Crossed the border yesterday...

And we are now back in the United States.

We had a good night's sleep in the parking lot at Garcia Caverns and we headed out at 8:00am. We had to make our way around Monterrey, and we took the very expensive cuota (toll road) to do it. Cost was 196 pesos ($10 USD, $13.50 CAD) to do the 20 km (13 mile) stretch. But, the road was in great shape and not much traffic. Worth it to avoid the Monterrey traffic.

Visit to Garcia Caverns

Yesterday, we headed from Saltillo to Garcia Caverns. Just a short drive of 83 kms (52 miles), but it involved a bit of bad roads going through the town of Garcia.

Ruth and I had been to Garcia Caverns our very first winter RV'ing in Mexico. At the time, we had camped out for the night in the parking lot at the base of the caverns. We figured we would be fine doing the same thing with the group, and we were.

We don't splurge very often

Yesterday morning, we took the group to central Saltillo. It's not the most exciting city, but the central area is still worth a visit in our opinion.

Some of us walked both ways, about 3 kms (1.8 miles) each way, and others took Uber.

Getting close to the border

Yesterday was the longest drive of our four month trip. We did 375 kms (232 miles) yesterday. Normally, that would be a super long day of driving in Mexico, but the route between Zacatecas and Saltillo has long straight stretches of 4 lane highway, so you are able to do most of it at highway speeds.

We set out at 8:00am with slightly overcast skies...

Well, our Mexico RV Caravan trip is winding down

Yesterday was a relax day. We never left the Hotel/RV Park. Puttered around, checked the tire pressure... had a nap... that kind of thing. We had been in need of a relax day, especially since today is a long travel day.

We only have three more nights in Mexico!

Finally made it to the mask museum!

I think this is our fifth visit to the city of Zacatecas. After the first one or two, we learned about the Rafael Coronel Mask Museum. It's located in a beautiful old Monastery that was built in the 1500's.

But every time we have gone to visit it, it has been closed!

Back to the scene of the crime...

The day started off saying goodbye to Wendy. She's headed to the border a couple of days early because her fridge went out and we think it needs a new board. Also, she's flying back to Canada and wanted to give herself a few extra days in Texas.

La Quemada Ruins, and arrived at Zacatecas

We headed out of the Las Fuentes Water Park at around 8:00am. An early start considering it was less than a three hour drive to Zacatecas. But, we wanted to make a detour to show the group the interesting La Quemada ruins site a little bit south of Zacatecas.

Ruth and I had been here before... back in March of 2009, almost exactly ten years ago to the day!

Splishin' and a splashin'!

What a fun day we had yesterday!

We had stayed overnight Thursday night at the Parque Acuatico Las Fuentes (Water Park) in the middle of nowhere near Colotlan, Jalisco, Mexico. And we planned on staying overnight Friday night as well to give ourselves a full day of Friday fun at the water park.

Terrible roads and fantastic scenery!... photos updated!

We set off at 8:00am from Etzatlan.

We had to head through the outskirts of the big city of Guadalajara in order to take our exit road heading north to Zacatecas. This was going to be a new route for Ruth and I, and of course the rest of the group as well... normally we would take the Mex 54 highway heading north through Aguascalientes... but this time, we were happy to try something new for us.

One of Mexico's amazing natural wonders...

Yesterday, we did a day trip to Piedras Bola... the Stone Balls. It's a little known natural phenomenon that apparently has only happened in two other places in the world.

And it's not easy to get to!

And then there were six

Our Mexico RV Caravan is getting smaller as Brian and Kathy headed to the beach this morning. They live in British Columbia and decided to take the shorter (for them) west coast route out of Mexico.

So now we are only six rigs and 10 people!

Yet another fantastic day in Mexico

Yesterday morning at 9:00am we set out with our hiking partners Bob and Denise, with a goal of getting to the overlook behind the town of Etzatlan. Ruth and I have done this walk before, and it winds through the valley with a steady uphill gain on a quiet dirt road.

Once again, it was a beautiful day with clear blue skies. High 28C (82F), low 9C (48F).

And now we are seven...

Our group of eight RVs in this Mexico RV Caravan is now down to seven. Sadly, we said goodbye to Garth (http://wanderingwserenity.blogspot.com/ ) as his sister came up to join him to the trip down to Puerto Vallarta to visit family.

Also, he lives in California, so it makes sense for him to head up the west coast to California instead of up to Laredo and then through Texas.

Tequila!

We are close to the famous town by the name of Tequila... only about 40 kms (25 miles) away. But we've decided not to take the group there. Ruth and I have been before, and we found it a bit touristy, and with touristy prices to go along with it.

So instead, we found a local distillery in the next town. And what a great choice that was!

Only two weeks left!

We originally had five nights planned here at Delia's Trailer Park in Etzatlan. But there is so much to see and do here, and everybody likes it so we are extending our stay to seven nights.

Another reason that we have this flexibility is that we had been planning on visiting the city of Aguascalientes, but there is only one RV option close to the city and they have told me that they only have three available sites. So we've changed the route a little bit and we are cancelling Aguascalientes. That left us with a few extra nights.

Happy to be back in Etzatlan!

