MA to AZ and beyond
- Thread starter rob cote
- Start date
Thursday was a lazy beach day. We woke up and had a beautiful sunrise over the water which we didn't go outside to greet. It wasn't time, yet. We eventually made it out there, though, just not in any kind of hurry. When we finally got outside, we took Loki for a long walk down the beach. The weather was perfect! Which was actually less than ideal, in a way. It was perfect beach weather, but we had other plans as well. Since we'd met Lita and Dylan, and Liz and Destiny at the previous beach and they all met up with us at this beach, too, Mandy wanted to bake some bread to share. Hot weather makes baking in the van suboptimal, but she did it anyways. I guess in a way we actually have two pets travelling with us. Loki, the dog; and our sourdough, which doesn't have a name. But it's a living thing that needs feeding so it's kind of a pet?
Anyway, she baked a loaf of sourdough midmorning which finished around lunchtime-ish. Meanwhile, we chilled outside. We ate some fresh papaya on the beach. It was decent, but didn't impress me as much as the mangoes. The mangoes are incredible here. We let the dough cool and chatted with our neighbors a little. Unfortunately, everyone but Lita was feeling ill. They suspected the effects of food poisoning from a lunch stop the previous day. Mandy offered some slices of bread since it's a mild food and it's important to at least have something in your stomach. Everyone eagerly accepted and they all retired to their respective vans to recuperate.
A school bus and a van arrived together sometime around noon or so. I was making myself some lunch inside, and Mandy reported that the van appeared to be stuck before it even got onto the beach. She offered our tow strap and/or assistance as they were attempting to dig out the van and extract it with traction boards. They wanted to continue with their method first, but it ultimately failed and they accepted the tow strap. A local with a pickup was positioned nearby and easily pulled the van out. This was our easiest assist yet as we didn't have to do anything at all besides provide the equipment! They - Grace and Dylan - were very thankful for the help. Dylan had a little workshop set up next to his bus, so I talked to him a while about what he was working on, just out of curiosity. He was still in the process of finishing the bus - mostly trim work. What a spot for a workshop, though!!
As the afternoon wore on, we hung out with Lita for a while since she was the only one of that group not bedridden with food poisoning. We cooked some peanut butter chicken and rice for dinner and offered her some which she gladly accepted. We sat around the vans outside as the afternoon turned to night and watched - and heard! - the rays jumping out of the water and splashing back down just offshore. Eventually, we all agreed it was time for bed and so went inside to sleep to the sound of the waves crashing right outside.
Anyway, she baked a loaf of sourdough midmorning which finished around lunchtime-ish. Meanwhile, we chilled outside. We ate some fresh papaya on the beach. It was decent, but didn't impress me as much as the mangoes. The mangoes are incredible here. We let the dough cool and chatted with our neighbors a little. Unfortunately, everyone but Lita was feeling ill. They suspected the effects of food poisoning from a lunch stop the previous day. Mandy offered some slices of bread since it's a mild food and it's important to at least have something in your stomach. Everyone eagerly accepted and they all retired to their respective vans to recuperate.
A school bus and a van arrived together sometime around noon or so. I was making myself some lunch inside, and Mandy reported that the van appeared to be stuck before it even got onto the beach. She offered our tow strap and/or assistance as they were attempting to dig out the van and extract it with traction boards. They wanted to continue with their method first, but it ultimately failed and they accepted the tow strap. A local with a pickup was positioned nearby and easily pulled the van out. This was our easiest assist yet as we didn't have to do anything at all besides provide the equipment! They - Grace and Dylan - were very thankful for the help. Dylan had a little workshop set up next to his bus, so I talked to him a while about what he was working on, just out of curiosity. He was still in the process of finishing the bus - mostly trim work. What a spot for a workshop, though!!
As the afternoon wore on, we hung out with Lita for a while since she was the only one of that group not bedridden with food poisoning. We cooked some peanut butter chicken and rice for dinner and offered her some which she gladly accepted. We sat around the vans outside as the afternoon turned to night and watched - and heard! - the rays jumping out of the water and splashing back down just offshore. Eventually, we all agreed it was time for bed and so went inside to sleep to the sound of the waves crashing right outside.
Friday was a big day for our journey. First, we had to fix an issue I found the previous day. FIRST, we had to get up and walk around with Loki. It was overcast and dreary. Not great beach weather, BUT! it was actually perfect for having to tackle a bit of work in a confined space.
So, I happened to notice yesterday that the trunk (that's what we call the rear storage drawer) was a little messed up. I tried to avoid screwing into plywood throughout the entire van build because that type of fastening never lasts long term. To secure the drawer slides to the trunk box, though, I had to. And, of course, the screws were beginning to fail. Luckily, only two had pulled out so far so it wasn't catastrophic. The drawer was still able to actuate easily. We emptied it out and removed it so I could climb inside the trunk box to re-secure the drawer slide. Rather than just reinstall it the same way, though, I took the opportunity to add a couple holes to the drawer slide which align with the "studs" on the exterior of the drawer box. These vertical members are made of solid apple wood. I had screws on hand long enough to pass all the way through the plywood and terminate inside the hardwood structural components. We reassembled everything and Tetris-ed all the items back into the trunk and closed it up. Much better. And it should last much longer now, too!
We spent a while chatting with all the van people - who were now feeling much better, so that was great to see. We showed them our van because they were curious, and we had everything spewed out all over the place already. We were in no rush, but we eventually said our goodbyes and hit the road. Not before sharing more of the sourdough loaf that everyone seemed to love. We continued our way north, back to La Paz.
We got to the ferry terminal and parked. A parking lot attendant said something to us right after we parked. Mandy was driving, so he said it to her; I couldn't hear him clearly. She translated, "He said we park and walk to the office." Okay then. She hung out with Loki while I walked over to the TMC office. There's a lot going on in the terminal - TMC is the ferry company, aduana is the customs agency, and Banjercito is the bank that handles aduana transactions. Since we'd already handled the import several days ago, we didn't have to visit Banjercito this time. I waited in line inside the TMC office for a while only to find out that I was missing a necessary document. I went back outside so we could drive the van through the aduana inspection booth. If you recall, they already inspected our van previously, since it is overweight and they needed to confirm it's not a commercial vehicle. This time, they opened up the rear doors and peeked inside again, and also verified the VIN matched what was on the TIP documentation. It only took a couple minutes. Then, we proceeded to a truck scale where the length of the van was measured and the weight recorded.
We were given a slip of paper with the length and weight information to bring to TMC. We had made a reservation with TMC to sail to Topolobampo, but I probably could have told the folks at the scale that we were going to Mazatlan and ended up on the boat to Mazatlan instead. I didn't know it at the time, but the reservation seems flimsy, honestly. I'm not really clear how much weight it actually carries. It seems like you could probably show up the day-of and get on a boat provided there's room available. They pack everything in so tightly though, I'm not sure if there's always room for another or what. But, anyways, that's all just conjecture.
I went into the TMC office and waited in the line again. A woman called out for boletas and everyone in line handed theirs over, so I did, too. I think she was trying to streamline the workflow. After 10 minutes or so, there was some conversation between a TMC agent and someone in the line that I couldn't really hear, plus it was in Spanish. The guy in line translated for me that I was in the wrong place and indicated where I needed to go. I was annoyed at the situation, but thankful that they saved me waiting even longer in the line. What I'm guessing is the case, though I don't know for sure, is there's a TMC office for each ferry destination. I assume I was unknowingly in the Mazatlan office, and I needed to be in the office for Topo. In a totally different building, across the parking lot. Anyway, thankfully there was no line whatsoever inside the other building. It took the agent a while to complete whatever paperwork was required, but I just stood there patiently while she worked, and ultimately left with boarding passes for our van and ourselves. Their pricing structure isn't clear on the signs - do we fall under RV or van/vannette? - but we paid $5125MXN for the van and 1 passenger. So, a little over $250US.
I was feeling exhausted from walking all over and translating as best I could. I got back into the van and plopped in the seat. We had a few hours left to kill before the boat was to depart, but then we realized we didn't really know where we were supposed to be. I had looked up the schedule and saw that the boat to Topo was called Santa Marcella, so we just found the boat and parked near the loading ramp. That way we could watch and make sure we boarded when others were boarding. A little before dusk, they began loading trailers. It seems like truckers on the Baja side just drop tractor trailers (and then ??? who knows), and there are people at the port charged with loading the trailers onto the boat. There were some tractors, but far more trailers on board. We assumed that different truckers on the mainland side must pick them up as they're unloaded. It probably saves a ton of room on the boat to do it that way. Anyway, the guys or gals loading the trailers onto the ferry were very talented - every vehicle is loaded onto the boat in reverse - and it was fascinating to watch how quickly they worked.
Eventually, it was our turn. There were very few other passenger vehicles on board, and we only saw one that was clearly not a commercial vehicle. The rest were commercial vans or tiny box trucks. I fired up the van and reversed across the parking lot, over the gangway and onto the boat. I was directed up the ramp to the upper deck, and reversed all the way across the top floor to the opposite corner. We parked and put the van into night mode. Bed down, window covers installed, and lights on. Loki hopped into bed and we reheated leftovers for dinner. We cleaned up and climbed into bed, too, and watched some shows to pass the time until we fell asleep. Note - the upper deck is preferential if you're staying in your van like we did. There's fresh air all around, so if truckers are running their engines, you can't smell it while you're sleeping. The boat ended up leaving an hour behind schedule at about 10:00pm. We could barely feel the motion of the ferry, but we confirmed it by watching our dot move on the map.
So, I happened to notice yesterday that the trunk (that's what we call the rear storage drawer) was a little messed up. I tried to avoid screwing into plywood throughout the entire van build because that type of fastening never lasts long term. To secure the drawer slides to the trunk box, though, I had to. And, of course, the screws were beginning to fail. Luckily, only two had pulled out so far so it wasn't catastrophic. The drawer was still able to actuate easily. We emptied it out and removed it so I could climb inside the trunk box to re-secure the drawer slide. Rather than just reinstall it the same way, though, I took the opportunity to add a couple holes to the drawer slide which align with the "studs" on the exterior of the drawer box. These vertical members are made of solid apple wood. I had screws on hand long enough to pass all the way through the plywood and terminate inside the hardwood structural components. We reassembled everything and Tetris-ed all the items back into the trunk and closed it up. Much better. And it should last much longer now, too!
