Navidad in Mazatlan

We joined Costa Veleros friends for Christmas Eve dinner at a local restaurant, where bountiful food and drink was served, and local dancers provided entertainment. After dinner, we jumped into the bed of a taxi/truck, furnished with benches on either side - enough room to accommodate the eight of us and were whisked back to Costa Veleros. The party continued out on the deck where the neighbors received an impromptu seranade of carols. The star singer was a cute little four-legged soprano, Keesah, who piped in some lovely howls, with Larry's encouragement...... You can admire her tanned little belly in the attached pic!

Christmas Eve - First Light of Dawn.
All is quiet and peaceful. Soft music surrounds us with the amazing message of Mary's Baby Boy - the Miracle of Hope, entrusted by the Father to a humble young peasant couple.
What a display of confidence in His human children! HE believes in US!
There's a new kid in town. Let's each invite Him in!
May your Christmas be filled with Peace and Love!
Bonnie and Larry

Settling In

Some of the reasons for loving Mexico - - Flowers and Sunets - -Never two the same!

Soft morning breeze has me wrapped in a shawl, sitting on the couch, still in jammies. The morning walk is delayed over another cup of coffee.

A day and a half after arrival finds us pretty well settled into the condominium, though still without gas for hot water and stove top food prep. It matters not when there are friends close by, a barbeque out on the deck to grill salchichas (hot dogs) and a coffee maker in the kitchen!

Shirtsleeves and Sunshine

Two long, arduous days of driving have us in Celestino RV Park, situated right on the coast, about 50 miles north of Mazatlan. The setting is post-card perfect - incredible vista, enjoyed from the patio overlooking the beach with cerbeza in hand; clean bathrooms with LOTS of hot water. It's an ideal place to catch our breath before we venture into MAZ to tackle the tasks of settling back into the condo and preparing for the association meeting on December 19. We look forward to reconnecting with our amigos from all parts of Canada, the US and Mexico!
The border crossing went smoothly - waved through all checkpoints and got the green light at customs. LOTS of fire power in evidence on both sides of the border...(sorry - I chose not to take pictures).
Larry brought us safely down the cuota (toll highway), gripping the wheel tightly as monster busses and 18 wheelers rocketed past us, driven by wannabe race car drivers! Sadly, we encountered one truck in a heap off the side of the road with trailer axle left up on on the highway. The cab appeared to be fairly intact, so hopefully, the driver escaped without major injuries.
We wish we could transport some of this beautiful sunshine and warm weather up north!

Arctic Weather, Torrential Rain, Gale Winds. What ELSE?

Bonnie:

I TOLD you we should have stayed home home for Christmas! Larry: "Now the budget is REALLY shot!"

The rest of the story:

Larry's furrowed brow was not at all reassuring as he wrestled the truck into gear a number of times during yesterday's drive from Bakersfield to Yuma.
"Hmmm.....I think we might have a problem. We'd better have it checked out at the Dodge dealer in Tucson."
Once in gear, the truck seemed to be okay as we left Yuma. The freeway drive was uneventful - - not much shifting necessary. However, after leaving the freeway and working our way through Tucson signals and intersections to the Dodge dealer, it became clear that there was DEFINITELY a problem!
Larry coaxed the truck the last few blocks, with the help of our ever-present guardian angel.

The good news is - - we made it to Tucson.
The bad news is - - we need a new clutch.
Wait! there's MORE good news!
Tonight, we are settled into a Comfort Suites motel room that has Wi-Fi, television and a king size bed! Larry DID promise a weekly motel room stay on these journeys south!!

We should be back in action tomorrow afternoon and plan to spent a couple of nights at the Desert Trails RV park just outside Tucson before crossing the border and heading to Mazatlan.

Oh - - and about Bonnie, the Twin! She's our new Tom Tom GPS! LOVE that girl! She is my back up! She doesn't even mind when Larry grumbles at her!
When Larry has questions, I just hold up "TomTomBonnie" and she shows him the way . . even gives him a two mile "heads-up" before he has to turn! She directed us through San Bernardino without a problem yesterday, even with the rain and crazy traffic!

SNOW in Southern California!

