June Expenses... 3rd highest month ever

Just like May, we knew June was going to be an expensive month. In fact, we had a budget of $6,477 CAD ($4,690 USD) for the month.

We ended up quite a bit higher than that, because of the overstay visa fine in Kyrgyzstan.

The famous Terracotta Warriors

In March of 1974, a farmer in a village near Xi'an, China decided to dig a well during a drought. He enlisted the help of his five brothers, and a few days later the well reached 15 meters (49 feet) deep. That was when they discovered a terracotta head and a bronze arrowhead.

The farmer informed authorities, and an archeological team was dispatched.

That was a fun evening!

I bought my Honor Magic 5 Pro phone in September 2023, so it's coming up on three years. It's still in near perfect condition, and I love it. The only problem is that the battery is starting to deteriorate. Not a lot, but enough that I notice it.

The phone is made in China and the brand has a strong presence here. So yesterday morning we walked over to a shopping mall that has a sales and service location.

We climbed 3,333 steps yesterday!

On Saturday, we took the metro (subway) as far south as it goes, and then a Didi (similar to Uber) taxi from there to Cuihua Mountain National Geopark.

The Didi experience was kind of funny because it was our first time using the app to order a taxi. And of course the language is an issue. 

We are a bit of a curiosity around here

Not the most exciting day on Friday, but still interesting enough just as we made our way through another day in China.

We had read of the Daming Palace National Heritage Park, and the fact that it's located in a massive park in the middle of the city of Xi'an. Comparable in size to New York's Central Park.

China's high speed train from Chengdu to Xi'an

We had our last breakfast at the hotel in Chengdu. By the fourth day, it was getting a little repetitive, but we're still glad we had the "breakfast included" plan. 

Our high speed train from Chengdu to Xi'an was departing at 10:16am, and when they say 10:16am, they mean it!

It felt like we walked our feet off

We took our time leaving the hotel Wednesday morning. Had a relaxing breakfast, then got some laundry done. It seems many hotels here in China include laundry services in the price of your room. 

This particular hotel in Chengdu was self serve, but here at our new hotel in Xi'an (we took the high speed train here Thursday morning), they do it for you.

The Giant Pandas!

When we were looking at flights from Bishkek into China, there were only two options. Chengdu made the most sense from a price perspective, plus the added bonus that the giant panda research centers are located in the area. 

Then we learned that there are three or four different locations to see the giant pandas. One of them is located on the outskirts of Chengdu city, so it's the busiest, but also does the most breeding so you are likely to see baby or younger pandas. 

First impressions of China

Admittedly, it's only been one day... but if the first day is any indication, we're quite impressed.

This is not the communist China that we learned about in school 50 years ago, where everybody is poor and the government owns everything... although that may be the impression many people still have. 

Welcome to China... country number 75 for us!

First time flying with Loong Air. They're classified as a low cost airline, yet they include both carry on and checked bags in their prices. And they give you a meal. I was a little worried about cramped seating for the four and a half hour flight from Bishkek to Chengdu, but the only extra legroom seats they had were bulkhead, and I don't find them much better because you can't truly stretch out anyhow.

But for four and a half hours, I survived. Any longer than that and I would want better seating.

A disappointing end to a great trip...

I decided to make this a separate blog post because there's a bit of story to tell.

Regular readers might remember this blog post where I mentioned possible glitch in our travel plans. In fact, I'll explain the whole story again for those who might have missed it.

Last day in Kyrgyzstan... playing tourist in Bishkek

We woke up Saturday morning and had a relaxing couple of hours in the guesthouse with breakfast and hot drinks. Then we went our and wandered around to some areas that we didn't make it to last time we were here.

Heading back to Bishkek

Well, our time here in Kyrgyzstan is quickly coming to an end. Yes, it's been almost a month already! We arrived on May 20th! Time flies when you're having fun, and we've definitely been having fun.

On Thursday, we did the drive along the north shore of Issyk-Kul Lake. As you get closer to the western part of the lake, it's not a very nice drive. And they are building huge resorts on that part of the lake.

Best hike this trip...

And it was bit of a tough one! Or maybe we're just getting older!

13 kms (8 miles) and 687 meters (2,200') of elevation gain. Spectacular views of the Jryrgalan valley.

In two years, all of this will be totally different!

We took off from our spot near the hot springs... but in different directions. Bjorn and Freya wanted to go to Engilchek... a ghost town high up in the mountains. To be honest, we wanted to go too. But it was going to be another 150 kms each way, and I'm getting tired of driving Vladdy. 

We should have named him Bouncy Buhanka!

There's no question, it's a beautiful area.

Unfortunately Bjorn and Freya were still having vehicle problems, so they headed into the larger city of Karakol where there is more choice of mechanics.

While they were doing that, Ruth and I took a detour up to the Seven Bulls Rock scenic area.

There are currently two problems with this part of Kyrgyzstan

We were on the south shore of Issyk-Kul Lake. It's a pretty enough lake, with lots of accessible beaches. Historically, it's been the only major source of summer tourism in Kyrgyzstan. But even then, tourism in Kyrgyzstan has been nothing to speak of. The current government is trying to change that.

And we don't blame them... of course tourism around the world has a lot of economic benefits. But improving the infrastructure comes at its own cost... at least temporarily.

We did two separate viewpoint hikes

We woke up to a beautiful day on the shore of Issyk-Kul Lake. The others decided to go for a morning swim, but the water temperature was far too chilly for me!

Issyk-Kul is a saline lake... so it is salt water, but not as salty as ocean water. And because of the salt and depth, it never freezes in winter, despite the cold that Kyrgyzstan experiences.

Beautiful drive down to Issyk-Kul Lake

We left Naryn and headed down to Issyk-Kul Lake. There was no choice but to take the main highway part of the way, but then we had a choice... stick to the main highway, or take a little traveled path through the mountains.

