Lesson Learned

I have been rereading my blog and am amazed at the spelling errors, misplaced pictures and general lack of understanding of how this blog works. Oh well - as Mo says "such is life".

When we crossed the border into Mexico we could not understand why we were not stopped and required to purchase the usual papers such as tourist visas etc. We knew we needed a visa, but had been told that we could get one at a local bank. To make a long story short, you have to travel to Guaymas and walk from Government building to Government building before they can figure out what we needed. After finally finding the correct place we were told we had to pay a penalty of $25 each for the tourist cards (so double the ordinary cost) or drive to Hermosillo airport to get them without penalty (approx. 100 miles).

The trip to Guaymas was an adventure in itself. We always travel by the local bus system and are continually amazed at how these buses keep running. The bus is usually old with windows that do not open or close. Guaymas is approximately 15 kms from San Carlos, but it is another world in terms of shops and numbers of people.

Merry Christmas

December 25th was a very relaxing day in San Carlos. The weather was awesome and the people were outgoing and friendly. We started our day with a jog by the beach and then we enjoyed 18 holes as a twosome on the golf course. We had planned to have the traditional meal of turkey and perogies [thanks EH], but the Caddy Shack Sports Bar offered a Christmas Day special of 18 holes followed by a mug of beer and a cheeseburger. Who can refuse that offer? The turkey meal will be all that much better on Boxing Day.

Most restaurants and businesses were closed for the day and the few that were open were well attended by tourists. Our neighbours went to the Yacht Club and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves - maybe too much. We shall see this morning. Totonaka had a potluck Christmas dinner planned for the pool, but we chose golfing over visiting.

The disco across they street had a huge party last night and the music was blaring until 3:00 am. There were sirens so I have to assume the police had to shut it down again. Henry [the night watchman] is having a very difficult time controlling the people who try to park in Totonaka and walk to the disco. They have been treatening him and also trying to bribe him with cocaine. The disco is becoming a major problem for Joseph and he is trying very hard to shut it down.

Christmas Eve - Boat Parade

When we first arrived in San Carlos we decided that we would attend a Christmas service at a Mexican church. We even went so far as to get the directions to a large Catholic church in Guaymas. This probably would have been quite interesting as Luis told us that the actual Mexican Christmas service was very vocal and long. In fact, he told us we would get very tired of all the talking and as he called it "gabbing". Even so, we were prepared to attend until we found out that Christmas services in this part of Mexico took place at midnight on Christmas Eve. One of the basic rules we have for Mexico is to not drive at night, so this idea was abandoned.

Instead, we walked across the street and watched the San Carlos community present their boat parade. Thirteen yachts, decorated with lights, sailed from the marina to Pilar Condos, well past Totonaka. Mexicans and tourists lined the streets cheering and lighting fireworks. It was a unique and interesting night.

Athletic Club San Carlos

I tried to mentioned previously that San Carlos has remained relatively unchanged, but we are now finding that this is not completely true. This little village/aged hippy haven now has a new Athletic Club just two blocks from Totonaka. It is a state-of-the-art centre with a small lane pool, tennis court, basketball nets, cafeteria, Pilates room, spinning room, wall climbing, baby sitting services along with excellent machines.

We are now in such pain and we hurt in places we didn't know we had! We decided to join the club and have been working out daily since we started. That, along with our daily bike rides, should keep us young. You think?

Totonaka Xmas Party

Totonaka RV hosted a Christmas party this afternoon for the residents of the park. It was an appetizer potluck event with Joseph supplying free beer and margaritas. Most people made an effort to attend as it is a great place to meet others. We spent all morning making boneless chicken wings and at the last minute decided to keep them for ourselves - I know that isn't in the true Christmas spirit, but they looked too appealing to share with strangers. By the way, we did take take another dish!

We had some interesting conversations this afternoon with people from Spruce Grove, Alberta and from British Columbia. It appears that the trek back to Saskatchewan is very common. In fact, the couple from Alberta are in the process of moving to Rosthern.

The park is filling up as people are trying to find a place to settle in for Christmas. Many will move on the 26th as they are heading further south. A few other couples are leaving Totonaka because of the noise issue. The disco across the street has reopened and apparently the noise is unbearable Thursday to Saturday. I say apparently, as Fred and I have slept through every night of this. Thank goodness for deep sleepers.

We just spent 30 minutes taking down our Christmas lights and our canopy as there may be a storm moving in from Arizona and we don't want to get up in the middle of the night to complete that task. Other than that, it has been a pretty routine day in Totonaka Land.

Getting Adjusted

We love Mexico and the Mexican people, but the first week is always spent asking "why?" It takes us that long to adjust to living in a confined space along with adjusting to the climate shock. With the warmer climate comes the flies, bugs and garbage. The country has improved drastically in the last few years, but when you go to non-tourist areas you need to accept the differences in sanitary conditions.