We THOUGHT we were escaping the Arctic weather! Hah!
The Tehachepe Summit east of Bakersfield had a respectable blanket of snow and the hillside windmills were buried in the clouds. We hoped we were through the worst of it as we headed to San Bernardino, but as we labored up the Cajon Pass near Palm Springs, once again Mother Nature demonstrated her dark side with another gauntlet of white stuff. It didn't get much better as we headed into the San Bernardino network of freeways. Traffic was typical for Southern California, but the relentless RAIN and WIND! It really didn't let up at all as we headed east to Yuma.
We are looking forward to a relaxing evening with Jim and Joyce Weathers - friends from Independence.

Oh! And did I tell you that Larry found my twin sister - also named Bonnie?
She is SUCH an amazing navigator! More about her tomorrow......

Cold Frosty Morn

Though we did our best to discourage the company of some unwelcome viral "gangstas" on our trip south, with regular doses of Emergen-C and Echinacea prior to departure, the microbial invasion delayed our leaving by a day.
We nervously watched the ominous clouds gather and felt the temperature drop, and despite the sniffles and sneezes, we decided we needed to beat-feet it across the Siskiyou Pass, before the weather window of opportunity slammed shut. It should be noted and appreciated by all readers that the driver sacrificed himself in a heroic effort behind the wheel for the 8 to 10 hour sojourn to get us safely beyond the Oregon California border, as he fought valiantly to stave off the life-threatening viral attack. What a GUY! Just ask him! Morning fog and sub-freezing tempertures did convert parts of I-5 down the Willamette Valley into a skating rink for the earliest, unsuspecting travelers. The result was a roadside littered with cars whose drivers fell victim to the whims of Mother Nature. We took note and motored carefully over pavement that appeared to be dry. Once the sun burned through the fog, we breezed along at a steady clip. Mother Nature can be beautiful and wicked at the same time! Isn't that JUST like a woman!
Our Saturday night resting spot was in Orland, California, near Red Bluff. I-5 is not the most inspiring route south, but the single digit temperature through Nevada gave us pause.
We are in Edison, CA Saturday night- near Bakersfield, camped in an orange grove where the owners request that the RV campers limit their citrus harvest to one large grocery bag.
SUCH a tough life!!!!

The Artist at Work!

About 6:30 AM, the Bahia de Navidad is still sleepy, but the rising sun coaxes the two villages of Melaque and Barra de Navidad into morning activivities. It's magical time of day - cool, quiet and peaceful. The shore birds are active, hunting for breakfast; a few human inhabitants are out for walks on the beach.

Equally impressive are the sunsets. Sun and clouds create most amazing colorsand moods!

The top three pictures were taken in Melaque at morning sunrise; the fourth was taken that evening at Punta Perula, about 50 miles farther up the coast.

Playa Azul Sunset

God is Still Speaking! May the blessings of the Lenten season be yours.

Tlacolula Highlights

Church Square at Tlacolula on market day….Tlacolula is a village close to Oaxaca that has their weekly market day on Sunday. There was a procession of the Faithful through the market, and exploding fireworks in the church square that made us JUMP! I wish we could have gotten pictures of the old woman carrying a live, trussed up turkey on her head, brought to market to be sold. We bought freshly made tortillas and some yummy Oaxacan cheese, flavored with chiles and prepared quesadillas when we returned to the RV park. Muy Rico!

Sly's New Lady Love!

Oh La La! Larry and Bonnie returned from one last shopping trip to the Oaxaca artisan market with some VERY thoughtful gifts for me! I was absolutely stunned by the beauty of the long-legged Latina spider they introduced as my traveling companion. I understand that there was a similar spider at the market – another attractive female – but with black with red markings and a shady past. She had a bit of an attitude……. only liked male spiders if they were dipped in spicy salsa and served with cold cerbeza.
Larry seemed to be leaning toward the darker side…but Bonnie’s wishes prevailed and the more charming Latina joined our traveling family…….. We dined on the local specialty – chapulinas – grasshoppers. What a treat! My goodness, that girl has an appetite!

LARRY’S COMMENTS:
I’m sorry for all of you that have taken an interest in Bon’s blog. I really don’t know what happened to her this year but if she continues with this “SLY” thing, I’m seriously thinking about committing her for psychiatric evaluation.
Larry

Down to the Coast

After a harrowing departure from Oaxaca, we finally found the right road out of the city to Puerto Angel and began our journey to the coast. We thought we left early enough to avoid the morning commute traffic. Not so!
The average speed on the winding road to the coast was 25 miles per hour. The rolling water jug made guacamole out of the two avocados on the camper floor as we motored along! We thought about just opening a couple of cans of cerbeza and bringing out the chips when we pulled into the Los Mangos RV Park and discovered the mess!
Puerto Angel is a small surfing – resort area with a beautiful bay. We spent a couple of days resting up and preparing for the next leg of the journey up the coast. We visited the turtle museum and learned a lot about the local efforts to support the turtle nesting beaches in the area.

