The world through the windsheild of Ron and Kat

Baja beaches

2012-01-12T15:43:00.000-08:00

Bahia Conception Winter Beach Visitors

RV'ers from the snowy reaches of North America have for decades used the beaches of Conception Bay in the lower third of the Baja as a escape from the snow and icy winds. Before the so called drug wars frighted a lot of visitors, these beaches were packed to the water line with RV's of all description. Just a few short years ago to find a place to park your RV on any of the many beaches along Highway 1 you would have had to claim your spot no later than early November. Today these beaches are sparsely occupied with some virtually empty.

IN SEARCH OF DINNER

2011-12-25T20:34:00.000-08:00

WHERE'S RAY'S?
At one time Ray's was very easy to find.
When you felt the urge for a 4 star meal in much less than a 4 star building you would just drive south down the Baja Peninsula for 637 miles to the Village of Mulege. You would then drive a few more miles south and you would have found Ray's Beach Shack Restaurant sitting on a beautiful crescent beach on the Bay of Conception.

After a fire destroyed the beach shack Ray rebuild his restaurant

not on the beach but somewhere past the water plant. You must follow the trail of arrows down a sandy path toward the mountains outside the Village of Mulege.

Past the date Palms

Toward the Mountains

Turn right before the Mountains

Turn left and avoid the sand.

Right again

At last we are getting close.

MAMA ESPINOZA AND HER LOBSTER BURITTOS

2011-12-25T12:27:00.000-08:00

A Baja Landmark

The Baja 1000 starts some miles south of El Rosario and this seventy two year old family run restaurant has always been the first check point.

In 1930 Anita Espinoza started her business by welcoming hungry, weary travelers into her home. El Rosario at that time was quite literally the end of the road with nothing but desert wilderness stretching southward. That first year only 10 cars passed by her door.

Today her restaurant is still the most popular check point on the Baja 1000 and other off road races. We stopped for her famous lobster burritos and were not disappointed. If you are planning a stop for dinner and a soft bed, I suggest you make reservations for the bed. We didn't, but were lucky enough to get the last two rooms at the Cactus Hotel. Mama Espinoza's lodging also looked full.

A week ago before those macho looking off road vehicles came rumbling into our hotel parking lot in San Felipe I knew nothing about off road racing. I still know nothing about the sport except the name Walker Evans, so this signed photo caught my eye as soon as I entered Mama Espinozas.

SOUTH BOUND FROM ESTERO BEACH

2011-12-24T19:02:00.000-08:00

IT'S ALWAYS HARD TO LEAVE THE BEACH

We leave the chilly coastal resort of Estero Beach wishing not only for a dry day but one that is considerably warmer. The cold front that is messing with everyone on the west coast of the U.S. is keeping us bundled up in our jackets and sweats.

The only water we will see for three days will be in a bottle.
The old Baja road of a half dozen years ago has improved greatly. We remember this 200 mile section of highway as a endurance trial for driver, passengers and vehicle suspension. The pavement is smooth, the lanes wide and the shoulders although not exactly wide exist.

We found a 30 mile stretch under construction, but even the detour was not the usual spontaneous path devised by local drivers. As we progressed down the Baja we began to notice that the worst Vados and seasonal stream beds now have bridge crossings.

For two days we followed the circus down the highway.

We played leap frog down the road until....

they stopped to set up for a performance. They would give one show break down and pass us again the next day. If we ever stop for the night at the same place we will have to go see the show.

The Cactus Hotel in El Rosario was a sweet find. The new part of the complex was absolutely top drawer and charming. Just stay away from rooms 1-8, these rooms are part of original old motel and have not been upgraded.

Highway 3 across the Baja (San Felipe to Ensenada)

2011-12-22T07:44:00.000-08:00

Highway 3

The Highway 3 short cut from the Gulf of California to the Pacific Ocean runs slightly north before turning west and dropping down to the Pacific Ocean in Ensenada. One hundred and twenty miles and 5 hours to drive shore to shore.

This route is very lonely with almost no traffic for the first couple of hours. We did find a Pemex (Fuel) station about two thirds of the way. This one even takes credit cards, something that you should never count on when traveling in Mexico.

The closer we got to Ensenada the more difficult the driving became, as we drove up and over numerous scenic mountains littered with bolder fields.

The level of difficulty and the danger of the roads that wind over the mountain passes are often marked by shrines erected by the locals. Drivers will pause to recite a prayer for a safe journey.

We entered Ensenada on its mountainous east side. Being unfamiliar with the roads from this direction we were surprised we only had to turn around once to find highway 1 south. Nothing much had changed in the last several years so it was easy for us to find the hotel where we had stayed many, many times.

We stayed the evening at the Estero Beach Hotel and RV Resort. A old haunt from our Wagon Master days.

When we dropped by the restaurant for a late lunch we were greeted by a familiar face. It was fun to see Raoul who we had done business with on our caravan trips.

During the evening the rain really poured from the sky. We awoke to a very wet world. We were lucky the rain fell during the evening. The forcast is for a dry drive today.

Tonight I am posting on Christmas Eve and would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We will be enjoying a Christmas Meal tomorrow with old and new friends and thinking of our far flung family and friends.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-18T22:52:00.000-08:00

San Felipe

Day Two

We found Chelo's Cafe at km 35.5 exactly where it had been reported to be. The drive took us south of San Felipe past miles of beach side Gringo housing.

The homes we saw along this stretch of the beach were mostly modest homes of local brick. Or.......

.....many homes expressed whimsy and individuality like this painted lady.

By the time we spotted this sign our stomachs were in dire need of nourishment.

To say that Chelo's is a charming eatery would be doing them a grave injustice.

This small cafe in the middle of the desert could hold its own in the best of culinary circles.

Chelo serves a extensive menu of imaginative breakfast offerings. We choose a 4 course breakfast for 2. We had every intention of photographing our meal upon presentation but we were so hungry we just dove right in. Only after the edge was taken off our hungry did we remember we wanted a photo of the dishes. A photo of our table at this point would not have been a pretty sight. The folks at a table near us gracefully keep their forks on the table long enough for Ron to snap the above photo.

When we returned from out breakfast trip we were surprised to find these off road racers parked at our hotel. WELL.... had I only known who and what I was talking to and what I was looking at. This car belongs to and was driven here by Off Road Hall of Fame driver Walker Evans, aka "The Legend". I googled his name and discovered that he is a 5 time winner of the Baja 1000 and owner of 21 off road championships. He and his crew had just arrived from Cabo, a off road practice trip that took them 5 days.

Ron admires one of these $300,000 racers. He looks like he sees himself flying over the desert floor like a macho rocket.

We went down to the Malacon for Fish Tacos for dinner. We choose to eat at the most popular beach side restaurant bar. The Taco Factory probably seats 100 or more patrons and it was empty. Management said that they served only 3 tables all weekend.

During our after dinner stroll, Ron tried his hand at Churro making, but he wasn't very good at it.

The young lady had to take over the task of making our after dinner snack. We had already had our dessert but after Ron took over her machine we all felt obligated to buy from her and they were delicious.

Tomorrow we head across the Baja and over the mountains to Encenada. The drive should be a beautiful one.

Baja for the Holidays

2011-12-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

San Felipe

We are spending the Holiday Season on the Baja with Helen and Skip. If you have been following our blog you will remember them from our 2009/10 trip to Mexico in search of ancient ruins. Helen is the one who never saw a temple or pyramid she would not climb.

Our journey's always seem to begin at dawn. If you think I am complaining, I am not. I don't complain, because early departures are almost always rewarded with beautiful sunrises. A steaming cup of coffee, a sky like the one above and the promise of new encounters, I will never complain about that combination.

Our Border crossing at San Louis, south of Yuma AZ went smoothly, with only a brief stop at Immigration to get our paperwork stamped. The paperwork is a little different this year. The form has been redesigned and renamed FMM, however the cost is almost the same at $262 pesos. The trip between the border and the beginning of Hwy 2D, the new toll road east toward Tijuana would have gone better if we had, 1. followed the directions to turn right at the second street after the border or 2. followed the verbal direction of Tommy our GPS voice when he said "right turn ahead". Oh, well after a few discussions with the local traffic cops we found our road and headed into the heartland of the Baja California

The road was excellent. Solid surface with few pot holes and four lanes except for this

very short detour. Those of you who are familiar with Mexico detours probably don't believe that this is a picture of one. You have to agree that this is by far the best detour you have ever encountered south of the border.

The Arches of San Felipe

We arrived with no reservations and could have probably had our pick of any room within 40 miles. To say the Tourist trade is down would be a understatement. We choose the El Cortez Hotel. A ocean view room only set us back $26 USD.

May we bore you with another sunrise picture? This was taken by Ron on the beach in front of our room. Today we are going to explore the area south of town in search of a breakfast spot that enjoys excellent reviews. We will keep you posted....until later.

Lake Havasu

2011-12-16T20:04:00.000-08:00

We are spending most of the winter on the California side of Lake Havasu at Black Meadow Landing. We are located at the end of the road from Parker Dam and life is very laid back and peaceful.

We and our neighbors built a fire pit on the ledge in front of our motor homes. From this perch high above the lake we gather to enjoy visiting while watching the setting sun turn the landscape into a kaleidoscope of lavender and orange.

Sunset social hours around the new fire pit requires something other than congenial friends....firewood. Firewood is not sold on every street corner in the desert, so we jump into our Jeep and Ken and Betty's 4 wheel drive pickup and head out into the Whipple Mountains in search of wood stranded in the washes by the summer monsoons.

This trip we were rewarded with more than firewood. We had heard that the Whipple mountains which surrounds Black Meadow Landing is Big Horn Sheep habitat, but had never spotted them, We were running with top off the Jeep, which made it easier to spot the 5 Sheep high above us on the top of the ridge.

Life is so rewarding!

South Africian Safari: a review

2011-10-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

You two can do it!

