A little info about the city of Quetzaltenango (Xela)

We continued on our walking tour yesterday morning and had to make our way back to the ATM to try and get some more cash. We had decided to do the overnight hike up the Santa Maria volcano and it was going to cost another 300 quetzales ($40.50) each. Plus, we wanted to get enough cash to pay for our 6 day hike next week. So we were crossing our fingers that the ATM casino was going to pay out!

Men's haircut, only $2.00!

That's right, the going rate for a men's haircut at a barbershop here in Xela is only 15 quetzales ($2.00)! And for the first time in almost 30 years, someone besides Ruth cut my hair. Pictures to follow...

Some great news to share!

We have mentioned in previous blog posts that we've been looking for a job for this coming summer. We're too young to be called retired, we're not independently wealthy, and we've never worked in a position that offered a pension plan. But we don't mind earning a living when there's a light at the end of the tunnel!

Send cash!

In Guatemala, they use the quetzale as money. There are approximately 8 quetzales to one dollar. We've had to make a little cheat sheet so we know how much things cost. Our problem yesterday was that we needed some cash!

From the border to Quetzaltenango (Xela)

Okay, when we left you in yesterday's post we had just departed from the border circus. From there, we had two choices. There's a northern route to Xela, and southern route.

In to Guatemala!

Well, we made it! I won't go into detail about the whole day yet because I want to save some for tomorrow morning's blog post and then we'll get back on schedule with our regular morning updates.

Puerto Arista to Tapachula

We decided that it wasn't worth the effort to try and post the blog first thing Monday morning and that we were better off getting an early start and trying to be as prepared as possible for our Guatemala border crossing tomorrow (Tuesday) morning!

Huatulco to Puerto Arista

Just a short update this morning, and sorry it's late. There is no decent internet here, and even though we do get a cell signal, the internet is slow as molasses, so no pictures!

Huatulco (day 3)

When we got up yesterday morning, we had sort of planned to move on. But we got a little lazy and before we knew it, it was past 9:00am and we hadn't lifted a finger to get packed up. So we decided to stay another day!

Huatulco (day 2)

This campground is a kind of a funny location. It has a golf course on one side, and a chunk of forest on the other, and then a big resort. On the other side of the golf course there are two more large resorts...a Barcelo property, and a Dreams resort.

Camping in Huatulco

There is really only one option for camping in Huatulco. But it's a pretty decent option if you don't need to be plugged in to electricity. We've been here before with the motorhome, and now we're here with the little blue car and the tent! Let me tell you how our day went yesterday...

Next stop, Huatulco!

We're heading further south (actually more east than south!) this morning along Mexico's Pacific coast. Not going far, only about 120 kms (75 miles) to the resort town of Huatulco. No idea where we're staying, but there is a campground there and of course we have the tent if we need it.

RV Parks in Puerto Escondido

We've been to Puerto Escondido with our 28 foot class A motorhome several times. But we've never had to find somewhere to park because we've always stayed with friends. We noticed the other day that one of the larger trailer parks on the main road didn't seem open this year so we decided to check out all of the possibilities here.

Want to Housesit? Top Tips to Get Started...

This is the first of a two-part guest post by James Cave of Trusted HouseSitters. As you know, we like to housesit and when James offered to give you all some valuable information, I thought it was worth sharing!

Accurate information

Even with all of the resources available on the internet, it is still sometimes difficult to get accurate information. We've been doing a lot of research regarding our upcoming Guatemala trip and one of the things we've been trying to find out is how much we will have to pay to cross the border.

The Funniest Book Ever!

Okay, I know this isn't a book review club, but we've had a bit more time to spend reading by the pool and when I like something I have to tell you about it!

You try to do the right thing, but sometimes...

Our regular readers will remember when our tourist visa's were stolen back in November. We think we've followed all the right procedures to try and get them replaced, but holy cow, they don't make it easy!

Sunset Point Resort Hotel

I promised to tell you more about the place we're staying, and there is certainly more to tell. This is not your typical hotel, although the biggest difference comes from the attitude of the owner, not the buildings or the rooms or the services.