I bet you can guess what we chose!

Well that didn't go according to plan... stuck in a snowstorm?

High up in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, there is a gorgeous glacial lake surrounded by steep cliffs. It's become a bit of a tourist attraction despite the remote location about 20 kms from the China border.

It's early in the season still, so we had decided to drive up there and do the hike to the pretty lake.

The road to Köl-Suu... 20 kms from the China border!

We left our beautiful campsite beside the river in Naryn, and drove into town to pick up a few more groceries and top up the fuel tanks. 

We had a 150 km (93 mile) drive one way to get to Köl-Suu on some pretty rough roads, so it was going to be an all day event just to get there.

Will we run out of gas?

Another beautiful day for our drive from Song Kul Lake to the small city of Naryn. 

The only problem might be the lack of a gas station along the way!

Kok Boru... the national sport of Kyrgyzstan

In order to get to our campsite, we had already driven 9 kms along a road that leads to Song-Kol Lake, a high alpine lake that lies at an altitude of 3,016 meters (9,900').

We hadn't planned on going to the lake at this time, so if we did, I wasn't sure we had enough fuel to get to the next fuel station afterwards!

We've got a lot we want to see over the next two weeks!

We woke up Sunday morning at our beautiful spot by the river. Had some breakfast and got going on the hike fairly early because we knew this is a busy canyon and it was a Sunday and we wanted to beat the crowds.

Lots of places to explore!

Next stop for us was Konorchek Canyon. Unfortunately there was nowhere to overnight so it was just a stop along the way, but that's okay because we ended up with another great overnight spot anyhow!

But the canyon itself was a really worthwhile stop.

A fun evening celebrating a Kyrgyz birthday!

Our friends Bjorn and Freya from Belgium arrived here in Kyrgyzstan at 8:45am Friday morning. They picked up a SIM card at the airport so we could communicate, and then took possession of their 4x4 SUV with rooftop tent. Once they were all set, they sent a note so that we knew they were on their way to meet us.

Back to the big city of Bishkek

Our friends Bjorn and Freya arrive at Bishkek Airport on Friday morning, so we decided to return to the same guest house that we had stayed at when we first arrived. That way, we could do some more laundry, have showers, and start off fresh with them. 

They are renting a 4x4 SUV type vehicle with a rooftop tent, and we are going to travel together for the next two weeks.

There are some crazy drivers in Kyrgyzstan!

There are a lot of mountain passes in such a small country. For clarity, Kyrgyzstan is slightly smaller than the state of Idaho. And it has over a100 mountain passes. Some are tracks accessible only by 4x4 and seasonal, others are used by all vehicles and are year round.

On Tuesday, we came back through the first mountain pass we had done when we arrived here.

What was included, and what did we have to buy?

I promised you a look at what supplies were included with our Kyrgyzstan campervan rental, and what we had to buy in order to make the experience better for our style of travel.

Of course we need to keep in mind that most people who rent a van like this only have it for a week or possibly two.  

Amazing hoodoo rock formations!

Monday morning, we left the guest house and headed back down to the main highway where we had a stop to make. On the way up, we had seen some very cool looking rock formations across the river, but there were no signs and we could only see a track on the opposite side to get there.

Kyrgyzstan's beautiful Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve

We had breakfast at the guest house, and then set off on a 25 km (15 mile) drive further north into the mountains. Our destination was the Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve, a UNESCO world heritage destination.

If this were anywhere in Canada or the U.S., it would be packed with tourists just like famous Lake Louise is in Canada.

May Expenses... we knew it was going to be an expensive month

After all, we started the month in Oaxaca, Mexico and ended the month in Arkit, Kyrgyzstan!

We had a budget of $6,300 CAD ($4,635 USD) for the month. How did we do...?

Things just weren't coming together...

Our goal was to make it to the Saray-Chelek Nature Reserve, however we really didn't think we'd make it by Saturday because it was a 150 km (93 mile) drive, and you don't put on a lot of kms in an hour's worth of driving!

Especially when the traffic situation looks like this...

There's too much to see!

Our first two days here in Kyrgyzstan we had to deal with rainy weather, which is certainly not the best when you're living in a small campervan. For us, the idea of having a small campervan means that you want to be in decent weather so you can spend most of your time outdoors.

Well since those two days, it has steadily improved to the point where we woke up to a beautiful blue sky morning!

Now *THIS* was an adventure!

We woke up to the sound of a few raindrops hitting Vladdy's roof. Not a good sign, since we were headed up to the mountain pass at 3,300 meters (10,900') and if we were getting rain, it was likely snowing up there!

I peaked out through the curtains and I could see some patches of blue sky, despite the fact we could hear raindrops on the roof.

Up in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan

We had a very peaceful night beside the reservoir, although the wind did pick up towards morning. Still, the temperature was perfect, with an overnight low around 14C (58F).

We got up fairly early and did one more stop for fuel to fill the secondary tank and the portable tank. We were headed up a steep mountain road. It's actually listed as a major road, but it's unpaved and most of it is actually closed during winter.

My innards were all shook up

We woke up to the most beautiful day... during the morning, there was almost not a cloud in the sky. So we took advantage of the fantastic weather and the water access beside the river to get cleaned up, washed our hair, I shaved, and we hand washed some clothes and set them out to dry.

Yes, the water is ice cold!

More great scenery... and delicious strawberries!

We woke up cold, so we fired up the engine and got driving right away. And with the sun shining, it didn't take long for us to warm up, but we had one more mountain pass to do before we could relax and have breakfast on the other side.

We woke up to sunshine and a gorgeous day... but we had snow later on!

When we left you last, we had used Vladdy's four wheel drive to access a beautiful meadow high up in the mountains.