It was sad to leave Africa, all four of us would like to have stayed longer. We were delighted with the ease of the trip. We were awed by the amount of game and how easy it was to see it. Kruger National Park was amazing, but game viewing was not limited to Kruger and St. Lucia, the two national parks we visited. We saw game in the wild every day of our trip whether within a park or not.

In general the roadways were good and the traffic light. Drivers seemed to be on constant lookout for game both in the park and out. During our trip we only saw one dead goat along side the road.

The local craft markets were a delight and the practical questions of what we could take home in our luggage was always a painful decision.

Patsy's first craft purchase was a sculpture for Steve.

As beautiful as the scenery, as gracious the people and as good the roads and sanitary conditions it was the wildlife that had me squealing into the 2 way's constantly. Who could be calm when spotting elephants playing in the river or....

A lionese casually strolling down the pavement directly in front of you?

The animals in the national parks are generally not spooked by automobile traffic, allowing great viewing opportunities like the lioness below...

who just lay on the side of the road allowing us to take scores of photos of her. Patsy had her finger on the shutter as the lioness became bored with us and yawned largely.

One of the joys of doing a trip like this in a RV is that we could roll off the air mattress at dawn and head for the nearest water hole where we could make coffee and breakfast and wait for the wildlife to come to us. Amazingly we never had to wait for long.

We had sightings of both the Black and the White Rhino, although it took us a few sighting to be able to tell the difference between them. Don't be fooled into believing that these animals are not a serious threat to one's safety, just because they generally are not shy of auto traffic. Remember you are never allowed out of your car while cruising the park, in fact the rules are that no part of your body can extend from the vehicle. There are designated picnic areas and authorities are serious about using only these picnic areas to exit the car. This confinement to your car is another reason for the motor home, it is comfortable to always have your facilities and fridge with you.

The beautiful pictures I am posting today were taken by Patsy.

Patsy spotted this one of a kind photo opportunity from the road. On this occasion the tele-photo lens was handy. All our photos were taken with Canon digital camers with the lenses built in.

This photo is an example of how prolific the game is out side of the parks. The giraffe were crossing the road as we were leaving a private RV Park.

There are many ways to go on Safari in South Africa. The Internet makes it possible for anyone with the time and the inclination to plan the trip of a lifetime from their living room. There is the all inclusive luxury trips straight out of the movies or at the other end is the cheapest rental car available, a tent, map and a sense of adventure and all the excitement is yours. Because of South Africa's infrastructure, many choices for self drive tours are available on the Internet. I know people who booked a tour that included a rental car and B&B's or Lodge reservations and they had a great time. My advise is to choose your budget, your level of comfort, a good GPS program and get ready for a trip that will blow your mind.

Don't wait we are never getting younger!

A stay at a Zulu Village

2011-10-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

Cape Vidal

While in Kruger Park we took 5 game drives. These drives stuck to gravel or paved roads. In St. Lucia we opted for a off road drive. What fun this was. Our driver was a young Zulu man, raised not far from St. Lucia. His family had lived in the park for generations and was disposed when the park was formed, a story so familiar in our own country.

Esumuela, Zulu for builder or creator, had a voice that was made for radio and was a fun, intelligent and fearless driver. He was determined to get us as close to game as possible.

Zebra are difficult to get close to, the attempt to domesticate them has been hindered by this shyness but also because they cannot carry large loads.

My reason for choosing October for the trip was because I wanted to see the babies. I have seen many babies. I would have liked to take this one home with me. I wonder....would Sherry board him for me?

This Rhino picture was taken BEFORE we moved in close!

REAL close folks, no telephoto here! I would have loved to have gotten out of the Land Rover to get a better picture of the baby.

This cute creature is a Dung Beetle. He is huge and this photo shows he rolling the Impala dung to his nest. The eggs are then laid inside the dung and the nutrients nourish the eggs. Just another of Gods creatures you meet on Safari if you move slowly and keep your eyes open.

At last we reached Cape Vidal and find this remote beach busing with sun bathers and boaters.

Boaters launch and retrieve their boats from the beach, using special boat trailers designed for this.

There is only a small opening in the reef for the boaters to maneuver through.

Shakaland

We treated ourselves to a overnight stay in a Zulu Village. We had booked into the Simynue Village a working village that offers lodging and a cultural experience. Simynue experienced some sort of criminal activity shortly before our scheduled arrival that made them cancel all tourists activity. The Skakaland Hotel and Cultural Village accepted their guests. The Shakaland complex was really built as a stage set for the movie Skaka Kan. We had our doubts about the overall experience, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the lodging was charming and comfortable. Enjoy the photos.

We were escorted to the village area

Pounding leather

Chief

chief

Ron gets physical

Chiefs and his wives
Zulu's even today can legally have multiple wives.

The following pictures are of the dancers who entertained us.

Our lodgings

St. Lucia Wetlands Park in Zululand

2011-10-18T05:06:00.000-07:00

St Lucia, land of Hippo's and the Indian Ocean

Zulu Village Market

Not long after crossing back into South Africa we did a U-turn to visit this market.

It was the fruit out front that caught our eye, however it was the crafts in the back that keep us busy for at least a hour.

We had barley gotten parked in Sugar Loaf Campground in St. Lucia wheh the monkeys decended upon us.

The large troop showed little fear of us. We had been warned to keep our food packed away and our windows and vents closed to prevent the monkeys making themselves at home in our rigs.

After we tired of taking pictures of the monkeys we walked to the beach. The Hippo Hole is between the trail and the Indian Ocean.

The hippo's enjoying their afternoon with the ocean in the back ground. No barrier between us and them.

We made our way around the Hippos to the ocean just as the sun set. We didn't stay long because with the hippos between us and the campground we certaintly did not want to be caught out here in the dark.

We did find the trail the hippo's use to get to the beach. I couldn't resist walking in there footprints.

A brief visit to Swaziland

2011-10-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

A BRIEF VISIT TO SWAZILAND

Swaziland, the African Kingdom that is completely surrounded by South Africa

happens to be the most direct route from Kruger National Park to St. Lucia Wet Lands Park. This was one reason for us to route our selves through Swaziland. The other one, of course is curiosity. WOW, what a contrast it was to South Africa.

The first evidence of this was at the border control offices. South Africa has modern and efficient passport control and immigration in buildings and facilities that any country would be proud of. Swaziland border control area, while effective and quick was about as different from the South African side as it could be.

This is a street scene in the first small town along the way. There were hundreds of these make shift stalls selling everything one would ever need. Behind this stall, selling what looks like fabric is a very modern shopping center. Quite a contrast.

Walking is the main mode of getting from point a to point b, so people walking on the road were a constant sighting. Some carried their burdens on their shoulders or heads while others pushed product or each other in wheel borrows.

Here at the corner of a school yard mothers waited under the solitaire tree. They sat with coolers and baskets of food waiting for their children to be dismissed from class. We were lucky enough to pass by as the lunch bell rang out and children rushed to greet their mothers and take a peek at what treats were for lunch.

These houses are called Rondavals. They are the main housing in the area of Swaziland we passed through. The circular walls could be made of clay, rammed earth, cinder block or even wood. They were somethimes seem sitting near a modern mortar house, but almost always in a family grouping.

Our destination for the evening was a private game farm called Niesela Safaris. This is the reception area and the restaurant over looking the crocodile pond.

The campground was around behind the crocodile pond. Before we could even get settled in this young gent and his 2 friends came over to take a look at us..

Before dinner we had a couple other visitors. These two pictures were taken from our campsite. Yes, I used the telephoto lens to get a good picture of the faces but they were still very close to us. I slept with my back window curtain open, I told everyone I wanted to wake up with them staring in at me. Pat says that while I was in the shower building the next morning they did come up real close to my back window.

In addition to the Lodge and Campground Niesela Safaris also have these very popular thatch rondavals for rent.

I think this is a perfect African sunrise picture. A few hours later we were at the South African border. I must tell you a little story on myself about this border crossing. We had been warned earlier in the year that there was a possibility of political protests at the border crossing by Swazi Nationals. We had followed these stories diligently and had even made alternative plans. After discussing the possible issues with several South Africans we decided that the chances of these demonstrations happening and closing the border were slim to none so we continued with our plans to visit Swaziland. Well......upon arriving at the southern border crossing we were confronted with a road closed sign. Beyond the road closure was a 8 foot fence, there we could see lots of people in blue and white uniforms milling around. OH...... what now? We followed make shift directions to the border crossing, bumped along several dirt roads which led us around several blocks to the other side of the fenced off road. The nightmare I anticipated waiting for us turned out to be nothing more than two bus loads of middle school children on a field trip waiting in line to also cross through customs into South Africa.

2011-10-14T01:53:00.000-07:00

GOOD BYE TO KRUGER

We have left Kruger and continued down to St. Lucia to dip our toe's in the Indian Ocean. Going through Swaziland without issues. There is quite a contrast in life style between South Africa and Swaziland, however the Swazi people were delightful and we thoroughly enjoyed our 2 days there.
I would like to share with you some of the landscapes and facilities in Kruger Park.

In Kruger National self drive tours are encouraged, but for safety reasons you are only allowed to exit your car at designated picnic spots. At these picnic spots in addition to tables, grills and bathrooms, a small convience store and a grill spot to purchase a meal. The sausage on the grill is Wildebeest and the cast iron pot on the ground contains Pap and Sheba

Ron and Pat attacked huge plates of Borewor Sausage with Pap and Sheba. They soon discovered that Pap is in fact just plain ol' grits cooked in water and the Sheba is a stew of onions and tomatoes. The Sheba is quite good but the grits could use a little something extra.

This photo is also from Kruger, allow me one last Kruger animal picture.

This was taken early in the morning the day before we left Kruger. I showed it to 2 different game guides and they were very interested in it. The baby Baboon is about 2 months old. Notice that the mother has her arm around the baby and the baby is gently cradleing a baby mongoose. It is this gentle caressing that interested the guides so much.

