Two projects on the go...

So, we're going to be here at home in Valle de Bravo for almost four weeks, and I've got two large internet research projects on the go. I actually started them while we were enduring the heat in Japan and we were stuck indoors most of the time.

At our location here in Mexico, there is no heat to endure. However it is rainy season, and we do average a couple of hours of rain every day. 

We've never been in Mexico at this time of year. Yes, the beach areas are hot and muggy, but here where we are up in the mountains it's very comfortable! Highs of around 25C (77F) and lows around 15C (60F). Absolutely perfect in our minds, and it's one of the reasons we chose this area.

But, it is rainy season here between June and October. What that typically means is that the mornings are beautiful but the clouds move in after lunch and we get some afternoon/evening rain.

Yesterday morning.

Yesterday around 5:00pm.

But we can still enjoy the fresh air in our hammocks even when it's raining!

Anyhow, with the afternoon rains, it's a good time to be on the internet doing some research.

So, what am I working on?

The first thing is something we've been wanting to do for quite a few years. But it's difficult to organize, and it's also quite expensive. And you need to plan it far in advance, which is why we've never done it!

We want to go see the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. But we want to do it with friends, so I'm organizing a group trip for us and three other couples. There are two problems. The first is that the best accommodations book up a year in advance. The second is that we want to do the trip from Winnipeg to Churchill by train, and you can't book the train until this coming December. The trip itself will be in October 2027. That is prime viewing season to see the polar bears.

The train booking is easy provided you want to do the 45 hour journey sitting up in an economy seat. It's not so easy if you want to book one of the very limited sleeper berths. You can also fly up, but I think the train journey would be part of the adventure.

It will be interesting to see how this all comes together.

The second project is a new motorhome/campervan!

When we finish with the polar bears we are going to make our way to Chile... yes, South America, where we will start a long term exploration of that continent in a new campervan.

So, the research I'm doing is regarding what type of vehicle we want. Unless what we are looking for becomes available used (unlikely, but possible), we are going to have something custom built. And if we have something custom built, we need to deliver the base vehicle to the builders by April/May of next year. There is a four to six month build time depending on what we want to have done. So that's going to mean a trip to Chile in late spring next year just to do that portion of the deal. And it may even have to happen sooner if the base vehicle we decide on needs to be ordered ahead of time. We'll see.

Anyhow, I'm going to do a separate post about this... so stay tuned!

This coming winter, we are definitely doing Central America. Igor is waiting for us in Oaxaca and we will continue south with him in late October of this year. 

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Nice deal on a 200 Watt Power Station Solar Panel.

And in Canada...

Great price on a Stand up Paddle Board.