When we woke up in the morning, we could see it was blue sky... but the sun hadn't yet risen enough to shine on our meadow.

Yikes... you'd think this wasn't meant to be!

This trip has had a lot of glitches so far! It started when our original flights from Istanbul to Bishkek were cancelled. We couldn't get on the bus in Valle de Bravo. There was no lounge available at the Mexico City airport. Ruth's bag got lost between Mexico City and Madrid. We arrived in Almaty and had no cash and couldn't get online. Nothing seemed to work. Missed the first bus. Forgot about the hour time change. Didn't know about the visa change for Kyrgyzstan. Yikes... you'd think this wasn't meant to be.

And then Saturday, on the way up into the mountains, Vladdy's fuel pump gave out!

Kyrgyzstan is a very safe country

Our first night in the campervan went well, however we had some sleeping arrangement options to work out. Technically, the van can sleep five people. The main living area turns into a large enough bed that three people could sleep, and then there is a rear area that would be very cozy, but it could sleep two. 

For the first night, we made the bed up in the larger area, but it was a real gymnastics exercise especially since it was raining out and we had to do it all without getting anything wet.

Meeting Vladdy, our home for the next month!

Slept almost nine hours Wednesday night! Couldn't tell you the last time we did that!

Our hostess had asked what time we wanted breakfast, and we agreed on 9:00am. So we were surprised when there was a knock on the door at 7:45, and I opened it to find her with a tray full of food for us!

We have arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan!

Last you heard from us, we were in Madrid, Spain and getting ready to head back to the airport for our flight to Istanbul. 

And seeing as we were going back to the airport anyhow, they had said that we should be able to pick up Ruth's carry on bag that had been on an adventure of it's own when it went missing.

"There has been an incident with your baggage"

Well, we have arrived in Madrid, Spain... but it wasn't a totally smooth travel day!

And the problems started right at the beginning. We always take the bus from our nearby town of El Arco into Mexico City. We've done it many times and there have always been lots of empty seats. So we never book in advance. Well, it turns out that we have never done it on a Sunday!

And we're off... but with one little glitch!

We are starting a three day travel marathon this afternoon. First we have the two hour bus ride into Mexico City, then a half hour metro (subway, underground) ride to MEX airport.

Our flight doesn't leave for Madrid until 11:55pm, so we have lots of time and don't have to rush.

8 Flights over the next 2 months!

The excitement is building for our first ever around the world trip!

All flights and accommodations are booked for the whole trip, and while that sounds a little too organized for our liking, there is actually a lot of flexibility once we arrive at our destinations.

What's the plan for Japan?

We were originally going to fly back to Mexico City from China. But there's only one direct flight per week, and it's ridiculously expensive. So we decided we could hop, skip, and jump our way back for much less money.

And so we found flights from Hong Kong to Tokyo to Vancouver to Mexico City for almost half the price of the direct one.

Rainy season has begun

I think we're going to enjoy it when we return on July 23rd. We'll be back here at the house for a month until August 20th.

Yesterday, they were calling for a thunderstorm, and boy did we ever get one!

Caught in the rain!

First of all, thanks for all the anniversary well wishes yesterday! 

We had a good day... we had to go into town anyhow, so we timed it around lunch and went out for a meal to our favorite enchiladas restaurant here in Valle de Bravo.

And they said it wouldn't last...

Actually, only one person said it wouldn't last... my friend Paul, who at the time said we hadn't known each other long enough and he gave it five years. He has now been married three times!

Ruth and I met on March 5, 1983 and within two months we had decided to get married. But we didn't tell anyone yet because they would have thought we were nuts!

Thought this was funny...

I didn't leave the house all weekend! Unbelievable. This trip planning is fun for me, and I enjoy it, but it sure is time consuming.

Ruth did manage to get out and pick up a few groceries from the local shops.

Our China trip plan... the planning is half the fun!

I spent much of the day yesterday doing trip planning for our upcoming three weeks in China.

We arrive in Chengdu on June 21st, and up until yesterday that was all we had planned or booked. We had an idea of some of the places we wanted to go, but didn't have a route or accommodations booked. That is now changed, although I'm not done yet!

That's it, we're going back to Canada!

"That's it, we're going back to Canada!". As we joke to each other sometimes when we have a frustrating day. But it's definitely just a joke. A bad day in Mexico is better than a good day in Canada!

So we had three problems yesterday, two of which are still not fixed despite literally hours of trying.

Lots to keep us busy for the next ten days!

The other day, we were invited to our friends Fernando. Yessie, and their daughter Aminah's house for lunch. 

Fernando had been away on a business trip to Bangladesh, so that was really interesting talking to him about that.

We are well stocked up on wine!

Coming home to an empty fridge and cupboards meant we had to get into town and do a grocery shop yesterday. 

There's a discount store in Mexico called Tiendas 3B that often has some great deals, and we learned recently that they have a boxed red wine that is quite good.

I can't believe we made it!

A bit of a long travel day, but really, considering that we sat on buses for 9 hours, we felt the time went by fast enough.

Our hotel in Oaxaca, the Hotel Posada San Rafael was a bit of a disappointment though.

An evening in Oaxaca City

We spent the morning and into the afternoon getting Igor all cleaned up and ready to be stored. At least he'll be clean when we return in October. Other than a layer of dust I expect!

Then we drove over to the storage place. This is the old Oaxaca Campground that we stayed at several times in the past.

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.

Looks like we're making an unplanned trip to Kazakhstan!

As regular readers know, we are heading to Kyrgyzstan in May where we have a one month campervan rental booked. We're flying Mexico City to Madrid, and then Madrid to Bishkek.

Or at least that's what we had booked. Until the other day when I received notification that our flights from Madrid to Bishkek have been cancelled.

This is far better than the mechanics backyard!