2011-10-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

HONEY I'LL BLOCK TRAFFIC FOR YOU

As I have said before it is hard to travel a mile or two without seeing game in the central part of Kruger. On this day Pat and Patsy were in the lead as we motored around. Their job was to spot game and relay its location back to us on the walkie-talkies. The sighting of this big fellow did not happen until he was right out their drivers window.

He then proceeds to lumber along directly towards P&P's rig. Patsy is a brave girl, she tells Pat to keep the rig in gear as she lays down on the bed and starts snapping pictures.

If you are viewing this on a large monitor you may be able to see her in the back window.

The park is catacombed with trails, these trails are used heavily by all the animals. P&P must have stopped in the middle of the trail, because the elephant stared at them and almost in slow motion moved directly toward their rig.

After several minutes another elephant ambled up to the road to join the first. It looked like the first had entered the road to stop traffic for the second.

The view from our rig.

The view from P&P's rig

They then stood side by side in the middle of the road as traffic build up in both directions. They appeared in no hurry to leave.

We were not watching the clock but the elephant pair stayed in the middle of the road for maybe 10 minutes, before continuing on their way. This day they were moving so slowly I wonder how far they got.

SUNRISE GAME DRIVE

2011-10-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

SUNRISE GAME DRIVE

We were at the meeting area at 4:45 for the 5am sunrise drive. The weather looked like it would warm up nicely and we would actually have a comfortable drive. This drive lasts about 3 hours, on previous drives the temperatures were a wee bit chilly and we had to wrap ourselves in blankets to stay warm. No blankets today.

A young elephant stripping a small tree of branches to eat the leaves was our first encounter.

The Baboon's were still sleeping in the trees.

The sunrise gave the rhino a rosy glow.

Giraffes were in abundance. I think they are my favorite.

We at this point had seen most of the animals in the park but we really wanted to see the elusive Leopard. Well.... we were rewarded in spades, no make that aces!! Not only did we spot the Leopard but a Leopard kill. This was not the usual Leopard kill.... according to our game driver the Leopard had made his kill but before he could drag it up a tree out of the reach of the Lion, the Lion appeared, chased the Leopard up to the top of this tree. We could see the Lion enjoying lunch at the Leopards expense right below the tree!

Much more to share but I am with out a power post as they say here and my battery is running low. More to come later.

2011-10-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

A 48 mile 5 1/2 hour drive

We left Skukuza Rest Camp at 6:50 for a 48 mile drive on paved roads to Lower Sabie Rest Camp. The speed limit in the park is 30 miles a hour. Never did we get above 14 miles a hour. In fact a glance at Tommy our GPS unit almost always indicated 7-9 miles a hour. We drive at that speed with eyes peeled on the road side brush for game and we are rewarded with sightings about one every mile or less. I alone took 232 pictures today, and I am sure Patsy took at least that many, not to mention that Ron was also snapping away. Obviously you wouldn't want to see that many photos so I culled it down to the ones below. We saw 14 different species of animals and several different birds. It turned out to be just another great day in Kruger.

Patsy and Pat leavening Skukuza Rest Camp[

Lion protecting his kill

We had barley left the camp when we happened upon a lion and his fresh kill right next to the road behind some brush. This is our second such sighting.

The picture isn't pretty or a very good photo but it shows the Lion standing over their prey. This time the unfortunate one was a Water Buffalo. The were 5 Lions around the kill and it probably took more than one to bring down this big animal.

Elephants playing in the water was something I thought would never see in the wild.

We spotted a herd of elephants crossing a river valley full of tall grass, there were somewhere around 8 adults and 4 babies that we could see. They were moving along in single file toward the river. Ron thought he could get us closer to them further up the road so we slowly moved on and YES the road did bend around and come up next to the river. Most of the herd had already crossed but these two had lagged behind to play in the water on the hot afternoon. We watched to smaller one roll around, lay down and just generally enjoy himself until the larger one moved on and he felt he must follow or be left behind.

There is so much more we would like to share but uploading photos is very slow tonight and we have to get up before dawn to go on a Ranger lead sunrise game drive so for now this will have to be the end of this post.

2011-10-06T05:13:00.000-07:00

First 24 hours in Kruger

The game viewing has been more than anyone could expect. These pictures are just a small piece of the experience. From the first Giraffe to now, 3 days later it has been continous game viewing and shutter snapping. I have not however, had the same success with the Internet "fly stick" I rented at the airport. It's not the "fly sticks" fault because it only works where there is cell service. I will post when ever I can.

Mama and baby seen minutes after of entering the park

We almost missed this proud lady, she blended into the bush so well.

This beauty no one could miss

Satara Rest Camp

Kruger Nation Park has 9 entry gates, we entered the park at the Orpen gate about in the middle of the park. The drive from the gate to our rest camp was only 40 paved miles, but game viewing along the road made it a 4 hour drive. When we arrived at the camp we were greeted by Zebras grazing in front of the camp.

These Lions were seen on a sunrise Ranger lead game drive the first morning.

This lion as well as the ones above where within 50 feet of us.

We sat and watched and took pictures for probably 20 minutes. I have a lot more pictures and experiences to share and will post again soon.

ON THE WAY TO KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

2011-10-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

THE ROAD TO KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

From Johannesburg most tourists either fly or take their rental and jump on the N12 freeway to get in or near the park by night fall. We as usual took the slow route.

Panorama View Lodge and Caravan Park

We took the time to shop in the "burbs" for food and necessary items before driving a short 58 miles to our first camp ground. No pictures of the camp but it was a pleasant place to spend the night. It is a private game farm and we were parked right on their private lake. The pool above is at the Panorama View Lodge and was something we had been looking forward to all year. Alas the season was just a little early and spring cleaning was going on. Leaving a clean but empty pool. So we settled for posing for a picture instead of a swim.

Pilgrims Rest, the old gold mining town

Evidently in this part of South Africa, as in Mexico every time you park you can expect some industries local to wash your car for a tip.

Lisbon Falls

The drive on the Panorama on the rim of Blyde River Canyon between Johannesburg and the central entrance gate of Kruger National Park is full of waterfalls and scenic views. In South Africa they say this is the 3rd deepest canyon in the world.

Burks Luck Pot Holes

It may be, I certaintly won't argue, but I will say is that it is a spectuclar place.

We spent the whole day sightseeing along the Canyon rim. Each pull over took at least a hour of our time mostly more, because besides natures beauty there was always a craft market in the parking lot.

Blyde River Canyon Floor form the Canyon Rim

We camped for the night down at the bottom and took a boat cruise on this river the next morning before heading off the last few miles to the Orpen Gate into Kruger.

Kruger National Park at last

This Giraffe was our welcome lady to Kruger! The one animal I wanted to see most in the wild. This is a really good omen. I am sure there will be more, much more....

2011-10-04T06:31:00.000-07:00

Touchdown + 3 days

Safari Lodge

The plane landed in Johannesburg late on Wednesday evening. We were greeted by Lufie, the driver from the Safari Lodge and whisked to the Lodge where we were and quickly given our keys and told not to worry about the registration until the morning. Ah Men to that for all we wanted was a bed. This was a great place to stay close to the airport but very private. We will be returning there on our last day in Africa.

Bobo Motor Home Terminal

Thursday, was mostly a do nothing day. We did hop a ride back out to the airport to exchange our money into South African Rand and use the ATM,s and get phone and Internet set up. The balance of the day was spent in cat naps and poolside visits.

Friday morning Lufi took us to the Bobo place where after a few instructions and contract signing we were on our way.

2011-09-27T03:57:00.000-07:00

South Africa by Motor Home

It is 4am and we are sitting in the silent Spokane Airport awaiting the first of the 5 flight connections that will in 35 hours deposit us in Johannesburg, South Africa. The planning for the trip has taken every minute of a year. A year of studying travel publications, scouring the Internet and picking the brains of the many friends who have preceded us on this quest for the perfect picture of that Zebra or Lion.

We could have taken the easy route and booked an all inclusive tour or perhaps one of the planned self drive tours that are so popular in South Africa. This option would certainly have been less time consuming. By researching and planning we have exercised the old brains and built the anticipation, for us half the fun of travel is the planning. After considering cost, personal comfort and freedom we decided to rent a small Motor home from Bobo Campers in Johannesburg and explore the Game Parks in the comfort of our little cottage on wheels.

We hope over the next month to post a lot of "once in a lifetime" photos of wildlife, African scenery and culture.. So travel along with us and keep your fingers crossed that we will actually see that wildlife.

Reflections on 5 months South of the Border

2010-04-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

We are back in Texas. We had to cut our trip short by a few weeks due to Skip and Helen's brake failure. So the Colonial Cities will have to be visited another year. Always leave a reason to return.

I have bombarded you all winter with pictures of the tourist spots. As beautiful as these areas are, the real jewel of Mexico is its people and its everyday life. So with this post I will share with you some of the wonderful people we meet along the way.

These fishermen motored over to our boat to show off their catch.

The Children are always a treat, their lives are so different from each other.

Circumstances force many of Mexico's children into the family business at a early age.

Thankfully this is slowly changing. A generation is emerging who will have the privilege of just being children.

An example is these two young men sharing a i-pod on the bus on their way home from school.

Mennonite farmers were evident in all parts of Mexico and Central America that we visited.

Every large town and city in Mexico has modern shopping centers and super markets. But the central markets still flourish and are always a delight to shop in.

I am fascinated with the many uses of the tricycle.

We brought home some great memories, but as always when you travel it's great to be home.

The Fishermen of Isla Aguada

2010-04-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

We are into our third week as guests in this very Mexican fishing village. The waterfront is around 2 miles long and lined with these small fishing boats.

The Launches are all 26 to 30 feet long with high free board and power-full out boards. The fishing ground is about 5 or so miles out to sea and they make the trip one or two times a day. I would venture these are very sea worthy little craft.