Today was a beautiful day that we spent biking around the village. There are some changes from last year, but for the most part San Carlos has remained

San Carlos

We have arrived! We took a different route to San Carlos and were pleasantly surprised at the condition of the four lane highway. We didn't have to stop for customs or any border inspections so we saved considerable time.

We are camped at Totonaka RV Park. Our first full day was spent just relaxing and today we finally undertook the task of organizing and cleaning. My secret stash takes up far too much room!

We did some visiting this afternoon, spending a little time with Luis. Senor Ping and Snowflake have met this kind gentleman and I'm sure they understand.

There are only 50 RVs in Totonaka [out of 140 sites] but Joseph, the owner, tells us that will change immediately after Christmas. Many units have Christmas light displays and we will try to compete with our Dollar Store purchase - Fred promises they will be up by Ukrainian Christmas.

Organ Pipe National Monument

Because Organ Pipe National Monument is located on the Mexican border, it was a perfect stop for us. It gave us the opportunity to get an early start in the morning plus we were able to see some of the most amazing cactus in the United States. The Organ Pipe cactus is only found in this particular part of the country so it is a rarity. There are many other varieties of cacti found here, but the Organ Pipe is the real draw.

The park is very large and isolated and as such is a very big player in the illegal immigration of Mexicans. The border patrol reminds tourist to report any signs of litter in the hills and desert. Litter usually is an indication of Mexicans in hiding.

Princess Margaret is Ready to Move

We arrived in Ajo yesterday afternoon and remembered why we enjoyed it last time. Just think of an old western movie with the elders of the town sitting on the front step of the local poolhall spitting "chew" and you have found Ajo.

The town boasts many gas stations [95% shut down], many junk shops and only one grocery store. Surprisingly, the two RV Parks are top-notch and relatively cheap. It also is home to a unique animal called the Javelina - it is a small wild boar about the size of a big dog. We are taking bets on who was the most frightened when one of them paid us a surprise visit this evening. [Didn't think I could move that fast, did you?]

As you can see by the picture, Maggie refuses to get out of the truck - she thinks we may leave her because the javelina may be better behaved.

Ready to Move

We have been in Yuma longer than intended and we need to get on the road to Mexico. This is a diverse city with many different activities going on at once. We have not been able to visit many of the sites as we have been extremely busy stocking up for Mexico.

Although Mexico has become very Americanized and most foods can be found in their larger stores, we still needed to purchase many of the low fat and fat free foods that are not common in San Carlos.

The weather has been okay, but not hot. I still am wearing long pants and Fred has yet to remove his jacket.

We are moving to Ajo Arizona tomorrow morning and will spend three days in and around there. Part of the time will be at Organ Pipe State Park with no electricity so there will be no communication until we get to San Carlos later on the 15th.

Ready to Move

Doug at Yuma?

We have yet to feel at home as we seem to be constantly moving the unit, setting up and taking down. Yuma feels the closest to arrival, but nothing will be right until we have arrived at San Carlos.

We needed to buy groceries and "tools" so we hit the flea markets today. We spent the day basking in the sun and spending money. The new flea market had a group of musicians entertaining throughout the day. Doug in his retirement? - as long as he doesn't bring his classical guitar.

We are camped in a smaller, unassuming RV resort that is off the main interstate. The front desk is manned by a Windsor, Ontario couple [appears to be common in this area]. After a few minutes of questioning [for Snowflake and Sr.Ping} we found out that the parks are filling up quite rapidly but they have some spaces available in February, especially for smaller units like ours.

Arriving in Laughlin

It seems that as soon as you leave home you expect warmer weather, but that's not always the case. It was cold when we left Eatonia and it was cold right down to Mesquite. We also fought strong side winds most of the way. We were so grateful to see the "Welcome to Nevada" sign because that usually means "farewell to the jackets".

We spent two days in Mesquite before moving on to Avi RV Park just outside of Laughlin, Nevada. We tried to avoid the heavy traffic in Vegas and as a result we took a bypass through the Valley of Fire and Lake Mead. It was not a shortcut and we won't do this again. BUT the scenery was spectacular.

The weather forecast is for highs of 10 in Laughlin accompanied by showers, so we are off to Yuma as soon as we get the unit dewinterized - probably Friday.

'Twas the Night Before

'Twas the night before leaving
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Not even my spouse...

I had great intentions of completing this poem, but as usual we were sidelined by numerous last minute details and visits with friends. Nevertheless, we were able to get on the road to "warmer winters" before 9:00am. At times it appeared that Maggie was the only one ready to go.

The weather was cold in Eatonia [-19] and it was cold in Great Falls [-14] when we stopped for the night. No sunshine yet, but no wind either - that's a fair trade.

The crossing at Coutts was a little busy, but we got through without a search. My secret wine stash remains safe!