We got going around 9:30am. Said goodbye and thanks again to the mechanics, then headed out on a half hour drive! Igor ran perfectly. So happy to get that over with.

We were headed to an "adventure park"... it's kind of a farm that has some activities and a camping area. It gets great reviews on iOverlander and looked to be exactly what we needed.

Igor is fixed, and we are ready to get back on the road!

Igor is running and fixed... but not fixed properly. Mexicans mechanics are really good at making things work, but the two mechanics we were dealing with needed some guidance from me.

We're not convinced they would have ever found the problem. It was me who did that. Well, me and ChatGPT!

Igor is still not fixed...

When we left you yesterday, we were pulled off on a farmers track by the side of the road. We were about 2.5 kms (a mile) or so downhill from the small town of Tuzamapan in the state of Veracruz.

The nearest larger town is Coatepec (pop 55,000), about 14 kms away. And we are about 24 kms from the city of Xalapa (pop 450,000).

Bit by a dog, and then knock, knock, knock... it's the police.

The mechanic shop didn't open until 9:00am, but when I walked over there to talk to them he said his mechanic wouldn't be in for another hour and a half or so.

So we walked up to the big Monday market to have some breakfast and pick up a few things.

Time to move on... but we didn't get very far!

We planned a 10:00am start because we knew we weren't going very far. First planned stop was a town about 50 minutes north towards Xalapa.

We were going to have a look around and then decide if we would stay for the traditional Monday market. It's supposed to be quite the local event. But we didn't have to decide, because Igor decided for us!

Busy day... lots of photos, and a surprise meetup with friends!

We wanted to do one more trip into the beautiful city of Orizaba. Still can't believe that more western tourists don't visit this area. 

We went to all of the "touristy" highlights yesterday, and didn't see any other gringos.

Our planned return to Canada

Well, we've pretty much got our return to Canada figured out and booked. We fly from Mexico City to Toronto on August 20th, which is our daughter's 40th birthday! Yikes!

We wanted to be there for the big day, and she will be at our son's place near Gravenhurst visiting him at the time, so it will be a fun family reunion on her birthday.

More visitors, and a trip back into Orizaba for some fun!

When we arrived back from our adventure on Wednesday, a couple more rigs had arrived. One of them was one of those big German Unimog style offroad RV's... with license plates from Luxembourg!

And the other was a Canadian couple from Quebec.

Exhausted!

Tuesday was a relax day... we just did some chores around Igor and I got the taxes pretty much completed.

We needed a break after our hike on Monday... plus, we were about to have another busy day on Wednesday!

Good thing we're not on a schedule!

We have some more visitors here at the campground. A British guy with two girls from Czechia. All of them currently live in Canada, and driving a car with British Columbia plates.

We were all invited by our hosts to join them on a hike up the mountain where the cable car takes you in Orizaba.

Well this is going to be a fun adventure!

They were calling for rain in the afternoon, so I made a plan to just hang around Igor and get started on our income taxes that are due on April 30th. We have to pay every year, but we don't mind giving it to them because they spend it so wisely!

And I could watch the baseball game while doing the taxes! Ruth took off with our host family here at the campground to a local municipal park.

Igor may never return to Valle de Bravo

We walked over to the nearby Soriana and picked up a few things there before walking back to Igor where he was parked at the Walmart in Orizaba. Then we did the 20 minute drive to Dos Tierras Campground.

We often use the iOverlander app to find suitable overnight spots for Igor. And many European overland rigs arrive at the port in Veracruz, so this is an easy stop for some of them. 

I can't believe we've never been to Orizaba!

Orizaba, Veracruz is a small city of about 125,000 people located in a valley at an altitude of about 1,250 meters (4,100'). But despite the relatively low altitude, it's within sight of the highest point in Mexico... Pico de Orizaba.

Pico de Orizaba is a dormant (but not extinct) volcano, and also the third highest mountain in North America.

Hiking in the mountains near Orizaba

We had a very peaceful night sleeping in the village of Palo Verde. Surprisingly, not even any dogs barking or roosters crowing!

And we woke up to a beautiful clear blue sky, although they were calling for showers in the afternoon. 

We ended up at a beautiful overnight spot.

Our goal is always to arrive at our overnight spot by 2:00pm because that allows lots of daylight hours to fix any problem that might come up. So when we only have a two and a half hour drive ahead of us, we don't need to rush out in the morning!

And so we didn't hit the road until about 11:00am.

Views around Cholula

As I said yesterday, we've been to the Cholula Trailer Park in the outskirts of Puebla many times, but the last time was six years ago... so we still wanted to go wander around Cholula one more time.

Cholula is where the largest pyramid in the world is located. The pyramid is also the largest man made monument in the world.

Nice drive to the big city of Puebla

We were a bit lazy getting going yesterday morning, but we knew it was only a two and a half hour drive so we would still be close to our goal of arriving at our destination by 2:00pm. 

We hit the road at 10:45am to do the 140 km (87 mile) drive.

Well that didn't go according to plan

We figured it would be busy on a Sunday, so we set of before 9:00am to do the climb up to the Tepozteco Pyramid.

A series of rocky steps lead you up a steep path. It gains about 352 meters (1,150') in about one km (0.62 miles)... so it really is steep.

Those are some weird looking trees!

We originally planned a hike that would take us to some waterfalls. But this is dry season... the waterfalls aren't running!

So instead, we hiked up to a viewpoint... about 10 kms (6 miles) round trip.

Finally made it to Tepoztlan!

The caves at Grutas de Estella didn't open until 10:00am, and we were there right at the open. We wanted to see the caves, but we still had a fairly long drive, part of which would take us through the middle of the big city of Cuernavaca. And, we wanted to stop at a Walmart along the way.

So... busy day!

Igor was up for the challenge!

We managed to get on the road by 9:20am... not bad, considering our planned 9:00am departure time. 