The fisherman are drift netters. This palapa is a shelter for drying the nets complete with a scare crow to keep the birds away

When the launches are out on the water at night they run with out lights. We have watched them out on the bay at night only turning lights on when they detect another boat engine. The lighting system is a stick with a taillight jerry rigged at the top and connected to a battery.

A twenty six ft boat, 4 men, a net that is probably 8 feet deep by 500 ft long and a big pile of fish. Throw in waves of any size and it could get pretty dangerous.

The fishermen do all this for a paltry 4 pesos a kilo... at today's exchange rate that is about 3.5cents a pound!

They bring their nets in and return to the beach where they take the fish out of the net. The catch could be Salt Water Cat Fish, Sea Bass or Red Snapper maybe.

A days work is not over until the nets have been cleaned and folded into the bottom of the boat ready for another trip to the fishing grounds.

This is a Conch harvesting operation. The conch are raked off the floor of the bay and shoveled into 50 lb. bags for shipment.

This gentleman was very insistent that I take some samples.

Next to the Conch place is a crabbing outfit. The crab they harvest here is the Blue Crab, similar to the crab in the Chesapeake Bay.

All of this seafood finds its way to market. This market was a few hundred yards up the beach from the campground. These three young ladies with a taste for fish are Susan, Jane and Emma from Ireland. They are traveling by motor home to Panama and back for the next 6 months.

Container of fish bound to the elegant restaurants of Mexico City

Susan, Jane and Emma's kilo of fish. Dad, Ian said he had his eye on a hot dog for dinner.

Birth Announcement on the home front

2010-03-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

On behalf of Sherry, Larry, Marshall and Bryce in Spokane, WA I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the Family. Introducing .

Shina

Isla Aguda, a fishing village

2010-03-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

We have been remiss in up-dating the blog of late, sorry. We have been lulled into complacency by our laid back location. After 4 months of rapid fire exploring we have desired little but relaxation.

This tiny beach on the Laguna de Terminos is just 1/4 mile off the Gulf of Mexico. It has been the ideal spot to kick back for a while before we begin our assault on Mexico City, followed by a dash to the border.

This is a very empty RV Park, the hotel part has had only a few guests. There is a fabulous restaurant, but it is busy only on the weekends.

A few travelers have passed through staying a night or two, but mostly we have had the beach to ourselves. Today we are sharing the park with a couple from London, England and another couple from Bellingham, Washington , USA. During our stay thoese who pass have been mostly Canadian. We have also seen couple of rigs from the US, a couple from Mexico and a Family from England with two young school age daughters . The father and "head of the Camper Van" if you will is a member of Her Majesties Royal Air Force on a years leave. They have been traveling all over the North American Continent.

Vista's such as these have put a spell on us.

I think we have been "Agualized"

Around 3pm, when school lets out for the day, the local families walk down to the beach for a swim. We have never seen a child under 13 down here without a adult along.

Our "bread boy" arrives on his bicycle cart most afternoons around 5 pm.. We look forward to the arrival of bread still warm from the oven just in time for dinner.

We are on the east coastline of Mexico and the sun is sinking into the gulf coast of Mexico. Perhaps that is why we feel so at home here, the sunsets and the ocean are to the west where it belongs!

Campache Sunset

2010-03-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

Club Nautico is about 6 or so miles south of the beautiful city of Campeche. It is a up scale sports club with multiple tennis courts, baseball field, a huge club house and this drop dead infinity pool. Fortunately for us it also is a quite modern RV Park with nice manicured and paved sites. During this visit it was a hub of remodeling activity. Workers were putting in long hours on 4 new large houses on the hill side behind the RV area. Work was also being done on the club house and other parts of the grounds.

The pool and the pool area has been completely re-done since our last visit. This is a view of the pool at mid day.

Just before sunset the wind died down and the water became a mirror.

We were treated to a double sunset. One in the sky and one reflected in the infinity pool.

Flamingos

2010-03-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

The Estuaries near the beaches just north of Merida are the breeding grounds for Flamangos. We made a day trip up to Celestun to observe their winter habitat.

A short boat ride put us in the middle of glories nature. The helmsman was very careful to not get to close to the birds, because they can easily injure themselves or each other if they panic and take flight at once.

In a few weeks the birds of mating age will all travel 60 miles up coast to the Progreso nesting area, where they will built their nests in the marsh grass.

The estuary near Celestun is very shallow. Flamingos we were told do not swim, so they feed in shallow water.

Haciendas

2010-03-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

Hacienda Yaxcopoil

The Sisal trade mentioned in the previous post not only left behind the outrageous mansions of Merida, it also gave we tourists the remains of the working farms to tour. The farms or Haciendas consist of little more than barely visible crumbling walls to gloriously restored mansions. Today some have been reborn as Spa Hotels or Restaurants for those with big bucks.

When Hacienda Yaxcopil was rescued its level of decay was maintained rather than restored. Today it's grounds are a museum. For reasons unknown to me the Moorish Arch was very popular and is repeated all over the state of Yucatan.

This large building was only one of at least three buildings of this size used in the processing of Henequen Fibers into rope. The Henequen plant looks much like the Agave Cactus that Tequila is made from. The leaves of the Henequen were feed through a machine that beat it and separated it into fibers. This fiber was left to dry on drying racks. Next he fibers were separated into strands about the thickness of upholstery thread. This "thread" was then twisted tightly into strands. The strands were then twisted into larger strands and so on until rope of the desired diameter was obtained. Imagine the labor that would go into a rope of the size necessary to dock a ocean going ship. The rope was then transported about 30 miles or so to the Port of Sisal where it was loaded onto ships bound for places far away. The Henequen rope became known as Sisal Rope after the port from which it was shipped. End of lesson.

Equal attention to decoration was given to all buildings regardless of whether they were living quarters, workshops or storage buildings.

Hacienda Temozon

Many Haciendas have been turned into exclusive hotels with prices of upwards of $500 or much much more per night. Hacienda Temozon is but one example. Often the whole facility is rented for the ultimate in privacy. During the Clinton and the George Bush administrations summit meetings with the Presidents of Mexico were held here.

We enjoyed a nice lunch overlooking the pool. The facility appeared close to empty today so we asked if we could wander around. They wouldn't let us do that, but our waiter grabbed the key to the Presidential Suite used by both Bill Clinton and George Bush and allowed us to peak into hallowed territory..

The Presidential bed.

The Presidential vanity.

Yes, even heads of state must occasionally.........

Hacienda Ochil

This may look like a child's carnival ride but it isn't. This small train was used to move the Heneque leaves and fibers from one processing area to the other. Today it is a easy way to tour Ochil Hacienda and Restaurant.

Forgive me for my passion for old doors and windows.

One of the most spectacular pools. To bad we didn't have our bathing costumes.

Is someone laying down of the job of being a tourist?

Yes, touring can be really hard work!

Merida Re- Visited

2010-03-01T07:09:00.000-08:00

Merida, know as the White City, has long been a wealthy city. The city prospered in the 20th Century on the extravagant wealth created by the Henequen growers. Henequen once processed into Sisal Rope was shipped by the boat load around the world. Today the wealth is evident in the up-scale homes, the shopping malls and rows of luxury car dealers.. On car-row gleaming luxury vehicles of every make temp the upward mobile.

Our tour day in Merida was a damp dreary day. What better way to see the city on a rainy day but on top of a open air Double Decker Bus! After all we did bring the umbrella.

I just loved this contrast between the old and the new

Wealthy industrialists of the early 19th Century built beautiful and large city homes. Homes like this remind me of the mansions built about the same time in places like Newport, RI and Chicago's Lakefront. Both countries at that time in history had people who rolled in ostentatious wealth, while others suffered.

Speaking of ostentatious. This one represents a Chinese nightmare.

Blue isn't my favorite color, but this one is cute and the size is manageable.

It's a good thing heating isn't a issue down here.

View of the Cathedral from the upstairs of the Government building across the Zocalo.

Zocalo

Merida has very strict building covenant's. Regulation controls the height and the appearance of new construction or remodeling. Behind this old elaborate facade is a courtyard and beyond the court yard hidden from view from the street is a modern glass bank building. When you step in expecting to see something special what you do see is a assault to the senses.

This is what I would have expected a courtyard to be. Our afternoon of re-visiting Merida was once again a pleasure. We had caught the Centro bus on the wrong side of the road to come into town. This simple mistake gave us a 45 minute tour of the villages north of town. So now the trick of the day is to find the correct bus to return us to the Liverpool Mall and our RV Park

"Driver are you sure we can get there from here?"

A Couple Cenotes Swim

2010-02-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

Cenotes are really just sink holes, but what sink holes they are! The Yucatan has no surface rivers. Rain water filters down through the limestone surface and forms some really amazing bodies of water. Some 3.000 of them. They can be surface Cenotes in the form of ponds or wells, or hidden down in caves.

Here we are descending into a cave Cenote known as Dzitnup.

The water in Dzitnup was a beautiful crystal turquoise. Ron, Skip and Helen shared a pleasant swim with several other tourists.

Across the road from Dzitnup was the Cave Cenote Samula

Samula and Dzitnup are located between Valladolid and Chichen Itza.

Helen appears to have enjoyed her dip in a Cave Cenote!

Magical Night

2010-02-24T17:39:00.000-08:00

Uxmal Light Show

Photos by Helen

We are parked overnight in the parking lot/RV area at the Uxmal Ruins about 55 miles south of Merida in the middle of the Yucatan Peninsula. Uxmal is a impressive ruin and makes the top ten list as far as we are concerned. And the light show on a balmy evening was spectacular! The music, the Mayan storytelling and the lighting were choreographed at least to our eye, perfectly.

Lighting was used expertly to highlight reliefs on the side of temples. In the sunlight this serpent was difficult to discern. At the light show it almost came to life.

