs without trying to interpret.

Tomorrow will be another travel day to Santa Fe, New Mexico – and then north through Colorado and Montana until we get home.

It has really been an excellent adventure!

Arturo y de Beeb

Flowers of Mexico

and now, the end is near . . . .

Guadalajara . . . . . what a wonderful place!!! It seems so different from being on the beach – as we are outside of a city of 6 million people that is very metropolitan. Driving in on the freeways is just like a city in North America, which seems odd for Mexico as I'm used to seeing it. Guadalaraja is a mix of old and new, rich and poor - very rich and very, very poor, Spanish and Indigenous, which makes for a wonderful place to visit.

On Sunday, we explored the Tonala market, which is on the original site of Guadalajara and the biggest outdoor flea market you could imagine - blocks and blocks of tarps covering everything imaginable. This is THE centre for pottery, and if we had a bigger truck, we could have brought home many treasures. I did find a chiminea – finally – and it is strapped into the back seat of the truck (gotto keep the seat belt on to protect her!) What an experience!! This is also the area that wholesalers come to buy all the Mexican goods you could ever want. It's almost overwhelming, with so many people and so much "stuff" - easy to get burnt out fast.

Val bought lots!!

Yesturday, we toured downtown Guadalaraja, which is beautiful and clean. Again, the shopping, shopping, shopping is unbelievable. I restrained myself, and only came home with pictures. Guadalaraja Centro (city centre) is built around a beautiful square, church and municipal buildings, much like I found in Britain. We took a tour of the city on a hop-on-hop-off bus but it only served to wet our appetite to come back and visit again.

(clockwise from top left - Rotunda of Illustrious Men; Plaza de la Ligeracion; Cathedral)

(Top to bottom - Arches on roadway; Plaza de los Laureles (central plaza); Municipal Palace; statue of not sure who - but will find out)

Finally cooked the Christmas turkey that we hauled down here. Some of our Tenacatita friends are here in Villa Corona, so we organized a little pot luck - as always, there was lots of food and good times.

Tomorrow we leave Villa Corona and head north. Well actually have to go back to Guadalajara, circle around it on the Periferico (Ring Road), and then head north. We did a dry run today of the route around Guadalajara, so are feeling confident to drive the fifth wheel in this busy, busy place. We really don't want to miss any turns this time! From here we will travel to Zacatecas, then and north to near Chihuaha . . . it’s a fly by the seat of our pants kind of trip. We are travelling with another couple we have met, Pete and Val, and will be crossing over into New Mexico at Santa Teresa hopefully in three days. The interior of Mexico begs to be explored in another trip . . . . .

Will keep in touch – 10 more sleeps! Where has the time gone . . . . the RV community that travels in Mexico is small and unique, and we have met some wonderful people. Arturo and de Beeb have only seen the tip of the iceberg in this country!

Arturo y de Beeb

On the road again . . .

Leaving Tenacatita - Feb 10, 2009

Today is February 14th - St. Valentines Day. We left Tenacatita on Feb. 10th, spent a couple of days in Manzanillo with Rupert friends, and arrived in Villa Corona on Feb. 12th.

We forgot what it was like driving with the trailer tied to our backsides, and it was a wee bit stressful. When we arrived in Manzanillo, we parked at the hotel where we stayed for two nights and enjoyed so much our time with our old friends.

Parking wasn't the problem, but when we went to leave, Arturo had to back out down a cobblestone paved hill that was only wide enough for one lane. Thank goodness Jose and Mirko were there to help guide Arturo through, because I don't think I could have done it. We said our goodbyes to the Rupertites,

and then headed off towards Colima. First of all though, we headed down the wrong way on a one way highway out of Manzanillo, and had to jump the median with trailer in tow to get into the right lane. Coming or going, we always seem to make an impression!!! But once we were in the right lane, we continued on through the state of Colima towards Guadalajara. We passed by Volcan de Fuego - a steaming volcano. The peak was covered in cloud so we weren't able to get a good picture.

Because it's what we seem to do best, we missed the turn to Villa Corona, and landed in a small Mexican town (trailer in tow) and had to manuver through the narrow cobblestone streets of Actolan until we were back on the right road. Aaah, Villa Corona never looked so good!

Villa Corona is a nice city of about 22,000 people. The RV park here is really a water park. There are quite a few pools here that are emptied each night and filled with fresh, warm spring water every morning. The temperatures are very comfortable - 30s in the day time, but it cools down to about 10 degrees at night so we have put the down comforter back on the bed. It really is a beautiful place and we are happy to be here. There are a few other RVers here that we met at Tenacatita, so it feels very comfortable indeed. Tomorrow we are headed to Tonola, which is THE shopping area of Guadalajara - and we'll see what kind of bargains we can find. Sunday is the market day - Arturo is so excited (just kidding!!)

Today we went on a little excursion to Lake Chapala (Mexico's largest natural lake) and, I don't need to say this, but we missed the turn that would have taken us there directly, so we headed off across country. Again, we maneuvered through narrow cobblestone streets and dirt roads to get to the main highway. This took us about one hour out of our way, but it was beautiful scenery. This cabellero (cowboy) was trying to lasoo a cow that had wandered from the herd (kind of like we seem to do) but he really wasn't having any luck.

Lake Chapala is quite a Gringo destination, and is built up with beautiful casas and haciendas. We had a bite to eat and headed back to Villa Corona where we enjoyed a Valentines Party hosted by the park.

Better go and get a good nights sleep, as tomorrow will be a busy day at the market.

Countdown is on - we will be heading north next week - it's been a wonderful experience!

Arturo y de Beeb