Igor at dusk with a view of the lake at Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Cancun on December 17th!

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Why won't they pick up the litter?

Yesterday was a national holiday here in Mexico (Constitution Day), and we hadn't realized that until we saw them filling the big swimming pool again. Actually, they hadn't emptied the pool on Sunday. When they filled it, they didn't fill it to the top. Yesterday, they added enough water to fill it to the top, and warmed it up in the process.

Not many people though. After all, it's winter!

On Sunday morning, a group came early, like at 9:00am for swimming lessons. Then the place was empty for a while, but eventually some families and a couple of large groups of young people arrived. Maybe 40 people in total.

Yesterday, it was even quieter.

Just three cars in the parking area. Plus Sherman!

Only one person in the big swimming pool.

We had been pretty lazy on Sunday...just hung around the motorhome, read our books, had a nap... that sort of thing. So we figured we had better get it in gear yesterday and go out for another hike. We went to the other side of the highway again and walked to the dam where a restaurant is located.

Found the name of the lake. "Presa" is Spanish for dam. Often in Mexico, a lake that is formed by a dam will simply be called a dam, rather than a lake.

The restaurant is a nice looking fenced property, but the area surrounding it had lots of trash strewn about.

One of the things that we've never been able to figure out here in Mexico is the amount of litter. Empty bottles, plastic bags...that sort of thing. We have noticed an improvement in the eight years since we first started coming here, but it still makes you wonder why the owners of the restaurant, which is kept immaculate, wouldn't go around the surrounding property and clean things up.

We actually thought this area by the restaurant would make a great boondocking spot...but the amount of trash lying around turned us off the idea.

Looking on the other side of the dam. See the guys on the wall on the lower left?

They were down there fishing. They don't realize that they're now world famous on Travel with Kevin and Ruth!

Ruth, at the end of the dock. Nice looking lake, but muddy looking water.

Walking back, Ruth spotted some kind of a young raptor in a tree. I tried to get a better view of him, but of course he flew away. Still I did get a couple of decent pics...

We think this is young northern crested caracara.

Not a bad zoomed in shot!

We're heading out this morning. I thought five days here might have been a day or two too long, but it was restful and there were a lot of areas to hike. Interestingly, the owners here are considering building some RV sites. I think it's a great location for an RV park. And until the park itself is built, RV's are welcome to overnight here in the parking lot. GPS coordinates for the entrance to Oasis Balneario are 21.200835, -100.967975.

So, today we're moving to the Bugamville RV Park on the outskirts of the city of Guanajuato. This is the spot where we'll be meeting up with the caravan group who are scheduled to arrive there on Friday. We don't really have to be there until Friday either, so if we do happen to come across somewhere suitable along the way, we'll have time to stop for a night or two. It's only about 80 kms (50 miles) in total, and we're going to stop in Dolores Hidalgo on the way through and do another grocery shop.


A few orange clouds in the sky at sunset.

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The new version of the wi-fi range extending antenna is now out, and they've dropped the price as well. This is a great little antenna, and it's what we use to get logged on to free wi-fi when we're traveling. No hesitation to recommend it.


And in Canada, a great one day deal on a top quality color laser printer...




28 comments:

  1. Nice to move around a bit here and there, we gonna do that for the next couple of weeks, satisfy that itch a bit.

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    1. That's the nice thing about RV'ing, you aren't tied down to anything unless you want to be. Like you we love moving around and seeing new things. :-)

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  2. The caracara is the national bird of Mexico.

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    1. Didn't know that until you mentioned it, thank you Judy. Your answer also confirms that we ID'd it right. :-)

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  3. Litter is a fact of life in the developing world. If you think it's bad in Mexico you should see Africa or India. When you've been in survival mode for generations, picking up the trash, especially someone else's trash, is not a high priority item.

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    1. Yes, we've been to southern Africa (Namibia, South Africa, and Lesotho) and didn't find it that bad. We also just got back from six weeks in Colombia, where we also found less litter than Mexico.

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    2. It's bad in Belize and Mexico, in our experience. Such a shame.

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    3. It is a shame but I do know they are working on it here in Mexico, it will just take time, lots of time.

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  4. We've often thought the same thing about litter here in the Southwest in certain places. Coming from the area of Southwestern Ontario we do litter's something we never see. When we come south for the winter months we've learned to leave our Ontario heads at home & just snap on our Southwest heads. But even so we still shake our heads at all the litter we often see even right here in our own neighborhood................

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    1. We have to do the same when we travel too. Canada has to be one of the cleanest countries around but we do still see litter in certain areas but nothing like parts of the U.S. and of course further south than that. After traveling in Mexico for 8 years we have learned to put blinders on as much as possible but at times it is just hard to do that. Most cities and towns are quite clean but it is out in the country where it isn't and we have learned that it is just the mindset of people here and slowly time will change things.

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  5. We live in the so called great USA in Texas! Trash is every where. Our acreage is along a highway and we are dumbfounded at the amount of trash that people litter. I am forever picking up other people's trash. I am tired of picking up other people's trash it makes me ill that they are so lazy and uncaring. Our initial travels of Mexico we thought why is it so trashy, but you know what USA has many trashy areas! I feel badly for the nice restaurant that you speak of and I fully understand why they do not pick up the trash outside of their property line.... they may have done so in the beginning but then the man hours add up and when a mom and pop business is working very hard to keep their head above water you just cannot do everything. I bet the owners are incredibly aggravated by the litter that people leave behind. I feel badly for them. The restaurant looks lovely. Mike and I always where ever we have traveled have picked up other people's trash including their dog waste. We do not enjoy this but what we think about is the next person that walks the same path will have a nicer time, a lovelier view! This motivates us to keep on picking up other people's trash. It is sad that we have to.