We spent a while chatting with all the van people - who were now feeling much better, so that was great to see. We showed them our van because they were curious, and we had everything spewed out all over the place already. We were in no rush, but we eventually said our goodbyes and hit the road. Not before sharing more of the sourdough loaf that everyone seemed to love. We continued our way north, back to La Paz.
We got to the ferry terminal and parked. A parking lot attendant said something to us right after we parked. Mandy was driving, so he said it to her; I couldn't hear him clearly. She translated, "He said we park and walk to the office." Okay then. She hung out with Loki while I walked over to the TMC office. There's a lot going on in the terminal - TMC is the ferry company, aduana is the customs agency, and Banjercito is the bank that handles aduana transactions. Since we'd already handled the import several days ago, we didn't have to visit Banjercito this time. I waited in line inside the TMC office for a while only to find out that I was missing a necessary document. I went back outside so we could drive the van through the aduana inspection booth. If you recall, they already inspected our van previously, since it is overweight and they needed to confirm it's not a commercial vehicle. This time, they opened up the rear doors and peeked inside again, and also verified the VIN matched what was on the TIP documentation. It only took a couple minutes. Then, we proceeded to a truck scale where the length of the van was measured and the weight recorded.
We were given a slip of paper with the length and weight information to bring to TMC. We had made a reservation with TMC to sail to Topolobampo, but I probably could have told the folks at the scale that we were going to Mazatlan and ended up on the boat to Mazatlan instead. I didn't know it at the time, but the reservation seems flimsy, honestly. I'm not really clear how much weight it actually carries. It seems like you could probably show up the day-of and get on a boat provided there's room available. They pack everything in so tightly though, I'm not sure if there's always room for another or what. But, anyways, that's all just conjecture.
I went into the TMC office and waited in the line again. A woman called out for boletas and everyone in line handed theirs over, so I did, too. I think she was trying to streamline the workflow. After 10 minutes or so, there was some conversation between a TMC agent and someone in the line that I couldn't really hear, plus it was in Spanish. The guy in line translated for me that I was in the wrong place and indicated where I needed to go. I was annoyed at the situation, but thankful that they saved me waiting even longer in the line. What I'm guessing is the case, though I don't know for sure, is there's a TMC office for each ferry destination. I assume I was unknowingly in the Mazatlan office, and I needed to be in the office for Topo. In a totally different building, across the parking lot. Anyway, thankfully there was no line whatsoever inside the other building. It took the agent a while to complete whatever paperwork was required, but I just stood there patiently while she worked, and ultimately left with boarding passes for our van and ourselves. Their pricing structure isn't clear on the signs - do we fall under RV or van/vannette? - but we paid $5125MXN for the van and 1 passenger. So, a little over $250US.
I was feeling exhausted from walking all over and translating as best I could. I got back into the van and plopped in the seat. We had a few hours left to kill before the boat was to depart, but then we realized we didn't really know where we were supposed to be. I had looked up the schedule and saw that the boat to Topo was called Santa Marcella, so we just found the boat and parked near the loading ramp. That way we could watch and make sure we boarded when others were boarding. A little before dusk, they began loading trailers. It seems like truckers on the Baja side just drop tractor trailers (and then ??? who knows), and there are people at the port charged with loading the trailers onto the boat. There were some tractors, but far more trailers on board. We assumed that different truckers on the mainland side must pick them up as they're unloaded. It probably saves a ton of room on the boat to do it that way. Anyway, the guys or gals loading the trailers onto the ferry were very talented - every vehicle is loaded onto the boat in reverse - and it was fascinating to watch how quickly they worked.
Eventually, it was our turn. There were very few other passenger vehicles on board, and we only saw one that was clearly not a commercial vehicle. The rest were commercial vans or tiny box trucks. I fired up the van and reversed across the parking lot, over the gangway and onto the boat. I was directed up the ramp to the upper deck, and reversed all the way across the top floor to the opposite corner. We parked and put the van into night mode. Bed down, window covers installed, and lights on. Loki hopped into bed and we reheated leftovers for dinner. We cleaned up and climbed into bed, too, and watched some shows to pass the time until we fell asleep. Note - the upper deck is preferential if you're staying in your van like we did. There's fresh air all around, so if truckers are running their engines, you can't smell it while you're sleeping. The boat ended up leaving an hour behind schedule at about 10:00pm. We could barely feel the motion of the ferry, but we confirmed it by watching our dot move on the map.
Saturday morning, we woke up to the barely perceptible rocking of the boat on the waves. It was quite soothing, actually. We were somewhere in the middle of the ocean, still, making slow progress towards the west coast of mainland Mexico. We took our time getting moving so Loki would remain chill for as long as possible until it was time to drive off. Eventually, we got up and converted the interior back to day mode. We took Loki out onto the ship's deck, but it was reeaalllly tight, and he wasn't interested in peeing out there which felt a little weird to us anyways, so it's probably for the best. Anyway, we hung out inside and he was very patient the whole time, until it was our turn to drive off the boat. We cruised only as far as the first free parking lot we could find. We hopped out and let him do his thing and walk around for a few minutes before climbing back into the van for a long push.
See, the US State Department issued a level 4 travel advisory for the state of Sinaloa which, as I understand it, is their sternest "don't go there" warning. So, we did our best to not go to the place we already found ourselves in. We drove without stopping (except to pay tolls and obey traffic signals) southbound for 5 hours. We finally stopped in Los Cerritos for the night in a small RV park on the beach. This is a beautiful little park, though it's technically still in Sinaloa. We didn't quite exit the state, but we met some other people in a van at the ferry terminal and connected with them, and that's where they planned to stop for the night and asked us to stay with them. We obliged. Mainly because we didn't have a plan beyond getting out of Sinaloa, but also because it's great to have travel companions, and they're headed to Patagonia, too!
Steph and Alejo took the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan, so they actually drove north a bit to meet us. They made some stops along their way, though, so we ultimately beat them to the RV park. After securing a site for the night, we walked Loki around to check the place out. There are some really cool permanent RVs there with gorgeous outdoor patios and kitchens built right off the campers. It seems most of the campers there are from Canada. We talked to a few that were super friendly. Larry told us a bunch about the cartel situation in the area which was actually strangely comforting. It seems most of the heat has subsided, and that although our RV is expensive, we don't have a very large target because it's not a super useful vehicle for cartel use. In his words - they can't mount a machine gun on it easily. They mainly want pickup trucks.
Anyway, we made some tacos for dinner and hung out in the campsite until Steph and Alejo caught us up right around sunset. They're travelling with three large dogs, so we gave them some time to get settled in and get the dogs situated. Then, we all went out. By that time, Loki was totally content to chill in bed, so we left him inside and walked over to a bar just outside the RV park. Jaiba Pata Salada. There was a private party going on upstairs with live music, so we grabbed a table downstairs over the water and ordered a round of drinks. We spent the evening getting to know the couple and sharing stories from the road. They were absolutely lovely. Unfortunately for us, they're travelling at a much slower rate than we are since they're working from their van and can afford to take a lot longer. Their plan is approximately three years to get to Patagonia. Or there and back? I'm not sure, but either way, we have to be done before then. But regardless, the connections are awesome and we can at least travel with them for a couple days. And who knows?
After an excellent margarita and enough talking over the music, we all headed back home to go to bed for the night.
See, the US State Department issued a level 4 travel advisory for the state of Sinaloa which, as I understand it, is their sternest "don't go there" warning. So, we did our best to not go to the place we already found ourselves in. We drove without stopping (except to pay tolls and obey traffic signals) southbound for 5 hours. We finally stopped in Los Cerritos for the night in a small RV park on the beach. This is a beautiful little park, though it's technically still in Sinaloa. We didn't quite exit the state, but we met some other people in a van at the ferry terminal and connected with them, and that's where they planned to stop for the night and asked us to stay with them. We obliged. Mainly because we didn't have a plan beyond getting out of Sinaloa, but also because it's great to have travel companions, and they're headed to Patagonia, too!
Steph and Alejo took the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan, so they actually drove north a bit to meet us. They made some stops along their way, though, so we ultimately beat them to the RV park. After securing a site for the night, we walked Loki around to check the place out. There are some really cool permanent RVs there with gorgeous outdoor patios and kitchens built right off the campers. It seems most of the campers there are from Canada. We talked to a few that were super friendly. Larry told us a bunch about the cartel situation in the area which was actually strangely comforting. It seems most of the heat has subsided, and that although our RV is expensive, we don't have a very large target because it's not a super useful vehicle for cartel use. In his words - they can't mount a machine gun on it easily. They mainly want pickup trucks.
Anyway, we made some tacos for dinner and hung out in the campsite until Steph and Alejo caught us up right around sunset. They're travelling with three large dogs, so we gave them some time to get settled in and get the dogs situated. Then, we all went out. By that time, Loki was totally content to chill in bed, so we left him inside and walked over to a bar just outside the RV park. Jaiba Pata Salada. There was a private party going on upstairs with live music, so we grabbed a table downstairs over the water and ordered a round of drinks. We spent the evening getting to know the couple and sharing stories from the road. They were absolutely lovely. Unfortunately for us, they're travelling at a much slower rate than we are since they're working from their van and can afford to take a lot longer. Their plan is approximately three years to get to Patagonia. Or there and back? I'm not sure, but either way, we have to be done before then. But regardless, the connections are awesome and we can at least travel with them for a couple days. And who knows?
After an excellent margarita and enough talking over the music, we all headed back home to go to bed for the night.
Sunday we got a move on fairly early. We took showers, topped off our water tank, and dumped our grey water. We didn't stick around much after that, but instead hit the road south. We were headed towards Santa Cruz de Miramar, which would be another long driving day. We picked a spot about halfway to stop to break up the drive, so we were actually navigating to Novillero, which is a small beach town.
