Monday 29 March 2010
text draft FMCA Albuquerque
Saturday when we hit the road it was still very chilly—in fact the outside thermometer never climbed above 40C, 39 0F, all day. The wind was still there though not quite as strong as yesterday so we made reasonable time. A hour later Art pulled into a rest area—he had seriously misjudged the heat in the sun and realised that a T shirt was not enough! He donned a sweat sweatshirt, we made a couple of mugs of hot coffee and hot chocolate and carried on. At the rest area a class C motorhome pulled up alongside sporting remnants of snow on the roof and hood!
Directions to the site we clear and explicit so we arrived at the marshaling point with out problem—though we noticed a couple of rigs in front of us missed the left turn to the freeway frontage road. Here we picked up our parking and convention documents and information, un-hooked the car and proceeded the several blocks to our parking spot.
Comments at the parking area were “why are your vehicles so clean, didn't you run into the snow storm?” So we shouldn't complain too loudly!
It didn't take long to set up—jacks down and slides out, throw the dogs off their bed and put the dinette up and we were done. There was no need for the awnings and it was too windy in and case; we certainly wouldn't be sitting out in this wind and cold even if it was sunny so the chairs didn't have to come out either.
Just before 6:00PM (MDT) we turned on the inverter, raised the satellite dish and watched the CHEK 5 o'clock news from home. It was a bit frustrating seeing the warmer temperatures there!!
Sunday 7:15 Mountain Daylight Time
Outside temperature -3.90 C, 250 F !!! Bright sunlight is starting to stream thorough the front door window but there is not a lot of heat in it yet. We set the thermostat for 61 before going to bed last night so the propane furnace kept us warm enough under the quilt. It was a bit cool in the front part of the coach this morning but the bath and bedrooms weren't too bad. Of course we still have no hot water and the battery voltage is down to 12.1 volts, having been running the furnace fan for a significant portion of the night. Art's morning ablutions were made a little more comfortable by heating water on the stove.
We are scheduled to have 120V power at the sites buy 9:00 AM this morning but so far no there is no sign of the powerplants being started up. Until then will have to use our own generator. Which will soon charge the batteries, run the tv and microwave and provide some hot water. We will still have to rely on the furnace as the outside temperature is far too low for the heat pump to operate efficiently!
Last night we phoned our friends Ken and Cathy, owners of Marleybones the dog whom we had first met several years ago in Zacatecas and had run into them again this year at El Manglar. They live here in Albuquerque and suggested we phone when we arrive. We are going to meet them for brunch in town.
Lots more to come here.
draft Crossing to USA: Stress Day, Bisbee Arizona
March 17th, the birthday of Art's Great Grandfather Patrick Gillam, born on this day in Dublin, Ireland.
This morning we woke up around 7:30, another beautiful sunny day, no wind today so it feels much warmer. Or maybe less cold! The the first hour or so progressed according to plan then with much shuffling about we got the motorhome lined up in front of the gate and the tracker hooked up behind by 9:20. The night before we had told the lady manager that we planned to leave about nine o'clock. She said that she would get the keys to the gate. Gillian went to find her, she arrived quite apologetic but the young man had failed to drop off the keys and he wasn't answering his phone. She suggested that we cut the lock off! Unfortunately it was a high quality lock and we didn't have the tools for this.
After a long wait we gave up and began filling up the ditches with adobe bricks that were stacked on the property. After disconnecting the car and some more shuffling of the rig we had just lined up the tires with the makeshift bridge when with a screech of brakes and a shower of dust a van pulled up outside the gate. The young man from the day before stomped up to the gates, unlocked the locks, flung the gates open and stomped back to his van and screamed off again with out a word. Surprisingly and very inappropriately the van was lettered with the name of a Christian organization! >
Art drove the rig out to the street and parked alongside the curb while Gillian pulled up behind in the tracker. We were quickly reconnected and rolling north. The road surface was pretty poor for a while but we cheered up as it soon improved. Unfortunately, also just for a while! Actually for the most part the road wasn't too bad and we made reasonable time.
There was one section of spectacular hills and switch backs as we approached the US/Mexico border which we would parallel for an hour or so before arriving at the crossing. At the summit we parked for lunch. The steep angle we parked on put new meaning to a balanced diet! Then down hill for 300 metres (1000 ft) of elevation change—sharp deep drop offs, no shoulders, no guard rails, much like the uphill climb. The attached videos will give you some idea of what it was like. (coming soon)
Approaching the border point we looked for the “banjercito” or the Aduana (customs) where we were to hand in the permit for the car and our tourist visas. The motorhome is on year 2 of a ten year permit so that wasn't a problem, but the car permit and our tourist visas had to be canceled. There were no direction signs and we soon found ourselves in the long line up for US crossing. A Mexican approached, one of several who try to assist for tips and explained that we should have canceled the car permit before getting in line—but there had been no signs or directions as to where we could have done that. Jose suggested that we carry on, he would show us where to park and we could walk over to the Aduana. This was finally done, only to find that the agent would not come to the car—we had to bring the car the extra half block (direct line) to their parking lot! Not so simple! The route was not direct! She suggested that we make the crossing into the US then return to Mexico, cancel the permits and then cross once again into the USA!
Jose had a better idea: again unhook the car, Art holding up traffic and guiding Gillian as she reversed far enough to back out far enough to turn and drive to the proper place. Art walked over and we got the paper work done then we had to beg permission to cut into line with the car to get back to the motorhome. We reconnected pulled forward to the last lane as we had been told to do and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally a mini bus pulled up behind us so after a while Gillian went to talk to the driver. He advised us that lane 5 and 6 were for commercial vehicles only! There were no signs here either!
Yup, you guessed it—unhook the car, back up, reconnect, then try to squeeze into lane 4. Our friend Jose arrived just in time to ask the Mexican driver of the van along side if he would let us in line. We didn't catch his reply, but he immediately pulled his van forward so we couldn't get in front of him. The driver of the car behind him was more accommodating and let us in. Both drivers got their just rewards:
As the van's turn came up the customs agent closed the gate and walked over to gate 6 to deal with the mini bus. Then a couple of ambulances arrived lights flashing and sirens blaring. The van driver in front of us sat stewing in frustration for at least 15 minutes while the car behind him that had let us in was able to slip into lane three and was long gone!
When our turn came we were selected for inspection and along with the dogs had to leave the rig while several agents entered and searched the rig and the car. About 10 minutes later we were cleared and on our way—probably 2 hours to cross though we hadn't checked the times precisely.
We planned to stop in Bisbee Arizona to check out this historic mining town. There is a RV Park in Bisbee which we eventually found; The GPS took us past our turn, through the old town and delivered us to the swimming pool! Here we go again! Unhook, turn around, Gillian leading in the Tracker we retraced our path through town. Until Gillian rounded a corner and disappeared from Arts' view! At about this point Art spotted a lot of RVs up on the hillside so up he went and found the park we were looking for. Full up. No spaces for 2 days! Gillian soon arrived, having stopped for directions, and yes once again, turn around, hook up, and set off for the alternate destination, Turquoise Valley Golf Course and RV Park.
Here thankfully there was room. We parked and while Art leveled the rig and put out the slides Gillian took the dogs for a much needed walk. We then joined a couple a few doors down for happy hour before returning to the rig for dinner and a well earned rest. Tomorrow Bisbee.
Bisbee is an old historic mining town that almost died several times in its past. Some 40 years ago outsiders began to see possibilities in the collection of deteriorating buildings and began buying up properties and renovating the town. Today it is a thriving tourist town. We walked the old twisty streets,browsed the shops, had lunch and returned to the RV Park. On the way back we stopped at a view point overlooking one if the old open pit mines.
For lunch we found a likely looking restaurant which was very busy--we had a 15 minute wait for a table. They served a good selection of beers and ales both local and from further afield. All were from smaller breweries. We both chose a local IPA which proved to be very good. Art almost laughed out loud when the waitress described it as an Industrial Pale Ale. Then the bottles arrived. Click the pic for a close look at the label.
Art settled for a burger (excellent) and Gillian was tempted by the red 
pepper hummus and pita platter which was complimented with feta cheese and olives. The servings were as usual in the US very large so Gillian asked for the remains of her lunch "to go".
Later that evening neither of us were ready for dinner, Gillian thought she would finish her hummus and pita for a light supper. Art was happy with a bit of cheese and biscuits. When Gillian opened the box--the pita, olives and cheese were there but no hummus! She was a little surprised and disappointed to say the least.
Bermehillo to Chihuahua and Nuevo Casas Grandes
Bermejillo, Chihuahua, Nuevos Casas Grandes
Remember to click on pics to enlarge. Some are worth the closer look. Back arrow to return to the blog.
As we left the motel, on the slope out of the gate the gravel guard under the rear of the motorhome broke loose at one end. An eye bolt had snapped, no spare, no chance of getting one. This had also occurred last year on the way through the detours on highway 2. The question of how we were going to carry this heavy and bent piece of steel, aluminum and rubber was easily answered—we weren't. We abandoned it on the side of the street. Someone will make a few pesos from the scrap. Now we need to find a replacement soon, or at least a couple of mud flaps.
Somewhere around here we realised that we had had change of time zone – The GPS and the cell phone alerted us to that. We had been on Central Standard Time and crossing into Chihuahua we changed to n Mountain Standard time. Back home meanwhile changed to daylight savings time, so now we are temporarily back in sync with the Starchoice TV Schedule—we can watch Victoria's CHEK TV 5 o'clock news at 5 o'clock instead of 7, which we have been doing for the last four plus months.
Much of this huge Chihuahua area is desert, the rest is high plains country, still very dry. There is a lot of farming and cattle in this area considering the lack of water. The route north keeps changing from flat to mountains, back to flat. At least we won't get bored with the drive.
We found the Chichuahua City bypass without trouble. It has been 6 years since we drove this way and that was in the other direction. We remembered a long winding rough road through the industrial district. Today we had a new, fast three lane highway with light traffic (Sunday) and great signage (rare in Mexico) making our task easy.
We arrived at RV Park, which is behind a large Pemex, fuelled up first then parked in the first site—the only space with a 50 amp connection! Very rare in Mexican RV Parks. Again we were the only ones here. We were met by Francisco, one of the workers on what appears also to be a small ranch, complete with turkeys, chickens, cows and horses. Francisco speaks excellent English, having worked in the USA for 25 years but got caught up in the financial collapse there last year and returned home to work for a friend. We have a lot of respect for Francisco, he is working for low wages, living in a very tiny concrete shed, but happy and cheerful as he works his way back up.
Two months ago a female dog, a nursing mother who had given birth to 12 puppies 2 days previously, was run over by a semi just starting up and was killed. Francisco found 11 of the puppies and took them home, feeding them with an eye dropper. Next day he found the still body of the 12th pup, who had possibly been nursing when it's mother was killed. It had been out all night in very cold temperatures, apparently dead. As he carried it back it moved and eventually made a full recovery! He found homes for 10 of them and has kept 2 for himself. He is very good with them, coaxing and encouraging them and giving them lots of comfort and attention. Unfortunately they live outside in a little cave he made of scraps and blankets, not inside with him. However this is the norm here and he is doing the best he knows. We left him some money for vet bills for which he was extremely thankful.
The Church book says there is wireless in the campground. Inquiring to Francisco he told us that nearer the fence just out side the park we might be able to get a signal. We decided to go to the restaurant for a beer and try there. We relaxed over beer and tortilla chips, learning that the wireless was down!
15th March
We woke up early this morning, 6:00 AM! Inside temperature was 57 deg F—Quick, turn on the heat pump—with such a large temperature spread the propane furnace automatically came on with it!
We finally managed to get out of bed an hour later, not shivering now as the place was nicely warmed. Art noticed one of the puppies across the way and went over for a visit. This little fellow was quite timid but really wanted some attention, creeping closer on his belly as Art approached, then lying quivering, then trying to climb his pant leg—Art of course succumbed and picked him up. He quickly cuddled up in Art's arms and was quite content—almost ready to sleep.
Now to drain the holding tanks, black tank first of course. Art slowly pulled the valve handle and the sewage began to flow. He heard the rapidly changing sound of the black tank contents flowing down the drain and was almost quick enough to close the valve before an overflow occurred. Almost; though the spillage was minimal. It did continue to drain but very slowly.
Then the grey water--(sink, shower etc)--which was almost completely full. Try as he would, he could not avoid the occasional spill—it was very difficult to regulate the flow, it would only handle a very slow rate. In total it required 40 minutes to drain both tanks and rinse the hose, which he also laid out in the sun to warm so it too could be stored away in its box.
After a shower and change of clothes the inside chores were completed and the car hooked up ready for towing. We pulled out of the space at 10:30, negotiated the gate and stopped at the ATM for a cash infusion and were retracing our path to Chihuahua 20 minutes later.
The northwest periferico was in as excellent condition as the southwest section, well signed and again very little traffic. Today was a holiday—the Monday before March 21st, the birthday of Benito Juarez which was probably the reason for the light traffic. This day was also Arts' mom's birthday. She would have been 97!
Yesterday we had had a lot of trouble with the GPS which came up with a mapless screen and a strange message-- “calculating 100% drawing”. Gillian tried resetting to default, turning off for a while—nothing seemed to work. We pulled the external power planning to let the internal battery run down to see if that might work. Suddenly it woke up. BUT now it was talking—in an English accented voice! Her name apparently is Emily! The biggest complaint we had was that she couldn't pronounce Spanish words correctly. Also of course, she wouldn't shut up!
She became quite insistent that we should make various turns when the signs most emphatically directed us otherwise. Of course much of the perifierico was new, especially our exit to the highway north. The very last bit looked like it may be temporary as it was a bit round-about three sides of a square and there is a large new overpass being built. Emily was getting quite repetitious. Gillian was looking for the voice off switch, but of course she was also simultaneously checking the road atlas and reading road signs. We agreed that Garmin should add a voice input command: SHUT UP! (Or words to that effect.) Gillian decided to turn the GPS off until we were on the highway. She later found the mute command and we carried on in blessed silence. Except of course for our own conversation!
The toll road north was in reasonable shape for the most part but some sections certainly needed attention. We make good time on mainly flat straight highway every once in a while interrupted by a section of hills—not quite mountains—then back to the plains again.
When we turned off highway 45 towards Nuevo Casas Grandes Art reset the cruise control and drove the next 75 kilometers without touching either the brakes or the accelerator! We stopped at the side of the road in a small town of Ricardo Flores Magon for a lunch break then carried on, the next 16 kilometers of road being in very poor condition. We were soon back on a toll road for about half the remaining distance but when the free road began the road was as good or better than the toll road. Nice surprise!
In Nueva Casas Grandes we easily found the RV Park and pulled in through the open gates. There were no other rigs here, no one in sight anywhere. There were several business and homes but nothing labeled as an office. The spaces appeared very small, many trees too close together and too low, a couple of drainage ditches across various lanes made access very difficult for anything larger than a van.
We disconnected the car and moved it out of the way, then with Gillian watching and guiding from outside, Art with a lot of “toing and froing” managed to back into the first space. There were no services in this space, but we could reach the ones on the other sided without too much difficulty. Only dragging hose and cables underneath the rig. The sewer drain was stuffed full of leaves and debris, the electrical outlet wired backwards (hot and neutral reversed.) which meant that the rig's circuits wouldn't allow the power past the first stop! So the first night we “dry camped” (without services) and relied on the batteries and the inverter.
Just as we got settled, a man appeared with a pickup and flat bed trailer, loaded up a stack of pallets which had been blocking one of the RV Park lanes and drove off—locking the gate behind him! There was all kinds of interesting junk about. Some useful, some not so much!
In the morning a lady came round to collect the rent. We explained about the power problem and Art asked permission to fix out outlet him self. “Como no!” was the reply (Why not?) Out came the tool box and Art investigated. First discovery was that the electrical box was full of old spider nests and dead spiders. Interestingly enough the 15 amp outlet was attached with one slotted screw and one Phillips screw while the ground wire was secured with a Robertson screw. Also the #10 stranded wire had been wired to both terminal screws on each side, even though the tabs that connect both outlets had not been removed. Ten minutes later we had power.
Still no sewer drain, but we will only spend 2 nights here so we should be fine. We won't take on any more fresh water either, we'll take care of both in Arizona tomorrow. Well that's the plan.
After breakfast Art did a bit of laundry—T shirts, undies and socks to tide us over (no pun intended). We have a huge load to do in a laundromat in the next couple of days! Gillian dug out the drying rack and Art hung it out to dry in the sun and wind. The wind was so strong Art had to secure the clothes rack to a rock with a couple of bungee cords. Considering the sun and wind we were sure they would be dry by evening—even though by 10:00 AM the temperature was still only 9.6oC!
The rest of the day we spent at the ruins and museum of Paquimé located in the nearby town of Casas Grandes. Note no “Nueva”! On the way Art spotted a bolodero (shoe shine guy) working in the zocalo. There was a parking space in front so he took the opportunity to get his brown shoes cleaned—20 pesos. Unfortunately his filthy mud covered black shoes were still back in the motorhome.
The wind was very cold, the museum very informative. After the museum Art returned to the car while Gillian wandered through the ruins camera in hand. Now back into town to find a restaurant.
One of the things we love about traveling around on our own in making wonderful discoveries, such as the little gem of a restaurant we found here. Trattoria Ducal is located by the square that is next to the front of the church. (Not the square that is near the back of the church if you are using these notes to find it!)
m the outside it looked interesting, certainly not inspiring, but different. It appeared to be completely closed and locked—the black steel doors closed and uninviting, no lights showing from the few windows. However there were two “Abierto” signs and a blackboard notice on the wall with the day's specials listed in chalk. Gillian tried the door, it was unlocked, so she entered the dark room and was greeted by Andrea the Italian owner who then turned on the light. Singular. Art had turned around at the door to go back for his un-tinted glasses and soon joined her at the table.We both ord
ered the lasagna which was listed on the specials board though on the regular extensive menu it was noted as available on Sundays only. Leftovers? Today was Tuesday! Everything had been closed Monday for the holiday, but. . . . .
He was right on with his recommendation as it perfectly complimented the lasagna. The pasta was very good—maybe not the very best we have had but far from the worst. Art was trying to discern the distinctive flavour, thinking that it almost tasted like pork. Gillian asked Andrea what meat was used and was told beef with some pork and a bit of bacon for flavour!
On looking around the restaurant we noticed among other things an espresso machine. Dos espressos por favor! Meanwhile Andrea presented us with two tiny glasses of a mysterious liquid—limoncello--a lemon liquor made by his wife! Delicious.
Gillian realised that we needed wine for dinner at home tonight, so we changed our minds and bought the bottle—there were still a couple of glasses left in it. La cuenta? En Italiano il conto? 390 pesos, of which 200 was the bottle of wine. ($35.00 Canadian in total)
After lunch we drove to the tiny pueblo of Juan Mata Ortiz to see and possibly buy some of the exquisite pottery made here.
Some years ago a local by the name of Juan Quezada Celado became fascinated with the examples left behind by the builders of the ruins and decided to try to recreate their work. He is now a skilled self trained potter and talented artist and has trained many family members and other villagers in the techniques--in fact he founded a school for this purpose. We found his very unprepossessing shop without difficulty there being only one street in the town.
Inside was anything but plain! The walls were lined with shelves loaded with fabulous pots. The works of Juan Quezada himself were secured in glass cases! Most of these works are very thin, walls being less than an eighth of an inch. We manged to restrain ourselves to three purchases. One from his shop and two much cheaper but still beautiful from a family selling their wares from a blanket on the side of the road. Hope we can get our fragile purchases home safely!
Gillian also took these pictures of a lovely local who also agreed to pose with Art.
We returned home with a stop at the Bodega enroute for bread, bananas and booze (Scotch) where we unloaded the car and Art returned to the zocalo to get his black shoes cleaned and polished. Three shoes this time—one that his foot brace fits. 50% more—seemed reasonable!
Back at the rig we settled in to relax watching the TV news from home and working on the blog. We have not had internet for a while so we have been making notes on the word processor awaiting the opportunity to upload. While Art typed Gillian got on with our supper.
Tonight as we relaxed after dinner—a sumptious lemon and oregano chicken breast with the last of the Barbera--we realised that we would miss the sound of the cooing Mexican doves.
draft text notes Zactecas-Bermejillo
The road from Guanajuato to Zacatecas was excellent, we made good time with a relaxing drive. Except! The periferico around Aguas Calientes was in absolutely terrible shape. At one point Art realised that the right side mirror was being vibrated inwards, to the point that vision to the right was being hindered. At the first opportunity he pulled off onto the lateral and stopped, dragged out the tool box and the Allen wrench, realigned the mirror and re-tightened the set screw then we returned to the washboard. Before long we were on the highway again, enroute to Zacatecas.
pics 2010 03 14 077 to 096
We stayed at the Hotel Hacienda del Bosque, where we have stayed before, though it took some finding. There has been so much road improvement in this area since we were last here we mistook a new interchange for the one we wanted and found ourselves on the road to Guadalajara! We turned around then pulled off the road to enter the hotel coordinates into the GPS. A car stopped and asked what we were looking for and immediately gave us directions—we should have carried on straight instead of turning, we were still quite a distance away. Within a kilometer or so we recognised the route and were soon at the hotel entrance.
This is a five star hotel: indoor heated pool, steam room, restaurant, restrooms and showers for the RV park users and, rare in Mexico, a few spaces with 50 Amp service. This would give us hot water, the heat pump, battery charging—more than enough electric power for our needs. Positively decadent.
We dined in the hotel restaurant that night which turned out to be spectacularly mediocre. As we perused the menu we asked for the wine list. The waiter asked if we wanted red or white, we asked again what he had, so he wandered off to bring we thought, the wine list. Before he returned we had pretty much decided on what we were having, Gillian choosing the New York steak and Art the steak with mushroom and wine sauce.
The waiter returned and we struggled hard to not laugh out loud: He was carrying in his arms 6 wine bottles—it appears their entire cellar! We selected an Australian Merlot and ordered our dinner, cooked medium rare.
The food soon arrived, cooked to perfection but as Gillian said “that steak has never seen New York!”--it was twice as big length and width but was no more than three eighths of an inch thick! Accompanied by a reasonable serving of veg—mostly cauliflower and broccoli with a few carrots and a huge baked potato it made a reasonable meal—just not quite up to the standard of the rest of the hotel.
Unfortunately we had again not brought the camera so Art went back in the morning for a few pics.
pics
Zacatecas is a beautiful historical city which we have visited several times before and will visit again, but this time we were just passing through.
Zacatecas, Bermejillo
Photos 097 -to 104
Friday 12 March 2010
text notes Patzcuaro to Guanajuato
We left the park and turned right for a quick trip to the propane distributor to top up tank to ensure a sufficient supply to keep the furnace going on the way home. Heading east again we stopped at the nearby Pemex to top up with diesel as well. While the tank was filling we connected the towing equipment to the still symptom free tracker and left the station with the car following happily behind.
One problem surfaced; the “Brake Buddy”, the tracker's auxiliary braking system was not functioning—it wouldn't charge with air. The motorhome is heavy enough, and has sufficient braking capacity to safely tow without our auxiliary system, but will slightly reduce our stopping distance and some states require it by law. Art will take it apart tomorrow to see if it is something he can deal with.
It was 11:00 AM by the time we were finally on the road for what we guessed would be a four hour trip. Arriving at the Morelia periferico the GPS wanted us to turn right and take the counter-clockwise route around, following the airport signs. We had always taken the next exit for the town of Salamanca which was directly on our way. We went with what we knew and went clockwise, to the annoyance of the GPS, which for the next 10 or so minutes tried to convince us to make a right turn and drive through the centre of the city! Eventually it quit arguing and agreed that we were on track.
Although at the entrance to the ring road from the Patzcuaro road the airport and Salamanca exits take one around the periferico in different directions, at the other end, they are the same exit! The airport road then exits from the highway to Salamanca! The clockwise direction looks ot be only 1/3 of the way round. Maybe there is less traffic going the otherway. Who knows?
Pic 145
The first time we came this way many years ago the road north of Morelia across the lake had a few very narrow and tight turns through a couple of towns. Now there is a toll road the whole way—much easier on fuel and nerves but quite expensive—the tolls set us back a good $40.00 (500 pesos). At one of the toll booths we pulled of to check wheel and brake temperatures (great little infra red thermometer) and all was normal. We also took the time for a quick sandwich before continuing. Salami, tomato, cucumber, avocado, dijon mustard and mayonnaise!
No difficulties this time finding the RV Park—the first year we turned a block too soon and ended up in a bus headquarters and industrial park! We arrived at about 3:00PM, 4 other rigs already here, 2 from Quebec and 2 from Alberta.
Since the wind was howling from the west we parked facing north so that the main (passenger side) awning would be downwind and therefore safer if we decided to extend it. Even the small window awnings on the west side were flapping vigorously. The sun was bright and strong. Even with the wind it was comfortable sitting out relaxing. This is a great park for Trekker—a large field where he can run at full speed chasing his ball.
pics
Tomorrow? Either touring this historic town or a drive to Delores Hidalgo to the northwest to look for a sink for the basement bathroom. (At home—not for the rig!)
>In the morning we discovered that the hot water heater was not working on propane—it would not ignite. It appears be a 12 volt electrical problem but we cannot locate any tripped breakers or blown fuses. The AC electrical power here is marginal and really won't run the electric heating element. No hot water on the coast was one thing, but here in the mountains is something else again! Fortunately the engine coolant automatically heats the hot water tank when we are driving so at least we have hot water on arrival. Fixing this will have to wait for a tech, possible at the Albuquerque FMCA Convention in a week or so.
After breakfast we decided to postpone the Guanajuato tour until Maňana. With Gillian driving and Art in the right hand seat (and of course the dogs in the back) we set off on the round about south eastern route to Dolores Hidalgo. After several kilometers, as we made a left turn, we heard the dreaded squeek-squeek again. Gillian stopped while Art got out and had her move the car slowly back and forth while he tried try to pinpoint the exact location. It appeared to be coming from the left rear wheel. After some thought we carried on, the noise coming and going, but never getting any worse.
Approaching Dolores Hidalgo were were unsure which way to go so headed for centro, which we had already put into the GPS just for the fun of it. Well it took us to centro, trying to get us to the Zocalo or Plaza, but every turn brought us to a dug up road! We eventually gave up and proceeded on our own and eventually found the street lined with pottery shops where we even found a place to park.
We won't go into too much detail here except to say that we saw many beautiful things as well as some quirky and strange things and even a few downright ridiculous and absurd things. We even found quite a few nice sinks, but according to Gillian they weren't quite the right shade. We moved down a few more blocks and came across a few more shops and again a place to park, but this time Art stayed with the dogs while Gillian went to check things out.
She soon returned empty handed and we made the decision that on our next trip we will check Puebla and other likely places and if the perfect one doesn't show up we'll just have to make do with what Dolores Hidalgo can supply on our way home next year!
This is very reminiscent of our search 2 years ago for rose pink tiles for the kitchen window. After a day of searching all around lake Patzcuaro we finally found what Gillian thought was almost the right shade in the tiny village of Capula. Did I mention that we had neglected to bring the colour sample from home and were going on memory? Surprisingly the tiles were a perfect match with the kitchen décor!
We returned to centro without the help of the GPS and found that almost all approaches to the square were being repaired but still managed to get there and find a parking lot nearby. We left the car in care of the dogs and headed to the zocalo to find lunch. We saw a very nice restaurant with a very nice menu so went in were shown to a table.
Art had the comida del dia, which was fine except for the dry chicken. Gillian's enchilada also was ok, though neither were exactly hot and both were smothered in a so-so bright orange coloured carrot and orange sauce. Fortunately the price was commensurate with the quality!
We returned to the car for the dogs and a walk around the zocalo before heading home. On our return to the parking lot we noticed a sign out front indicating that parking was free for clients of the restaurant. If only we had had the parking ticket stamped when we paid the lunch bill!
We returned to Guanajuato via the nothern shorter hillier route which also took us through town. Fortunately we knew the the way through Guanajuato so had no problem. Except that the batteries in the camera died just out of Dolores Hidalgo and the spares too were dead! It appears that the rechargeable NiMh batteries have reached the end of their life. They're only about 4 years old and in constant use!
We decided to return part of the way next day to take a few pics of the area. As we drove through town the squeak returned! Art decided that we better get it looked at before going much further. Fortunately there was a large Servicio Mechanico near by so after dropping Gillian and the dogs back at the RV Park he went to see if anything something could be set up for the morning.
One of the mechanics (possibly the owner) came out and took a test drive. They went up the highway and on the return he had Art turn off and drive slowly through a dirt streeted neighbourhood while he hung halfway out the window listening. He slid back into the car and ith a grin announced “dust in the brake drum”! Back at the shop he had Art drive directly onto a hoist and put a man at work while Art retreated to the waiting room.
In less than an hour Art was back in the park—but as he pulled up, the left rear wheel began to drag. He returned to the shop—they were closing—not surprising as it was well after 6 PM. The mechanic said to bring it back in the morning, they would open at 9:30
The car got home OK but skidded a bit on the gravel in the shop parking area when leaving. Back at the rig Art used the infra-red surface temperature checker and found the left brake drum to be 100 degrees C hotter than the right! In the morning the right wheel wouldn't roll at all—just skidded on the grass—so he caught a ride with a neighbour into the shop. They eventually collected some tools and an old pickup and went back to the park where in a reasonably short time things were repaired without further cost.
While waiting for the brake repair Art tackled the brake buddy and was pleased to find that it was a re-occurrence of a previous failure—the screw that attaches the air pump piston connecting rod to the motor had unscrewed itself. It took longer to disassemble and reassemble the case than it did to make the repair—just a few turns with a socket wrench.
Pic 2010 03 14--033
(Later note—the tracker brakes still seem fine, no more noise or overheating. But we will have a full brake inspection when we get back home. Every stop all wheels and brakes are checked for temperature with the IR meter. This has proved to have been a very useful purchase.)
Once the car was ready we returned to the mountain road north east of the city to take a few pics and stop at a few places of interest including a restaurant that looked interesting the food was just OK. On the way home we stopped off at the grocery store for a few items then home for dinner. At the park we refilled the water tank before supper and packed up ready for our morning departure for Zacatecas.
Pic2010 03 14 pics 036 to 076
Zihuatanejo to Patzcuaro to Morelia
This lake has wonderful tourism potential, (it is somewhat reminiscent of Lake Powell in the United States). At the moment there are several tiny fishing villages and not much else.
We arrived at El Pozo RV Park somewhere around 2:00 PM. (Neither of us bothered to check the time--like it matters.) Were quickly parked in our favourite spot at the bottom of the field; not the best location for the sun because of the tall trees to the east but the best for the dogs, there being no other rigs between us and the fence—a nice open grassy area. The solar panels aren't clear of shadow until about 11:00A.M. the west side of the park is in shadow shortly after noon due to the tall trees on that side so that side isn't ideal either. We loose the sun mid afternoon but there is adequate though not great electric power so we don't really need the solar energy.
Temperatures here are MUCH lower than at the coast—long pants, long sleeves and sweatshirts are the norm except during mid day. Lows are around 10c while highs are in the low 20's. Quite pleasant except when we first get up in the morning—furnace time!--and evenings can be cool; certainly sweater or jacket time.
Friday-Home in 5 weeks!
Today we wandered around the village, had lunch, bought a few things and checked out a new RV Park. We are quite familiar with Patzcuaro and the surrounding area and like it very much. We enjoyed our relaxing day.
Saturday afternoon we drove into Morelia, the State Capitol, to meet our friends Jorge and Lulu, and Sergio and Leonore, whom we first met in Zihuatanejo three years ago. The two families vacation in the El Manglar RV Park during the Christmas/New Year holidays and we have gotten to know them well.
We stopped at the large Walmart shopping centre near the junction of the road from Patzcuaro and the Periferico (Ring Road) when we went to the ATM to recharge the wallets and surprisingly, found we could add time to Art's cell phone. We just had to take this picture, which could have been taken just about anywhere at home. Within sight were Walmart, Office Depot, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Scotia bank.
One of the ATM options was “Buy cell phone time” a click gives the choice of cell phone carriers. Another click here to select the carrier (ie Telcel), the amount of pesos, enter the phone number, and your cell account is instantly credited and your bank account instantly debited! Art's cel beeped with a text message confirming the update before he had left the bank machine! This can also be done at many supermarket cashiers. So easy.
Art was driven to reload the cell phone again when he ran out of time while talking to Jorge that morning. He had run low of time Thursday calling Jorge and had added 100 pesos then. Now he was out of time again! We soon realised that long distance charges are very high—25 pesos per minute! Patzcuaro and Morelia are obviously not close enough for local call rates. Interestingly enough, even though we both have Zihuatanejo phone numbers, if we call a Morelia phone while in Morelia local rates apply. Unlike in Canada, where if you are out of your local calling area every call is long distance.
From the Wallmart parking lot we called Jorge and Lulu again for directions. They suggested that they meet us at the Planetario, just off the Periferico and near their home. The planitario was shown on our very basic Morelia street map we were using and we thought that the GPS, which showed street names would make it easy. HA!
We pulled off the road into a Pemex after traveling what we later realised had been almost ¾ of the way around the Perifirico, knowing that we had missed our turn as we were now driving North West instead of East! The cell phone rang, it was Lulu--“where are you?” “Perdido!” (lost!) we replied! We received instructions for what to watch for as we retraced our steps, made the turnoff just as Lulu phoned again,and while we were talking spotted Sam's Club ahead. Sam's had been an original suggestion as to where to meet as it was very close to their home, but it wasn't on our map. At any rate, they arrived in minutes and we followed them through a residential area to their home. Our biggest frustration was the glaring absence of street signs. By far most intersections had no street names posted!
We pulled into their attached garage and were able to let the dogs out, through the house and into the garden.
Soon daughter Lulu and Granddaughter Mariana arrived followed by another couple, Sergio y Leonore whom we had also met at El Manglar. Not far behind was another couple, Felipe and his wife (who's name I am ashamed to admit I have forgotten). Filipe is a Canadian, now also a Mexican citizen as are his kids--some who live in Canada. Filipe has lived in Mexico I think some 25 years, his Spanish in near perfect. Perfect to our ears, but his wife says on occasion there may be a word here and there where she can detect a not quite perfect Mexican pronunciation.
The dogs, particularly Trekker, were quickly overwhelmed with the company and were sent to their room (the car) where they are quite at home and soon went to sleep.
We all piled into a couple of vehicles for a tour of Centro. Here are a few pictures. The Hotel Virrey is still one of the top hotels in the city.
Mariana, Leonor, Lulu (daughter), SergioCathedral,
Church were Jorge and Lulu were married
All tired out we returned to the house where we all had dinner. The meal consisted of typical Mexican and Michoacan (the State) cuisine--at this late date I don't remember the details but know that we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
Finally it was time to go. The dogs hadn't had their dinner though Jorge had accompanied us on a doggy walk to a long narrow park where he used to exercise his doberman. Lulu was horrified that we planned to drive back to Patzcuaro and told us that we really should stay in their guest room. The lack of dog food prevailed and we were soon on our way, Jorge guiding us to the periferico. Lulu made us promise that next time we would come prepared to stay the night!
We had no problems, made a stop for gas and were back at El Pozo by 11:30
Sunday morning was time to fill the water tanks and empty the sewer tanks so we would be prepared to leave Monday morning. The water here is very silty so Art used all three filters plus a dose of bleach to fill the fresh water tank. This made it slow going. So slow in fact that he gave up and took the 0.5micron ceramic filter off line. When done he then lay the hoses in the sun for a while to warm so they could be coiled into their containers, then suddenly it was past time to phone Yesi .
We made arrangements as to where and when to meet and were off once again to the city. We caught up with her at one of the sidewalk cafes opposite the cathedral and had a very good time chatting and catching up. It has been great watching this young lady grow up. When we first met her she was less than 3 years old, now she is a confident young university student with a great future ahead of her.
We all piled into the car--Gillian in the back with the dogs and tried the GPS to get us to Yesi's home. We missed one turn but got there without too much difficulty then entered the location as a way point so we can find it next year. She may be able to visit us in Zihuatanejo next year, Art will be able to drive up and back in the same day to pick her up so she won't have to put up with the long bus ride.
We decided to stay another day and drive around the lake. So of course Monday morning we slept in. We had some laundry to do and finally hit the road at about 1:00PM, driving part way around Lago Patzcuaro, revisiting ruins that we had seen in previous years.
We carried on to the market town of Quiroga, where we had a bit of lunch at another delightful restaurant we happened upon, did a bit of shopping in the market then returned to El Pozo.
In the market we found way too much stuff! Beautiful and inexpensive. As an example, in the right hand photo below the casserole pots were forty pesos for the large ones and 30 for the next size down. At twelve pesos to the dollar!
We are still taken by the landscape here—this whole area is a series of high mountain valleys surrounding Lago Patzcuaro, a shallow lake that still produces a lot of fish for local markets and restaurants. The land is well suited for the farming which along with crafts and tourism drives the economy.
Back at the park we met new arrivals Ruth and Rick from Massachusetts and passed an interesting happy hour with them. Maybe we'll be able to connect again with them up later this year on our 'round North America trip.
Last 12 days in Z
The food too was good, many of the selections based on Swiss and German style meals, in fact all four at our table selected the same thing, bratwurst. We all pronounced it excellent, though comments such as “does size matter” were heard being bandied about.
Our camera batteries died, someone was going to send us the Meal pic by e-mail. Was it you ?
That evening we
also agreed with Peter to change out the solenoid in our motorhome in the morning, and to get an early start to beat the heat of the day. 8 or 830? Peter says 8:30. This part was to allow both sets of batteries to be charged from the alternator while driving--it had failed the day we arrived in Zihuatanejo. Peter brought the replacement from Arizona on his way down.Sunday morning, 7:45 a light tap on front door, Trekker rushes noisily to investigate. By the time Art gets up and out Peter has the front off the rig and has started to remove the panel cover.
The battery grounds removed at the batteries, we (he!) began disassembling the battery cables. As the work progressed we realise that the early start is a good thing. As the sun rises so does the heat. Forecast for today, 33o —a creative umbrella stand soon had us in the shade.
Soon everything was reassembled--only one screw left over!
Truthfully, the screw had fallen out when the cover was removed--obviously left from a previous repair--not ours. Art just couldn't resist teasing Peter.
Inside the rig Art prevailed upon him and his more mobile shoulder to remove the solar controller from its location under the stove so that Art could move an internal jumper to disable the audible alarm. Now now more “beep” every time the voltage drops a tenth of a volt! It had taken us months to figure out where that beep-beep beep beep was coming from!
While further perusing the manual on the computer later that afternoon ( there was no manual received when the controller was installed) Art noticed that another jumper appears to have been set for the wrong type of battery—Gel in stead of Flooded—which may have been contributing to our minor ongoing battery problems. Of course by this time the controller had been reinstalled—under the drawer under the stove—not the most accessible of locations. To add to the frustration, the designers for some reason has the cover secured from below—it's necessary to remove the complete unit and turn it over in order to remove the cover screw! This is something that Art will tackle soon. Eventually. Maybe.
Peter and Celine joined us at the El Manglar Restaurant for dinner the same evening which as always was very enjoyable after which we returned to the rig to watch a bit more of the Olympic action.
Sunday wasn't a great day for Canada though in the Ice Dance competition Canada is in first place so far. Canada's Men's Hockey team lost to the US (not the end of the world, but it means that Canada has to play an extra game while the US automatically advances to ¼ finals) while in Women's Curling, Team Canada lost their first game of the Olympics to China in the extra end after trailing most of the match. They are now tied in first place with a 5-1 game tally. The mens Curling team is in an assured place, having had a 7-0 run of matches. It is great having the Starchoice (Shaw) Satellite system to help keep us in touch with Canada and the rest of the world.
Monday 21 st
For some reason Art woke up early this morning, at the early pre-dawn and didn't get back to sleep so eventually got up just in time for the BC News to start (7:30 AM here, so not really that early). He sat back with a cup of tea and caught up on what was happening at home.
It's getting to be time to start the lists of things that have to be done to the rig before we leave, on the way home and when we get home. We will be out of here in a week or two—tentatively scheduled to leave near the 1st of March but if the cold weather in the interior doesn't improve we may delay our departure a while. We plan to attend the FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) convention in Albuquerque New Mexico which starts March 22nd.
That evening we dined at the Restaurant at El Manglar—fabulous as usual. Time was running out—there were still restaurants to try before we leave!
Daniel's again for the wonderful food and the music of Jimi Manou, El Manglar again with our old friends from last year, Bill and Margaret, and more that have slipped my mind.
On Friday Gillian went off with Peter and Celine to visit a local archeological site known as La Chole. We first visited this site 6 years ago before official excavation had started. Many artifacts had been found over the years during construction of building, drains etc and a local resident had taken it upon him self to start an unofficial museum in his own home. Now Federal Government archeological department has taken an interest and an official excavation has started.
Gillian was able to see the excavation of the pyramid that had been below the hill she had been standing on 6 years ago! Cool!
Pics – old and new (still looking for the old!)
Saturday night we visited the RV Park across the street (Costa Bella) where our friend Colin was performing a free Rock Concert. Great friends, great music.
Sunday. February 28th. The end of our planned 3 month sojourn in Zihuatanejo. Can't remember how we spent this day--except to decide to stay a few more days as we weren't even close to being ready to leave!
Our last three nights were going to be spent by checking out a few restaurants that we had missed so far! Monday was to the Catalina Beach Resort for a dinner we had won during a fund raising there some weeks previously. This is an old resort—one of if not the first luxury hotels overlooking Playa La Ropa. The food, view and service were very good and we returned home happy and ready for bed.
Tuesday we hosted a happy hour for many of our “winter” friends, then accompanied by Peter and Celine, took a taxi to centro to La Serina Gorda for dinner. We will be sorry to go but happy to be on our way home. We have made so many good friends here over the years, the end of February is always a bitter-sweet time.
Wednesday, our last day in Z. Most of today spent cleaning and packing things up and putting away. Before going our for dinner we disconnected all hoses and power and repositioned the rig, hooked up the tracker ready to go. The idea was that this would prevent all the morning fussing about and would allow us to leave rested and calm as all the hook up was done. Yeah well. We got it done but Art wasn't happy with the safety cable hook up, but decided to leave it.
For our last night we decided to go to Coconuts Restaurant for dinner. Coconuts is a well known high end restaurant with a good reputation and Wednesday was one of the nights that “Juanito Zihua” plays. We heard Juanito for the first time at the Sailfest Benefit concert last month and made a resolution to hear him again. The food and music lived up to our expectations and eventually, somewhat reluctantly, found a taxi to take us home for the last time.
Thursday morning around 7:30, Art looked out the window to see Julia sitting alongside the rig with Paco Taco (the restaurant kitten) in her lap. She announced “you are not leaving without my hug!”-she had come home last night to see the rig all hooked up and apparently ready to go. She had obviously forgotten from previous years how long it actually takes us to get rolling.
After breakfast Art went out to re-do the safety cables and brake light wires. After some mumbling, muttering and a few choice words he had it arranged to his satisfaction and we were ready to go. Then of course a round of handshakes, hugs, kisses, photos and farewells we drove out the gates at five minutes to ten.
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