Another year, another trip

Harry and I are planning for another trip to Mexico--this time in our minivan with only one dog, Maggie--and with a more limited scope. We're heading to Mazatlan and have rented an apartment there for five weeks. Because this trip won't be in Mohita, we've set up another blog to record our travels. Check it out at http://www.maggiestriptomazatlan.blogspot.com/

Final Thoughts on Mohita and Mexico

We arrived back in Victoria to a couple of inches of snow on our deck and the spring flowers just beginning to bloom. It felt pretty nice to be home and to sleep in our own comfy bed and have a whole house to move around in. The dogs ran into the house as happy as can be and seemed pleased to be able to hang out in the back yard.

We've been back home for almost two weeks now and in some ways it's as though we'd never been away. Our tans are fading and we're immersed in the details of our life in Victoria again. But when we look in our driveway, there she is: Mohita, the intrepid adventurer. What a lot of mileage we put on her (over 13,000 km). She took us through 20 degrees of latitude to the south and then back again, climbing from sea level to over 8,000 feet on more than one occasion. She introduced us to a great number of people we'd have never otherwise met--in mechanic shops, on the road, and in RV parks. It was an interesting trip and as Sue said, our worst experiences have become our best stories. Mohita is our hero. She helped us escape from what sounds like one of the worst winters ever, and even though we probably won't be taking her that far south again, we've realized that there is an abundance of camping opportunities here in BC and we're going to take advantage of them in the warmer weather (if it ever arrives in Victoria).

As for Mexico, we'll be visiting there again. Probably next winter for a couple of months but we'll try driving down in the van and renting an apartment somewhere. That way everyone who wants to can come and visit us there.

Back in the Pacific Northwest

We spent a nice day Tuesday driving up the Oregon Coast, then overnighted at Lincoln City and this morning drove up through Portland. It's a lovely time to drive through the countryside with all the fruit trees in bloom and daffodils and spring flowers scattered about. It's nice to be back in familiar landscapes but we are finding it very cold. It seems that Spring is very late this year and we even heard a forecast today for snow at higher elevations in Washington State.

We're looking forward to seeing Jamie this weekend if he can find a window of time between studying for his final exams. Then it's over to Victoria and a return to our normal life. I expect that we'll have a couple of weeks of confusion as we re-enter but we are looking forward to being back. Our house and our garden will need some attention, not to mention the paperwork and bills to sort out. After three months on the road we're eager to dive back into our life. The dogs too will be glad to get out of the “rolling kennel” and spend more time in the outdoors.

We undertook this trip in the spirit of exploration, not just of Mexico but also to look at possible ways of spending the winter now that we are semi-retired. Harry's idea was to find a way to get “two summers” a year, and we certainly fulfilled that goal. However, we've found out that we don't really want to spend one of them lined up in RV parks, no matter how lovely the weather. We found that RV parks have a lot of rules and a lot of established cliques. Also, there's a real lack of privacy in these places, where you can hear conversations from both sides, and the close quarters created difficulties for us in exercising the dogs.

We were surprised to find how many people in the RV parks actually live there year around. We met some people who had been “homeless” for a couple of years or more. Some of them travel around and stay for a while in different parts of the country, and then move on I guess. It makes sense if you enjoy the RV lifestyle and it's certainly cheaper than buying a house.

Our goal was more to get away in the winter though, and we have an idea for next year that doesn't include Mohita. We're going to look into an apartment rental somewhere in Mexico for a couple of months and drive down in our van. If we go to Mazatlan, it's only six days drive from Victoria and with the gas savings alone we can pay for motels on the way. But that will be for next year and perhaps another blog. As for this one, it's coming to an end. Unless there are more adventures or mechanical failures to report, you can assume that we'll be back in Victoria this weekend. Thanks for sharing our journey along the way.

The Lost Coast of California

Take a look at a map of California and you'll see that it's possible to drive along the coast from San Diego in the south all the way up to Crescent City at the north end--except for the area around Ukiah. Here the coast road sweeps inland through the Redwood trees and the steep hills. But west of that on Cape Mendocino is the lost coast. Very few people ever make it there because it's protected by steep hills (I'd call them mountains) and a very rough and twisty road. The last time we were through here to visit my cousin Greg and his family in Petrolia was ten years ago. We were driving a little Toyota and although we remembered the beauty of the drive, we had forgotten the steepness.