First, we had to get there. There are two main routes to take; the toll road and the free road. We opted for the toll road in hopes that would provide a layer of protection against potholes. For the most part, the road surface was decent. The tolls add up, though! In total, it was over $50US to drive about 4 hours along the highway. We thought that the toll road might provide some safety against unsavory characters as well. We may have been right, but it was not complete protection.
All along the highways throughout Mexico are checkpoints. Either staffed by military or police. They're generally looking for drugs or cash. I'm not sure why, exactly, but you can't carry more than $10,000US. Not that we carry anywhere near that much money. But what if you're buying a used car? Anyway, we haven't really had any issues other than it's a minor annoyance to stop in the middle of a highway and keep dog calm while people enter the van. He always wants to get out so we have to hold him back. This checkpoint was different, though. The guy who seemed to be in charge was just a jerk. I can't really describe how, but we could immediately tell that he was suspicious. He told us we needed to exit the vehicle which we've never been told to do at any other stop. Mandy just refused, repeatedly. He finally relented, and came inside with two other agents. He kept making a show of sniffing the air inside the van and saying that he could smell marijuana and where is it? And he was fixated on how much money we had. I told him we only had a few thousand pesos to cover tolls. We didn't know how accurate that was at the time - what an expensive drive!
But anyways, there was several minutes that felt like forever of him aggressively trying to get us to...I don't really know what. It seemed like he really wanted to find something wrong with us. I'm so glad Mandy held her ground on not getting out of the van, because he really seemed the type to "find" something in our van that wasn't there before he got in. We'd later read reports online of people being forced to show their cash for counting and receive back less than they handed over. But also that it's a legitimate military checkpoint. It feels really frustrating that a legitimate government agency is out there skimming peoples' cash and maybe finding drugs that aren't really there? The whole thing ruined my mood for the rest of the day, even though they ultimately gave up and told us to leave.
We saw Steph and Alejo arrive at the checkpoint right as we were leaving, so we sent a few messages of warning that unfortunately weren't received in time. They were searched as well, with pretty much the same attitude. They said at the end of their search, the guy - soldier? - had the audacity to ask them for money for drinks! What kind of military is reduced to begging on the streets?! SO WEIRD.
Anyway, Mandy drove the rest of the way to Novillero and we parked near the shore. It had been a couple hours, so we got out to take a walk on the beach. It was a really nice beach, actually. There were a lot of people out there, and tons of cars out on the beach. It was a pretty hard surface and flat, although where we approached from it wasn't possible to drive a car onto the sand. We would have had to take a different street, I think. Next time. Instead, we just walked for a while. The whole checkpoint thing was still in my head, so I just wasn't in a great mood. It was upsetting, but also I was really thankful for Mandy because I'd probably have just gotten out. It was just too close for comfort to having gone really poorly, and I don't like that. But there wasn't anything I could have done differently, really.
We got back to the van after a big loop on foot, and continued driving. We made it the rest of the way to Santa Cruz de Miramar, just south of San Blas. Steph and Alejo had made a connection on their ferry ride to the mainland with another couple - Dave and Rachel - who were also headed to Ushuaia. They had planned to meet up at a spot here and told us, too. We arrived before Steph and Alejo, and we didn't know the others, so we didn't realize they were already there. We checked into Hotel Paraiso Miramar for a night and got situated in our site. It's a hotel that also takes campers. And there's a restaurant there, too. And a few pools. And a beach. It's really lovely, and only $25! We walked around and checked out the grounds with Loki. We used caution around the rivers that run through, as we were notified there are crocodiles around. We didn't see any, though, but we kept Loki on a leash to be safe. We spent the afternoon relaxing and trying to forget about the checkpoint situation. We watched another sunset over the ocean.
Eventually, Steph and Alejo arrived, and that's when we realized that David and Rachel were right nearby. We all got to talking a while outside, and then the hunger hit. We went over to the restaurant with Steph and Alejo because we hadn't gone to a grocery store like we said we would, so we didn't have much we felt like eating at home. We got enchiladas and a beer and recounted our checkpoint stories from earlier until it was a bit past restaurant closing time. We left once we realized, and we all headed to bed.
First, we had to get there. There are two main routes to take; the toll road and the free road. We opted for the toll road in hopes that would provide a layer of protection against potholes. For the most part, the road surface was decent. The tolls add up, though! In total, it was over $50US to drive about 4 hours along the highway. We thought that the toll road might provide some safety against unsavory characters as well. We may have been right, but it was not complete protection.
All along the highways throughout Mexico are checkpoints. Either staffed by military or police. They're generally looking for drugs or cash. I'm not sure why, exactly, but you can't carry more than $10,000US. Not that we carry anywhere near that much money. But what if you're buying a used car? Anyway, we haven't really had any issues other than it's a minor annoyance to stop in the middle of a highway and keep dog calm while people enter the van. He always wants to get out so we have to hold him back. This checkpoint was different, though. The guy who seemed to be in charge was just a jerk. I can't really describe how, but we could immediately tell that he was suspicious. He told us we needed to exit the vehicle which we've never been told to do at any other stop. Mandy just refused, repeatedly. He finally relented, and came inside with two other agents. He kept making a show of sniffing the air inside the van and saying that he could smell marijuana and where is it? And he was fixated on how much money we had. I told him we only had a few thousand pesos to cover tolls. We didn't know how accurate that was at the time - what an expensive drive!
But anyways, there was several minutes that felt like forever of him aggressively trying to get us to...I don't really know what. It seemed like he really wanted to find something wrong with us. I'm so glad Mandy held her ground on not getting out of the van, because he really seemed the type to "find" something in our van that wasn't there before he got in. We'd later read reports online of people being forced to show their cash for counting and receive back less than they handed over. But also that it's a legitimate military checkpoint. It feels really frustrating that a legitimate government agency is out there skimming peoples' cash and maybe finding drugs that aren't really there? The whole thing ruined my mood for the rest of the day, even though they ultimately gave up and told us to leave.
We saw Steph and Alejo arrive at the checkpoint right as we were leaving, so we sent a few messages of warning that unfortunately weren't received in time. They were searched as well, with pretty much the same attitude. They said at the end of their search, the guy - soldier? - had the audacity to ask them for money for drinks! What kind of military is reduced to begging on the streets?! SO WEIRD.
Anyway, Mandy drove the rest of the way to Novillero and we parked near the shore. It had been a couple hours, so we got out to take a walk on the beach. It was a really nice beach, actually. There were a lot of people out there, and tons of cars out on the beach. It was a pretty hard surface and flat, although where we approached from it wasn't possible to drive a car onto the sand. We would have had to take a different street, I think. Next time. Instead, we just walked for a while. The whole checkpoint thing was still in my head, so I just wasn't in a great mood. It was upsetting, but also I was really thankful for Mandy because I'd probably have just gotten out. It was just too close for comfort to having gone really poorly, and I don't like that. But there wasn't anything I could have done differently, really.
We got back to the van after a big loop on foot, and continued driving. We made it the rest of the way to Santa Cruz de Miramar, just south of San Blas. Steph and Alejo had made a connection on their ferry ride to the mainland with another couple - Dave and Rachel - who were also headed to Ushuaia. They had planned to meet up at a spot here and told us, too. We arrived before Steph and Alejo, and we didn't know the others, so we didn't realize they were already there. We checked into Hotel Paraiso Miramar for a night and got situated in our site. It's a hotel that also takes campers. And there's a restaurant there, too. And a few pools. And a beach. It's really lovely, and only $25! We walked around and checked out the grounds with Loki. We used caution around the rivers that run through, as we were notified there are crocodiles around. We didn't see any, though, but we kept Loki on a leash to be safe. We spent the afternoon relaxing and trying to forget about the checkpoint situation. We watched another sunset over the ocean.
Eventually, Steph and Alejo arrived, and that's when we realized that David and Rachel were right nearby. We all got to talking a while outside, and then the hunger hit. We went over to the restaurant with Steph and Alejo because we hadn't gone to a grocery store like we said we would, so we didn't have much we felt like eating at home. We got enchiladas and a beer and recounted our checkpoint stories from earlier until it was a bit past restaurant closing time. We left once we realized, and we all headed to bed.
Monday, we weren't quite sure what to do so we ultimately decided on nothing. Our new friends were going to a waterfall, and then driving further south to a different spot for a night. We wanted to tag along and were invited to do so, but we wanted to take a day off driving just a teensy bit more. So, we did.
After breakfast and sending off Rachel, David, Steph, and Alejo, we got out the hose and some soapy rags to wash the van. It's been a minute since it's been cleaned. Actually, longer than a minute. Several minutes, at least. It needed it pretty badly, especially with how much time it's been on or near beaches, surrounded by salt air. We did a decent job, but not our best work. But good enough. I did a lot of rinsing of the undercarriage as that's sure to be the saltiest bit. The sun was intense, so the van dried in very little time.
We were steaming hot, so we headed over to the pool to cool off. With nothing else to do, we got out and sat next to the pool until we were too hot again. Then, we went back in. And again. It was lovely, actually. And we nearly had the entire place to ourselves. Certainly the pool area. I think there was one other guest who showed up early afternoon. And a couple staff.
We worked on some planning-ahead. We ordered a Starlink to Oaxaca. According to the website, shipping times are 1-2 weeks so we figured that would give us plenty of time to get there to pick it up. Plus, it gave us some definition to our route planning. Our friends were headed down the coast towards Puerto Vallarta. After that, I'm not sure which way they'll go, and I'm not exactly clear on the timeline. But it's nice to have a few more numbers as we travel. That adds strength, right? Plus, it's fun to have other people to share the experience with. But everyone wants to travel at their own paces, and they don't always match up. And that's totally fine! At least we know people nearby-ish, even if they're not right in front of us.
We made some dinner and chilled for the night to finish recharging for the day ahead.
After breakfast and sending off Rachel, David, Steph, and Alejo, we got out the hose and some soapy rags to wash the van. It's been a minute since it's been cleaned. Actually, longer than a minute. Several minutes, at least. It needed it pretty badly, especially with how much time it's been on or near beaches, surrounded by salt air. We did a decent job, but not our best work. But good enough. I did a lot of rinsing of the undercarriage as that's sure to be the saltiest bit. The sun was intense, so the van dried in very little time.
