Lo de Marcos to Mission

Wed Mar 16th we started our journey north to Mission, TX.  It is normally a 2 1/2 day drive so we had planned to cross the border at Mission about noon on Fri Mar 18th to miss the heavy Mexican traffic scheduled to start that weekend for their big Easter holiday (Semana Santa) and Mon Mar 21st the birthday of Benito Juarez.

As usual, nothing happens as planned. We stopped after 129 miles at Magdalena as our travel buddy had problems with the turbo charger on his diesel truck.  We parked in a PEMEX gas station while his truck went into the local mechanic to be serviced. The PEMEX is fine to stay overnight at but not for days on end due to the truck traffic.  By Thursday night the mechanic did not have the parts and our buddy indicated the truck may not be ready until Tuesday.  Ash was floating in the air along with the smoke from the burning of the local sugar cane fields -- not good for Bev's allergies.

sitting on the PEMEX parking lot with view of old opal mine on the mountain in the distance

entrance to the PEMEX gas station -- it is a new station with nice landscaping

So Vic and Bev decided to head out alone on Friday morning.  The next 2 days driving was stressful due to problems encountered along the way. The first problem occurred just east of Guadalajara when a very sharp and downhill turn of an off-ramp tore our stone guard apart. Our rear view camera was not operating so the problem went unnoticed until we stopped for gas about 10 minutes later.

The next problem occurred on the south end of Aguascalientes with a "check engine" light and greatly reduced power. We pulled off easily and everything seemed fine and off we went. The next time left us climbing the mountains at 5 mph with nowhere no pull off so we had to keep driving until we found a spot wide enough to pull off and shut the engine off for 2 minutes.  After this brief wait, we could proceed normally.

Near Zacetecas we chose a road that appeared to be a great short-cut. The road started out just fine but we soon encountered some very rough areas and a construction zone. The workers alerted us to a problem and we found that one of the bikes had partially jumped out of the bike rack on the back of the motorhome and was dragging on the ground. The bike was basically destroyed and we left it at the side of the road. The car did not fare very well and has a few scratches in the front bumper.

Some damage to our car might have been avoided if our rear view camera worked consistently but alas it seems to quit just when it's needed most.

We also found out that the auxiliary braking system for the tow car had malfunctioned and drained the battery -- no problem while traveling but an issue when we need to disconnect the car to back into our campsite.

clouds around the mountain as we travel from Saltillo to Monterrey

We stayed overnight near a small town called Concepcion del Oro at a Pemex station that had a hotel. The hotel allowed as to stay overnight in their locked compound for 100 pesos, for which we were very happy and got a nice quiet sleep.

We finally made it to the border at the Anzalduas bridge west of Reynosa on March 19th at 3:00 pm Sat Mar 19th.  We had to stop on the Mexican side to turn in the permit for our car plus our tourist visas.  That took about 35 minutes as the was a line of cars doing the same thing.

Then we sat on the American side for 1 1/2 hrs in line.  Finally we got to the booth and were sent aside for the motorhome and car to be inspected by 6 men with 2 dogs.  The inspection was finished and we were on our way at last by 5:20 pm!

We are now back at the Lemon Tree RV Inn in Mission.  We traveled 830 miles from Lo de Marcos, Nayarit to Mission, TX.  Since we've been here Vic purchased a diagnostic tool that displayed the failure codes on the engine of the motorhome. Turns out that it is just a clogged air filter so that was ordered online from Walmart. Including shipping, the cost is less than half of the auto parts store! Vic installed the new covers on our motorhome air conditioners, ordered a replacement auxiliary brake system and a new rear view camera with monitor. Ain't eBay great! Now we need to replace the bike.

one of the prettiest poinsettias we've seen here at Lemon Tree

This chicken wanders through our campsite each day -- it must belong to one of the properties neighboring Lemon Tree RV Inn

Our costs CAD to date for our trip from Oct 31st 2015 to Mar 19th 2016 have been:

Gas for motorhome:                                          $1745
Propane (to run refrigerator, stove and furnace) $118
Tolls trip to Lo de Marcos                                  $281
Tolls trip LdM to Mission                                  $271
Tourist cards                                                      $124
Camping fees                                                   $2170

Total $4709 CAD

I have not included our out-of-country health insurance, Mexican insurance for the motorhome and car, our flight home for 2 weeks at Christmas or our Mexican car permit (I'm waiting to see the credit for the deposit for the car permit to see what it cost us in the end due to the change in the exchange rate over the past 5 months).

New Restaurant in Lo de Marcos

A new restaurant called "Sport Bar in the Sky" opened on the roof top of Ostion Azul.  A long walk up the stairs for some to the 4th level but the view is worth it.

Views of Lo de Marcos from the rooftop:

 Our dinner group:

 Vic, Bev, Edie, Lloyd, Walter, Carol, Mike & Liz

 A sample of some of the meals:

Pineapple shrimp

Tequila shrimp ceviche

 We timed our dinner reservations to allow us to see the setting of the sun.

San Pancho, Nayarit

San Pancho is a small town about a 20 minute bus ride south of Lo de Marcos.  3 of us decided to spend a girls day exploring the town the other day.

It cost us $15 pesos ($1.11 CAD)  to take the bus there.  The beach and wave action was quieter than Lo de Marcos that day.

The main attraction for us was the Entre Amigos complex:

This community complex features goods produced from recycled materials by local artisans. There were items made from compressed paper, plastic bottles, wine bottles, cloth, plastic bags, and metal. The complex also contains a library, a small gymnasium and cafe.  There are various types of classes offered each afternoon.

The first area we visited featured jewellery, children's toys, handbags, backpacks and glasses:

Jewellery made from compressed paper -- touching it you would never guess it was paper!

Earrings made from plastic bottles

 

childrens toys made from parts of recycled bottles

  

candle holders made from the bottom of wine bottles

Another use for the bottom of wine bottles - - drinking glasses with various designs etched on them

There was one large sculpture of a tree made from recycled electrical conduit, etc.

Towards the back of the complex there were 2 paper mache masks being prepared for a special parade this weekend to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Entre Amigos.

A work in progress

Some of the detailed painting

Glued beads to highlight certain areas

Another paper mache item ready to go

As we entered the courtyard of the complex we discovered a beautiful mural:

First part of the mural

Another part around the corner

Looking closely we realized that each feather on the Toucan was a girl in the traditional dance costume

Some ladies showed us children's toys they made from recycled clothing:

tortuga (turtle)

  ballena (whale)

 Above the counter in the library was a canopy of plastic bottles each with different colours of paint in the bottom to create a design:

 
After leaving the complex, we noticed a nearby wall decorated with a rooster design:

Birdwatching, etc.

Last week we saw our first Robin here at Savage Trailer Park in Lo de Marcos.  It is called a Rufous Backed Robin. The song is similar to the American Robin we see in Ontario.

 Most evenings a flock of Hooded Orioles gather in the trees next to our patio.  They are quite different from the Baltimore Orioles that visit our yard at home.

Sitting at our dinette having a morning coffee we watch the Painted Buntings busy feeding on the seeds of grasses in the site beside our motorhome. 

The pale green bird in this photo is the female Painted Bunting.  We usually see 5 or more females to 1 male

One day 2 Coots flew over from the pond next door.  They were walking around the patio and along the cement wall behind our motorhome.  They had no fear of us and let us come within a few feet of them.

Here are a few other photos we've taken recently:

This plant is about 5' tall and the blossom is about 6".  Located in the garden at El Caracol where Bev takes morning stretch classes.

From a day trip to shop in Puerto Vallarta:

Huichol art made of tiny coloured beads set in wax on display in Puerto Vallarta

statue of traditional dancers on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta

Daily living costs

As we hear of rising costs at home, especially with the poor exchange rate for the Canadian dollar, we see the price of food rising here also.  A few examples:

One large mango $350 pesos ($2.70 CAD)
One small head of romaine lettuce $260 pesos ($2.00 CAD)
1 kg bacon $110 pesos ($8.43 CAD)
1 litre orange juice $170 pesos ($1.30 CAD) --  the cost is the same whether we make our own freshly squeezed orange juice or buy it in a tetrapak at the grocery store
1 litre milk $150 pesos ($1.14 CAD)

These prices are up from previous years.

Two items that have remained the same:

smoked pork chops $70 pesos per kg ($5.36 CAD)$
large shrimp $180 pesos per kg ($13.79 CAD).

Re other expenditures:

Regular gas here is $13.16 pesos per litre ($1.01 CAD) compared to 93.9 cents per litre at our home in Ontario. We do not use our car very often here as we can walk most places.

The local bus to Puerto Vallarta costs $50 pesos ($3.83 CAD) for the 1 1/2 hour ride.  (About 55 km drive on mountain road of single lane traffic each way)

A day in Puerto Vallarta

January 14th we drove into Puerto Vallarta to meet up with our friends Linda and Frank who had arrived that morning on a cruise ship. Five of us had come from Lo de Marcos to join them at the Malecon.

We ate lunch at Paradise Burgers which provided us with an excellent view of the Malecon area and the local entertainment since the restaurant is located on the second floor of a building on the waterfront.

The acrobats in the following photos climbed the pole, tied on a rope to themselves, then hung upside down and swung around the pole slowly lowering themselves to the ground with each rotation.

There was only one sand sculpture on display along the Malecon.  Other years there have been many on display. The intricate detail of this Mayan calenda  is kept by spraying the sculpture frequently with a fine mist of water.

A view of one of many metal sculptures along the waterfront:

A view of the waterfront as we walked south on the Malecon.

The waves were high and splashing anyone walking close to the sea wall.