Blogs from Jalisco, Mexico, North America
RVing in Mexico with Raymondo y Marsia
Published: March 18th 2012North America » Mexico » Jalisco » Guadalajara
March 17th 2012
Miercoles, 7 Marzo, We left Zacatecas at the 8000 foot elevation and headed southwest to Guadalajara. The drive was pleasant, with the elevation going down then up again reaching nearly 7000 feet then down to comfortable 5000 feet or so. Both Ray and I had picked up a bug so the variations in elevation were hard on our ears. The roads were good and the terrain ranged from high desert with only cactus to fields of agave for the making of mezcal, plus grain and vegetable crops. We passed numerous small cattle, goat and sheep herds and a few small tidy villages with pretty zocalos. Given the size of the city, with our maps, GPS and Ray’s instincts, finding our Guadalajara campground was not too difficult. Guadalajara has a periferico (ring road) around the city. Immediately ... read more
March 17th 2012
The parade makes it way around the corner. Four women are carrying a statue of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of the communities of Melaque, San Patricio and Cuidad Obregon. We could hear the familair Mexican Ranchero music before we even saw them. The excitement builds.... There are several marching groups with dancers performing variations of the Irish jig. Floats deicated to Saints and the faith that they promote and even plenty of music. The parade is short, but it is followed by the parishers who join the parade to the church. The entire procession moves into the church for a long service, complete with band and dancers. Many people, including us, hang around the cnetral plaza and enjoy the festive mood. We enoyed some wonderful tacos, a new dish called gringas, pork, grilled pineapple and ... read more
February 10th 2012
It has been so long since I have written. Lazy, thats all. Had an awsome visit with Mark and Clay in November. Such a treat to have my boys all to ourselves! We ate, drank, saw great stuff and generally had a good time. I had my hammertoes fixed while the guys were here. I had thought I better wait until they went home but their comments were "Yeah go, if you have your toes done, does that mean we get to sit around for a few days". That decided it. My toes are great. When I was home at Christmas I actually bought some close toed shoes that didn't kill my feet. Yeah hoo. Such an easy process. Mike and Margaret Walsh were in Guayabitos for a month over Christmas so had lots of nice ... read more
RVing in Mexico with Raymondo y Marsia 2012
Published: February 7th 2012North America » Mexico » Jalisco
February 5th 2012
Sunday, 29 January. We moved south to Puerto Vallarta. PV, as locals call it, is on the same latitude as Hawaii, has about 350,000 inhabitants including a large number of Americans and Canadians who live here full or part-time. PV, is one of only two Mexican cities that have potable water throughout. PV has two campgrounds. We returned to the one called Trailer Park Puerto Vallarta where we stayed a couple years ago. We love the friendly hosts and its proximity to town. The park is fairly small. There are only seven rigs in here including us but there is room for many more. The bathrooms are clean and the showers are extremely hot with soft water. What more could you ask for! Our hosts live in an amazing compound on site and have an assortment ... read more
February 4th 2012
When we first arrived in La Manzanilla we knew we had found our spot. The campground was very basic, bucket flush toilet and outdoor cold shower. But La Manzanilla is a small town located on Bay of Tenacatita. We had to camp at the back of the campground, next to the street because of the low hanging palm fronds. There is a lovely beach along the entire bay. Just down the beach is the center of town with several restaurants, stores and the town plaza. Our first day there we met Gary. Gary and his wife Debra spend their winters in La Manzanilla and are originally from Seattle. Gary invited us to join a small group for Sunset Happy Hour on the beach. We happily accepted and met several nice people who welcomed us and shared ... read more
January 21st 2012
Starting our 2012 Mexican blog has been delayed due to the availability and quality of internet connections at most of our recent campgrounds. As it is quite time consuming, we’ve postponed blogging in favor of more fun activities. I’m sorry that this first entry is so long. (As we enter photos chronologically and have posted more photos than text, most photos do not appear near the corresponding text. You will find the majority of our pictures below the text.) The intent of our blog is to inspire others to visit Mexico and Central America. If you don’t come you don’t know what you are missing. Mexico is warm, sunny, friendly, and inexpensive and has some of the most gorgeous beaches and the best food in the world. And, most of all, it is totally accessible to ... read more
January 20th 2012
We hit the road for our first solo trip without much sleep. Ed was snarfleing all night and I think we were both a little anxious. Ed went to sleep after 1am and me after 2am. We did okay. The Garmin said the trip should take 5 hours and it took us 6. Lots of steep windy roads and we were often stuck behind double trailer trucks that were crawling along. The Highway climbed over the Sierra Madre mountain range and we where over 6,000 ft. elevation. The views were really incredible, but hard to enjoy because you both have to watch the road every minute. The small towns in Mexico have speed bumps called “Topes”. You encounter Topes as you enter each town, at school crossings and often, for no reason at all. Often they ... read more
January 17th 2012
We spent today at the Casa Herradura enjoying a tour and tequila tasting. After a good nights sleep we headed over to the nearby town of Tequila. Of course, we had to stop on the way at a taco stand for a quick taco fix. The tour was very nice. We were the only ones on the tour and our guide Saul spoke very good english. We toured the entire factory and learned the process of how tequila is made. We saw how the blue aqave is baked in the large ovens and even tasted some of the baked aqave. It tasted like a sweet potato. The tour explained the fermintation process, dilstillation and the difference between the different types of tequila. The tour lasted well over 3 hours. At the end, we tasted several different ... read more
January 17th 2012
We had our first major wrong turn which resulted in 3 truck campers winding our way through the small town of Tala. Since many of the Mexican towns are old cobblestone streets, we have to watch for getting through the narrow streets, often with cars parked on one or both sides; turning corners, we often have to back up a couple of times to make the turn and low hanging wires. You never realize how tall the truck camper sits until you come into these small towns with Christmas decorations hung across the buildings.Chimilco is a ballinero, or Mexican swimming area. This one features an adjacent RV Park. The park was very nice and the swimming complex was impressive. Each day a different pool was filled with 90 degree water. There was also a large children’s ... read more
January 11th 2012
Guadalajara, and more specifically Tequila, had been recommended by several people as a great place to visit. Tequila being the town that is, as well as the home of the drink. I've always fancied a world tour of birthplaces of alcoholic beverages, so what better opportunity to visit the home of Tequila? So after an uneventful drive to Guadalajara...well nearly uneventful....we arrived back at the airport to return the rental car ahead of schedule and were able to take in downtown Guadalajara and the historic centre in the afternoon. Maybe we've been spoiled by the charms of smaller centres but Guadalajara was a little underwhelming. The main attraction is the Cathedral, which is very impressive indeed, and on each side boasts a handsome plaza. We walked into the downtown area and viewed the Cathedral, the plazas, ... read more
