The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Meanwhile, back at the caravan group...

While we've been sitting here waiting for Sherman's parts to arrive, the caravan group has carried on according to the schedule. Michel and Louise, a couple who had expressed interest in leading their own caravan next winter had taken over as temporary wagon-masters until we can rejoin the group.

The group did three nights in Patzcuaro, and then yesterday they moved on to Chimulco Water Park in Villa Corona near the big city of Guadalajara.

Here's the group out for dinner in Patzcuaro...

Wish we were there!

I've heard that everybody enjoyed their time in Patzcuaro. Of course two full days there isn't enough... there is a lot to see and do in Patzcurao.

But, they had to move on. Yesterday was their drive to Villa Corona.

It did not go so smoothly!

I heard in the middle of the afternoon that the group was broken down on the new toll bypass around Guadalajara. And it was Michel and Louise who had broken down. They have a fairly new truck pulling a nice fifth wheel. Apparently some kind of sensor went bad and it put the rig into low power mode... which essentially means that you can move it around, but it won't drive at highway speed. They make these new rigs so complicated now with computers and electronics.

Anyhow, they were basically stuck.

But Caravanas de Mexico has a pretty good support network in Mexico, and Paul Beddows was in Melaque with another group. He had already driven up to Villa Corona to meet the group when they arrived there. He was able to get another camper who was already at Villa Corona to go in his pickup truck to get Michel and Louise's trailer where they were broken down, and then a tow truck could bring the truck to the campground.

Wow. I guess it's only the leaders who break down!

Well, essentially that's better than have the group members break down. But still...

So now, we have to wait on what the word will be for a time frame to get that repaired, and that may impact where we go from here once Sherman is ready.

While all this was going on, we did have some progress with Sherman. I walked over to the mechanic shop at 11:00 as agreed.

Eligio runs a nice clean little shop.

Eligio instructed his mechanic Pedrico to load a bunch of tools into the car, and then Pedrico drove me back to Sherman where he went right to work.

Sherman... dismantled and waiting for parts.

This morning, the parts are listed as being in Puebla and "out for delivery". 

I've already been up to talk to the guy at the front gate to let him know that a couple of packages are arriving for me at some point today. The earlier the better, so hopefully we'll get them this morning.

We bought a nice 3.5 lb whole chicken the other day for 53 pesos ($3.75 CAD, $2.95 USD) and I roasted it on our Weber Grill along with a couple of potatoes.

 Ready for carving!

Delicious!

We've decided that we're not going out to do any more exploring in this area for the time being. While there is a lot to see, we're enjoying just hanging around the RV Park and doing some relaxing, something we haven't had much chance to do on this trip! Also puttering around Sherman and doing some cleaning and minor repairs.

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The perfect all in one tool kit to carry around in the RV...


And in Canada...




15 comments:

  1. Good looking chicken! Glad the parts are close.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Kent, Kevin did a great job cooking it on the Weber.

      We have the parts in hand. Now it is just a matter of getting them installed.

      Delete
  2. Great effort on Paul's part. So glad he made the effort to get to Villa Corona ahead of time. Hope to hear that your RV is ready to roll in the morning.

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    1. Yes, it was nice that he was able to get there to help the group out.

      The parts are here but they still need to be installed. Hopefully we will be on the roll Friday morning.

      Delete
  3. Dinner looks good. The bright of this caravan group is that no one broke down on the way to Qroo. Hope Michael and Louise get their rig repaired too. You've all traveled many miles so break downs are sort of expected. I don't trust my truck to travel out of town so I rent a car if I need to get out of town. Anyway Sherman will be up and moving soon. Have a good day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dinner was delicious, the chicken was so tender and tasty.

      Yes, we are glad that if we were going to have vehicle issues that it has happened towards the end of our tour rather than the beginning. We hope that Michel and Louise are able to get their rig fixed quickly too.

      Delete
  4. That's a beautiful roast chicken! When I first saw the picture, I thought surely it came from your oven. I wonder if you would be willing to share your technique to get it so nice and evenly browned, as I always seem to burn at least a part of mine.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kevin did a great job with it on the Weber. It is actually George's technique from Our Awesome Travels.

      Delete
  5. Hoping that it’s repaired quickly and permanently! But in the meanwhile it’s a great opportunity to catch up in life and enjoy Ruth’s delicious cooking. When you’re with the Caravan how often does everyone prepare their own meals and I assume everyone does their own breakfast? Thanks!

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    1. We hope so too! They have the new ball joint installed in the control arm but it still has to be attached to Sherman and all put back together and then they have to replace the ball joint on the other side which hopefully will be easier because it wasn't damaged.

      We have actually just been enjoying this relax time and as Kevin said getting Sherman cleaned up a bit.

      Kevin needs to take the credit for cooking that chicken not me, all I did was wrap the potatoes in foil and cut up some broccoli and put them on to boil and make some gravy. :-)

      Other than the lunches or dinners that are included in the tour the people in the group have to look after all their own meals. Many go out for additional meals if there is a restaurant near by.

      Delete
  6. Hope all goes well for you guys and Sherman gets on his way again soon. Sounds like the caravan needs you now as leaders again. Hope Mike and Louise get their truck fixed soon and and get in their way as well. The trip is almost over why does everything have to happen near the end. Stay safe!

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    Replies
    1. I hope so, right now I am temp wagon master. I was not expecting to have this role in Spring. I will be very happy to see Kevin before his group needs re-training..

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    2. We would rather these things didn't happen at all but if they have to happen we would rather them happen towards the end rather than at the beginning of the tour. At this point in the tour, the stays are a little longer and there aren't any organized tours that would be disruptive to the group. So far they have been able to get to all the places on their itinerary and they haven't missed any of their promised tours or meals.

      We are looking forward to getting back to the "family". Our fingers are crossed that Michel and Louise can get their truck fixed as well.

      Delete
  7. The problem with michels truck unfortunately appears to be accidentally self induced, When fixing the sensor he forgot to fasten back the air intake hose properly. This caused the engine to run rich and plug his particle filter. Ted White h=is contacting someone in Barra Navidad, our next stop who has the software to force a regen on it. We are hoping we can convince him to come up on the bus, hopefully this eve. If so we can put him up overnight and delay our departure tomorrow by a couple of hours (no big deal) while we try this. Fingers crossed. hopefully both he & kevin can rejoin the group by Saturday.

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    Replies
    1. Hopefully this will fix the problem. Our fingers are crossed for them and for us.

      Delete

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