A few other interesting animals we encountered were the tarantula in the men's shower room (!)and the handsome rooster who srutted around the camp ground.

Monte Alban Ruins near Oaxaca

The artifacts that have been unearthed at the Monte Alban ruins near Oaxaca tell an incredible story of past cultures whose people possessed advanced spiritual development, creative skills and scientific knowledge that rivals that of other cultures around the world, past and present. The villages surrounding the city of Oaxaca are populated by indigenous people whose ancestors created these ancient structures. There are 16 separate languages spoken in the Oaxaca Valley, besides Spanish. Dress varies significantly from village to village, as do creative handicraft skills, such as weaving, pottery, intricate embroidery. I chose not to take too many pictures of the local people, out of respect for their privacy. Instead, I posed in front of some weavings.....

Marathon Shopping

The villages surrounding Ciudad Oaxaca are known for their handicrafts and their weekly market days (tianguis), which are staggered seamlessly throughout the week to make shopping more convenient for tourists and more profitable for vendors. This results in non-stop shopping opportunities seven days a week! Let it be known that the STAR shopper in THIS family is LARRY! AS IF we didn’t strengthen the local economy and gather goods to an acceptable level in the FIRST round of financial blood-letting, Larry’s enthusiasm for shopping was unchecked as a second look at the mercados loomed in the coming week.

We have taken some time to relax and enjoy this beautiful city and plan to return in the future for less shopping and more people watching in the village squares!

Into Oaxaca

Friday, February 06, 2009
Cholula to Oaxaca

We managed to exit the Puebla/Cholula city relatively unscathed, despite vehicles exiting on to off ramps from all three lanes of the “freeway” during the morning commute, which periodically slowed the flow to a crawl. Road etiquette in the cities seems to be optional!
The drive to Oaxaca was highlighted by a lunch stop at an outpost manned by a seventy year old man who appreciated the solitude and clear night skies away from the cities. He provided us with cold drinks for a few pesos and a spectacular view of the canyon below. When we asked him where he lived, he responded that he had a “ranch” not too far away – probably a hut clinging to the edge of the canyon wall!
The road was not bad……. We managed just one wrong left turn across traffic as we entered Oaxaca, creating a concert of horns blasting in no uncertain terms the displeasure and lack of tolerance of the local drivers at the ignorance and absence of driving and navigation skills of the gringo invaders from the North. We were HOPING the local populace would cut us a little slack, given the economic windfall promised by our two week visit to the area.
The choice had to be made concerning accommodations ….. the more convenient, though more rustic (read: cold showers) RV park close to the bus line to centro or the RV park some miles out of town with more luxurious surroundings. Exhaustion and thirst prevailed, so we threw caution to the wind and pulled into the dusty, marginal RV park close to centro and brought out the cerbeza (beer), not bothered about the inconsistent supply of hot shower water.

Mexico's Great Pyramid

Thursday, February 5, 2009
Cuernavaca to Puebla/Cholula

We can tell we are getting increasingly road-weary! Though this leg of the journey was only 120 miles, it took us FIVE hours to finally get from Cuernavaca to the RV park in Cholulaon the outskirts if Puebla! Along the way, we skirted around Popocatepetl, a large volcano which has been belching clouds of ash and smoke for the past several years. This part of Mexico is geologically a very active area, with regular earthquakes and a number of active volcanoes. Mexico City is close enough that this volcano holds the potential to do major damage to this urban area. Hopefully, it will remain peacefully at rest.
After settling in about mid afternoon, we walked to the Zona Archeologica where we toured the Great Pyramid of Tepanampa – actually seven pyramids superimposed one on top of the other over a period of 800 years by various Meso-American cultures – beginning with the Cholulans. On the advice of our guide, we positioned ourselves at the center of the Great Plaza - Patio de los Altares - entrance to the pyramid and site of rites and celebrations - and clapped. The echoes magnified by the surrounding structures were haunting! We can only imagine what magical sounds drumming, singing and dancing were created in ancient times. It is said that this pyramid rivals in size those found in Egypt.