To get to Petrolia you leave 101 at Weott and drive through a magical grove of Redwood trees on a narrow road that used to be paved but hardly counts now as there are so many potholes. From there the road winds up and up, then down and up again through the most amazing views of hills and trees. We passed through the first little community of Honeydew and the the road climbed up again to Petrolia. It took us more than two hours to go about 40 miles. But the amazing thing is that Mohita made it without a glitch. We met Greg and a couple of his kids on the main street and then he guided us up behind the town on an even narrower road along a ridge and into his beautiful property.

He and his family have lived here for more than 25 years and they have created a peaceful retreat that feels like Shangri-La. Level fields surrounded by hills covered with incredible trees. They're not actually raising sheep anymore as Greg does a lot of building and Margie is teacher and principal of the Petrolia High School (now with only a few students). When we last visited, Greg and Margie and their four children lived in a small house made from sawn wood and shingles, but they were in the process of building a new house of rammed earth. The old house has been moved now and the new house is pretty well finished. It's a beautiful building, with thick walls and deep windowsills, designed to take advantage of the site. Fireplaces give heat and banks of windows allow in south light. They have done an incredible amount of work on the house and the garden to create this paradise.

We spent the evening there and took a walk with the dogs the next morning. Greg and Margie have two border collies as well and after a period of introduction the four dogs romped around together without too much problem. Geordie was in heaven and clearly demonstrated that he wanted to stay there forever. We had to drag him back into the motorhome when we left.

We headed out on the north route that goes to Ferndale, thinking that the road might be easier to travel. No such luck--it is just as steep and narrow and rough. One hill in particular was incredibly steep, but once again Mohita handled it. By the time we were in Ferndale, the brakes were pretty hot and we took a break to let them cool down.

Ferndale itself is a pretty down with an almost intact Victorian Main Street and a lot of restored houses. But it paled after the views we'd had driving the lost coast. (These pictures give just a flavour.) This morning we're in Brookings, on the coast of Oregon and looking forward to a scenic drive to the Portland area.

Berkeley and Beyond

We managed to get back on the road reasonably early on Saturday morning and drove to Berkeley in time for a fabulous dinner of lamb and couscous. Helen and Sam are wonderful hosts and we've spent a nice weekend in the Berkeley hills. It's a lovely season to be here. The trees are blossoming and the Jasmine as well, plus many other flowers. We've been walking around with the dogs and the fragrance of the gardens is amazing. We spent Sunday exploring the gourmet food stores and galleries on Shattick Avenue. This morning we are heading out once the commuter traffic slows down a bit. We'll drive up Highway 101 and stop in to see family in Petrolia. This is a little town on Cape Mendocino and over a bit of a steep road. But if Mohita can do the canyon road into Sedona, she can pretty well handle anything.

The Mechanic Shop to Travelling Ratio

So--here we are again at another mechanic's shop. This time in Mojave, California--a desolate little town along the highway, dominated by freight trains, boarded-up buildings, and a compound of huge unmarked cargo planes. Mohita's rear wheels started making a noise and we thought perhaps it was brakes, but it turned out to be wheel bearings. We don't think they'd been replaced since she was new in 1978. As it happens, those particular kind of bearings are not that readily available, and we found this out after the old ones had been removed. Yes, here we are again camping in a mechanic's compound and waiting for the new bearings which are supposed to be here tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers!

I guess this is the time to thank all of our friends who politely refrained from telling us that we were crazy when we planned this trip with an antique motor home and two berserk border collies. We do appreciate your forbearance, mostly because we won't have to listen to "I told you so" when we get back--if we do get back. We hate to admit it, but we counted up and we have been into mechanic's shops eleven times on this trip. The ratio of mechanic time to travel time is looking pretty grim.

However, in spite of it all we're still having an overall good time. Occasionally we get the blues but most of the time we're still having fun. Tonight we are barbecuing behind a pile of used tires in the car repair compound. But you know what? It's actually a good thing--the dogs can wander around as if it's their own back yard and we've got space to spread out and set up our lawn chairs. The two dogs that normally guard this compound are fenced into another area tonight--but Harry made their day by giving them each a chunk of steak.

It's kind of incredible how we manage to have a good time in spite of the hardships. And we do keep reminding ourselves that the weather is beautiful. Unlike Victoria, which we hear is suffering from a very cold spring. Once we're on the road again, we'll be heading to San Francisco and then up to Petrolia, California to visit Joanna's cousins who live on a sheep farm there. And then home again.

A Hiatus in the Mojave Desert

After several long days of driving (again across deserts) we've holed up at a little town called Mojave so we can get Mohita's rear brakes checked tomorrow. It's no surprise that some things will need work after all the miles we've put on in the past few weeks. The brakes were making a bit of noise and rather than worry, we've decided to look into it. Besides, Harry needed a break from driving. Mojave is (you guessed it) in the Mojave desert. I think this is our fourth or fifth desert on this trip--and they are getting a little bit boring. We've degenerated into some drastic methods of passing the time, like racing with trains, playing numbers games with road sign distances, conversing with dogs and with Mohita. It could be worse, we haven't started counting road kill yet.

I think that this all signifies that we are road weary and starting to yearn for home. The only problem of course is that we still have to cover around 1,500 miles. So a little break in Mojave is probably a good thing. We've checked into a Days Inn with free wireless internet, a big bed and even a bathtub. Tomorrow morning we'll get the brakes checked out and then, hopefully, head up to the Bay Area to see our friends Helen and Sam for a short visit before continuing north.

Maggie and Geordie have been awesome travellers. When we take on long distance drives they just hunker down in their chosen spots and go into suspended animation. Maggie sprawls out on the couch and Geordie curls up behind the passenger's seat with his nose hanging over the edge so I can give him a scritch from time to time. They're suffering somewhat from lack of running and playing but we try to find a spot every day for a little dog running fun.

Tonight they'll have to be by themselves in Mohita as this motel doesn't allow dogs, but they are now so comfortable with their space here that it will be no problem. We've started calling Mohita the rolling kennel. A good clean out and vacuuming will be in order on our return.

Desert Rock Forms of all Kinds

It's been a couple of days full of incredible desert rock formations, starting with Shiprock in New Mexico and ending with the red rock canyons of Sedona Arizona. Not to mention Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon. It has been amazing and beautiful and in between times both boring and frightening. The boring part was along the huge Navajo Nation, which stretched for hundreds of miles across the top of New Mexico and Arizona. It's very flat so you can see the road for at least 30 miles ahead of you disappearing into the distance, and something about that makes the drive seem very long. Every so often there are stunning rock forms and occasionally some pretty horses, interspersed with depressing shanties. The frightening part was the canyon that descended from Flagstaff into Sedona. We could look down from one switchback to see cars on another one about a hundred feet below! The Grand Canyon was, well--big. It was an experience to see it and we're glad we went but by the time we got there the sky had clouded over so it was kind of misty and the colours were very muted. We spent the night at a campsite near the south rim and woke up to snow. So we scooted down to Flagstaff and then into this gorgeous red rock canyon area near Sedona. These formations are the most beautiful we've seen yet. But I have to say that after all that geological viewing it's nice to see some green leafy trees here in Sedona. I'm posting this from the Big O Tire store where we're getting a slow leak fixed. Here are some of the rock forms we've seen.

Abiquiu, the Apache Nation, and American Big Box Stores

We left Santa Fe and drove north along a scenic road west of Taos through Georgia O'keefe country. Around Abiquiu, at the Ghost Ranch where she lived out the later part of her life, the landscape is instantly recognizable from her many paintings of the area. The red rock cliffs and the river here are stunningly beautiful. Shortly after that the cliffs and rock faces give way to a high plateau that gradually climbs to 8,000 feet. We stopped at Chama where there were large areas of snow still on the ground and then headed south through the Apache reservation. This is an area of scattered rock formations, horse ranches, and old pick-up trucks that feels as if it's from another century. Then after more than 200 miles of being on back roads we arrived in Farmington, New Mexico, a prosperous city that seems to be in the centre of nowhere.

Farmington was a bit of a surprise. When we looked it up we saw just one RV listing called "Mom and Pops RV park." It was just off highway 64 in an old industrial area and didn't look that appealing. So we checked in our road atlas to see if there was by any chance a Walmart where we could camp. Sure enough there was a listing, which turned out to be five miles away. We drove the five miles through freeways loaded with chain restaurants and big box stores of every kind--all of them shiny and new. So here we are doing Walmart camping again, along with a few other rigs of varying sizes. We found that the Walmart Superstores are the perfect place to stock up for camping. They have everything we need, from dog food to stick-on hooks, to underwear--and in New Mexico they even sell a passably good California Chardonnay for $2.97.

Now we're stocked up and ready to reach the Grand Canyon tomorrow. The weather forecast doesn't look too bad (in the 50s during the day and down to freezing at night) so I think we can handle it.

Santa Fe and an amazing bus ride

After a night on the road staying at the Elephant Butte State Campground (where Geordie and Maggie had a couple of great swims in the lake) we arrived yesterday in Santa Fe. We're back up in the mountains at 7,200 feet and Spring is only just beginning here. Although it's sunny, the wind is still very cool and the trees are not even in leaf yet and there is still a lot of snow on the surrounding mountains. We saw some Forsythia and a few daffodils but it seems that Spring here doesn't really begin until mid-April. I think that Victoria gardens are weeks if not months ahead. Nonetheless it's really lovely here.

There's a central plaza area downtown surrounded by very old adobe buildings and churches. This is the tourist centre of town but it seems that a lot of the city's cultural events take place here as well. We went to the New Mexico Museum of Art in an old adobe building (pictured above) and saw some cutting edge art installations as well as an interesting show featuring the history of art in this area from the Pueblo peoples to the present time. The building was filled with well dressed art patrons from Santa Fe who were gathering for some kind of fund raising event. The outfits worn by these women were gorgeous.

Santa Fe has an amazing bus system, which we used today to get into the central plaza and back to our RV park on Cerillos a ways out of town. The bus shelters here are really special, with individual art and inscriptions relating to the location. For Harry and me being over 60, we paid only $1.00 each for an all-day pass. The bus ride back from town was a treat, with a big bellied driver who played Celine Dion music at top volume and sang along. He was super friendly and knew everyone that got on the bus. The bus has a ramp that can be put down so that wheelchairs can get on the bus and he helped a young woman in a big motorized chair on with the greatest of kindness and joking. She was a character who knew everyone on the ride as well. Parents and kids got on and waved and grinned and yakked, and conversations were swirling around the whole time. After the driver helped the woman in the wheelchair off the bus at Walmart, people were all commenting about how well she does getting out and around in her chair.

The bus driver guessed that we were from the Trailer Ranch and people started asking us where we were from. It was kind of like being at a moving coffee party. The funny thing is that it didn't even end when we got off the bus. After we got back to Mohita we took the dogs out for a walk and we saw the same bus coming back up the road. The driver recognized us and waved, and later we met the woman in the wheelchair who war going home from Walmart and had a little chat. What a friendly town this seems to be!

We're heading out tomorrow though to drive north towards the Grand Canyon. It's about five hundred miles and we're taking some secondary roads so it will be a couple of days before we get there, barring snowstorms which may still be a possibility. If this happens though, we'll head back south and take a warmer route to the coast.

Silver City and the Gila Cliff Dwellings

We've spent a couple of lovely days in this area. The first day here we met up with our friends Ches and Allison, who we met in Alamos, Mexico. They have been on the road since June and are camping in a small van, looking now to buy property somewhere in this area. It was fun to have dinner together and catch up on what we had each been doing.

On Tuesday we drove north to the amazing Gila Cliff Dwellings. This is the remains of a community built inside natural cliffs about 750 years ago. There are many unknowns about the Mogollon group that lived here. The intriguing question is why they abandoned the place after only a generation. There are many theories, but the most surprising one came from a man we met while touring the site. He goes by the name of “Wizard David” and it seems he makes his living by doing “guided shamanic journeys.” He was there dressed in his amulets with a wealthy woman from Colorado and talked to us about his theory of this place.

Wizard David says this site doesn't match any of the other ruins in the area. He claims that it was settled by extra-terrestrials with wings when their spaceship crashed nearby. He says the T-shaped doors are proof that they flew up into the caves and he points to some unusually cylindrical holes as proof that they had advanced technology. His theory is that they were rescued after 20 years and went by spaceship back to where they came from.

We found his theories a bit far-fetched and felt the place was amazing enough on its own without the need for thoughts of flying ET's. It really is wonderful to see the buildings inside the caves high up in the cliffs and to know that people lived lives there hundreds of years ago. The surrounding country is a stunningly beautiful wilderness area up by the continental divide and and criss-crossed by trails and the Gila River with hot springs here and there.

We camped one night along the Gila River and the dogs had the greatest time swimming in the wide slow-flowing stream. It was perfect for Geordie because there was nobody there so he could go off leash and the river was shallow enough that he could wade far out into the river and get sticks to bring back. He loved it so much that he kept escaping from the motor home and running back to the river. I think that this was the high point of the trip so far for him.

Today we're back at Silver City, getting a couple little details checked on Mohita before we head towards Northern Arizona. Our next destination is the Flagstaff area where we want to visit both Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

Reflections on Mexico

After our big push across the desert we are relaxing in the Silver City RV Park and reflecting on our Mexico adventures. We travelled about 6,000 kilometers, saw some beautiful places, had some amazing experiences and met some wonderful people. We managed to make it to Zacatecas and to Patzcuaro as well as to San Juan del Rio to visit the Reyes family. But after more than six weeks in a different culture, we were ready to leave and return to a more familiar one. We didn't actually realize until we got to Silver City how much stress we had been under trying to function with our limited language skills and travel around with the dogs and an unreliable vehicle.

We have learned more about Mexico and its people on this trip. Mexico is a beautiful and incredibly varied country but its greatest treasure is its people. We knew that the Mexican people are warm and helpful, but this was demonstrated over and over again. Even when we were confused or worried we were always treated with respect and kindness. Our fractured Spanish was always met with gracious smiles and helpfulness. In all our dealings with people we found them to be unfailingly polite and honest.

We learned that it's pretty important to have a working knowledge of Spanish in order to explore the culture of Mexico beyond the tourist scene. We saw every day just how warm and courteous the people are to each other. Mexican culture places high value on these interactions and it is difficult to manage these with only limited vocabularay. Sure we had a few words like “ola, buenas dias” “con permisso” “por favor” “muchas gracias” “como esta” and “una pregunta” to start with. And we could smile at people, wave at kids, and coo at babies. Whenever we tried to interact person to person we were never disappointed with the results. But we'd like to do some studying to improve our Spanish so we can communicate more easily next time and learn more about the people and the country.

We had a great time in Mexico and now we're happy to be back in an English-speaking country. It's a relief to be able to relax and interact with people in a more natural way. But we're not finished with Mexico. We are planning to come down next year in our van (not Mohita) and perhaps rent an apartment somewhere for a couple of months, so we can also invite family and friends down to share our fun.

Meanwhile, we're enjoying being in the southwest of the USA and we'll keep you posted on our journeys here as we wend our way back to BC.

Paquime and North to the Border

We spent another long day driving across the desert to Casas Grandes and yesterday morning we visited the ruins at Paquime. These crumbing adobe walls are what remain of a major trading settlement in this area that flourished between AD 900 and 1340. The people that lived here had ties with groups in Arizona and New Mexico. We got to the ruins early enough to have the place to ourselves and it is a special feeling wandering around the site with a cool wind blowing and birds singing. The museum that is part of the complex is very well done and shows many of the artifacts found here, including beautiful polychrome pottery.

Before we left Casas Grande, we made a visit to one of the pottery shops that features the work of potters from the nearby town of Mata Ortiz. These pots are made in the Paquime style using a cream coloured clay and painted with red, brown and black geometric designs. They are very beautiful and very reasonable. We picked out a number of lovely ones and while we were paying for them, a young woman in her 20s with a little baby on her hip told us that she had made three of them. She was rightly proud of her work and it was really cool to be able to meet her and shake her hand and compliment her on her artistry.

Following our shopping trip we drove north to the border and crossed from Palomas into the town of Columbus, New Mexico, without any difficulty. We have given back the auto import sticker that was issued for Mohita as we have decided that we will not take her into Mexico again, as it's just too stressful worrying about the aging engine and other parts. We'll keep her for camping trips a little closer to home.

Two long days across the desert

We left Zacatecas early this morning to head north for the border. It's about 1250 plus km and we've made a dent in this figure already. Today Harry drove Mohita 591 km, which is quite a feat for this clunky old girl. Both Mohita and the dogs behaved very well today. Our plan is to drive for two long days and then spend our last day in Mexico at a place called Nuevo Casas Grandes, just a little south of Demming, New Mexico. This area is home to a group of amazing potters who create world renowned painted bowls. It is also the location of some very old ruins dating from AD 900. Our plan then is to cross into New Mexico and spend some time there and in Arizona before returning home. Oddly enough, it was hotter this afternoon than any time since we were in Villa Corona. Tonight we have splurged by taking a motel room so we can have a nice shower and rest up for our long drive tomorrow.

Mexico's Challenges

This is an incredibly prosperous and productive country, home to millions of ambitious and energetic people. We've seen enormous growth since the last time we were here in the early '90s. New cars, new buses, new roads, new housing developments, new businesses, and best of all a spirit of optimism. It's obvious that the Mexican government is putting a lot of money into infrastructre. There are many new highways in Mexico that are as good or better than those in the USA. We've seen sewer projects, ambitious shopping complexes, housing projects of all kinds being built. Yet at the same time there are things that hold Mexico back.

In spite of its excellent climate and its cheerful industrious people, Mexico seems to feel a sense of being less than. Its placement next the the powerful USA is part of this, but there are other factors. For many years the political power was held by PRI, a bunch of backroom boys who milked the country dry. Things are gradually moving forward and the government is working hard to improve the lot of its citizens, but much has yet to be done. The problems here appear to be different from those to the north. We don't see overt drug use in the city, but we do see a huge class gap between working people and the indigenous people who often survive by begging or selling trinkets. This takes place everywhere we have traveled. Often it is women with children of all ages and we wonder how much education available for these kids.

The other serious problem of course is the country's contaminated ground water. Everyone knows that you can't drink the water here or eat the produce without treating it to kill bacteria. But the repercussions of this are huge—in spite of its excellent climate for growing fruits and vegetables, much of what is grown cannot be eaten fresh. When we were coming to visit our friends in San Juan we bought some fresh strawberries and apricots at the side of the road to bring to them. As it turned out, this family will not eat these fruits fresh, even with the iodine treatment. Dr. Reyes says that nothing except boiling will make these fruits safe. He told us that we should never eat lettuce or cilantro or strawberries or celery or anything that doesn't have a smooth skin. He himself, although he loves cilantro, will only eat it in the USA or Canada.

I asked him about the fruits and vegetables that are exported to the north and he informed me that these are grown in areas where the American companies have instituted practices to make the produce clean. But this produce is not available for purchase in Mexico except in a few gourmet stores at a very high price. This means that most people are eating food that is contaminated. Harry asked why there were so many pharmacies in Mexico (we see one or two on every block in very town or city). Natalia's answer was, “Because of cilantro.” Apparently most Mexican people suffer continually from food-borne bacteria and take heavy duty medications to function day to day. This was an eye-opener for us.

It's a huge problem and one that cannot be easily fixed, although Mexico is trying. This photo is from a mural painted on a wall in San Juan del Rio. It says: “If you don't take care of the water, you don't take care of me.” We see that a lot of work is being done to replace antiquated sewer and water systems here but it's a task that will take decades and enormous amounts of money.

Here we are in Zacatecas

So here we are in Zacatecas—finally. It was an eight-hour drive for Mohita but she did well and we made it to this 450 year old city that is steeped in history. We travelled across the high plateau and saw clouds for the first time since we left California. Great towering clouds with beams of sunlight shining through—a most beautiful sight.

At 8,200 feet, Zacatecas is higher than Mexico City and we are really feeling the altitude—shortness of breath with the slightest exertion. The altitude creates a lovely climate however; the air is cool and the sun is warm. It has the feeling of one of those golden September days. Zacatecas is larger than we had expected with extensive suburbs and highway overpasses, but the old centre of the city is quite something to see. The churches and many of the other ancient buildings are made of a vibrant rose-coloured stone, and the streets and sidewalks are laid with basalt blocks. This part of town lies between two significant peaks so from the central area the streets wind up the hill, often with steps or ramps of stone.

It's quite a cultural centre with many interesting museums and galleries. We spent the afternoon at the Gallery of Abstract Art and discovered a couple of brilliant contemporary painters, Manuel Felguerez and Cecelia Garcia Amaro. This museum is housed in an incredibly beautiful building that began as a seminary, then was taken over for the headquarters of the Mexican Revolutionaries and later became the prison. About 15 years ago the local government did an amazing restoration to create the gallery.

For the past two weeks Zacatecas has hosted a huge music festival. If only we had known last night when we pulled in that we could have gone to see Bob Dylan perform as part of the festival! Tonight they're presenting some pop music from Argentina but we're just going to stay home to rest up so we can explore more of the city tomorrow.

Easter Weekend in San Juan del Rio

It's been a while since we posted here as both Harry and I got sick in Patzcuaro. Must have been something we ate (duh!)—but we don't know what. We never made it to Morelia but Harry did manage to pilot Mohita to San Juan del Rio about six hours away. This town is not in the guidebooks, although it is very nice and has an old colonial centre. We came here to visit the parents of a young man that both Harry and I taught when we were working at the Pan Pacific English School in Victoria. In fact Jamie spent six weeks visiting here the summer before last.

We arrived on Good Friday and were warmly welcomed by Chata, Jose and their daughter Natalia (who is studying at a private university in Queretero, about half an hour away). Jose is a medical doctor so we were lucky enough to have some medicine and care for our illness, as well as a place to rest. This family lives in an apartment in the centre of town. They also have another vacant apartment upstairs where we have been able to stay. To get into the apartment, you open a big double wooden door off of the busy sidewalk and enter a large courtyard with several turns and doors. It's like going into another world. As there is no parking for the motorhome here, we have left it in a gated yard a little out of town with a friend of the family.

On Saturday we drove out to a little town called Pena de Bernal, which is famous for its rocky mountain peak. The weekend of the spring solstice is important in this town as people come to get energy from the mountain. It's a lovely little place with lots of pretty hotels and streets, absolutely full of Mexican tourists. Many people come from the capital as it is only about two hours away. After wandering the streets and enjoying blue corn gordidtas we returned on a highway that was bumper to bumper with cars returning to Mexico City. It took us about two hours to complete a drive that normally takes half an hour. Our dogs were very happy to see us when we arrived home at 8:30 p.m.

Easter Sunday was celebrated with a dinner party at an elegant house in a gated community with friends of the Reyes family. There were several other couples there, all educated and interesting. Most spoke some English so conversation drifted between the two languages. Two of the couples are retired and live in this community. It was an experience to participate in a holiday party. Mexican people are very courtly and warm and they made us feel welcome.

Many businesses were closed over the weekend but today (Monday) the city is back to normal. This afternoon Joanna went to a museum of the dead with Chata and then we all drove into Queretero to have a nice lunch and a look around at the old part of the city. Tomorrow we plan to head north and this time perhaps we really will make it to Zacatecas.

Semana Santa in Patzcuaro

Patzcuaro bills itself as one of Mexico's "pueblas magicas" and the description is very appropriate. This town is an absolute treasure. We arrived on Monday afternoon and set up at a very sweet trailer park, which even has a cute little Mexican kitchen where people can cook their meals. We spent Tuesday wandering around the plazas of this historic 17th century town. Its magic comes in part from the architecture and in part from the amazing variety of handicrafts here. There are beautiful stone churches and fountains and an old convent that has been turned into a maze of handicraft stores. Almost all the adobe buildings are painted a cream and deep reddish-brown. It's a lovely place and full of every kind of craft imaginable. From copper to lacquer ware to ceramics, to wood carving, pewter, and basketwork--it's all here. The variety of crafts is because of the work of Bishop Vasco de Quiroga who in the 16th century helped the surrounding villages develop craft specialties. Quiroga is still revered for his work and the descendants of the Tarascan peoples still carry on the craft traditions.

Patzcuaro celebrates Semana Santa in a big way. Not only with fireworks (thankfully farther away than in Villa Corona) but also with dances and a huge handicraft market set up in the main plaza, as well as numerous altars to “our lady of sorrows” complete with Virgin Marys, candles, flowers, fruit, coloured globes and bunting of pink and mauve. Joanna took over 200 photographs in the past two days and a few are posted here.

Today (Wednesday) we took one of the little passenger boats to Isla Janitzio, along with many Mexican families celebrating the holy week. Janitzio is a small rocky island with a huge statue of Morelos at the top. It's big (like Statue of Liberty big) and you can walk right up inside his arm to get a view of the lake and surrounding villages. Harry and I walked up to the viewpoint at the base of the statue but our knees weren't up to the climb into the arm. On the way back we were serenaded by mariachis (two men and a boy) who played some cheery music for us.

Tonight we're going into an art gallery where a show of wood block prints by a local artist is opening. We met the gallery owner yesterday and were invited to the show. Tomorrow we plan to take the bus into Morelia and spend the day exploring its central zocalo area.

Driving Deeper into Mexico

This morning we started our day with a soak in the warm pool under the palm trees at Chimulco, then headed east along the south shore of Lake Chapala. At the last minute we decided we weren't quite ready to head north, so we've driven deeper into Mexico towards Morelia and Patzcuaro.

The drive along Lake Chapala was just beautiful. It looks a like a cross between the Okanagan and the area around Kamloops. We had a lovely surprise at the little village of San Luis Soyatlan. As we came into town, a policeman directed us to a detour off the highway. The pavement on the main road was covered with alfalfa and palm leaves and people were gathering around for the Palm Sunday service. The priest and the altar boys were there, as well as people dressed in long robes, including "Jesu Cristo" and a donkey to lead the procession. It was an amazing sight to see everyone from families with children, to groups of teens with cell phones, to old men in cowboy hats and grandmas in prayer shawls, all holding bouquets of greenery or braided palmito leaves. Palm Sunday seems to be a special occasion here. We noticed many fresh flowers and wreaths on the shrines and in graveyards and we think it is a time when people also remember the loved ones they have lost.

We made it as far as Zamora where we're staying tonight. Strolled with the dogs down to the main Cathedral to find Palm Sunday celebrations continuing there. Many people were selling things of a festive and religious nature. Balloons for the kids, flowers, toys, and braided palmitos for the evening service.

Zamora is not a tourist town and it's obvious to us now that people selling things on the street is not just a tourist thing. It seems that wherever you go in Mexico you can find people selling things—on the highway, in restaurants, at gas stations, in the street and parks. Hammocks, roses, candies, belts, straw hats, mangoes carved into flower shapes, cut up fruit, toys, tamales—it's all available if you want it. We often feel sorry to decline the offer of these various things and think about how difficult it must be for someone to make a living this way. Certainly there are many people who don't have much money or a “regular” job but at least they are working and hopefully able to eke out an existence.

Chimulco Aquatic Park

We're staying for a couple of days at the an aquatic park in Villa Corona, just south of Guadalajara. This is an amazing place built to take advantage of thermal springs in the area. The water is a constant 39 degrees and it's used to fill three big pools and several smaller ones (fresh water every day). In addition, there are two water parks for little ones and something called the Lazy River which is about half a mile of cement built river banks that they send the water through so people can float down it on inner tubes. We have access to all of this with our trailer park fee of $19 a night. The grounds and the buildings are really beautiful. Mature plantings of palms and banana trees as well as other flowering trees, purple and pink and yellow, and in between them the lacy pine trees of this area and others. The place was designed by an architect and the buildings and design are very beautifully done.

When we arrived on Thursday afternoon there weren't many people in the pools, but today is Saturday and the first day of the Mexican holiday week called Semana Santa and there are many Mexican families here from Guadalajara. Semana Santa is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday and it's traditionally a time when everyone takes off to the beach or the balnearios (swimming pool complexes). It's fun to see but it's also kind of noisy.

Apparently the little village has a fireworks display and it seems that the people organizing it take whatever opportunity they can to practice for it. The past two nights they were setting off fireworks between 5:00 and 7:00 am--as well as at odd times throughout the day and evening. Needless to say the dogs are in deep trauma. The only thing that makes it good for them is that we're camping in a huge empty field of grass and trees and they can go out and play ball any time. Geordie spent the night crammed into the space in front of Mohita's toilet and wouldn't come out at all until we asked if he wanted to play ball. With that he leapt out and stood at the door wagging his tail.

Yesterday we took a little drive along the north side of Lake Chapala as far as Ajijic and had lunch at a little lakeside restaurant. Today we're going to enjoy the warm pools and we'll decide whether we'll stay for the Palm Sunday procession in town tomorrow or head towards Zacatecas when the traffic may be less as the big trucks won't be on the road.