Lara Beach east of Antalya, Turkiye.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Antalya, Turkiye.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Paris, France on May 1st.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Good news, and bad news...

By 8:30am yesterday morning, there were two guys underneath Sherman working away to remove the right front lower control arm and ball joint. It turned out that the ball joint itself had not broken at the stud... it had broken at the collar that holds it together. And strangely, it doesn't even seem to be that worn.

Anyhow, it needs a new ball joint, and we are going to get the one on the opposite side replaced as well.

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Sherman - Towed to a truck mechanic shop in Juchitan, Mexico!

We sat on the side of the busy road for a total of about 28 hours. Essentially, doing nothing. Good thing we had a decent cell signal so we had communication and internet access.

The tow truck had been arranged the night before, but they had said they couldn't make it there until about 11:00am. We had the impression that the towing company is very busy and that there aren't many towing companies in this area. The roadside assistance people were not able to find one to help us, and they had said that they would reimburse us up to $300 USD if we submitted the invoice to them once we found help.

Friday, March 2, 2018

Houston, we have a problem...

A big problem.

The day started off as planned, with a scheduled 8:00am departure from the orphanage. We got on the toll road going south towards Arriaga, and it was a decent enough road, although fairly busy.

Great scenery too!

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Sumidero Canyon boat trip, and back to the orphanage

The van was there to pick us up at 8:00am Wednesday morning to take us to the boat launch at Chiapa de Corzo. That is where you get the tour boats to take you into the nearby Sumidero Canyon. Ruth and I had done the canyon boat tour back in 2009, but we were looking forward to a return visit.

The dam was built in 1981. At that time, the river was just a series of un-navigable rapids, but with the rising waters from the dam, popular boat tours started in the spectacular canyon.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

San Cristobal and the surrounding villages of Chamula and Zinacantan

Yesterday was the day trip to San Cristobal de las Casas. Ruth and I have been there twice before, 3 nights in February of 2009, and two nights at the end of February 2013. We like San Cristobal, but it sure has grown in the nine years since the first time we were there.

San Cristobal is located in the mountains at an altitude of around 7,000 ft. Where we are parked with the motorhomes is only 1,400 ft. And San Cristobal is only 50 kms (30 miles), away so it is up hill all the way.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

We've said it before... smaller is easier when exploring Mexico in an RV

We sure enjoyed our experience at the orphanage, but boy it sure wasn't very relaxing for Ruth and I. On the go again yesterday morning as we had to finish spending the money. First stop was a papeleria... a paper goods store. The small town Mexico version of Office Depot!

This was a little one man operation, and he had everything! Veronica had made a list again, and it took them almost two hours to get everything together. Just adding everything up was time consuming...

Monday, February 26, 2018

Shopping for the orphanage

We had a long drive yesterday morning and we hit the road at 8:00am. Well, not that long as in distance, at only 333 kms (206 miles), but we know that you don't get anywhere fast in Mexico and so we planned on it taking five hours with minimal stops.

There was no easy way to get from Villahermosa to Ocozocoautla. The most direct route at 230 kms (143 miles) is a curvy mountain road that goes through small villages. If Ruth and I were on our own, we would have done it, but with 12 rigs it would have been a long slow journey.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Mexico RV Caravan Travel Day - Palenque to Villahermosa

We left Palenque on schedule right at 9:00am.

By 9:05am, we encountered a change in plans!

Entering the main road that runs beside the town, we saw some police cars, and then some detour signs. There was some kind of special bicycle race going on, and they had the main road closed off. The detour went through the town!

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Wow. We are a little overwhelmed...

By the generosity of our readers.

Two days ago, we asked if anybody wanted to help us buy some things for a local orphanage we will be staying at with our Mexico RV Caravan group.

In two days, 20 readers have donated a total of $1,670 in combined U.S. and Canadian dollars. Either way, it works out to over 30,000 pesos!

Friday, February 23, 2018

The fabulous Mayan ruins at Palenque

Our guide Salvador showed up exactly on schedule at 9:00am with two minivans to take our group to the Palenque archaeological site.

Ruth and I visited the Palenque ruins at the end of January 2009, and it has been our favorite ruins site out of the probably 10 or 12 other Mexico ruins we have been to. It has the best architecture, and the best surroundings, in our opinion.