We had to go through Valle de Bravo, so we made a stop for a few groceries and an ATM before carrying on southeast.

And, we're off!

Igor hadn't had a bath since we got back from our last trip with him towards the end of January. And he was sitting underneath a tree and covered in bird crap. So my job for yesterday was to give him a bath.

I went outside about 10:00am to get started... but the job was already done!

Igor is a happy camper... and our route east

A month or so ago when Lindsey and the kids were here, we had been out in Igor when I heard some rattling from underneath the motorhome. 

One of the exhaust hanger brackets had broken, and I ended up doing a quick fix with a wire coat hangar to temporarily hold things in place.

Aiming for a Thursday morning departure

Just as I thought I was done with fixing things for a while, Ruth reminded me that Igor's windshield wipers have been acting up the last few times we used them.

Which fortunately at this time of year doesn't really matter because there's not much in the way of rain. But still, I figured I had better have a look.

It's a good thing I'm not paid by the hour

It takes me forever to do a project like this. Don't get me wrong... I like it this way. Putter around for a couple of hours, then come back to it again tomorrow. Of course that's the way it's supposed to be when you're retired!

But if I was paid by the hour, they would have fired me by now. 

Fresh baked bread!

First of all, Ruth thanks you all for your well wishes. Her arm/wrist is feeling better, although that could be because of the medication. 

She even felt well enough to make some fresh baked gluten free bread!

Off to the doctor...

On Thursday, we did the 15 minute walk into nearby El Arco to pick up a few things. 

On the way back, the sidewalk is very uneven and Ruth was wearing shoes with very little traction. There was one sloping area and it was a bit sandy and that's where Ruth slipped and fell.

What does it cost to fly around the world?

Obviously there are a lot of variables, so I can only tell you what it is costing us!

Our first flight takes off May 17th... a direct flight from Mexico City to Madrid, Spain.

More progress

We went into town yesterday and did some grocery shopping. On the way back, we stopped into a "ferreteria"... a hardware store.

It's just a small storefront, but in the back they have everything! We went there looking for a couple of catches and hinges for Igor's cupboard doors. 

Around the world in two months!

I've just finished booking a few more flights for our around the world trip. It turns out we'll be on seven different airplanes over the two month time frame.

It's actually slightly over two months. We leave May 17th and return July 23rd.

Igor's floor is finished!

We don't have a big mosquito problem here even though we're beside the lake. But one of the little buggers got into our bedroom and has harassed us the last two nights!

And as soon as you turn the light on, it goes invisible... it simply disappears. But then it comes back to haunt you five minutes after you turn the light off again.

Flights within Canada are ridiculously expensive!

I bought some more flight tickets yesterday... but only for me!

My annual guys weekend away is taking place in St. John's, Newfoundland this year... September 1-5.

The price of water

Most people know that you don't drink the tap water here in Mexico. Even the locals buy bottled water. Normally, you buy a 20 liter (5.3 gallons) jug full of purified water. The jug is called a garrafon.

Once you have made the initial purchase and have drank all the water, you can exchange your empty garrafon for a full one.

The joys of working on a 33 year old vehicle!

So we're redoing the floor in our motorhome Igor, and of course nothing is as simple as it should be. I had to remove the kitchen cabinet to access the rotten subfloor, and in the process found out that our kitchen countertop was also rotten. 

Ah, the joys of working on a 33 year old vehicle!

We think we're going to China!

On May 17th we fly from Mexico City to Madrid. Then on the 19th from Madrid to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

On May 20th, we pick up a Russian built 4 wheel drive campervan and spend a month exploring the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. When we finish that June 19th, we are planning to go to China!

More progress on our house

We received the rest of the wall art we had ordered, so now it was time to figure out where to place it.

When family was here last month, Ruth had son in law Justin install some shelves in the kitchen. And there had been some other "art" on the walls that needed to go.

It's that time of year

Our lake (Lago Avandaro) here at Valle de Bravo is actually a man made reservoir. The dam was built in the 1940's and a piping system runs all the way to Mexico City. In fact it's one of three reservoirs that supplies Mexico City with some of its water.

Rainy season runs June through September, although there can be some early rain in May, and last year we even had some rain into December, but that is rare.

What made us choose Valle de Bravo?

One of our facebook fans asked the other day why we chose Valle de Bravo as our home base.

We've been to all 32 states of Mexico. And we've been to all of the tourist hotspots... our first year in mainland Mexico back in 2008 we hit all of the popular beach spots like Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Puerto Escondido, Mazatlan... even Acapulco.

I don't know how we can stand it...

I spent another few hours working on Igor's floor yesterday. 

I took our ATV up to a nearby maderaria (lumberyard) and the guy there gave me enough scraps for 100 pesos ($7.60 CAD, $5.60 USD) to be able to do the job.

No, it did not survive!

I was working on the countertop cabinet when I flipped it over to reinforce some of the corner braces to make it a little stronger.

One of the end panels is covered with a sort of a mactac woodgrain and it was already partially peeling, so I peeled off the loose stuff and saw this...

Things are coming along

For anybody who hasn't been following along, I'm in the middle of a big job replacing the floor on our 1993 Airstream B190 motorhome.

The subfloor had become rotten due to an unrepaired water leak many years ago, and in order to repair it, the kitchen countertop cabinet had to be removed.

It's a big job...

I was hoping I would be able to "cheat"... and support the cabinets with new flooring by being able to lift them and slide the new flooring underneath. But it wasn't possible, and really, it wasn't the right way to do it.

So I resigned myself to the fact that this is going to be a big job... and I set out to get it done.

About what I expected

So yesterday I got into tearing out Igor's floor. It's been replaced once before already... well before we have owned him.

There had been a water leak from the line running from the fresh water tank under the kitchen countertop cabinet. I repaired it when we bought Igor, but the underlying water damage was still there.