Yesterday, we did the drive from Chimulco Water Park in Villa Corona to Delia's Trailer Park in Etzatlan. Uneventful drive, but we took the route through the mountains just for the views. Ruth and I have been this way a couple of times before.

We think this is our fourth or fifth visit to Etzatlan.

Time for a change of scenery

Well, we had a pretty good week at Chimulco Water Park here in Villa Corona. But, a week in one spot is enough...we have more of Mexico to show these people!

So we're moving on to see Bonnie at Delia's Trailer Park in Etzatlan. It's a farming town with a population around 17,000 and it's located only 45 kms (28 miles) from the popular tourist town of Tequila.

Pizza Party!

Tuesday is market day in Villa Corona, so a bunch of us walked into town. We had actually planned on having lunch there, but we were a bit early for lunch so we just picked up some fruits and veggies and walked back.

Also, it was pizza day! We had made a plan to have pizza for dinner for the group, so we stopped by Mr. Bigs Pizza to place our order and have it delivered later in the day, but the place wasn't open yet.

First thing we saw was Mexico's national bird

We had found an old dirt road that went from here at Villa Corona all the way to the town of Estipac 10kms away.

So yesterday morning we set out at 8:00am with our hiking partners Bob and Denise. It sure is nice to have some people in the group who are avid hikers like ourselves!

That's a lot of bull!

A relaxing morning for the most part yesterday, then at 11:00am we got together with whoever wanted to join us for a walk into the central area of the town of Villa Corona. Walking, it is 1.5 kms (just under a mile) one way to the central plaza. Some people took a moto-taxi.... one of those three wheeled combo motorcycle taxicabs.

We wanted to try to get to the Sand Church.... Templo de Arena. It's just one of those oddball small town attractions here in Mexico that you won't see anywhere else in the world.

Saturday is still a work day for a lot of people in Mexico...

Yesterday was a nice relaxing day.

We started it off with a 9 km (5.6 mile) hike. There were 7 of us to start off. We didn't really have a destination in mind, other than heading out along a causeway to see some bird life in a marshy area near the park.

I can see!

Yesterday, we took six other members of our RV Caravan group into the big city of Guadalajara. We are staying at Villa Corona for 7 nights, so Ruth and I wanted to get into Guadalajara the first full day in this area so that I could try to order some new eyeglasses and have them ready by the time we leave.

The last pair I had were from Zenni Optical online in June 2017. They were pretty flimsy and the lenses were getting scuffed up. I really needed a new pair of glasses, and I think my prescription had changed as well.

The deal is done!

Well, the money has arrived in the Swiss couple's bank account and we have officially purchased an RV in Australia! They will bring the rig to the storage place on Monday where it will sit until our arrival around May 20th.

Many of you made suggestions on how to transfer the money.

A lot can change in only three years!

Yesterday was another relax day. Ruth went into town with a couple of the others to pick up some stuff at the market. This area produces a lot of berries... raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries and they are so delicious and inexpensive.

And while she was doing that, Sherman and I spent some quality time together.

Lake Chapala water level is high!

Yesterday, we walked in with some of the group to the nearby town of Jocotepec. We had been to a roadside restaurant back in 2016 that sells only birria. Birria is like a type of soup/stew usually made with goat or sheep, but we have seen in made with beef as well.

It was about a 45 minute walk from the RV Park to the restaurant.

Our life is a logistical nightmare sometimes...

Well, I just spent the last hour and a half this morning on the phone to various parts of the world trying to figure out how to pay for an Australian RV using a Canadian bank account to a couple in Switzerland while I am in Mexico!

Our life is a logistical nightmare sometimes... but we wouldn't have it any other way!

We bought an RV for Australia!

Yes, the same rig we were talking to you about yesterday. We spent some time on the phone with the Swiss owners Raffael and Jasmin and they showed us some live video of the rig. The internet is wonderful sometimes, isn't it?

We came to an agreement, and now it is just the logistics to figure out!

A possible rig for Australia

As our regular readers know, we are going to Australia for three months starting in mid May. I've been keeping my eyes open for an RV or campervan of some kind just to get an idea on prices and what's available down under.

There are a lot of backpacker campervans... ranging in price from $6,000 AUD to $15,000 AUD ($4,500 USD to $11,000 USD) (the Canadian dollar is almost on par with the Australian dollar).

Just another adventure in Mexico...

Yesterday, we took the group ATV'ing! We had checked out one rental place a couple of days ago, and they had some pretty beat up looking ATV's for 300 pesos an hour. And some nicer ones for 500 pesos an hour.

We called some taxis to come and get us and bring us into Mazamitla. One of the cab drivers said he knew of a place that has better machines, so he took us there.

February Expenses

Well, we're off to a pretty good start on the year.

$1,430 CAD in January, and $1,471 CAD in February. (Subtract about 25% for $USD equivalent). This is pretty typical of our expenses when we are traveling here in Mexico. Food, booze, and restaurants are all reasonably priced... it is only gasoline that is now considered expensive to our travel expenses here.

Haven't done that for a long time!

Usually, a good hike takes us somewhere between 7 to 15 kms (4 to 9 miles).

Yesterday, we set off at 9:00am, and by the time we returned at around 3:30pm we had done 23.6 kms (14.6 miles). Yikes! Haven't done that for a long time!