Big news!

We love traveling, but one of the drawbacks is the lack of time with family. Sure, skype and internet access have made this a lot easier than it would be without those electronic marvels, but it's still not the same as being there in person.

Thanks for setting us straight!

First, I want to thank everybody who left a comment on yesterday's post. The vast majority of you said we should be going to Guatemala, and of course you're right! So, as our facebook fans already know, we have made the decision to do exactly that.

Indecision

We're normally really good at being decisive about something. You weigh the pros and cons, and you make a decision. Simple, right? Well for some reason we've been having a hard time with this Guatemala thing. But I think we've finally made up our minds.

Time for a holiday!

We had our first telephone interview for a summer job yesterday morning. Not telling you what we're doing or where we're doing it until it's confirmed though!

Day trip to Playa Roca Blanca

Our friend Alfredo only has Sunday as a day off work, so we took advantage of that by making a day trip out to Playa Roca Blanca. This is a beach about 40 kms (25 miles) north (west?) of Puerto Escondido. We've driven by the entrance to this beach several times with the motorhome and always wondered what it was like.

Geese can be mean!

A bit of a lazy day yesterday. You don't want to be doing very much activity anyhow...it's pretty warm down here. By 11:00am or so the temperature is up to 32C (92F) where it stays until the sun goes down.

Playa Ventura to Puerto Escondido

Yesterday's post was late so you might want to go back and check it first if you missed it.

So we took off from Playa Ventura at a few minutes before 9:00am. We have done this drive several times with the motorhome, and it's been about a six hour drive. To do 275 kms (171 miles). Slow going, lots of little towns and topes.

Acapulco to Playa Ventura

Sorry for the delay in today's post. Our cellular stick wasn't picking up a very good signal, so when we left this morning, we just decided to wait until this evening. Now that we're at Puerto Escondido, we're connected but it's very slow. There won't be much in the way of pictures if it doesn't improve!

Acapulco (day 2)

We're not actually in Acapulco. We're about 13 kms (8 miles) northwest of the city, up the coast on a spit of land that has a lake on one side and the ocean on the other. In fact, we won't be going in to Acapulco at all.

Tent camping in Acapulco!

We left Taxco just after 8:30am. Tried to say goodbye to our couchsurfing host Efrain, but couldn't find him. Managed to say goodbye to his father though, and he'll pass on the message. Don't normally like to use couchsurfing for only one night, but we had expressed this in advance and Efrain was still very gracious to accept us. We had about a four hour drive ahead of us to get to Acapulco, so we wanted an early start.

Taxco, Guererro

We drove to the city of Taxco yesterday. It was a cloudy day and not great for picture taking. In fact, it was spitting with rain for the section from Valle de Bravo to Toluca. Our friend Paco met us in Toluca and guided us through the city to the highway heading south. Thanks Paco!

Acapulco tomorrow!

We're up early and hitting the road this morning. Overnighting in Taxco, and then Acapulco tomorrow. We've been in Mexico for two and a half months and haven't seen the ocean yet! I have to admit, I'm ready for some sun and sand.

A flooded town?

We had been told about a village near here that was flooded due to a hydroelectric dam that was built in the 1950's. Apparently the steeple of the church from the flooded town was still visible above the water line and it sounded like an interesting thing to see. But apparently there is more to the story...

Hike with a view

We started out yesterday with a plan to drive around the lake, and then hike up to the place where some of the hang gliders take off from. The map looked like you could drive around, but it turned out the road was more suitable for horses!

In the middle of nowhere with no gasoline!

Yesterday, we decided to take the little blue car out for a tour. We wanted to go to the town of Donato Guerra, about 23 kms (15 miles) away. Well what started out as a tour, soon became a mystery tour!

Kayaking is fun!

We took one of Chago's kayaks out for a spin on the lake yesterday morning. Almost a two hour spin! We made sure we left fairly early while the lake was still calm. The winds tend to pick up by 11:00am or so, and then there's a steady breeze most of the afternoon.