The Beetle City

Hey! Sly LIKES Taxco! They told me that it was a city famous for silver, BUT I have an entirely DIFFERENT opinion! It’s the City of Bugs! VW bugs, that is…. And I can see why! The streets are SO narrow that it’s downright impossible for anything bigger than a VW bug to get around! Knowing how much we spiders like insects, it’s too bad they weren’t swarms of REAL bugs. I would have had a feast! I hear that grasshoppers are a delicacy down in Oaxaca. Even the humans like them! Oh boy, am I going to enjoy sampling thelocal cuisine!

Taxco-The Silver City!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009
It was a HARD push from the butterfly reserve to Taxco on Tuesday– especially after the long hike up in the morning. The journey around the city of Toluca was confusing and stressful. Our maps were outdated, roads were under construction and the traffic was extremely heavy.
With no RV parks available, the four bleary eyed, rummy vagabundos motored up the hill into Taxco to a motel, with barely enough energy left to drag themselves out of the trucks and pour glasses of red wine. Lonnie disappeared for close to an hour, causing the remaining trio some worry, only to arrive with a yummy pizza, which brought us back to life. Energized by our gringo snack, we hopped into a “collectivo” – a van – which delivered us to the Zocalo – the central square of Taxco. Several silver jewelry shops around the square were still open, so we browsed and strolled around – reviewing restaurant menus in anticipation of tomorrow night’s dinner.
Our motel accommodations were not the best and it seemed that the entire canine population of Taxco was stationed right outside our windows and carried on noisily throughout the night. Over morning coffee, we decided to have breakfast in the Zocalo, do a little shopping and then head up to Cuernavaca in the afternoon. Wednesday night, we are enjoying the peace and quiet of the El Paraiso RV Park in Cuernavaca.
Tomorrow, we’ll head out to Puebla early, so we’ll have time to explore some of the archeological ruins in the afternoon.

Uruapan to Patzcuaro

After a long, tough day of travel Saturday from Tepic, around Guadalajara, east via two lane roads below Lake Chapala, through Zamora and then South to Uruapan, we slowed the pace a bit Sunday with a relaxed morning at Motel Pie de la Sierra (Foot of the Sierra). The motel RV accommodations included access to nicely tiled shower rooms near the swimming pool, a computer room with internet access and a restaurant overlooking the pool. We enjoyed an anniversary breakfast of Huevos Rancheros and freshly squeezed orange juice in the restaurant before heading out to Patzcuaro late morning.
Sunday’s journey was brief – a little over an hour – to El Pozo RV Park. We enjoyed the afternoon exploring Isla Janitizio, a tourist attraction in Lago Patzcuaro. This small island juts out of the lake and provides a nice steep climb to the top, where a monument of Morela looks out over the lake. Vendors – many, indigenous Indians - line the steps and offer a variety of handcrafted goods for sale to tourists – mostly Mexican nationals on three day weekend holiday from nearby cities. These holidays occur fairly regularly here in Mexico! We think it’s a well deserved trade off for the typical weekly work schedule of Monday through Friday and then Saturday morning to boot.
Monday will take us farther east through Ciudad Morelia, to the Mariposa Monarch Butterfly Reserve, featured in a recent National Geographic documentary aired on public television. The closest city is Zitacuaro, for those of you following along on a map. As we climb into the higher elevations of this central plateau between the two mountain ranges, we are finding the nights to be VERY cold! Happily, we came prepared with a small space heater and plenty of warm clothes!