Unbelievable

Ruth just mentioned to me that it was ten years ago that we completed our first trial RV Caravan tour of Mexico. Ten years! Unbelievable.

We had a lot of fun showing other RV'ers why Mexico is such a great place to RV. It just has so much to offer.

February Expense Report - 2 expensive months in a row

January and February were both expensive... but they were worth it because we had our daughter and her family come and visit. And, it didn't really feel that expensive because we bought and paid for their flights several months ago.

And, of course last month we also took a two week "vacation" to Ecuador.

So, what's next?

That kind of depends on my paragliding training. I'm going to have two instructors working with me for the one week course, and I'm waiting to hear back from them as to the timing, but it is should happen during the month of March. 

And we will spend that one week training course camping with Igor at the paragliding site at El Penon. That's the place we visited at the end of January on the way back from our last RV trip. It's about an hour from here.

Ecuador was interesting...

We had been wanting to visit Ecuador for a long time. We tried to go in November of 2019, but there was an uprising in Quito and we had to cancel a day before the trip. We ended up going to Peru instead.

But this time, we made it! Ecuador was country #74 for us. So, what did we think?

What did our two week trip to Ecuador cost?

It was actually slightly longer than two weeks. We left on Tuesday February 10th, and returned on Thursday February 26th. So 15 nights.

Obviously airfare was the number one expense for us, plus we ended up taking two other flights in country that we hadn't originally budgeted for.

Well that was a whirlwind 24 hours!

We are back at our casita overlooking the lake near Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

But after three taxis, three airplanes, two subways, and a bus ride, all in 24 hours...we are exhausted!

Exploring Quito, Ecuador

We had breakfast included in the price of the Baltico Hotel in Quito. For $31.50 USD, ($43 CAD) per night including breakfast, right in the central area, we thought that was a pretty good deal! Really friendly people working there too.

We set off to explore downtown. First stop was a return to the basilica since there was decent visibility despite the clouds.

Cuenca to Quito... a very cool view!

Mike and Louise got up with us at 6:15am yesterday morning and Mike took us to the airport. It was only a fifteen minute drive from their place. Thanks again for having us, and you know you're welcome to visit us in Valle de Bravo any time!

The Cuenca airport is very small, and we were soon through security and waiting in the departure lounge for our 7:45am flight.

Thanks for your concern

We had quite a few messages from people worried about all the news events in Mexico on Sunday. Fortunately, Mexico City wasn't affected, and there was only a couple of blocked roads and vehicle fires 20 kms from our town of Valle de Bravo.

In fact, the local government put out a notice on Sunday and another on Monday saying that you might notice more security vehicles around town, but that otherwise things were operating normally.

Hybrid travelers!

We had made plans to meet up for lunch with Warren and Julie. This is the couple who operate a popular youtube channel for expats at Warren & Julie Travel - Slow Travel Nomad Expats.

But before we went for lunch, we recorded a video with them that should be available at some point over the next week or two.

That was a tough hike, but with great views overlooking Cuenca!

There are a lot of hiking opportunities around Cuenca, but we wanted one that gave us a view of the city. So Ruth found a trailhead that began about 7 kms away and we took a taxi there. Taxis are cheap in Cuenca and it cost $3.50 USD ($4.80 CAD).

We may have bitten off more than we chew.

Well that was a busy day!

And we have the photos to prove it! 

So, lots of photos in today's post. Louise took us downtown again, and we visited the central market, the hat museum, went to the cathedral, went for lunch, then the Pumapungo Inca Museum.

Cuenca downtown

Cuenca is popular with the expat population, and we can definitely understand the attraction to the Cuenca area. 

The city center is nice to wander around and very walkable. The surrounding area is scenic with a lot of outdoor activities. The cost of living is relatively low. And it's a fairly safe area, compared to the other parts of Ecuador.

Wandering around Cuenca

No, we haven't made it to "el centro" yet. Yesterday was the last day of Carnival, and you could tell that there weren't as many people playing with the water and foam, although I did get sprayed with a shot of  foam that came from a passing car while we were walking on the sidewalk.

So we walked directly from the house to the Cuenca Botanical Gardens, and then to an art display at the old train station.

Out exploring - Sigsig and Chordeleg

Yesterday's blog was posted late, so if you missed it you can read it here...

https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/02/change-of-plans.html

Michel and Louise have been living here about three years now, so it's hard to find something new for them that they haven't done already! Anyhow, they took us for a drive east of Cuenca to the towns of Sigsig and Chordeleg.

Change of plans...

On Sunday, we did a day trip to the Giron Waterfall.

Again, this is Carnival in Ecuador, and so we're avoiding the central area of Cuenca. We're quickly learning that people here go a little crazy with the water and spray foam during this holiday long weekend that lasts until Wednesday. 

Arrived in Cuenca

We took the free hotel shuttle from central Guayaquil to the airport. We weren't flying anywhere, but the big Guayaquil bus station is only a fifteen minute walk from the airport.

As we were walking between the two, there was a coach bus loading outside of a tourist office and they were calling out "Cuenca!".

Guayaquil was better than expected

Despite being a "rough" city, if you stay in the main central area, Guayaquil actually has some interesting things to see. We still don't think it's worth much more than a day or two to visit, and we certainly don't see the attraction of living here. But we're glad we came to see it for ourselves.

We set out around 10:00am to do some exploring...

Guayaquil is a bit of a sketchy city

Nice to have the included breakfast at our hotel in Manta. We went out after breakfast and bought a few snacks for the bus ride to Guayaquil, then took an Uber taxi from the hotel to the Manta bus terminal.

The ride was about 7 kms (4.5 miles) and cost $3.13 USD ($4.25 CAD). 