We were steaming hot, so we headed over to the pool to cool off. With nothing else to do, we got out and sat next to the pool until we were too hot again. Then, we went back in. And again. It was lovely, actually. And we nearly had the entire place to ourselves. Certainly the pool area. I think there was one other guest who showed up early afternoon. And a couple staff.
We worked on some planning-ahead. We ordered a Starlink to Oaxaca. According to the website, shipping times are 1-2 weeks so we figured that would give us plenty of time to get there to pick it up. Plus, it gave us some definition to our route planning. Our friends were headed down the coast towards Puerto Vallarta. After that, I'm not sure which way they'll go, and I'm not exactly clear on the timeline. But it's nice to have a few more numbers as we travel. That adds strength, right? Plus, it's fun to have other people to share the experience with. But everyone wants to travel at their own paces, and they don't always match up. And that's totally fine! At least we know people nearby-ish, even if they're not right in front of us.
We made some dinner and chilled for the night to finish recharging for the day ahead.
Tuesday, we had a plan to execute, which was helpful. Our friends had gone ahead of us, so we had a good recommendation from them for a hike nearby. Kind of nearby. But it took about 45 minutes to drive to. After showers and breakfast, we set out towards the teensy mountain town of El Cora. A to B is probably less than half of the total driving distance, because there are so many switchbacks along the way. It was a pretty drive, though! It's starting to feel much more jungle than desert which is really cool. The landscape is more or less the same as Baja, but now it's covered with large broad leaf trees. I find it very interesting.
We parked at the end of a dirt road and hopped out. We did sunblock and bug spray, because the mosquitoes and the sun were both pretty intense. We set out on foot. As a hiking trail, it was pretty average, but there were obvious signs of people driving the path (probably on motorcycles?). It seemed pretty gnarly to drive. Even on a dirt bike it would have been somewhat technical. Eventually we reached an outcropping that gave us a clear view of the waterfall (cascada in Spanish). It was very pretty but SO FAR DOWN. I was like there's no way this trail leads to there. We turned back to an intersection we'd recently passed that seemed to head in that direction, but it dead-ended after a hundred feet or so. So, we continued on the original trail and just after the point where we'd turned back, it began its steep descent. There's definitely no way anyone was riding a dirt bike down this section of the trail. Even on foot it was a little bit sketchy at times. But we made it!
The waterfall was awesome, and I wish I enjoyed it more. I felt hungry and I let myself ruin it for myself. We were the only ones there and it was scalding hot. I was wearing too-heavy shorts and a shirt. I should have worn swimming trunks, but it wasn't so hot when we started out. It was lovely to look at but we ultimately didn't go swimming in the pools. We should have. We just looked at it a while and then began the hike back out. It was STEEP! Holy moly. We were all slow going. It's weird to be doing the up hike on the second half. Usually, I start at the bottom. of a mountain but this was the opposite. Eventually, we got back to the van, and I was soaked with sweat. Like I said, I should have swum.
We made some breakfast, and then we drove back out of town and back the way we'd come. Near Santa Cruz, we turned to head south to La Penita. From there, the ride was less twisty-turny than the drive to and from El Cora. Before we stopped for the night, we had to get some groceries. We parked in the main plaza, and I hopped out to satisfy the list. First was cash, but the ATM seemed to be empty, so I had to find another. BBVA had cash, but also an $8 ATM fee, which is steep. But oh well. After that, I went to the arcade. They actually had most of the things from our list in the tiny grocery section. I dropped that stuff off at the van, then went across the street to the carniceria to get some meats. Then to the Maxi Super to get some fresh fruits and vegetables. Leaving the fruteria, someone asked if I was me. Luis recognized me from Instagram. It was so strange; that's the first time that's happened! We chatted for a few minutes about the town and some things to check out, and then parted ways. Thanks for the advice! I hopped back into the van and then we checked into Numero UNO RV Park and got situated.
After we parked, we let Loki run around with the other dogs in the RV park. It's all fenced in, so they all get to run free. Loki was a little uncomfortable at the outset, I think, but once he established a boundary around the van, he got more into it and actually played with the other pups. We needed some walking ourselves, so we hooked him up and took a walk down the beach a bit. The waves were rather intense, so we didn't do any swimming for safety's sake. We walked towards town and then back home, where we setup our chairs and lounged outside a while until Steph and Alejo arrived sometime after sunset. We hung out with them in the yard a while sharing our stories from the cascada and the drive from Santa Cruz. We called it a night fairly early, but we decided to stick around the following day so we could spend a bit more time with them.
We parked at the end of a dirt road and hopped out. We did sunblock and bug spray, because the mosquitoes and the sun were both pretty intense. We set out on foot. As a hiking trail, it was pretty average, but there were obvious signs of people driving the path (probably on motorcycles?). It seemed pretty gnarly to drive. Even on a dirt bike it would have been somewhat technical. Eventually we reached an outcropping that gave us a clear view of the waterfall (cascada in Spanish). It was very pretty but SO FAR DOWN. I was like there's no way this trail leads to there. We turned back to an intersection we'd recently passed that seemed to head in that direction, but it dead-ended after a hundred feet or so. So, we continued on the original trail and just after the point where we'd turned back, it began its steep descent. There's definitely no way anyone was riding a dirt bike down this section of the trail. Even on foot it was a little bit sketchy at times. But we made it!
The waterfall was awesome, and I wish I enjoyed it more. I felt hungry and I let myself ruin it for myself. We were the only ones there and it was scalding hot. I was wearing too-heavy shorts and a shirt. I should have worn swimming trunks, but it wasn't so hot when we started out. It was lovely to look at but we ultimately didn't go swimming in the pools. We should have. We just looked at it a while and then began the hike back out. It was STEEP! Holy moly. We were all slow going. It's weird to be doing the up hike on the second half. Usually, I start at the bottom. of a mountain but this was the opposite. Eventually, we got back to the van, and I was soaked with sweat. Like I said, I should have swum.
We made some breakfast, and then we drove back out of town and back the way we'd come. Near Santa Cruz, we turned to head south to La Penita. From there, the ride was less twisty-turny than the drive to and from El Cora. Before we stopped for the night, we had to get some groceries. We parked in the main plaza, and I hopped out to satisfy the list. First was cash, but the ATM seemed to be empty, so I had to find another. BBVA had cash, but also an $8 ATM fee, which is steep. But oh well. After that, I went to the arcade. They actually had most of the things from our list in the tiny grocery section. I dropped that stuff off at the van, then went across the street to the carniceria to get some meats. Then to the Maxi Super to get some fresh fruits and vegetables. Leaving the fruteria, someone asked if I was me. Luis recognized me from Instagram. It was so strange; that's the first time that's happened! We chatted for a few minutes about the town and some things to check out, and then parted ways. Thanks for the advice! I hopped back into the van and then we checked into Numero UNO RV Park and got situated.
After we parked, we let Loki run around with the other dogs in the RV park. It's all fenced in, so they all get to run free. Loki was a little uncomfortable at the outset, I think, but once he established a boundary around the van, he got more into it and actually played with the other pups. We needed some walking ourselves, so we hooked him up and took a walk down the beach a bit. The waves were rather intense, so we didn't do any swimming for safety's sake. We walked towards town and then back home, where we setup our chairs and lounged outside a while until Steph and Alejo arrived sometime after sunset. We hung out with them in the yard a while sharing our stories from the cascada and the drive from Santa Cruz. We called it a night fairly early, but we decided to stick around the following day so we could spend a bit more time with them.
Wednesday was another mostly pool day. It was h-o-t outside. In Spanish: Hace mucho calor. By mid-morning, stepping outside the van's shadow was sudden death. Not really, that's dramatic, but it was particularly intense sunlight. It wasn't extremely hot, but the sun was burning. We made sure to be liberal with the sunblock. The pool was perfect, and the patio around had plenty of umbrellas. We spent quite a while in there, and other campers in the park came and went, and we had a good patio-wide conversation going with everyone contributing their bit. Steph and Alejo are working on the road, so they were holed up inside their van with their three dogs running the air conditioner most of the morning. We wouldn't see them until they got off work. Loki hung out around the pool in the shade and under the van in that shade mostly loose throughout the whole day, and there were no issues even with all the other dogs around.
Inevitably, we started thinking about dinner. We had everything to make tacos except avocado. Eventually, we dragged ourselves out of the pool and got our stuff together to make the walk over to the town center so we could buy a couple. I mean, you can make tacos without avocado, obviously, but we wanted some. As we were about to head out the gate onto the beach, Alejo came out and started chatting with us. He had been having some issues with their Starlink. We spit-balled some ideas for things to try and what might be the issue. A neighboring RV-er lent their cable which resolved the issue, so Alejo wanted to order a new cable to replace theirs. The app wouldn't allow him to ship one to Mexico since their address is in the US, so could we try for them? Absolutely. We had to setup the app, but Mandy got a replacement cable on order for them, to be delivered to the RV park.
As a "payment" I guess, not that we really worked hard at all to order the part, we asked if Alejo could call DHL for us. We wanted to find out how long we'd have to pick up our package at their location where it shipped to. They told him we'd have 5 days from when it was delivered until it would be returned to the distribution center for 30 days. We can call and instruct them where to re-deliver it within those 30 days or it will be returned to the sender. Also, the package had arrived that day. So, we could push to get to Oaxaca in 5 days, which would be doable, but faster than we're looking to move. Or we could take up to 30 days. We'll just have to make another phone call at some point. I could pick up some (not quite most) of the phone conversation. I would have struggled without Alejo, so that was a massive help.
