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!