First impressions of Ecuador - not the best

Keeping in mind that this quick Ecuador trip is mainly to reset our Mexican tourist visa, the only reason we arrived in Manta is because the flights were relatively cheap. I had done the research in advance and knew that Manta was not a place we would have planned to visit otherwise.

Welcome to Ecuador... country #74

Writing this from our hotel room in Manta, Ecuador.

So lets get you caught up on the last couple of days! We were busy with Lindsey and family on Monday, and then a travel day to Ecuador on Tuesday.

This Valentine's Day, Find the Everyday Expression of "Love" at Walmart

Valentine's Day doesn't always need grand vows. Sometimes, it's the thoughtful gestures woven into the fabric of daily life that truly touch the heart. At Walmart, you can find gifts that are both considerate and practical—using simple acts of "remembering" and "understanding" to show you care.

We are off to Mexico City... and then Ecuador

Sunday was our last full day with Lindsey and family in Valle de Brave. We still have one more day with them in Mexico City today, then Tuesday morning they head north to Canada, and we head south to Ecuador.

We had a pretty full day yesterday!

Old Navy’s Limited-Time Event: Comfortable Activewear for the Whole Family

Some Clothes Aren’t Made to Look Good in Photos—They’re Made to Take You Further

At dawn, the campsite is still wrapped in cool air. Coffee simmers quietly on the stove, steam curling upward as children spill out of the tent, already running free across the open ground. As you bend to pack your gear and stretch your body awake, one truth becomes unmistakably clear:Comfort matters more than appearance.

Well that was a good day!

Our friends Pepe and Maricruz have a house here at the marina, and they knew that we would be here with Lindsey and family. Pepe's sister has two daughters about the same age as Sadie, and they are learning English, so we all figured it was a good idea to get together.

Coincidentally, it was also my birthday.

The Salto de Chihuahua Waterfall, and millions of daddy long legs!

We relaxed around the house for the morning, and Cameron did some more fishing... very successfully! In fact, he caught dinner for all of us!

And after lunch, we drove about an hour north west of here to a beautiful waterfall. 

January Expenses

We've been busy, so I never got to this at the beginning of the month. But we all decided yesterday was a day of rest, so we just hung around here for the day, although Lindsey and family did walk into El Arco.

Anyhow, January was a fairly expensive month, but we expected it to be. We spent $4,525 CAD, ($3,314 USD).

An unexpectedly great day!

We set off around 10:30am and drove over to the big parking lot at the Chedraui grocery store where we planned on leaving Igor while we hiked up to the paragliding liftoff point in Monte Alto State Park.

Back to the butterflies

The weather hasn't been the best for the monarch butterfly viewing. We were really lucky when we went with my sister Alison in December, but this week has been cooler and more cloudy in the afternoon.

But we don't have any control over the weather, and yesterday looked like it was going to be the best day. So we set off up to the Piedra Herrada Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary.

Cameron is quite the fisherman!

Cameron has been out fishing a lot. The one time with our friends Paco and Oti in their boat, but otherwise just off the dock in front of our house.

There are often some locals who come down and fish off the same dock, and Cameron isn't shy about getting along with other people, even when there are language challenges.

Market day!

We set off just after 10:00am to head into Valle de Bravo for the weekly Sunday market.

Hike up to La Peña

We made a plan to take Lindsey and family on a short hike up to La Peña. That's the nearby hill that we see directly across from  the balcony view at our house. We've been up there several times, and it's always worth it for the beautiful views.

We all hopped in Igor just because it's more convenient. It's not always easy to find parking in town for Igor, but otherwise we'd have to get two collectivos that don't already have any passengers.

Getting settled in

Thursday we showed them around the old historic district of Mexico City. Then Ruth had booked a tour of the main post office building at 11:00am.

We wandered around some more, then had some lunch and planned on taking the 3:00pm bus back to Valle de Bravo.

They're here!

Ruth and I did the two hour bus ride from Valle de Bravo to the Poniente bus terminal at the western part of Mexico City. It was around 1:00pm when we arrived there, so lunch time. And we know of a great little food stand just down the road that does fantastic huaraches!

Slight change of plans...

But they are on their way!

Most of you know that much of Canada and the U.S. had a lot of snow and bad weather lately. Our daughter Lindsey and her family were supposed to fly out yesterday with an overnight connection in Newark, but their flight out of Halifax was cancelled!

It's almost time!

We went and bought another couple of pieces of furniture this morning. A small kitchen table, and a shelf for the entranceway.

We like the kitchen island that we had built, but we decided we like it better up against the wall. So we needed a small table, but we already had two chairs.

Finally... a fantastic Canadian cell phone plan!

As most of you know, we love a great deal. So I have to share this one with our Canadian readers.

Canada is consistently ranked as the most expensive in the world when it comes to cellular data plans. Canada's "cost per gigabyte" of data is typically seven times more expensive than Australia, 25 times more than Ireland and France, and 1,000 times more than Finland.

It's going to be a busy few days

We sat and watched the paragliders for a while before leaving yesterday morning. It sure is amazing. As you'll see from the photo below, there were about 15 of them flying around for a couple of hours!

They looked like vultures circling above the dead body!

Almost home!

At around 10am, we said goodbye to the friendly police officers who watched Igor for us while we were visiting the mine. 

Our route yesterday took us from Arcelia up into the mountains south of Valle de Bravo. It's a little busier route, especially when we got back on highway 134 that runs up to Toluca.

Luca Mining Campo Morado site visit

Anybody who follows the stock market knows that the world is a few years into a metals commodities bull market. And if history is any indication, it will continue for another four years or so.

Gold, silver, copper, and zinc are all hitting record high prices. There will be corrections along the way, but the best is yet to come.

Parked in front of the police station

Long driving day, but it was amazing. 