We headed over to the fruteria after the call, and picked up a couple aguacate and cervezas for dinner. On our way back towards the van, I saw someone selling tacos on the sidewalk, so I got a couple. I wasn't starving, but they were looking so good. 40 pesos is about $2US, so the tacos were a dollar each. They were incredibly good! And the place doesn't even have a name. I can't tell you which restaurant to go to - the guy was just out there on the sidewalk with a little cart. They were very full of the most tender, juicy pork. The tortillas were doubled up like they're supposed to be and grilled to the perfect flexibility. Onion and cilantro, with picante and some chili oil drizzled on top for a bit of extra spice. I tried to give Mandy the last bite. She wanted it. But I just couldn't give it up. Sorry!
We walked back home for even more tacos. I told her that they had to be at least as good as the street tacos OR ELSE. Just kidding. They just have way more practice than we ever will and there's no way we'll top those tacos. Well, except that I topped them myself, with onion and cilantro. But you know what I meant. We made ours with chorizo and they were really good. Not quite on the same level, but good, nonetheless. After dinner, we brought a beer to the pool and hung out with Steph and Alejo well into the evening. We are so thankful to have met this lovely couple. They're just the sweetest, but also hilarious. They were planning to stay at the RV park for at least several more days, but we were looking to move on, so this would be our last night with them, at least for now, which was a little bittersweet.
Inevitably, we started thinking about dinner. We had everything to make tacos except avocado. Eventually, we dragged ourselves out of the pool and got our stuff together to make the walk over to the town center so we could buy a couple. I mean, you can make tacos without avocado, obviously, but we wanted some. As we were about to head out the gate onto the beach, Alejo came out and started chatting with us. He had been having some issues with their Starlink. We spit-balled some ideas for things to try and what might be the issue. A neighboring RV-er lent their cable which resolved the issue, so Alejo wanted to order a new cable to replace theirs. The app wouldn't allow him to ship one to Mexico since their address is in the US, so could we try for them? Absolutely. We had to setup the app, but Mandy got a replacement cable on order for them, to be delivered to the RV park.
As a "payment" I guess, not that we really worked hard at all to order the part, we asked if Alejo could call DHL for us. We wanted to find out how long we'd have to pick up our package at their location where it shipped to. They told him we'd have 5 days from when it was delivered until it would be returned to the distribution center for 30 days. We can call and instruct them where to re-deliver it within those 30 days or it will be returned to the sender. Also, the package had arrived that day. So, we could push to get to Oaxaca in 5 days, which would be doable, but faster than we're looking to move. Or we could take up to 30 days. We'll just have to make another phone call at some point. I could pick up some (not quite most) of the phone conversation. I would have struggled without Alejo, so that was a massive help.
We headed over to the fruteria after the call, and picked up a couple aguacate and cervezas for dinner. On our way back towards the van, I saw someone selling tacos on the sidewalk, so I got a couple. I wasn't starving, but they were looking so good. 40 pesos is about $2US, so the tacos were a dollar each. They were incredibly good! And the place doesn't even have a name. I can't tell you which restaurant to go to - the guy was just out there on the sidewalk with a little cart. They were very full of the most tender, juicy pork. The tortillas were doubled up like they're supposed to be and grilled to the perfect flexibility. Onion and cilantro, with picante and some chili oil drizzled on top for a bit of extra spice. I tried to give Mandy the last bite. She wanted it. But I just couldn't give it up. Sorry!
We walked back home for even more tacos. I told her that they had to be at least as good as the street tacos OR ELSE. Just kidding. They just have way more practice than we ever will and there's no way we'll top those tacos. Well, except that I topped them myself, with onion and cilantro. But you know what I meant. We made ours with chorizo and they were really good. Not quite on the same level, but good, nonetheless. After dinner, we brought a beer to the pool and hung out with Steph and Alejo well into the evening. We are so thankful to have met this lovely couple. They're just the sweetest, but also hilarious. They were planning to stay at the RV park for at least several more days, but we were looking to move on, so this would be our last night with them, at least for now, which was a little bittersweet.
Thursday morning we were getting pretty low on battery from all the cooking and none of the driving nor plugging into shore power. We knew we'd have to get a move on to our next destination, but we were dragging our feet. Mandy ran the van for 5 minutes so she could finish drying her hair after the shower. I showered, too. We showed our van to a few people at the park who were interested. We took a last short walk down the beach and back. In short, we weren't hurrying. But eventually we packed up and hit the road.
The landscaper opened up the gate for us and held the power lines up with a stick so we wouldn't hit them. That was interesting. Mandy had me walk along the street to verify we weren't going to hit any others on our way out to the highway. Not even close, but it's free to check. I hopped in and she drove. Apparently up over a mountain pass. I believe her, but I think I fell asleep on the way. My ears popped so there was definitely an elevation change. We stopped so we could all pee along the way there, but otherwise, it was just stops for tolls.
She drove us the rest of the way to Tequila. I think that put us into our fourth? or fifth? Mexican state of Jalisco. We passed so much agave growing on the sides of the highway on the way in. It almost looks fake because of how spiky it is, how perfectly arranged the fields are, and its almost unnatural bluish hue. We stopped in town for huevos at a tienda. We were down to two, but thankfully we hadn't run out and ditched the carton because they were sold loose in a bag. I got ten to fill out our carton anew. Mandy let me store them before she continued driving because she's so nice like that.
A few minutes later, we arrived to Distiladora Puntual. We were let in the gate just behind a truck camper, and shown to the parking area just inside. Mandy had arranged for us to stay there the night, as well as take a tour of the distillery and sample some tequilas! We met Jose, the owner, and he had a bit more work to do before he would meet us at 5:30pm to begin the tour. He showed us briefly the grounds, including restrooms, showers, a huge swimming pool - all of which we were free to use. We took the opportunity to make some dinner quickly, and drink plenty of water.
We met up with Jose after that, along with our camper-neighbors Alex and Matilda, and he took us all out to his agave fields. He explained a lot of the history and nuance of growing agave. The state of Jalisco is the only place where tequila can be made, by definition. If the agave is not grown in Jalisco, you can't called the distillate tequila. I guess it would just be agave liquer? Or something. It's actually the ideal place for it, though, because the soil has what the plant needs; Jose doesn't use any fertilizers. They also get sufficient rain that he doesn't need any irrigation system. He just has to transplant baby agave as they come in (all the plants are arranged in rows by age), and harvest them when they're nine years old.
Jose showed us the small building where they process the agave hearts and distill the spirits. The process is pretty simple; they steam the agave to soften them, squish them in a press to get all the sugary water out, ferment it for two days, then distill it twice. It takes a week from harvest to tequila blanco. To make reposado, the tequila blanco is aged for 6 months in white oak barrels. Aging for a year yields anejo. Anejo is a portmanteau of un (one) and ano (year). 10 years in white oak yields extra anejo.
He sat us down in his tasting room and guided us through a proper tequila tasting process. We sampled them in order of their ages, which also corresponds to their color. Blanco is clear as water. Extra anejo is a caramel color. The flavor varies wildly as the tequila ages. I was surprised at just how different each tasted. Mandy had a bad tequila night long ago and has since avoided it like the plague. That she didn't hate it is huge praise. She actually enjoyed it enough to purchase a bottle. Jose made us a drink called cantarita which is comprised of many ingredients, most of which were fruits from his own farm. He was very particular about the making of the drink; each fruit has to be squeezed in the proper order, the rim must be juiced, then tajin'd, then salted, one at a time. It has to be made in a specific type of cup. I really appreciated his attention to detail. We each constructed our own drinks and he hung out with us well into the night, talking about all sorts of things. He is a really interesting individual with a fascinating story. He was even the mayor of the town of Tequila at age 23! Touring his land and spending the night drinking with him was really special and we're not soon to forget it. Eventually, it was time for us all to head to bed, so we said goodnight to Jose and stepped just outside the bar to our van.
The landscaper opened up the gate for us and held the power lines up with a stick so we wouldn't hit them. That was interesting. Mandy had me walk along the street to verify we weren't going to hit any others on our way out to the highway. Not even close, but it's free to check. I hopped in and she drove. Apparently up over a mountain pass. I believe her, but I think I fell asleep on the way. My ears popped so there was definitely an elevation change. We stopped so we could all pee along the way there, but otherwise, it was just stops for tolls.
She drove us the rest of the way to Tequila. I think that put us into our fourth? or fifth? Mexican state of Jalisco. We passed so much agave growing on the sides of the highway on the way in. It almost looks fake because of how spiky it is, how perfectly arranged the fields are, and its almost unnatural bluish hue. We stopped in town for huevos at a tienda. We were down to two, but thankfully we hadn't run out and ditched the carton because they were sold loose in a bag. I got ten to fill out our carton anew. Mandy let me store them before she continued driving because she's so nice like that.
A few minutes later, we arrived to Distiladora Puntual. We were let in the gate just behind a truck camper, and shown to the parking area just inside. Mandy had arranged for us to stay there the night, as well as take a tour of the distillery and sample some tequilas! We met Jose, the owner, and he had a bit more work to do before he would meet us at 5:30pm to begin the tour. He showed us briefly the grounds, including restrooms, showers, a huge swimming pool - all of which we were free to use. We took the opportunity to make some dinner quickly, and drink plenty of water.
We met up with Jose after that, along with our camper-neighbors Alex and Matilda, and he took us all out to his agave fields. He explained a lot of the history and nuance of growing agave. The state of Jalisco is the only place where tequila can be made, by definition. If the agave is not grown in Jalisco, you can't called the distillate tequila. I guess it would just be agave liquer? Or something. It's actually the ideal place for it, though, because the soil has what the plant needs; Jose doesn't use any fertilizers. They also get sufficient rain that he doesn't need any irrigation system. He just has to transplant baby agave as they come in (all the plants are arranged in rows by age), and harvest them when they're nine years old.
Jose showed us the small building where they process the agave hearts and distill the spirits. The process is pretty simple; they steam the agave to soften them, squish them in a press to get all the sugary water out, ferment it for two days, then distill it twice. It takes a week from harvest to tequila blanco. To make reposado, the tequila blanco is aged for 6 months in white oak barrels. Aging for a year yields anejo. Anejo is a portmanteau of un (one) and ano (year). 10 years in white oak yields extra anejo.