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    1. Yes, we have certainly notice that the more southern states seem to be more littered than some of the northern states. I even remember Kevin and I commenting on that years ago as we went through South Carolina and saw all the trash in the ditches. There have been improvements here in Mexico and they are teaching this to the children in school but it will still take many, many years for the attitude to change enough to make a difference.

      Yes, the restaurant was very clean but all around was filthy. If they just put a few days of work into it and then after that it really wouldn't take much to keep it clean. From the amount of broken glass there it is most likely is a real party place at night on the weekends.

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  6. That is a huge pool! I hate to say it but that is not a very attractive bird.

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    1. It is a huge pool!

      No it isn't the most attractive but still pretty cool to look at.

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  7. Quite simply they have never been taught to pick up the trash and litter. So sad to see it here on the beach. They are now being taught in schools.

    Lovely header photo of Ruth.

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    1. Yes, you are right Contessa and Chris's comment below makes sense as well. We have also be told that only the lowest of the low are to pick up garbage so people don't want to been seen picking it up or they would be perceived as being low. The other explanation that was given to us by a guide in Chiapas once was that it wasn't that long ago that they lived totally off the land so it was nothing to throw their food waste on the ground and it would biodegrade but once all this junk food, plastic, bottles and cans came into play they just continued throwing it on the ground thinking it too would just disappear.

      Hopefully things will change but of course it is totally up to the people themselves to make this change.

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  8. The trash we see in places like rural Arizona,Texas and New Mexico is from people who use and reuse materials (hence rusty metal stuff) but also figure dumping other stuff outside is bothering no one. Quite a mindset.

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    1. I don't think that the trash you see is from people who use and reuse. Much of it is just garbage! There may be many rusty cans out there but I think a lot of that was from many, many years ago. I think that those who litter figure that it is out in the desert, so who cares, there is nothing around there anyway. I also think that a lot of it is from illegals crossing the border as they make their way through the desert and the rest is from people who just don't care. Yes, it is quite a mindset.

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  9. It's called "fortress mentality" and has it's roots way back in history. Did you ever notice that people sweep in front of their houses and shops everyday but only to the line no matter if there is more trash just centimeters away? Why do they throw trash out of their cars? Because their car is their fortress.

    Hard to except but reality. When was the word litter first used widely in the U.S.? I don't think it was until the 60s and anyone can correct me if I'm wrong. When I was a kid, there was trash everywhere. Even though Mexico has "no litter" campaigns it will take some time.

    JMHO

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    1. I think you are quite right Chris, also something can be said for the saying "out of sight out of mind" for those that clear their yard and then just brush/rake it over the side of the hill behind their house.

      Yes, it will take many years and a number of generations to make a difference. We still have people throwing garbage out the window of there vehicles in Canada everyday and Canada is generally a very clean country. There will always be some people that just won't change.

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  10. We frequently comment about the amount of litter in Southern Texas. I've seen young Hispanics finish their lunch and walk away leaving the packaging, drink container and Styrofoam container sitting on the park bench. They are oblivious of littering. Goes right along with the graffiti spray painted everywhere I think. Sad :-(

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    1. Yes, it is sad in many ways! All we can do is hope that teaching it to the children in school will help as they grow up and that it continues to improve with each generation. We also need to do our part when we are out and about in parks or on trails and pick up some of the garbage as we go. I know some people that bring a garbage bag with them when they hike and pick up garbage as they hike. Perhaps if people see someone doing this more people will make an effort to either put trash in a can or even help to pick up too. We can always hope!

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  11. Your camera really has an amazing zoom. It can probably read a license plate from outer space! Have you gotten your new GoPro yet?

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    1. Yes, it really does, that is why Kevin got it in the first place because he didn't want to have to carry around extra lenses.

      Know we haven't go the GoPro yet, we should be getting it in March when we get to the LA area.

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  12. I think the litter / trash issue is a regional mentality thing as well as a 'practical' thing for lack of a better word. We have relatively little littering in Wisconsin. As I have travelled south I have always noticed that littering increases in the south and as others have commented it is significantly bad in Texas. But in my mind the Texas litter problem is not only a mentality thing but also that there are often high winds along with wide open spaces which leads to a lot of litter getting blown around trapped in fence lines and in ditches.

    No question though that there is a difference in mentality between the north and the south as it applies to litter. It may may be the fortress mentality indeed.

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    1. Yes, I think you are right too Alex. Further north places are more populated with more communities so garbage is cleaned up more but in places like Arizona, New Mexico and Texas there isn't as much population so perhaps people feel they can just throw trash anywhere because who will see it way out in the desert. Also you are right about the wind making the situation even worse. There are times we see plastic bags blown all along a fence line and into trees and bushes. I really wish that plastic bags could be banned totally!

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  13. Ugly trash and litter isn't unique to Mexico. Goodness, we were just in Mobile, Alabama, which is supposedly a modern American city, right? All you see is plastic garbage and trash strewn everywhere. Apparently no civic pride mixed with a terrific amount of laziness.

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    1. No, you are right it isn't unique to Mexico or other developing countries but it is definitely worse here than in Canada or the U.S. And, yes you are correct that there are places where it is bad, as I had mentioned in an earlier comment, when Kevin and I had traveled through parts of South Carolina, we had both noticed how much garbage was strewn along the side of the road. As we said it takes generations to make the problem better even at home.

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