Sleeping Butterflies

The trip from Patzcuaro to the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Reserve took us around the southern edge of Morelia, a very pretty city, then above Ciudad Hidalgo and finally south over winding, mountainous roads and through some of the most beautiful pine forests we’ve encountered! We passed by little homesteads with shacks made of whatever material was available; cautiously maneuvered around horses and cows grazing untethered by the side of the road; witnessed a weather-beaten old man tending his patch of garden carved out of the sloping terrain.
We made a quick stop at Tuxpan for fresh produce before moving on to San Felipe and then through Ocampo and on to the 12 mile cobblestone road to the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Reserve. The two camper rigs were greeted at the parking lot by a horde of urchins, all talking at once in Spanish, trying to sell trinkets, walking sticks and their services as guardians of our rigs when we decided to take the long hike up to the pine trees some 1,000 feet above where the butterflies were stsacked on top of one another in their hibernation mode. The parking lot was full of weekend visitor vehicles and we were advised to wait until morning to make the trek up the steep, winding path to the butterflies.
As we sat and enjoyed afternoon refreshments, we were seranaded by a quartet of youngsters, maybe about 10 or 11 years old. Their sweet song earned them each a couple of pesos, some chocolate and some pencils. We exchanged lessons in Spanish and English – colors, numbers and some simple phrases - before they began sliding down a small grassy hill on cardboard. They seemed to be having the time of their lives, so the crazy old gringos asked if they could join in the fun. We provided some hilarious entertainment for the kids as we slid down the hill and almost over the edge. They stood guard and provided a blockade to keep us from harm. A zip-lock bag, used to collect the candy wrappers, became the object of study and fascination. The bag was emptied and given to one of the children, who examined the workings of the zipper mechanism.
We were up early the next morning to take our hike up the path to the butterflies before the crowds arrived. A refuge “vigilante” escorted us up the hillside. We joined him in gathering scraps left on the path by the previous day’s visitors. There is a strong commitment to protect this area from the impact of well-meaning visitors who might unintentionally interrupt the hibernation and thus the precarious life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. Sadly, we were too early this year to really see the Monarchs at the height of their mating activity prior to their migration North to Canada. For those of you who saw the recent National Geographic documentary on the public television channel, you know that the entire life cycle of the Monarch butterfly involves 4 generations, in the migration between Mexico and Canada and back.

Up into the Altiplanos

After bestowing “besitos” on the cheeks of Mazatlan friends, we departed with Kathy and Lonnie Dunham from Mazatlan about noon on Friday the 30th, a day ahead of schedule. Our truck-camper setups are nearly identical – one red and one green – the Fraternal Twins! As we-parade through small towns, typically we receive a lot of waves and greetings from people along the roadsides. It must be pretty unusual to have tourist traffic through town….and then to have TWO rigs that look so much alike is a REAL event! Since we got a late start, the first leg of our journey took us as far as Lago Santa Maria del Oro a lake situated in the bottom of a volcanic caldera which is located about 15 miles east of the city of Tepic. It was a treat to return to this little piece of paradise! Our accommodations were at the Koala Bungalows and Campground, right next to the lake. The resort is owned and run by a gringo ex-patriot, who has been there for 30 years. It was the start of a three day weekend, so the campground was already busy Friday night. We enjoyed a cold beer on the dock before settling in for dinner and early bedtime. We figured it was best to get an early start Saturday morning in order to beat the influx of weekend campers from Tepic and Guadalajara coming down the winding road into the caldera. Saturday, we departed at 8 AM and journeyed east toward Guadalajara. We skirted the eastern edge of the city and headed south and around the south side of Lake Chapala, a favorite hangout of the ex-patriot community. After a quick stop for lunch along the side of the road, we continued east through Zamora and then south to Uruapan, where we spent last night at Motel Pie De La Sierra. As we motored inland, the elevation increased. The Church book reports that this is volcano country – with some of the most active volcanoes in the world. Many of the cities in the central part of Mexico are nestled into the folds between the the two mountain ranges – the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental – in the high plateau called the Altiplano. Nights are cool and days are pleasant and comfortable due to the higher elevation, thus the attraction to ex-patriots from the Europe, Canada and the United States. Later today, we will make the short trip east and slightly north to Patzcuaro, where we will do some exploring before heading to the butterfly reserve Monday. Stay tuned!

Departure at High Noon

The camper is on the truck, cleaned, packed and provisioned; condo sheets are washed and in the dryer. The floors and bathrooms will get one last lick and polish, and we'll be on our way by noon today, Friday January 30.

Destination for our first day most likely will be Ciudad Tepic. That will make a short trip tomorrow to the Guadalajara area.

The photos above are of "the farm", where we store the camper, by gracious invitation of Jesus Ernesto Cardenas, our notario and amigo and Rick Westerdahl, another good friend and Mazatlan social director! The group photo of amigos Marta, Antonio, Rick, Cranda, Larry and Bonnie was taken last Sunday at a local favorite restaurant, showcasing an amazing barbeque pit which provides a wide selection of meat to hungry carnivores....pork, lamb, goat, beef....the list goes on!

Stay tuned for MORE updates and photos along the road to Oaxaca in the coming days!