He sat us down in his tasting room and guided us through a proper tequila tasting process. We sampled them in order of their ages, which also corresponds to their color. Blanco is clear as water. Extra anejo is a caramel color. The flavor varies wildly as the tequila ages. I was surprised at just how different each tasted. Mandy had a bad tequila night long ago and has since avoided it like the plague. That she didn't hate it is huge praise. She actually enjoyed it enough to purchase a bottle. Jose made us a drink called cantarita which is comprised of many ingredients, most of which were fruits from his own farm. He was very particular about the making of the drink; each fruit has to be squeezed in the proper order, the rim must be juiced, then tajin'd, then salted, one at a time. It has to be made in a specific type of cup. I really appreciated his attention to detail. We each constructed our own drinks and he hung out with us well into the night, talking about all sorts of things. He is a really interesting individual with a fascinating story. He was even the mayor of the town of Tequila at age 23! Touring his land and spending the night drinking with him was really special and we're not soon to forget it. Eventually, it was time for us all to head to bed, so we said goodnight to Jose and stepped just outside the bar to our van.
Friday morning, we spent a bit of time at the distiladora figuring out our plan. Our neighbors for the night, Alex and Matilda, were headed somewhere in Guadalajara (Guad for short) to get the suspension in their truck fixed. It wasn't broken, per se, but it was squatting pretty severely in the rear, even with helper springs added. I peeked at it and realized they were spring-under. I told them the simplest fix which would give them a huge boost is to swap it to spring-over. It's ideally done with a welder to relocate the spring perches, but we were all optimistic they could find someone to help. There are so many mechanics around, I'd be shocked if there was any difficulty. We exchanged contact info and went our separate ways. Hopefully we can cross paths with them again; they were a great time. We appreciated the extent to which they are living the "just wing it" attitude. They're renovating their camper as they're living in it and traveling to South America.
We drove to the center of Tequila to get a picture by the sign and check out some tiendas. The parking situation was basically non-existent anywhere nearby, so we passed. We got away from the centro and found a grocery store to get what we needed, then made our way towards Guad, but we stopped short in a tiny town called La Primavera. Just on the outskirts of the town is a campground Bosque de la Primavera. It would be our first night in mainland Mexico not surrounded by a fence or a wall of sorts. When we finally arrived, we hopped out and walked around some. It was nearly empty which was pretty neat. The sites are...well, there aren't really sites in the American sense of a campground. There are tables and grills all throughout the woods, and you just setup wherever you like. It's pretty awesome. As we walked around, we got a sense of the fact that we had no idea how huge the place was. We didn't encounter any boundaries as we wandered with Loki. Everywhere we walked, there was just more campground ahead of us. Juxtaposed against being almost completely empty was strange; we wondered if it's ever full and what that might be like.
Back home, we made up some dinner and had a chill evening outside. It was warm, mostly bug free, and so peaceful. There were a few stray dogs around, but Loki established a perimeter around the van which they didn't violate, and everyone was content. The cell service was intermittent, so we mostly just relaxed and read our respective books in the nature, and it was lovely. Sometime in the afternoon, a few motorcyclists showed up somewhat nearby where we were parked. They were adventure-type bikes, loaded with gear, so we wandered over to see what they were about. It turned out that they, too, were headed to South America. They were a group of four, all from different places in Europe, in Mexico by way of Canada. We talked a while with them about their journeys to get where we were all standing. It's so awesome to have the time to get to meet new and interesting people. When we were working all the time, it was very rare. We were always in a hurry, and so was everyone around us. We don't miss that. When it was getting dark out, we headed home, because Loki is more prone to getting mad at other animals if he can't see them well.
We drove to the center of Tequila to get a picture by the sign and check out some tiendas. The parking situation was basically non-existent anywhere nearby, so we passed. We got away from the centro and found a grocery store to get what we needed, then made our way towards Guad, but we stopped short in a tiny town called La Primavera. Just on the outskirts of the town is a campground Bosque de la Primavera. It would be our first night in mainland Mexico not surrounded by a fence or a wall of sorts. When we finally arrived, we hopped out and walked around some. It was nearly empty which was pretty neat. The sites are...well, there aren't really sites in the American sense of a campground. There are tables and grills all throughout the woods, and you just setup wherever you like. It's pretty awesome. As we walked around, we got a sense of the fact that we had no idea how huge the place was. We didn't encounter any boundaries as we wandered with Loki. Everywhere we walked, there was just more campground ahead of us. Juxtaposed against being almost completely empty was strange; we wondered if it's ever full and what that might be like.
Back home, we made up some dinner and had a chill evening outside. It was warm, mostly bug free, and so peaceful. There were a few stray dogs around, but Loki established a perimeter around the van which they didn't violate, and everyone was content. The cell service was intermittent, so we mostly just relaxed and read our respective books in the nature, and it was lovely. Sometime in the afternoon, a few motorcyclists showed up somewhat nearby where we were parked. They were adventure-type bikes, loaded with gear, so we wandered over to see what they were about. It turned out that they, too, were headed to South America. They were a group of four, all from different places in Europe, in Mexico by way of Canada. We talked a while with them about their journeys to get where we were all standing. It's so awesome to have the time to get to meet new and interesting people. When we were working all the time, it was very rare. We were always in a hurry, and so was everyone around us. We don't miss that. When it was getting dark out, we headed home, because Loki is more prone to getting mad at other animals if he can't see them well.
Saturday we planned to move on. But there's the plan, and then there's what happens. Per usual, we were scrambling to finish editing our video last minute. We have posted almost every Sunday for a couple years now. Give or take. Lately, we've been doing Sundays and Wednesdays. Like I said before, though, the cell service wasn't great. Our thought was to finish editing, then drive to somewhere that had better service to do the upload and spend the day/night.
As Mandy started working, she noted that the laptop battery was depleting, even though it was plugged into the outlet. Now, we've been getting a warning about the charger intermittently lately, but it's been working anyway, so we just ignored it. As you do. Obviously, Saturday was the day we had to actually pay attention to the warning. She continued working for a bit while I started to ruminate over it. During that time, I found that the antenna for our cell booster was not plugged in, so I fixed that. We had much better cell service after that easy fix, so that was one problem down. We decided to shut the laptop down before it was completely dead with no way to ever recharge it again.
Then, I began diagnostics. The charger appeared to be fine. It was putting out the specified voltage, the light worked, it was clean and the connector appeared fine. So, I assumed perhaps the battery was damaged or something. I've been wanting to open up the laptop anyways, just to check for cleanliness inside, and remove what I figured would be a pile of dog hair inside. It gets hot sometimes when it's working hard, so I thought maybe the cooling system could use a cleaning. I opened it up, and was surprised at how clean it was inside. I probed the battery and without a proper diagram for the pinout, it seemed like one of the cells was perhaps dead. I untaped the battery to get confirmation of what pin was doing what, and it seemed like the battery was actually perfectly balanced. Weird. So perhaps it really is the charger, like the warning said. I opened up the charger and checked continuity from the converter output to the terminal on the end of the cord. Power and ground were fine, but the center pin labeled "ID" was not making a connection. I was able to pull back the strain relief on the end a bit, and discovered the break was inside the end of the connector. Which is all soldered and then cast in plastic to make it a solid piece. Great. I spent a couple hours very carefully chiseling away the plastic without slicing the wires off. When I finally got to the core, I confirmed the wire on the center pin had broke at the solder joint.
I don't have a soldering iron, but we tried heating a small pick with a lighter. I only needed enough heat to melt the solder just the tiniest bit to get the wire to stick. No dice. I have some heat shrink solder butt connectors, though. I dissected one for the solder ring, and tried melting that with the hair dryer on high. It softened a touch, but not enough to truly flow and make a joint. I used only the heat shrink instead, and that sort of kinda held. Enough that when the laptop booted up it could verify we had a Dell charger (that's literally all that wire does) and allowed it to charge our battery. Success! Kinda. It's janky as hell. And it didn't stay connected. But at least we verified it can work, if we just touch that wire to the terminal during boot-up.
We had enough power at that point to finish editing video, and enough cell service to post it. So, that's what we did. We decided to just scrap the plan of leaving. The campground was nice enough to stick around another day. Plus, I'd blown so much of the day fixing the issues that it made the most sense to just get straight to work rather than drive somewhere else first. Once that was all done, we had a little of the afternoon left to hang out and walk around with Loki. More people trickled into the campground over the course of the day. It was by no means full, but certainly fuller than the previous night. A birthday party was going on somewhere far away, but with a loud enough sound system that we had a consistent stream of adquate-volume music at our site. We felt for those at the birthday party site, though, they must have been completely deaf. We stopped by the motorcyclists we'd met yesterday to chat a while and see what they were up to. Mandy invited us for a drink at their spot after we ate dinner, and were excited to accept.
We ate dinner and cleaned up and put the van into night mode. It was dark by then, so we left Loki inside with some snacks and made ourselves some drinks to bring over. Two of the four bikes was having an issue, and David wanted to pull a spark plug to inspect it, so I lent them the socket and wrench he needed to pull it in the morning. We chatted with them all for a while, but we could hear Loki barking the whole time, so we ultimately cut it a bit shorter than we might have liked to. He doesn't like to be alone, but in the past he's done better at night. I think it's best if he's inside alone and we're right outside, so he can hear us to know we're nearby. We could hear him but he probably couldn't hear us. When we got home, we found he'd made some holes in the screen, so we made a note to get that fixed at some point. Then, we went to bed.
As Mandy started working, she noted that the laptop battery was depleting, even though it was plugged into the outlet. Now, we've been getting a warning about the charger intermittently lately, but it's been working anyway, so we just ignored it. As you do. Obviously, Saturday was the day we had to actually pay attention to the warning. She continued working for a bit while I started to ruminate over it. During that time, I found that the antenna for our cell booster was not plugged in, so I fixed that. We had much better cell service after that easy fix, so that was one problem down. We decided to shut the laptop down before it was completely dead with no way to ever recharge it again.
