But.....I don´t want to go home yet.......

---

We knew it was time to head back to California. Ed promised me three months and we had to be out of Mexico before the start of Semana Santa. Semana Santa is the week before Easter, simular to our Spring Break. Mexican families head to the beach for a week long party. The campgrounds kick out the American and Canadian tourists and will put 5 families in the space that we would usually use.



Along the way home, we wanted to check out some beaches that we missed on the way down. First stop was Punta Perula. We had heard about the beautiful water in Punta Perula Bay from several people during our journey. We were the only campers at Playa Dorado Campground and the owner Luis was very welcoming. We parked the camper right on the edge of the beach. The campground was empty, but the Hotel across the street was full. We had arrived on Sunday of a three day weekend, the Mexican Presidents Day. There was a large Harley Club and car loads of young people partying on the beach. The beach was very clean and everything that we liked, flat, wide and eazy to walk on. We had an early dinner at one of the beachside Palapa Restaurants while we enjoyed the sundown.

We spent most of the day Monday on the beach in Punta Perula. We walked down the beach, in the other direction this time, to another beach restaurant and had lunch. I enjoy watching the families and the children plying on the beach. As the day went along, everyone headed home and soon we had the beach to ourselves. This is a very active fishing village. At the end of the day, there were about 40 boats on the beach, and the were really nice boats.

Just north of Puerta Vallarta are several beach towns. We had been to Rincon de Guayabitos earlier in the trip. Now it was time to check out Lo de Marcos. I had read about La Parota campground in the updates listed by the Churches. This is a new campground and one of the nicest that we had been to. The bathrooms were beautifully done with lots of hot water, yum! The beach was small and not really our favorite. A vendor came through and sold us some of the biggest shrimp I have ever seen, Jumbo Shrimp!

Next up was Celestino Garza. Yes, we were here earlier in the trip. But, time wise it was an obvious stop for us . We stayed at a different campground this time and it was much better. We enjoyed a nice evening by the beach and we were glad we gave this place another chance.

Huapabampito is a beautiful long stretch of beach. It is actually a long drive off of the highway, but the obvious choice for a stop over. When we pulled in we were the only ones there. By sundown 2 other campers had pulled in. Another beautiful sundown, sitting at the Restaurant, El Mirador, eating fresh seafood with Margaritas and Red running down the beach. It could be a travel commercial for most, but for us, we are living the dream.

One of the beaches we wanted to check out was Bahia Kino.I was doing some of the driving when we hit the worst road of the trip. We were taking a short cut and all of a sudden the road turneded to hell. It was edge to edge potholes. Some of the biggest potholes you have ever seen. I had to just crawl along and try to avoid the worst of them. The worst part was there was oncoming traffic and people passing me. Just when you thought you were through the worst, it started again, Bam! another BIG hole. I just knew everything in the camper would be on the floor. This went on for 50 miles. I went ahead and drove because I knew I could see the potholes better than Ed. The beach was nice, but not our kind of place. There are 2 parts to Bahia Kino, Old or Viejo Kino and New or Nuevo Kino. The Old Kino was very funky and too sketchy for me. We checked out the campground over there and pulled out quickly. Nuevo Kino reminded me of a small version of San Felipe. There is a strip of resort homes and a couple of older campgrounds along the beach. The street runs immediately behind the houses, so you have cars going by all day and night, right outside of your window. There was a nice resort campground, but it was a cement compound with no place for Red. There was a wonderful Restaurant across the street, The Red Snapper. Our last night in Mexico we enjoyed the best Margaritas here, fresh oyster, I had grouper and Ed had bacon wrapped Shrimp. The Owner joined us at the end of the night for a shot of Mescal. Then we crawled home.

The time had come to cross the border, We were worried because when we entered Mexico and got our Visas the clerk pointed out that Ed´s passport expired January 8th. We were concerned that he might have some difficulty getting back into the US. We had one vehicle and camper inspection. The Mexican Army had an inspection point and was inspecting everyones vehicle. The soldier was very nice and was trying to learn English. By the time we crossed the border, we had driven 8246 miles in Mexico. When we got to the border, it was so easy, we spent more time at a toll booth. They scanned our passports, asked if we had anything to declare and sent us on our way.

Our last night of the trip was spent again at Organ Pipe National Park. It is spring and the desert is in bloom. The ocotillo was fantastic. But, we had to turn the heater on at night. I woke up during the night when I heard a noise and I thought "Oh yeah! we aren´t in Mexico anymore, go back to sleep." Of course, we were actually too relaxed. The next morning I found we had left a truck door open all night.

It was an easy drive home. Now back to US roads ( and speed limits). The gas is certainly more expensive and we had McDonalds for lunch. It was exciting to be home, but we are already planning our next trip to Mexico.

---

Photos

Fisherman on Rocks
Punta Perula

Bathrooms and Clubhouse
La Parota Campground in Lo de Marcos

Fishing Boats
Punta Perula

Lance Camper at the Beach
Huapabampito

Ocotillo
Organ Pipe National Park