The Light show opened by telling the story of the drought and famine that had plagued the population. It portrayed the prayers and the ceremonies used to conjure the god of rain Cha begging him for good rain. Good rain was defined as not being accompanied by a hurricane or lightening.

Also told was a fable of a Mayan princess whose father arranged a marriage of convenience with a neighboring kingdom. The princess of course shared a deep love with a Noble from the kingdom of
Chicen. With great fanfare light and music we were carried away as the Noble from Chicen road in on his stead during her wedding ceremony and carried the fair princess away to his kingdom. Hopefully despite the bitter battles that followed because of his action they lived happily ever after.

Bravo to everyone responsible on the preformance!

Carnaval Yucatan Puebla style

2010-02-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

We have been staying at the Hacienda Ticuch near Valladolid and using it as a base for exploring the central Yucatan area. We have visited ruins, wet our toes and other parts in underground cenotes and visited colonial cities. On Carnival weekend we discovered you don't have to have big budgets or millions of visitors to celebrate Carnival. The following photos were taken while visiting small villages on Carnival weekend.

Our first hint that something special was going on in the fishing village of Rio Lagartos was the sound of music and giggles. We parked and walked up the neighborhood street to discover this group of young girls having their final practice.

After dancing their hearts out the photographer arrived to snap the official photo.

Down the coastline a few miles in the Village of Las Coloradas this group of slightly older dancers were very happy to pose for my camera.

In the slightly larger village of Temozon these rowdy young dancers were returning to town after probably dancing in the big parade in Valladolid. They all broke into cheers when they saw my camera.

Temozon pulled out all the stops for Carnval with rides, a live band and

FOOD

The Papaya was definitely to pretty to eat........

...so we went for the fresh hot potato chips instead.

Most of the time the best memories are the ones that are not planned but those that just happen.

Valladolid Street Scenes

2010-02-11T20:14:00.000-08:00

We have left the beaches of Cancun and the Riviera Myan behind us and have started our journey north toward the Texas border. It was a really long day. We drove a grueling 80 miles. The route we chose by way of Coba was so smooth it was as if we were gliding down the highway. We had driven this cut off road in a VW Golf in the eighties when it was so narrow even a VW swiped brush on both sides of the road. AH progress sometimes is a good thing.

Valladolid, a Colonial City somewhere near 70,000 population was our destination. The LONG 80 mile drive got us into camp in time for a quick lunch and a afternoon of exploring this charming and often overlooked small city. Valladolid, like most cities in Mexico has a town square or Zocalo. Zocalo's consist of a green square with the Church on one side and the Government Building on the over. Zocalo's really are the lively heart of the community. In the evenings and on weekends they are crowded with food carts, families and music.

We enjoyed our afternoon of strolling around town. We hope you enjoy the montage of street photos.

We found Valladolid to be a clean city. Even though the day was grey and overcast the multi colored buildings sparkled

This couple are obviously enjoying a good laugh over some story in the local paper while sitting on their front stoup

Just down the street two Police Officers just hanging out in front of the neighborhood police station.

We are now in the interior heart of the Myan Population. This hand embroidered dress is the tradition dress for the Myan women of any age. These dresses are always white and always so bright and clean. Now, I'm no slob, but keeping a white blouse clean for more than a couple hours is a daunting task for me. Yet even in the countryside where some Myan families still live with very little modern conveniences they manage to keep these dresses bright and crisp looking.

Two very different points of interest in this photo. Notice the tricycle. These tricycles are the work horse of everyday life in most of Mexico. They serve as the family car, or a taxi if you find you need a few extra peso's. But they also are used to transport just about anything you can ever imagine. Notice his is empty, this must be the sign of a young man with no imagination.

Now turn you attention to the building. Mexico definitely has it's supermarkets and its superstores. In fact the stores are often so familiar you could forget you were not in any town USA. But the small mom and pop specialty store is hanging on. Every town has its Carniceria (butcher shop}, its Panaderia ( baker), its Pescaderia (sea food market) and its Plasticosas or Plastic Store where anything plastic can be found. This is where I am stopping tomorrow for a plastic step, because the one at the door on the motor home is broken.

Another tricycle, this time being used as a food cart.

Scooters are a popular mode of transportation for young and old alike.

A change of color on the outside of a building denotes ownership. Jose owns the Yellow part of the building and Jorge the green. Get it?

Valladolid is a remarkably clean city. This area is a mix of small shops and residential.

There is more to come on our stay in the heart of the Myan but that will be for another post.

Company on Quintana Roos Central Caribbean Coast aka The Riviera Myan

2010-02-03T06:52:00.000-08:00

Step by step: how two people share a hammock

1. Gently sit on edge of hammock.

2. Gain your balance while not tipping you partner out

3. Prepare to swing your legs into hammock in one smooth movement, while not spilling your partners beverage.

4. Ah.... the rewards of a perfectly executed maneuver.

The very willing demonstrator's are visiting us for a week of sun (thankfully). Jennifer and Dave practiced the hammock maneuvers while visiting Xe-Hal snorkeling park, a 1/2 hour south of the campground. We had visited this park in its infancy, while touring the Yucatan in a rental car with Patsy and Pat. Guys, it's not a swimming hole any longer! A lot of money has been spent on buildings, pathways and amenities, it is beautiful but commercial and EXPENSIVE.

Shopping on the Island of Cozumel and around

Everywhere we went included a shopping excursion for Jennifer

We trudged through everything from high end Silver Shops to T- Shirt Stalls

Men everywhere seem to retire to the mall benches when the stress of shopping wears them out.

Shopping always wets the appetite. This is the prettiest presentation of

Coconut Shrimp ever. So much time was spent on this masterpiece, that I never did get my meal. My stomach complained all the way back across the water from the Island of Cozumel.

The Ruins of Coba

Dave trudging up the BIG one.

Dave on top of the BIG one

View of Jennifer and Kathy from the top of the BIG one

Watch your step! It's a long tumble.

You can't come to the Yucatan without doing the beaches.

The beach in front of the RV Park.

More water fun at the RV Park

Lovers Beach at Tulum

Lovers at the beach at Tulum

A little nonsense before the long flight home

Laguna Bacalar and the Mahahual Coast

2010-01-22T18:12:00.000-08:00

We headed out on a day trip to visit Fortress de San Filipe and to check out a small campground on the shores of Laguna Bacalar. What we found was breathtaking.

View of the Lake from the top of the fort

Views of the lake on the south side of town near the campground. We found the campground to be very rustic. The low hanging limbs along the access road preventing us from even considering staying here. Our rigs are 11.6 and 12.3 ft. There is a large nice Balanario on the north end of the malecon. We asked if we could camp there in a Casa Rodante. The attendant appeared to be a little groggy, he said Si but I don't know if he really had any idea of what we had asked him.

Mahuhal and Xcalac

Well, the time has arrived for us to leave Yax-Ha. So many great people have come and gone during our stay. We have enjoyed the campers and the staff a great deal.

Our next port of call is the Fishing Village turned Cruise Ship Port of Call, Mahahual. No campsites listed. We'll see. The Cruise ships come in Tue, Wed. and Thur. the rest of the week it is real quite. Photo by Helen

The young man using my computer is Jerry, owner? manager? of the Lighthouse Restaurant. He is in the process of putting in a small campground. The location is great right on the water and the Malecon. The sites have just been cleared, palms have been planted but no water electricity or dump yet. Jerry says next year. We felt that the ground was not solid enough for our heavy rigs. Photo by Helen

Ron and Jerry discussing the new campground to come.

Beach Volleyball court awaiting players in front of Lighthouse Restaurant and soon to be campground.

The Sakha Palapa actually sits under the lighthouse. The lighthouse Restaurant sits across the street and on the other side of the Navy Base. We ate a few meals at the Sakha Palapa because the food was good, the location unbeatable and we enjoyed the family who runs it.

Xcalac, aka the end of the road. We took a circle tour today.

But first we need fuel for the 4 wheeling trip. They fuel gage in the Jeep read 1/4. We arrived at the Pemex and there was no electricity to run the pumps. The attendant assured us that it would be up in 20 minutes. Our minutes or Mexican minutes? What to do?

We waited and the power and the fuel was flowing in less than 10 minutes!!!!

We have heard a lot about the end of the road. The end of the road is a area on the Caribbean where Mexico and Belize meet in a isolated spot on a spit. There is a man made channel separating Mexico from Cayes in Belize at this point.

We are scouting in the Jeep but we really could have brought the Rigs down here and parked just about anywhere along the waterfront near the fishing piers.

This was as crowded as the waterfront gets.

A middle class abode

The best house in town.

There are two roads that service this area . We began our trip on the paved Jungle Road. It proved to be very good road straight as a arrow south through the jungle. Our intentions were to take the Jungle road down and the two track beach road back. We fell just a little short of completing our goal. The Jungle has a little thing that is akin to spontaneous combustion. Spontaneous combustion had occurred along the beach road and destroyed a bridge. A local told us no problem if our Jeep had a snorkel to ford the river! No snorkel. We were able to return 15 miles or so on the Jungle road and then cut over to the Beach road and continue back to Mahahual.

Conch shells must be plentiful on the reefs and beaches. Many places had improvised Conch Trees in their Gardens.

The road was good for a 2 track sand road. There were quite a few expensive homes and small Hotels along the way. The main tourist activity in this area apparently is fly fishing for salt water bone fish. This is strictly a catch and release activity. The name Bone Fish should explain why.

We found that the area was really in transition. It took the full force of Hurricane Hugo 2 years ago and evidence of that is still there. Rebuilding has been extensive and the whole place looks pretty good considering what it has been through. But that appears to be because of Gringo investment. Mainly the Cruise lines with their shopping mall. But also we noticed that the restaurants, bars, hotels and Condo developments were all owned and run by Gringos. And of course the huge fancy houses that line the beaches north and south of town for the most part weren't built with Peso's. We liked the place, but it will soon be to much like anywhere in Florida or California.