The beach is nice, but...

We've been in Mexico for almost two and a half months now and haven't seen the ocean yet. That's okay, we're heading there next week. A lot of people come to Mexico strictly to spend their winter on the beach. I guess that's what they want, but we think that they are missing the best of what Mexico has to offer.

Grocery Shopping in Mexico

Yesterday was a day of rest. Well, until we had to go into town to do some grocery shopping. We relaxed most of the morning, and then had a snack before deciding to go into town and do some grocery shopping. We headed out around 12:30pm.

Thermal Baths and Gorditas!

You might want to check out yesterday's post first because we were so busy that it actually didn't get posted until late afternoon. Why? We wanted to get an early start because we had another busy day planned. in fact, we were in the car by 7:30am, heading south to the spa town of Ixtapan de le Sal.

Toluca, a birthday party, and a wedding reception!

You'll notice that we're a little late posting the blog today. That's because we simply haven't had time until now! Non stop fun since we arrived here at Paco and Oti's and the fun carried through until today with a short break for some sleep last night. So, what were we up to yesterday...?

Hike up the 15,300 foot Toluca Volcano

It's not as bad as it sounds, because you are able to drive to the 13,600 foot level!

And we never made it to the top of the highest peak, but we did make it to 14,700 feet, so we weren't far off. Still, it was a great day and we enjoyed the hike and we got some fantastic photos.

Nice day to do nothing.

We needed to rest up yesterday to prepare for a big day today...we're headed to the top of the Toluca Volcano. Never been at an altitude of 15,300 feet and still been on the ground! There's supposed to be a road that goes part of the way up, but we will have to hike the last 2 kms or so. Hopefully the skies will be clear and we'll get some great views.

The Monarch Butterflies at Piedras Herrado

Yesterday, we drove about 35 kms (22 miles) through the town of Valle de Bravo, and then uphill all the way, into the mountains south of the city of Toluca. Our destination? The Piedras Herrado Butterfly Sanctuary.

Mexico City is sucking up all the water!

As soon as we arrived here last Saturday, the first thing we noticed was the water level of the lake. This is the third time we've been here at Valle de Bravo and Lago Avandaro, and each time the water level of the lake has been lower than the time before.

What happened to yesterday?

Monday just seems to have disappeared. We didn't do much of anything, yet the day just flew by! We did manage to go out and get some groceries and we stocked up on some beverages for our time here. Speaking of which...

Settled in to the little apartment

Yesterday was a relaxing day. We spent the morning getting the rest of our things into the apartment and sorting out our "kitchen". This apartment does have a kitchen, but it's a separate locked room off the balcony and there's no key!

What can happen in ten months?

Well, quite a lot apparently!

It was almost exactly ten months ago that we were here at Embarcadero Chago (Chago's Marina) on Lago Avandaro near Valle de Bravo.

Where do I start...

This is a fairly long post because it covers almost two full days! We keep fairly busy, so when we miss doing our daily blog post (like we did yesterday!) it's hard to remember where to start. Good thing we take a lot of pictures to help refresh our memories! Okay, when we left you last, we were about to hop on the local bus to go to central Morelia.

Hacienda Contreras to Morelia

Originally planned on leaving at 10:00am yesterday morning, but it was almost 11:30am by the time we finally headed out. Said goodbye to some people, sorry we missed most of you! Had we stuck around to say goodbye to everyone it would have been another half hour!

Hitting the road!

As much as we love it here at Hacienda Contreras, it's time to go out and find some new adventures! We're heading out this morning with the little blue car on a two and a half month Mexican road trip.

Hiking in Guatemala

Yesterday was a wet and windy day, and it got even more wet and windy through last night. It was definitely an indoor kind of a day and I spent a few hours of it researching travel in Guatemala.

Welcoming in 2013

We went with Chris to Sahuayo yesterday morning. Had to pick up some minor grocery items for last night's New Years Eve party, as well as some wiring and special nuts and bolts to fasten Chris and Juan's solar panel to the roof of their trailer.