Then, I began diagnostics. The charger appeared to be fine. It was putting out the specified voltage, the light worked, it was clean and the connector appeared fine. So, I assumed perhaps the battery was damaged or something. I've been wanting to open up the laptop anyways, just to check for cleanliness inside, and remove what I figured would be a pile of dog hair inside. It gets hot sometimes when it's working hard, so I thought maybe the cooling system could use a cleaning. I opened it up, and was surprised at how clean it was inside. I probed the battery and without a proper diagram for the pinout, it seemed like one of the cells was perhaps dead. I untaped the battery to get confirmation of what pin was doing what, and it seemed like the battery was actually perfectly balanced. Weird. So perhaps it really is the charger, like the warning said. I opened up the charger and checked continuity from the converter output to the terminal on the end of the cord. Power and ground were fine, but the center pin labeled "ID" was not making a connection. I was able to pull back the strain relief on the end a bit, and discovered the break was inside the end of the connector. Which is all soldered and then cast in plastic to make it a solid piece. Great. I spent a couple hours very carefully chiseling away the plastic without slicing the wires off. When I finally got to the core, I confirmed the wire on the center pin had broke at the solder joint.
I don't have a soldering iron, but we tried heating a small pick with a lighter. I only needed enough heat to melt the solder just the tiniest bit to get the wire to stick. No dice. I have some heat shrink solder butt connectors, though. I dissected one for the solder ring, and tried melting that with the hair dryer on high. It softened a touch, but not enough to truly flow and make a joint. I used only the heat shrink instead, and that sort of kinda held. Enough that when the laptop booted up it could verify we had a Dell charger (that's literally all that wire does) and allowed it to charge our battery. Success! Kinda. It's janky as hell. And it didn't stay connected. But at least we verified it can work, if we just touch that wire to the terminal during boot-up.
We had enough power at that point to finish editing video, and enough cell service to post it. So, that's what we did. We decided to just scrap the plan of leaving. The campground was nice enough to stick around another day. Plus, I'd blown so much of the day fixing the issues that it made the most sense to just get straight to work rather than drive somewhere else first. Once that was all done, we had a little of the afternoon left to hang out and walk around with Loki. More people trickled into the campground over the course of the day. It was by no means full, but certainly fuller than the previous night. A birthday party was going on somewhere far away, but with a loud enough sound system that we had a consistent stream of adquate-volume music at our site. We felt for those at the birthday party site, though, they must have been completely deaf. We stopped by the motorcyclists we'd met yesterday to chat a while and see what they were up to. Mandy invited us for a drink at their spot after we ate dinner, and were excited to accept.
We ate dinner and cleaned up and put the van into night mode. It was dark by then, so we left Loki inside with some snacks and made ourselves some drinks to bring over. Two of the four bikes was having an issue, and David wanted to pull a spark plug to inspect it, so I lent them the socket and wrench he needed to pull it in the morning. We chatted with them all for a while, but we could hear Loki barking the whole time, so we ultimately cut it a bit shorter than we might have liked to. He doesn't like to be alone, but in the past he's done better at night. I think it's best if he's inside alone and we're right outside, so he can hear us to know we're nearby. We could hear him but he probably couldn't hear us. When we got home, we found he'd made some holes in the screen, so we made a note to get that fixed at some point. Then, we went to bed.
Sunday, we chilled for a while in the morning, before wandering over to our new friends' spot to wish them safe travels and collect our lent tools. After a walk around with the dog, we hit the road. Oh, first, we aired up the driver's side tires because I'd deflated them to get the van level. Pro tip. We didn't get very far before our first stop in Guadalajara. I popped into AutoZone to pick up a few things. First, a battery-powered soldering iron so I could fix the laptop charger a bit more securely. I figured we could have probably got it fixed at an electronics shop for cheap, but having the tool on hand would let me fix other things in the future. Plus, it was only like $10US and it's more versatile than the one I have in New Hampshire since it doesn't need to plug in so, score! I also got a funnel so we could actually pour from the 19L bottle of DEF I picked up several days ago. It doesn't have a straw so there was no shot in getting any in the tiny hole Mercedes provided us. Lastly, I picked up a 20A glass type fuse for our oven. I realized recently that the real root cause of the failure several weeks ago is probably that it's sized for the maximum operating current of the oven, with no overage. When the oven is drawing the maximum current it's rated for, the fuse was right at its rated current. So, it probably heated up but didn't quite burn the filament (until it did). The replacement fuse has been slightly smelly and we haven't been able to tell if it's food splatter in the oven burning or the wiring getting too hot. So, I increased the capacity from a 15A to a 20A and it seems the smell is gone. We haven't done very much ovening yet to be positive, but I think it's safer.
While I soldered the laptop charger back together, Mandy went to Chedraui to get some groceries we needed. I finished way before her, so I made some breakfast while Loki and I waited. Then, we continued our way to Ajijic. The drive was fairly short, just two hours up over a mountain pass and then down to a little lakeside town. Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico. I thought it would be cool to do a hike and then take a swim in the lake. On the way there, Mandy did some research and discovered that the lake isn't great for swimming. Reportedly, there was a time when sewage was dumped into the lake near the shores. It's unclear if that's still ongoing. There's also a lot of barbed wire, broken glass, and other bad-for-the-feet stuff along the shoreline. People do swim in it, although most that live nearby don't.
We still did the hike, anyways. Up La Chupinaya. It was really hot, though, and super steep. So, we didn't make it the whole way. We didn't make it very far at all; probably about a half hour up. Loki was not into it, we could tell, so we turned around and went back down. At the bottom, a cowboy was moving his herd across the trail. Against Loki's wishes, we waited far enough up the trail so as not to disturb the cows until they were all past. Then we made it to the van and turned the A/C on the maximum. We drove to the opposite side of town to the waterfront or malecon. We were pretty sure we were going to pass on swimming, but we still wanted to check it out anyways. We wandered along the shore until we hit a whole block of restaurants and shops.
We were getting a bit hungry, so we decided to go to Restaurant Pancha la Boba to get a pizza. Loki chilled under the table and passed out nearly the whole time. Meanwhile we were enjoying our meal, an old Jeep Cherokee tried to catch fire in the parking lot. By the smell, it was definitely an electrical fire. A couple people with extinguishers and quick action prevented what would have been a major catastrophe. There were tons of cars parked in close proximity with only one small exit. The bombaderos showed up about 15 minutes after the fire was out.
We chatted with a quasi-local. A man from Kentucky that spends half the year in Ajijic for the last fifteen years. He's trying to move there full-time, however. He gave us the inside scoop about the area which was neat. Eventually, it was time to pay our bill and move along. We wandered the rest of the malecon before making our way slowly back towards the van. Being Sunday, the whole waterfront was a massive party with live music, barbecues, people selling all sorts of things. It was wild! Once we made it back to the van, we cruised over to a local house Mandy found on iOverlander, owned by Rogelio and Ixchel. They put their spot up as a safe space for travelers to street-park which is super helpful.
But it was so much more than that. We parked in front of their place but they were still out - at a birthday party, I believe. We put our chairs in their beautiful front yard and just relaxed in the shade with the dog. Eventually, they returned, and they invited us inside. They have two dogs of their own, plus two street dogs that they took in temporarily until they can find them permanent homes (they're probably headed to San Diego soon). We hung out in their courtyard all night and just talked travel. Rogelio and Ixchel drove to Ushuaia in 2019, so they understand how amazing a "real" shower is. And a spot to do laundry. They offered all of that to us, plus a bit of screen material to replace the one Loki ripped. We decided to take advantage in the morning. So grateful! Loki hung out with Garbanzo, Leia, Nina, and Kira. Rogelio and 'Chel gave us a ton of tips for places to go and things to check out, as well as painted a picture of the road ahead of us. Apparently, Ajijic is approximately the cutoff for gringos, and it will be far fewer as we continue south from there.
As the night wore on, we called it, and headed just outside the gate to sleep.
While I soldered the laptop charger back together, Mandy went to Chedraui to get some groceries we needed. I finished way before her, so I made some breakfast while Loki and I waited. Then, we continued our way to Ajijic. The drive was fairly short, just two hours up over a mountain pass and then down to a little lakeside town. Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico. I thought it would be cool to do a hike and then take a swim in the lake. On the way there, Mandy did some research and discovered that the lake isn't great for swimming. Reportedly, there was a time when sewage was dumped into the lake near the shores. It's unclear if that's still ongoing. There's also a lot of barbed wire, broken glass, and other bad-for-the-feet stuff along the shoreline. People do swim in it, although most that live nearby don't.
We still did the hike, anyways. Up La Chupinaya. It was really hot, though, and super steep. So, we didn't make it the whole way. We didn't make it very far at all; probably about a half hour up. Loki was not into it, we could tell, so we turned around and went back down. At the bottom, a cowboy was moving his herd across the trail. Against Loki's wishes, we waited far enough up the trail so as not to disturb the cows until they were all past. Then we made it to the van and turned the A/C on the maximum. We drove to the opposite side of town to the waterfront or malecon. We were pretty sure we were going to pass on swimming, but we still wanted to check it out anyways. We wandered along the shore until we hit a whole block of restaurants and shops.
We were getting a bit hungry, so we decided to go to Restaurant Pancha la Boba to get a pizza. Loki chilled under the table and passed out nearly the whole time. Meanwhile we were enjoying our meal, an old Jeep Cherokee tried to catch fire in the parking lot. By the smell, it was definitely an electrical fire. A couple people with extinguishers and quick action prevented what would have been a major catastrophe. There were tons of cars parked in close proximity with only one small exit. The bombaderos showed up about 15 minutes after the fire was out.
We chatted with a quasi-local. A man from Kentucky that spends half the year in Ajijic for the last fifteen years. He's trying to move there full-time, however. He gave us the inside scoop about the area which was neat. Eventually, it was time to pay our bill and move along. We wandered the rest of the malecon before making our way slowly back towards the van. Being Sunday, the whole waterfront was a massive party with live music, barbecues, people selling all sorts of things. It was wild! Once we made it back to the van, we cruised over to a local house Mandy found on iOverlander, owned by Rogelio and Ixchel. They put their spot up as a safe space for travelers to street-park which is super helpful.