Sugar Cane

2010-01-21T18:13:00.000-08:00

Sugar cane grows throughout the area we have been traveling for the last 2 months.

Its cultivation requires a tropical or temperate climate, with a minimum of 24 inches of rain a year.

Sugarcane is harvested by hand and mechanically. In hand harvesting usually the field is first set on fire. The fire burns dry leaves, and kills any lurking snakes, without harming the stalks and roots.

It is amazing what one man and a machete can accomplish.

Just as on our family farms before so many of them became owned by corporations, the young learn the family trade early.

Trucks piled high with a commodity to be traded at the Chicago Exchange. Which by the way is doing quite well as of this posting.

A Government controlled Pemex fuel station services one and all. From tourists and travelers like us to the Cane Truck.

At the Refineries there are always long lineswaiting to get the load processed. These truck drivers come from all over to work the circuit. Sleeping and existing in their trucks. As a side note, when we traveled in North Eastern Australia we observed the sugar cane being transported from the field to the refinery by narrow gage railroad.

It may take days to unload a drivers truck and release him to go back to the fields and start the process over again.

Some of these pictures were taken in Mexico and some in Belize. In Belize we were quite near the 1st stage refinery. The air was sweet like the smell of sugar being cooked with butter to make a Carmel topping. The final refining stage is usually done in the country it is exported to. There it is turned into refined white sugar or brown sugar or what ever.

Myan Mountain Lodge and Tikal Guatemala

2010-01-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

The Myan Mountain Resort is right in the middle of a tropical jungle garden. They are a small place with only 14 rooms and lodges, a pool and a patio dining room.

This happy young man is just one of the many new graduates of culinary and hotel management schools that are employed here. We are in the tropics remember, so the kitchen is only partially enclosed.

Ship really got into the hammock on the veranda of his lodging. Now if he can only get out!

Ron and I had a little cottage right at the top of a hill. 23 stairs up.

I would wager that this is a typical Central American street scene. Not to busy, and the drivers are very courteous.

This is the road that greeted us once we crossed the border into Guatemala. Right before this picture the pickup was sliding side ways in the very slick mud. This is the last bit of road to be paved between the border and the Tikal ruins. Thank goodness we didn't bring the RV's. We may have never gotten the mud off them.

I'll bet you never saw a warning sign like this on I-5

Or this Spider Monkey jumping through your trees.

photo by Helen

Tikal was magical. Just enjoy the photos.

Young Maya Priest in Traditional dress.

This is the tops of temples above the jungle. Helen and Ron climbed up and took this photo so Skip and I could enjoy the view. We only allowed them to come along as surrogate climbers!

Guatemalan Lady

A jump south to Belize

2010-01-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Myan Ruins of Tikal in Guatemala's has been on our bucket list for a long time so at last..... After a lot of discussions it was decided that we would leave the rigs parked at Yax-Ha RV Park in Calderitus, Mexico and take the Jeep on the trip. The deciding factor in this decision was that collision insurance is not available in either Belize or Guatemala without paying through the nose for it and waiting a month for some private underwriter in the United Sates to decide if they are willing to write the policy. This depends on the age of the vehicle the value of the vehicle and the alignment of Venus and Mars. That decision gave us another change to no native and stay in some more Eco Lodges. Holiday Inns will never cut it for us again! Too cookie cutter and civilized.

The border crossing into Belize went very smoothly. We had to park on one side of the border walk through customs and immigration then wait for Ron to return to the Jeep and drive it across the border. So we wait........

Belize roads are in very good shape with very little traffic and very little distractions. After a hour of driving we found a road side sign advertising Cashew Wine ....so we had to check it out. A good excuse to

un -fold our legs and have a stretch. After a small tasting I decided that it was sweet enough to put on pancakes. All we left with was a bad after taste and this great picture of the vintner.

We are four other than petite people in a little jeep on a 4-5 day trip through 2 countries. We were lucky to find space for our p.j.'s and toothbrush so the grocery store was our second stop. Beer, water and chips. Sure hope the Lodge has a kitchen. This gentleman is from Denver, he has run this store for 10 years and loves the life style.

Our first night stop was at the Baboon Sanctuary. Belize had been a British Colony until the 1980's. You may remember it was known as British Honduras. They British settlers came to log the forests for Mahogany. When they first arrived they thought the Howler Monkeys were Baboon's and the name just stuck.

Our thatched cottage was really quite comfortable, we enjoyed the view of the jungle from our porch waiting for the Howlers to appear.

We took a little guided walk into the woods and were rewarded right away with a family of Howlers.

Helen even fed the male of the troop a banana. While we were at Palenque, parked at the Hotel we had a Troop of Howlers in the trees right next to our RV's. We never got a good look at them but we were certainly intimated by their howl, really much more like a roar. It's difficult to describe just how scary the noise is.

Day 2 and we are off to St Ignacio, Belize near the Guatemala Border.

We were to late for lunch at the Eco Lodge and man were we hungry. A few inquiries about where to eat led us to the Saturday Market, where we were assured the food was good, sanitary and cheap. Markets are always fun and colorful, this was no exception.

The produce was so fresh and colorful I wanted to shop. But alas we are hotel travelers this trip. No place for produce.

Ron and Skip looked around and just like at home went to the stand with the longest line, Long lines always mean good food.

These two young women and their mother/mother-in law are Salvadorian, Mennonites. They had a great deal of fun out of cooking for us. The dish they are preparing Pupusa is the national dish of San Salvador and Ron's new favorite dish. We got the recipe and are going to make it for Dave and Jen when they come down in a few days.

More to come. Next post on the lovely Eco Lodge and Tikal.

Personal problems with the satellite

2010-01-17T18:20:00.000-08:00

I have been unable to post pictures of our trip to Guatemala because of issues I am having with SatMex5, our Internet satellite provider while we are south of the border. We had a wonderful time there and we will post pictures to prove it once our personal issues with the big guy in the sky are resolved. Meanwhile we have left The Chetumal area and are at the Cruise Ship port of Call of Majahual on the coast 200 miles south of Cancun.

A drive in the country with more ruins

2010-01-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

The pavement ends about 2 miles up the road from the RV Park, What exists beyond the pavement has always been of great curiosity to us. We couldn't hold out any longer so headed up the shore of Chetumal Bay. We went as far as this humble restaurant in a gorgeous location. The road continued but it was posted with a sign that was larger than the Jeep. Very few words on the sign were familiar to us so we decided maybe we had no business continuing down a posted dirt road.

This lovely blue log cabin was built of palm trees.

The restaurant was air drying Tortilla Chips, No trans fats here.

We stopped at Oxtankah Ruins, because we have trouble passing one up. On the path in we discovered this Monkey face carved into a root.

A Tour Around Our Neighborhood

2010-01-04T07:33:00.000-08:00

We are at Yax-Ha Resort on the Chetumal Bay in Calderites, a Beach community north of the city of Chetumal. Chetumal is in the extreme southwestern part of the Yucatan on the /Belize border.

The bay is quite shallow and the color of the water changes by the minute. Getting a picture that shows the color the eye sees is very difficult without professional equipment.

The bottom of the bay is crushed limestone, so when the light is just right the bay appears milky.

A sea wall has been built to help with erosion during the hurricane season. I don't know the reason for the cannons, but it makes for interesting photos.

After the last big hurricane to hit this area the park was just about whipped out. We remember pulling in here and finding quite a mess about 7 years ago. They were busy replanting all the coconut palms destroyed by the storm. These palms are adolescent sized now and bearing a lot of fruit.

The newest addition is this lovely restaurant. The food is quite good. Tonight we visited with the neighbors to long and I didn't feel like cooking so we ordered...get this....room service, yes they delivered Camaronies Yax-Ha to the rig. Placed the tray right on my lap as I sat in the recliner. Camaronies Yax-Ha, are shrimp stuffed with ham and cheese, wrapped in bacon and grilled. It was served with a mold of rice, a fresh salad and hot rolls. Some of the best food ever eaten in a recliner.

The pool was an addition after the Hurricane. Yes they will serve Camaronies Yax-Ha pool side also.

Just in case you don't travel with your own hammock they also provide them, and a palm roofed palapa to keep the sun out of your eyes.

Lining the property on the street side are a half dozen or so of these charming and colorful rental unites. They were full this weekend.

The Park was really full this weekend with a wide variety of rigs and people. Everything from a caravan of Canadians to tents of College kids. Let me introduce you to some of our neighbors.

This old man is George. George lives in the rock wall just steps from our front door. This is his favorite place to get a sun tan. Last week he was very shy and would disappear if we stepped out of the coach. It took him about 4 days to decide we weren't going to leave, so if he wanted sun he was just going to have to ignore us. So there he sits a couple hours a day not 6 feet from where we sit in the lawn chairs reading. Now George lives with a off spring but we rarely see him, he is just not as trusting as the old man.

This camper is interesting because it is first of all hand build and secondly it belongs to a Mexican family. The folks in the rig were 50 something parents spending the holidays traveling with their 20 something young professional kids. The really interesting part of this is the young lady, a psychologist, spent the 2001 school year as a exchange student at Ferris High School in Spokane. What are the odds of that? I wanted to ask her the name of her host family but they packed up and left to early the next day.

This little rig is from France. There are 2 adults and 2 children ages 8 and 10 in it. They are on their way to South America.

This is Ribbons, he lives next door and is stranded here until major repair work is completed in Cancun on his truck. This is the 2nd time Ribbons has been our neighbor. He and his people left Catemaco a couple days ahead of us, broke down and spend a couple days along side the road. Their issue was where to get towed for warranty work. The truck finally got towed to Cancun 238 miles away to the tune of over a grand.

This VW Camper belongs to a couple from Germany. We haven't meet them. They left the camper here and flew back to Germany for the Holidays before we arrived. Notice the writing on the side.

Looking at all the places they have driven in the last ten years......I can only imagine the adventures they have had and the memories they have made.

In addition to these folks, the caravan and the college kids, we shared the park with 7 Canadian Rigs, 1 Michigan Rig and 3 Mexico tents. All and all a very international and festive group.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Ship and Helen and Ron and Kathy.

Helen spent hours composing this photo!

We have not been doing the holidays justice this year. For Thanksgiving, I made pizza and we played Domino's. Christmas Day we drove 4 hours and ate Cheese Sandwiches. Well for New Years Eve we are doing it up right. So off to town we drove to find the Pescaderia (fish store) in search of perfect lobsters.

Skip found 4 perfect ones along with 2 1/2 lbs of shrimp and a nice fish fillet. All for apx. $39.

Ron was the Grill Master and grilled up the most perfectly grilled lobsters anywhere.

Helen and Skip served us really tasty Shrimp Cocktails.

We toasted each other and all of you with a bottle of Mexican wine. Ron's Chateau Cardboard is all gone.... sigh.

We were in bed by 8:30, as usual. We needed our rest to cheer for the Oregon Ducks in their battle for the Rose Bowl title.

May 2010 bring you health and happiness.

Along the road to Chetumal

2009-12-30T17:24:00.000-08:00

On the road again.......our week in mountains Chiapas state is over and we are headed to the beaches of Quintana Roo. Along the way to the beaches we have one more jungle ruin to explore. We are very uncertain if any of the camping places listed in Church's Camping Book will offer suitable maneuvering room for the clumsy Alpine Coach. Ron is a excellent driver but the big old thing just doesn't bend in the middle. To keep us out of trouble we drive the short distance to Escarcenga, disconnect the Jeep and check out a brand new RV Park just south of town. We discovered it was not quite ready for prime time. The owner had piles of gravel around to spread and firm the ground, but hadn't done anything with it yet. The ground was so soft Ron had to put the Jeep in 4 wheel drive to get out. We would have gotten both rigs stuck.

Our next investigation proved to be a great stop for the night. The Restaurant Myan about 30 miles before the Calakmul Ruins is a prize. It's location is well off the road on the shore of quite a large lake. The family who runs the restaurant could not have been more fun to try to converse with. When I walked in to check it out I asked one of the daughters if we could camp here and she kept saying Bano? Bano?. I keep saying no, camp and she took me by the hand and walked me over to the bathroom. Some local customers were having great fun with our exchange and finally came to my rescue and translated.

This is their lake side restaurant where we had a absolutely wonderful dinner. Unfortunately about dusk the chiggers started on us for their wonderful dinner and we ran for the rv's.

We left this enchanting place first thing after breakfast the next morning for the ruin I have been waiting a long time to visit, Calakmul. Oh I forgot to tell you there was no charge for our camping, they only asked us to eat there, which I already said purely was our pleasure.

Calakmul, has until the last few years been difficult to visit because of its location deep in the jungle. There is now a paved road all the way and it still took us 1 and 1/2 hour in the jeep to drive back in there. Some folks passed us going a lot faster but I am sure they missed the wildlife!

These lovely birds are known as Ocellated Turkeys and are known only to live in the Yucatan, Belize and Northern Guatemala around Tikal.

Turkey was a main stay of the Myan people in fact it was the only domesticated animal they raised. The bird has such colorful plumage that it is hinted to be a cross between a turkey and a peacock.

Through out the Yucatan there are remains of old Myan trails that connected the different sites. We felt sure that the path we were walking on had been trodden by the ancients!

Calakmul is a large site and very special one. It was the second largest of the Myan Empire. First was Tikal in Guatemala which we will visit in January. It is made up of many plazas clustered around the main one and requires a lot of walking. Some place to sit down was a blessing.

This is the second largest structure in Calakmul

This is the largest.

Oh darn look what we have to put with for the next 2 weeks or so.

And yes again it took us very little time to strip down to bathing suits and jump (in this case wade) into the bay. The water is so calm and shallow here we could wade forever.

Thanks go out to Helen for most of the pictures in today's blog. Thanks kid.

Waterfalls, waterfalls, laundry

2009-12-23T05:07:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day of our 7 day stay in Palenque and the sun makes an appearance after a 3 day absents. So.....this being Skip and Helen's first visit to the area we decided to take them to Miso-Ha and Agua Azule. But only if we were back by 4pm to pick up our laundry. There isn't much to say about the photo's of the waterfalls, just enjoy.

The view from behind the falls

Agua Azule (blue water) is a series of waterfalls terracing down a mountainside.

OK. So that was the right side of the path, mother natures side if you will, on the left side is man's side.....

....little more than a Market

Laundry Shop

Ron looks happy to have clean clothes

Day two in the Jungle

2009-12-22T16:09:00.000-08:00

Day two of our outing is a rainy day. We are in the Jungle after all, what did we expect. We had another appx hour drive down the the River Usumacinta and the Guatemala border. We were greeted with a impromptu road block. Remember the Indian up-rising? One of the rights they won was to protest. This one was between the tourist vans (us) and the Taxi drivers (them). We could continue only by parking the van and taking their transportation the remaining 1/2 mile to the river. So I guess you can say we didn't cross the picket line.

Our destination today is Yaxchilan Ruins which is up river from the "docks". This trip up river will take us a little over a hour depending on the current. The cost of the boat is $60 for as many as the boat will hold. Today there is 5 paying customers. There is a young Guatemalan mother and her 4 year old daughter hitchhiking with us today. After the boat drops us off at the ruin he will drop her off across the river from the ruin in Guatemala. The Indians move back and forth across the border freely in this part of the Jungle. However if we wanted to enter Guatemala by river we could do so. There is a official entry point for water arrivals about 1 hour by river from here.

These boats are not Chris Crafts.

Helen waves goodbye to the young Guatemalan family. The 4 year olds name was also Helen.

The enrty into the Yaxchilan Ruins is through the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth has been left in its original state. The are no lights to help us find out way through.

The flash on my camera awakened these napping bats.

The image of Royalty was craved throughout the grounds. This is a example of but one craving on the underneath side of a entryway.

Look closely at the top of the picture for the Great Acropolis

Helen and Ron are to be congratulated for they climbed all the way to the Acropolis

Tired but happy we posed for one final picture before we begin our 3 hour journey back to the rigs and our own sweet beds.

Our Jungle Adventure

2009-12-22T06:55:00.000-08:00

Our adventure began with the decision not to drive our comfortable rigs the 135 miles to visit the ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilan. We hired Hector a timeshare salesman turned tour guide to arrange a 2 day, 1 night journey.

About 40 miles into our trip and 1000 ft closer to sea level he applies his brakes in front of the sign below. The handmade sign is a proclamation by the Indian Rebels that they had taken on the government for the right to be treated fairly and emerged the winner. Since their battle was won in 1995 the Indians of this region now have the right to own land, they have electricity schools and health care. In fact they now have all the human rights the rest of Mexico enjoys

The Bonampak Ruins are in the area under the stewardship of the Lacandon Indians We were greeted by children of the tribe waiting to sell us handicrafts. The Lacandon children wear the traditional robe, probably to puberty when most choose modern dress. The boys in solid colors and the girls in prints. We only saw a couple of adult men in traditional robes and they were white. All the teenage and adult women we saw were in modern dress, complete with makeup and modern costume jewelery.

Bonampak is a small ruin known mostly for its carved panels and painted murals.

In 700AD probably all surfaces outside and inside of the palaces and temples were painted in bright colors. Bonampak has some of the only remaining examples of how bright and colorful all the ruins across Mexico and Central America were.

After our 2 hour drive and our 2 hours of history lesson exploring the ruins we are hungry. In this little Palapa beside the road we enjoyed probably the best chicken enchiladas ever.

Jaime the restaurant owner says this beetle was a staple in the Lacandon diet. Some, including his brother-in -law still eat it. NO THANKS, Chicken please!

With tummy's full we check into our eco resort for siesta.

But first a look around the property. It is a quite large place.

3 or 4 extended family members live here along with unknown numbers of chickens.

If I were to guess I would say Vincent the Tribe Elder and our host could probably handle 30-40 guests in various levels of accommodations. The first level is areas to pitch a tent, up from that you may rent a hammock.

This represents the next level up. A double bed with netting. You will share the bathroom block with the tenters and the Hammock dwellers. This first 3 accommodations are popular with the backpackers.

Finally the luxury rooms complete with cold showers. At least in our room. Siesta time? Nay, not for us. How about a Jungle walk?

We followed signs to a waterfall. The trail through the Jungle started out quite civilized, crushed limestone footpath, shrubs tied together overhead to form a arch. Very lovely. This gave way to a mud footpath and slippery river crossings. We found this waterfall after not to long of a walk. Thing is it doesn't look like the one in the picture, but its a waterfall and its getting dark and dank in here. So, ya we turn around.

We saw many Ceibal Trees everywhere including on our jungle hike. This tree can get very large. It is known as the scared tree of the Myan. The top of the mature tree towers above the undergrowth and represents the gods and the after life. The trunk represents present life and the roots the underworld gods.

Our hike tired us out so we spread out mosquito netting and hope for a good nights sleep. Oh. I forgot one thing. Remember we are in the Jungle, the real jungle, so sleep was interrupted by the growl of the Jaguar and on the flip side remember all those chickens and roosters? Good Night.

In search of Mayan Ruins on the Route of the Mayans

2009-12-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

We left Villahermosa pretty early to hopefully beat the traffic. It only took us 5 minutes at the retorno to get a chance to make our U-Turn. We then breezed through the city.

We only had to ask directions once! Ha! Ha! The real story is that we were pulled over having breakfast (remember I said we left early) this young Cowboy galloped by losing his hat when the brim hit our mirror.