Almost zero traffic, and the scenery was spectacular. And I really mean almost zero traffic. I think we drove about 100 kms (62 miles) and saw perhaps 10 vehicles traveling the opposite way, and only one vehicle that passed us traveling in our direction.

Wandering around Zihuatanejo

We got Igor packed up and drove him over to the main Ixtapa hotel zone just after 9:00am to meet our long time friends Dave and Maggie. They live in Toronto and have rented a two bedroom condo for a month here in Ixtapa.

We were able to park Igor on the condo property, and they showed us around their "home" for the next month. They only arrived on Saturday.

We're just not beach people!

We've been on the coast a total of six days... but we're ready to head inland! 

Our legs are covered in bug bites. A few from mosquitoes, but mostly no-see-ums. They're the ones that bite you but the itchy bumps don't show up until two days later.

It finally arrived!

Regular readers might remember that Igor's new furnace had an issue when we returned from the high altitude at Hidalgo at the end of November. The manufacturer in Canada has been great with their after sales service, and offered to send us another unit with different software installed. The new unit arrived by FedEx in Toluca, Mexico on December 4th.

And it's been stuck there ever since!

We haven't been here since January 2012

We moved on to the city of Lazaro Cardenas (pop 200,000), but only for a stop at the Walmart store there. 

They had height barriers at all the entrances, but we managed to find parking on a side street, and were lucky that we were totally in the shade. It's hot in this area!

We ended up in a great spot!

But what a driving day we had! That section of MEX200 between Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas sure has a lot of curves.

We haven't done that part of the highway since 2011, and at that time we were headed in the opposite direction. It took us five hours (including a one hour stop for lunch) to do 175 kms (108 miles).

Stopped by a highway protest

We're going to be doing an operating mine site visit next week, but the dates weren't written in stone. And we were also trying to meet up with Canadian friends who will be vacationing in Ixtapa.

The mining people got back to me with a January 19th date, which wasn't ideal. We had been hoping for two days later on the 21st.

One section of the road had some magnificent views

As our regular readers know, we're not big beach people. But, we do enjoy a week, or two at the most. So yesterday we made our way down the twisty, windy highway MEX80 to the dusty beach town of Melaque/San Patricio.

We got going just before 10am, with a plan to arrive just after 12 noon.

Camping with armed guards

We headed out yesterday morning at around 10:30am. A little bit of a plate start, but we knew we were only going to be driving about three hours.

First stop was for gasoline, at 23.98 pesos ($1.86 CAD) per liter. That's the equivalent of $5.07 USD per gallon.

Avoid non essential travel!

I belong to several travel forums on the internet, and one newbie traveler posted the current travel warnings for Mexico. 

The Canadian government says that the area we are headed to is listed as "Avoid non-essential travel!"

Your safety and security could be at risk. You should think about your need to travel to this country, territory or region based on family or business requirements, knowledge of or familiarity with the region, and other factors. If you are already there, think about whether you really need to be there. If you do not need to be there, you should think about leaving.

Where to next?

We had been planning a full week here in Etzatlan, but we're thinking we're going to head out tomorrow (Monday), a day early. 

We're heading down to the coast, but we're taking a route we've never done before.

Mexico is no longer the bargain it was, but it's still far cheaper than Canada!

Our week here is going by quickly. In fact, time itself seems to be going by quickly... we're already 1/3 of the way through January!

We walked into town the last two days. Ruth's cheap phone was having charge cable connection problems, so we needed to find a cellphone repair place.

What new countries do we want to visit?

Following on yesterdays post about countries we've been to, but don't feel the need to return to, someone suggested we should list the new countries that we really want to visit.

And there are a lot of them!

Which countries would we not return to?

One of our regular readers made a comment on our facebook page yesterday... "You’ve been to many countries. Are there some to which you wouldn’t want to return?"

And there are! The question actually prodded me to update our "countries visited" list, which I hadn't done for a couple of years.

What happened to Central America?

One of our long time readers saw that we are going to Kyrgyzstan in May, and asked "What happened to Belize and continuing on to South America?

And she was right to question that! When we made our Central and South America plan, it was designed to be fluid. We don't have to be anywhere at any certain time, and we knew it was a three or four year plan.

Moving on today

We never did make it into the swimming pool! Being a Monday, they only had one pool open yesterday. And so it was quite busy, and already turning green by the time we looked at it. The regulars here say the best time to get in is right when they fill them first thing in the morning, but I'm afraid we're not in a swimming mood first thing in the morning!

Arrived at Chimulco Water Park

On Saturday we walked into the town of Valle de Juarez and got some errands done. I was able to pay our home internet bill at the local Oxxo store, then we stopped into a hairstylist for Ruth to get a haircut.

Then we went back into town in the evening and had shrimp for dinner!

Big trip plans just booked!

When we did the "stan" countries two years ago, our friends Danielle and Ron had told us about a campervan rental company in Kyrgyzstan that they had used and really enjoyed. That thought has been stuck in our minds since then. We didn't really do Kyrgyzstan the justice it deserves at the time since we had been there in November and most of the mountain accommodation had been closed.

So we wanted to go back at a better time of year!

Another fiesta!

We relaxed and hung out here at the RV park most of the day yesterday... nothing wrong with that!

But late afternoon, we were invited to another fiesta. I don't think there was any purpose behind it, just that a lot of relatives had been here over the holidays and some of them were heading home to Chicago area.

Made it to Valle de Juarez

Last we checked in, we were parked up just west of the big city of Morelia at the sandstone rock formations called Los Piloncillos. We slept well there again... total peace and quiet!

But it was chilly the next morning, so we got up and drove right away. We were taking another back road... and it was in BAD shape!

2025 Year in review

Overall, we had a great 2025! 

We started the year in Mexico, and we ended the year in Mexico. But in between we were in Spain, Scotland, England, Italy, Albania, Ireland, Greenland, Iceland, and Canada.