But it was so much more than that. We parked in front of their place but they were still out - at a birthday party, I believe. We put our chairs in their beautiful front yard and just relaxed in the shade with the dog. Eventually, they returned, and they invited us inside. They have two dogs of their own, plus two street dogs that they took in temporarily until they can find them permanent homes (they're probably headed to San Diego soon). We hung out in their courtyard all night and just talked travel. Rogelio and Ixchel drove to Ushuaia in 2019, so they understand how amazing a "real" shower is. And a spot to do laundry. They offered all of that to us, plus a bit of screen material to replace the one Loki ripped. We decided to take advantage in the morning. So grateful! Loki hung out with Garbanzo, Leia, Nina, and Kira. Rogelio and 'Chel gave us a ton of tips for places to go and things to check out, as well as painted a picture of the road ahead of us. Apparently, Ajijic is approximately the cutoff for gringos, and it will be far fewer as we continue south from there.
As the night wore on, we called it, and headed just outside the gate to sleep.
Monday, we weren't sure what to do beyond showers and laundry. Ixchel had to work in the morning, but Rogelio hung out with us between running some errands of his own. We can generally keep ourselves entertained pretty well. We walked Loki around their neighborhood which is just full of beautiful homes. I'm obsessed with Mexican architecture and stucco design. We picked up trash although it was tough to find because the streets were pretty clean. They were all cobblestones throughout the whole town which just seems like a monstrous amount of work.
We took showers and Mandy started laundry. Meanwhile, Rogelio hooked me up with a small piece of screen so I could repair the screen for one of our flare windows. I was definitely not going to buy a whole roll of screen just for that ~10x15" piece. We'd have found a shop to repair it, but instead we didn't have to, so that was cool. We spent some time chilling in the courtyard until Ixchel got out of work. Then, we all went up town for dinner. They drove us to one of their favorite spots for seafood tacos and we bumped into one of Ixchel's clients. She's a real estate agent for Jalisco, and soon for all of Mexico. We haven't done any dealings with her, but based on how happy her clients were to see her, and our interactions with her, it seems safe to say she's probably quite good. I would recommend her if you want to buy a place in the area. Anway, we got dinner. I got a shrimp and a pork taco, Mandy got a huge quesadilla. We all got margaritas because they were two-for-one. Everything was great, especially the company. They freakin' wouldn't even let us pay for dinner!! We tried and they fought it. We thanked them profusely all the way back to their house.
After walking the dogs around, we hung out in their courtyard again. As it started to get dark, we put Loki in bed because he was starting to get a bit annoyed by the other dogs. We went back inside and brought drinks to hang out a while longer. He barked for a couple minutes and then went silent, which was nice. We enjoyed relaxing while not having to watch out that he wasn't getting into any scuffles, and wound down the night with our new friends, trying to convince them to fetch their van and come south with us. We weren't successful, but it was fun to try. Eventually, it was time for us all to head to bed.
We took showers and Mandy started laundry. Meanwhile, Rogelio hooked me up with a small piece of screen so I could repair the screen for one of our flare windows. I was definitely not going to buy a whole roll of screen just for that ~10x15" piece. We'd have found a shop to repair it, but instead we didn't have to, so that was cool. We spent some time chilling in the courtyard until Ixchel got out of work. Then, we all went up town for dinner. They drove us to one of their favorite spots for seafood tacos and we bumped into one of Ixchel's clients. She's a real estate agent for Jalisco, and soon for all of Mexico. We haven't done any dealings with her, but based on how happy her clients were to see her, and our interactions with her, it seems safe to say she's probably quite good. I would recommend her if you want to buy a place in the area. Anway, we got dinner. I got a shrimp and a pork taco, Mandy got a huge quesadilla. We all got margaritas because they were two-for-one. Everything was great, especially the company. They freakin' wouldn't even let us pay for dinner!! We tried and they fought it. We thanked them profusely all the way back to their house.
After walking the dogs around, we hung out in their courtyard again. As it started to get dark, we put Loki in bed because he was starting to get a bit annoyed by the other dogs. We went back inside and brought drinks to hang out a while longer. He barked for a couple minutes and then went silent, which was nice. We enjoyed relaxing while not having to watch out that he wasn't getting into any scuffles, and wound down the night with our new friends, trying to convince them to fetch their van and come south with us. We weren't successful, but it was fun to try. Eventually, it was time for us all to head to bed.
Overnight Monday into Tuesday, Loki drank so much water. Almost a full liter. Which is kind of abnormal. He kept getting up to drink more and more. We thought maybe it was just a result of being in a bit hotter client and being a little more active the past couple days. In the morning, he was really groany which isn't really out of the ordinary, but he was perhaps doing it a bit more than normal. Mandy got up to give him breakfast and he didn't even sprint out of bed for it which was the first real alarm bell for us. We were both like something is wrong. We thought maybe he had to go out first to make room so we tried that. When he still wouldn't eat, I thought maybe we'd swap the food. We picked up a new bag of food the previous day because it was available though we didn't yet need it. It was wedged between the back doors and the storage drawer so when I pulled it up food spilled out of a large slit in the side. I figured I must have torn it as I pulled it out of the crevice. We swapped the food in his bowl and he ate it, but we continued to monitor him like a hawk. We asked Rogelio about a local vet, just in case he wasn't only being a brat and demanding new food. Additionally, he wouldn't stop farting throughout the morning. So, the point is, it was kind of a panicky morning because we thought maybe he'd drank some water from the lake or something and was feeling sick from that. Eventually, we put everything together in total and realized when he was alone in the van after he'd gone silent after the first couple minutes, he was probably feasting on the bag of new food, and then he shoved it down by the doors afterwards to hide the evidence.
But it was time to move on, sad as we would be to leave Rogelio and Ixchel. What wonderful people! We said goodbye to Ixchel in the morning as she left to head to work. As she pulled out of the driveway, Rogelio told us to pull in so that we could top off our water tanks from their hose. I know they're not reading this but thank you guys SO MUCH!! After we filled the tanks, we set off towards Oaxaca. Of course, we weren't going to make it, but that's been our destination for several days at this point, so we're still technically going that way.
We drove straight through to Celaya, listening to a Spanish lesson audiobook along the way. Our map showed a gas station that allows overnight parking there, so although it wasn't glamorous, we figured we'd crash there for the night. When we got there, I was pretty spent from about 5 hours driving. It's a lot. We made some lunch and I just read for a while to zone out. The parking lot was hot, dusty, and crowded, though, and we weren't really feeling it. We tried to walk dog just to stretch the legs some, but a half dozen loose dogs came running and barking at us, so we hurried back to the van. Mandy found an alternative about 40 minutes further down the highway. Sure, let's go.
I drove us to Queretaro instead, and we parked in the parking lot at a large shopping center. Though there were far more people around, there was a lot more room around the van. We took a remote spot far out of the way. I popped into Ace Hardware to try to find us a toilet paper holder. We usually store it on our overhead shelf, but I thought a proper hanger inside the cabinet would be better. They didn't have any, except in full bath kits with all the towel racks, so I checked Walmart instead. I also wandered around inside a bit. The layout was weird and I actually covered pretty much the entire store before I found one. I picked up some groceries, too, though.
The holster installed simply with two-sided tape. Then, we walked Loki around the perimeter of the parking lot and then we moved inside. Though it was hot, the sun had set, and there was a great breeze blowing through, so the van cooled off quickly. We put most of the finishing touches on another video and set ourselves up for just a bit more work in the morning before posting. Then, beat from a long driving day, we climbed into bed to relax, finally.
Sorry, but since it was pretty much driving all day, I didn't really take any pictures. I don't know if it's good, bad, or indifferent to share our videos here. I tend to not because it feels spammy, but this one in particular I'd like to post if you'll indulge me. It is the current highlight of our time so far in Mexico. Which is one month, as of today! I posted about the whale watching a few weeks back, but that just shows how far behind we are on making our videos. Feel free to watch it if you want:
But it was time to move on, sad as we would be to leave Rogelio and Ixchel. What wonderful people! We said goodbye to Ixchel in the morning as she left to head to work. As she pulled out of the driveway, Rogelio told us to pull in so that we could top off our water tanks from their hose. I know they're not reading this but thank you guys SO MUCH!! After we filled the tanks, we set off towards Oaxaca. Of course, we weren't going to make it, but that's been our destination for several days at this point, so we're still technically going that way.
We drove straight through to Celaya, listening to a Spanish lesson audiobook along the way. Our map showed a gas station that allows overnight parking there, so although it wasn't glamorous, we figured we'd crash there for the night. When we got there, I was pretty spent from about 5 hours driving. It's a lot. We made some lunch and I just read for a while to zone out. The parking lot was hot, dusty, and crowded, though, and we weren't really feeling it. We tried to walk dog just to stretch the legs some, but a half dozen loose dogs came running and barking at us, so we hurried back to the van. Mandy found an alternative about 40 minutes further down the highway. Sure, let's go.
I drove us to Queretaro instead, and we parked in the parking lot at a large shopping center. Though there were far more people around, there was a lot more room around the van. We took a remote spot far out of the way. I popped into Ace Hardware to try to find us a toilet paper holder. We usually store it on our overhead shelf, but I thought a proper hanger inside the cabinet would be better. They didn't have any, except in full bath kits with all the towel racks, so I checked Walmart instead. I also wandered around inside a bit. The layout was weird and I actually covered pretty much the entire store before I found one. I picked up some groceries, too, though.
The holster installed simply with two-sided tape. Then, we walked Loki around the perimeter of the parking lot and then we moved inside. Though it was hot, the sun had set, and there was a great breeze blowing through, so the van cooled off quickly. We put most of the finishing touches on another video and set ourselves up for just a bit more work in the morning before posting. Then, beat from a long driving day, we climbed into bed to relax, finally.
Sorry, but since it was pretty much driving all day, I didn't really take any pictures. I don't know if it's good, bad, or indifferent to share our videos here. I tend to not because it feels spammy, but this one in particular I'd like to post if you'll indulge me. It is the current highlight of our time so far in Mexico. Which is one month, as of today! I posted about the whale watching a few weeks back, but that just shows how far behind we are on making our videos. Feel free to watch it if you want: