The nicest campground in Mexico?

We've been to several nice and well equipped campgrounds in Mexico. But certainly the one we are staying at now here in the outskirts of Oaxaca City ranks right up there with the best of them. 

We're at El Rancho RV Park. The two brothers who own it did a really good job of making this exactly the way most RV'ers like things.

April Expenses

What did it cost us to tour Veracruz and into Oaxaca for the month of April?

Well, we spent a total of $2,799 CAD ($2,060 USD) for the month, but of course that also included the rent on our house.

Look what I found!

Yesterday, we did the drive down from the mountains into the city of Oaxaca.

We went from 2,900 meters (9,600') altitude down to 1,550 meters (5,100'). And so it's certainly warmer down here in Oaxaca City, but not as hot as it was in Veracruz!

A few photos around the ranch

Well, it's time to start heading home. We've been gone for a month now, and we want to spend some time at home prior to heading to Kyrgyzstan on May 17th.

So today we will drive down the mountain and into the big city of Oaxaca, We'll stay at a nice campground there for two or three nights and get Igor ready for six months of storage. 

We found a great spot

Tuesday morning, we went for a short hike up a hill across from where we had been parked on Monday night.

It had been a great sleep... the temperature went down to about 12C (54F), so it was nice and comfy at 9,600' altitude.

Up to 10,000' altitude!

Yesterday we drove from pretty much sea level all the way up to 3000 meters (10,000'). What a refreshing change in temperature!

It was 40C (104F) when we left, and 25C (77F) when we arrived.

Even I went for a swim!

The last time we were in the state of Oaxaca was March 2020 just before Covid began. So six years ago. 

We headed out of Veracruz city and onto the toll road. We took the toll highway to get out of the city and then a free road heading south into the mountains. But you actually don't begin gaining any altitude to speak of just yet.

The aquarium, and Veracruz city at night

The plan was to get to the Aquarium close to opening time at 10:00am, but because we decided to walk there we were actually closer to 11:00am. There was a bit of a lineup for tickets, but only for twenty minutes or so.

Baby, it's hot outside!

As go the lyrics of the famous song. 

We arrived in the Gulf Coast port city of Veracruz yesterday. Made our way through the port area, and then the central part of the city before arriving at our hotel towards the south side.

The interesting little town of La Antigua, Veracruz

Wednesday night was likely our only beach stop on this trip. The Gulf Coast beaches aren't the best and as you all know, we're not beach people to begin with.

But we couldn't leave Playa Chachalaca without doing a walk down to the dunes.

Made it to the beach

We left our Walmart parking spot in Xalapa at almost 11:00am and headed out on the main highway towards Veracruz City. It wasn't very far until our first stop at the Hacienda del Lencero.

The house at the hacienda dates back to 1525. It was one of the original Spanish haciendas located along a trade route where some Spanish were granted lands to establish inns, making the town of Xalapa and the surrounding region a mandatory passage area.

We finally made it into central Xalapa

Xalapa is a big city. It's probably one of the last big cities in Mexico that we have never visited. The other is the coastal port city of Veracruz, and we are going there next.

Xalapa is the capital of the state of Veracruz. Population is about 550,000 people.

Well, this is better than most Walmart parking

Some overland travelers in Mexico use Pemex gas stations to park overnight. Walmart is popular in Canada, and especially in the U.S., but for us those two options have always been for emergency use or as a last resort. It usually doesn't take much effort to find something much better.

But here in the city of Xalapa, parking is at a premium, even for regular sized cars. It's a fairly congested city, and there are no RV parks or campgrounds that are suitably close.

Moving on today

We haven't been having the greatest weather... mostly overcast ever since we arrived here on Thursday. So it's nice to wake up to some sunshine and blue sky this morning!

Yesterday turned out to be the "relax" day that we had needed. They were calling for rain, and we did get a few showers throughout the day.

Well, it was supposed to be a relaxing day!

But it wasn't. We ended up going for an uphill walk that turned into a lunchtime destination, and a bit of a mystery tour on the way back down.

We often just take off on a backroad walking just to see what there is to see. And of course to get some exercise.