I know you must think we have been kidnapped and held ransom or dropped off the end of the earth. No such luck for you. I'll try to get you caught up.
Out last blog had us in southwest Tuscon on Nov. 25th. The next day, Friday, we headed a half hour south to Mountain View RV park, which put us fairly close to our jumping off point in Nogales AZ. We were greatly disappointed that the park didn't have WiFi so we were out of touch.
On Sunday, we moved to the Nogales WalMart to stay overnight. On the following morning, we met up with three other couples heading south. One couple was towing a fifth wheel trailer, one was driving a van, and the third was driving an SUV. We crossed into Mexico and got thru the formalities in about 40 minutes and were underway by 10:30 PM, delayed a while by the dogs needing "watering". The couple in the van were traveling with 4 Schnauzers! There were several stops along the way over the next three days that added up to several hours. We are just glad we don't have a dog. We traveled 264 miles and spent 365 pesos (about $35) on tolls and arrived in San Carlos at about 4:00 PM. We encountered several police patrols along the highway but were never stopped. They are very friendly to RVs and wave you right thru any checks.
Bummer the RV park didn' t have WiFi. Nice place otherwise.
The next day would be a long slog and we left 7 AM. At this point, we are in the state of Sonora. The landscape is nothing special and semi-arid. That all changed when we drove into the state of Sinaloa. The land turned much flatter and much greener. There is a lot of agriculture and the fields went on forever. Not sure what was growing but the license plates for this state has a tomato on it. Might be a clue! We encountered many many large greenhouses that seemed to be covered in a beige Sunbrella material.
We also passed a convoy of four police pickup trucks with with cops and big guns in the back, accompanied by two police cars. Some weeks, back a patrol at a road check point was attacked by the druggies and 8 cops were killed and 3 wounded. The situation is very volatile between the police and druggies here and the police look a little edgy.
We finally ended the day at a campground on the ocean just as the sun was setting (another 442 miles). There were no trailers in the park but one of our group had stayed here before and liked it. Different story this time. Again no WiFi. They were charging an arm and leg comparatively and the couple in the van were charged $50 for there stay in one of the rooms. We do NOT recommend Punta San Miguel RV Park. It was still pretty cool even on our second night heading south. The temperature dropped to 8C overnight. Brr.
We headed out the next morning at about 8:15 PM, allowing a comfortable driving time to Lo De Marcos. It was a tough drive going up into the mountains around Tepic and then through the winding roads from there to Compostela. From Compostela, it is all downhill to the coastal plain. This is the section where we boiled the brake fluid last year. With that in mind, I was very careful to use first gear in many sections and only use the brakes when absolutely needed. No problems this trip!
We arrived at Savage RV Park in Lo de Marcos at 4 PM, after driving 288 miles. The total toll charges amounted to staggering 2897 pesos (about $275). Ouch! The alternative is to drive through many small towns and villages with lots of speed bumps (topes) and vibradores (vibrating bumps), taking hours longer, and probably adding two days to the trip.
WiFi at last!
The weather is great, but about 3C cooler than last year and the water is cooler too.
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