We stopped 20 miles out of Palenque at a Pemex (The name of all Mexican Fuel Stations) disconnected the Jeep and drove off in search the very best Campground. Our first choice was the Mayan Bell inside the National park next door to the Palenque Ruins. We have heard that the Howler Monkeys also like this campground. This campground is not suppose to be large enough to accommodate our large rigs. Well, when we got there a Canadian Caravan of mostly large rigs had filled the park. So for our second choice.......we struck out 2 more times before landing this beautiful place.

This is the Hotel Nututun and we are parked next to their beautiful pool. They also have another area for RVs that is below the hotel next to the river. Both places are beautiful. The hotel staff are so helpful. There are no hookups here but a crew of 4 groundsman strung electric cables for us and hung around to make sure we had everything we needed.

And as usual it didn't take us long to jump into the pool. What a life, drive a few hours and lounge in the pool. We have a lot to see and do in the area so we paid for 6 nights.

The first big attraction in this part of Mexico is the Mayan Ruins of Palenque. In the Mayan language Palenque means the area within a ring or circle. Palenque is a younger than the Toltecs and Olmec cultures we visited earlier, their city was active and vital between 100AD into 900AD. It is difficult to know exactly why this powerful kingdom collapsed. Ron and I have visited here at least 4 times over the last 15 years and it remains our favorite, probably because of its exotic jungle setting. The photo above is the craft and food market that greets you in the parking lot.

Also greeting you as you arrive are young (usually) men helping you to park. They not only direct you to a empty space but are very serious about directing you into that space, I am not sure what they think would happen if they weren't there with their whistles and red flags. They will likely appear in all parking situations whether on city streets or supermarket lots. After they get you parked they will assure you that they will watch your car and make sure no one messes with it. This parking and watching service will cost you a small tip ( less than 5p) when you are ready to leave. This year a new service seems to be added, that of washing your car while it is parked usually for about $5 US. They do such a good job the Jeep has never stayed so clean. This young man's tee shirt says it all.

Behind Ron is the Temple of Inscriptions. This is the burial site of the first ruler of Palenque. His tomb is located deep in the heart of the Temple. When we first visited the public was allowed to descend the dark and narrow staircase to view the tomb, now this is not allowed except we are told unless you grease the palm of the right guy.

Vendors selling their handicrafts abound throughout the grounds. We didn't buy anything this year, in past years we had purchased just about everything they were selling.

El Palacio, the Palace of Palenque. Despite its name the Palace was not a residence but a Temple. Only the King and his Priests were allowed to enter

Temple of the Sun

Temple of the Foliated Cross. The Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Cross (not shown) and the Temple of the Foliated Cross were built to represent the 3 stages of the Myans Supernatural or Cosmic journey through life. All the Myan structures were built for religious functions. The Kings and Priests were the only permanent inhabits. The area surrounding the temples was where the others lived in possibly more modest houses.

Outside the entrance there are many choices for temporary eating establishments. We choose to walk right on by and have lunch in the Alpine. Although we have enjoyed eating out more than we should have during the last month common sense must prevail.

Villahermosa and the La Venta Museum

2009-12-19T04:53:00.000-08:00

Villahermosa, Tabasco has a lot of trucks, pushy taxis and the beautiful La Venta Museum. They have also had devastating floods just a month ago. Because of this we weren't sure if the Campground would be open. Kevin and Sandy, a Australian traveling couple left Catemoco 2 days ahead of us and phoned back to report that all was dry and the park was open. YEA we won't have to drive 300 miles to find a place to stop or sleep in a noisy WalMart! There was still a lot of standing water along the way and a major highway washout. The major difficulty of the day was trying to make the retorno (legal u-turn) to double back to enter the park. The traffic was absolutely horrible.

This is suppose to be 2 lanes.

We did finally get turned around and parked. The campground was in excellent shape. We had stayed here about five years ago and found everything in better shape than we remembered.

As usual it did not take us long to reward ourselves for a good days travel!

We almost didn't go into the La Venta Museum with Skip and Helen, we had seem it so many times before. We decided that the walk would do us good and tagged along and are we glad we did. The museum/park had several new exhibits and was very fresh and lovely.

One of the many Omec heads on display throughout the outdoor exhibt area. These heads are huge , this one is around 6ft. and dates from 400 to 700 B.C. They have been moved to the mseum from the nearby La Venta Historic Site.

Next up we are off to see if we can find some Myan Ruins....... more to come.

Waterfalls...Celebrations and the Jungle

2009-12-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

Salto de Eyipantla

This 160 foot waterfall carries the run off from Lake Catemoco by way of the river that flows past our campground. It must be very close to the campground as the bird flies, but it took us 45 minutes to a hour to reach it by road via a very scenic drive through the mountains. We were needlessly concerned about following the signs to the falls because the road ended in the parking lot. There are two observation areas one at the top and one at the bottom down 245 steps and back up the same 245 stairs. We didn't find the trail to the top until after we had descended to the bottom and labored back up.

Both vistas were beautiful.

The Virgin of Guadeloupe Celebrations

December 12 is the day set aside to celebrate the Virgin of Guadeloupe throughout Mexico. This is possibly the most important holiday in Mexico for the devout. Worship and sacrifice in the form of pilgrimages are performed by groups from the villages...They walk, run or bike from their village to another city town or village. Some wear team-like uniforms often bearing the image of the Virgin. Many carry lit torches. The first procession we came upon with a torch we thought it was the Olympic Torch, until I went on the Internet and found out the Olympic Torch is currently in Eastern Canada. These processions include a pickup or truck elaborately decorated with flowers, balloons and ribbons and a statue or picture of the Virgin. We made our way to the Zocalo (main Square) early to check out the preparations for the celebrations

Then we headed lakeside for dinner and a sunset.

Sunset was our clue to to head back up to the square to check out the evenings activities.

The Vendors were busy dishing out street food. Not a Taco in sight, in fact all the Vendors were selling

HotDogs!!!!!

Ron could not resist checking out his favorite food even if he was too full from a big dinner to eat one.

These two young boys are part of a family of clowns who are preforming here tonight, they had great fun playing with the crowd before their show.

And the crowd really enjoyed their show, especially the little kids.

We were sure that the clowns would be followed by music and a street dance, but we have had a long day. We considered seeing if Santa's Train would take us back to the RV Park, but settled for a

Taxi instead. Cost of ride in the cab a little over $1 and after all to days walking, priceless

Last day for Touring around Catemoco. We slept late had a light lunch boarded the Jeep and again headed into the mountains. This time our final destination was the Gulf of Mexico about 16 miles away through the Tuxtla Mountains. We could have driven all the way but it was reported to us that even with the Jeep it would be a long drive......So we opted for a jungle boat ride through the Mangrove swamps and on to the beach.

We followed this fisherman out the channel into the main body of water.

We saw a few birds.

Saw a lot of spooky growth. The movies Medicine man and Apocolypto were filmed here.

Juan (in the center) road along with us as far as his fathers ranch which can only be reached by boat or walking down the beach. He said that when the cattle go to market they are herded down the beach to the nearest road, Juan is a Physics Major at the University of Mexico in Mexico City and was returning home for Christmas break. He will graduate this spring and would like to go into research. A very nice young man who we are sure will be very successful.

At last the beach, just time for a quick walk and then back in the boat for the return trip. It's been another wonderful day!

Catemaco, Veracruz....a mystical place

2009-12-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

Catemaco is a short 90 miles south of our beach side campground near the City of Veracruz. As usual the ninety miles took us twice as long to drive in the RV’s as it would have in the car. Gotha love those Tope’s (speed bumps), bacha’s (pot holes) and slow moving Camiones (trucks). The Campground is a lush, green spot to relax and do some lawn chair bird watching.

We decided we needed a week in Catemaco to experience all it has to offer and still have pool and beach time. First order of business was to hire one of the colorful boats for a tour of the lake and a visit to Monkey Island. We did see Monkeys quite close but we didn’t get a really good picture of them.

Lake Catemaco is a large crater lake. We were told that it is 6 miles across. Our guide spoke no English, so Ron interpreted for him. Interesting... he probably was making it up as he went along.

A fisherman or maybe I should call him a diver. Men snorkel dive out of these row boats. They dive down and catch herring size fish in nets. We probably saw a dozen such fisherman on our tour around the lake.

Every outing seems to end in an open air eating establishment and this was no different. On the menu at Lo Ola was a picture of a dish make from the fish the divers were going after. Very fresh, I’m sure….They made a nice picture all floured and fried with their little heads and tails attached. We all ordered beef and chicken!

After a day around the pool we were off to find the town of Tlacotalpan. Tlacotalpan was designated as a United Nations World Heritage Site in 1998, it was not a disappointment. What a lovely town!

The town has a Caribbean feeling about it. Even the residents playing domino's on the square appeared to be of Cuban descent.

Veracruz

2009-12-05T16:23:00.000-08:00

On the must see while visiting Veracruz is the old Spanish Fort San Juan de Ulua. The 1835 fort now shares the waterfront with Container ships and the giant cranes that unload 10,000 containers a week from around the world. A startling contrast and it also makes for an interesting picture. There was extensive restoration underway. It also looked like they were collecting relics and cataloging them.

Lunch almost anywhere in Mexico is rarely just lunch. Today we dined on Snapper Veracruz style, while listening to a Marimba band as Ron finalizes the big deal of the day, the purchase of a matrimonial hammock.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..........

Our last day in Veracruz is really windy a very good day to stay in camp and just enjoy the Veracruz skyline across the choppy bay. But that's not what we do, so we are off to the Soriana Shopping Mall in Boca del Rio to find Christmas Cards for all of you.....sorry, lo siento, lo siento, so sorry, no Mexican Christmas Cards for any of you. After searching the mall in vain it occurred to me that just maybe Mexicans did not exchange cards at Christmas time. While still in Texas I had a box of Spanish Cards in my basket to fill out and mail from south of the border but I put them back because that felt a little bit like cheating. Oh well to all of you who probably would have received a beautiful Christmas card greeting from us just remember you are in our thoughts over the Holidays and always.