Lago Avandaro at Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Playa del Carmen on December 17th!

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Looking forward to the 29th...

Everything is coming together for our visit to Hacienda Contreras and the town of Valle de Juarez. We're looking forward to showing the area to the RV caravan group, and we've made arrangements with our three favorite restaurant in the area for meals out.

As well, we're doing the trip up to the mescal distillery in the mountains, and a 4 wheel drive unimog tour. It's going to be a busy two day/three night stay!

Hopefully the RV park itself is suitable. Of course it was always well maintained when it was owned by Barb and Sal, but now that the guy who owns the gas station next door took over, it may not be up to standards. It's only for three nights, and so long as the electric, water, and sewer are working then the rest doesn't really matter.

I'll be curious to see how much noise comes from the gas station next door.

We're also curious to see how much Whiskey's tree has grown. Our dog Whiskey had passed away while we were in Mexico in October of 2011 and we planted a tree to mark the spot where she was buried.

But in the meantime, we've still got a few days here, as well as a couple of days at Roca Azul RV park in Jocotopec.

Yesterday morning, I went into town with Larry. He was looking for a tire place that would reverse the tires on his trailer wheels. He was going to take the four of them off and bring them in loose. Sure enough, we found a guy with some pretty basic equipment, but he got the job done, and at a price of 200 pesos ($16.00 CAD).

Then, I helped the Mexican couple with their awning on their old 1987 Winnebago. They had just bought the rig, and although it's in great condition, I don't think the awning has been opened in years! The arms were almost seized. But, we got everything operational and I reviewed with him a couple of times how to open and close it. Then, I gave him a couple of old awning deflappers (to prevent the material flapping about during higher winds) that I had in my storage bin. He was a happy camper!

Later on, he brought me a plate of quesadillas in payment. Nice!

Ruth went into town with Danielle and they did a little grocery shopping. Ruth brought back two steaks for 25 pesos ($2.00 CAD) each, and we had them on the BBQ last night. They were really good...so good that we'll pick up a few more today!

Gotta go...walking the group into town this morning for the sand church and the weekly tianguis market!

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And in Canada...a great price on this digital thermometer!




14 comments:

  1. Sounds like you are still pretty busy enjoy the group.

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  2. We know that many many people leave their awnings out and tied down or whatever. But if you read the owners manual for just about any awning it will said never leave your awning out and unattended unless you are there to bring it in when the wind comes up. We didn't listen some years ago and had our owning out and held down with stakes just like everyone else. The wind came up and our awning was caught like a huge sail on a sailboat. The metal strut supports bent and it has never opened and closed properly again. We have had it to repair shops and short of buying all new parts there is no way to repair it. A friend of ours had the same sort of experience but in their case the bolts that hold the support brackets to the RV were torn completely out and the awning sailed over the roof. Yes, lots of people leave their awnings out but one of these days just the right wind will catch hold of it and damages could occur. Read the owners manual.

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    1. We never leave our awning out if we are not close by. But I do find that the deflappers help on breezy days.

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  3. Hi folks Have you had any difficulties with illegal road blocks There is a travel advisory for Jalisco We are driving from the coast to San Miguel de Allende and hope it is safe to do so Thanks Dianna

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    1. Hi Dianna...nope, no problems at all. But the thing with these illegal roadblocks is that they could be there one day and not the next. We've been caught in them before in Oaxaca and Chiapas. They can be annoying, and they can disrupt your travels, but they are not (in our opinion) dangerous. So yes, I would say that it is "safe" to do so. The odds of you having a problem are extremely low.

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  4. Kevin y Ruth,remind everyone to secure their overhead cabinets,take out their bridges,don't be in a rush,when arriving at Roca Azul,that is one nasty cobblestone entrance.watch out for the trees tambien.Great once your there.

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes...I distinctly remember that 2 km cobblestone section...

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    2. They just recently trimmed all the trees all the way out to the highway - both lanes are open - I think at the request of the Quebec caravans - a lot of high dollar rigs - but the road will always be bumpy. A few years ago we blew an air line for our air ride suspension just as we got to Jocotepec - two miles to go on the cobblestones with a totally solid ride - we did about 2mph all the way - but we made it and I was able to fix the air ride over the next few days with a couple trips into Guadalajara - that is one bumpy road - but not the worst we have been on.

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    3. I also told Teo we would not bring caravans in unless they trimmed the trees. Th entrance in is not as bad as what they have to do to get into the RV park in Melaque on the 3rd.

      BTW Kevin count me in for any activities you have planned at Mazamitla, and my truck is available.

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  5. We still have some of that mezcal and it get smoother as time goes by. Might just have a sip tonight.

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    1. We never bought any when we went to visit there before but we will this time. :-)

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  6. I am just getting brand new brochures for our caravans printed up. If anyone reading this blog wants 1 or 2, email me at [email protected] and I will drop them in the mail when I get home in early April. We do pay $100 for referals, BTW.

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    Replies
    1. Sounds like a few people that have been reading our blog might be interested, I hope that they see this and contact you about more info.

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