Isla Aguada

Wednesday got an early 6:45AM start for our next campground, Freedom Shores, on Isla Aguada. Several other campers are leaving today for the same location. The drive took us a little longer than we planned, we arrived about 3 PM. We stopped before the border with the State of Campeche to hide some of our illegal food, eggs, pork, chicken and fruit. It seems like the two states don't like each other's food. They found no contraband items in our RV. The traffic in Ciudad del Carmen, an island that we had to pass through, was bad. The only three campers here were the ones we had met at Catemaco.

The campsites are right on a nice beach facing the bay next to the toll bridge that we had to cross. They also have a few hotel rooms and a restaurant. Their season doesn't get going for a few more weeks and they hope to have wireless internet at that time.

You can walk the deserted, shell covered beach for a miles without seeing anyone.

The campsites have large concrete pads & patios. Electrical power is good but not high enough amperage to run an A/C which is really not needed with the nice shade and good breeze. Our neigbor blew his breaker when he tried.
it.

Thanksgiving Day was 80o and sunny. We took our morning beach walk and lounged around getting some book reading in. Many of the small town's streets are paved and the taxi system uses motorcycles pulling rickshaws.On Friday we took a bike ride all over town and looked for the one internet place that was supposed to open from 10am-2pm. At 10:15 it still wasn't open. I heard it was supposed to reopen at 6 PM. At 6:30 it still was not open.

The weather has been just perfect, the place is quiet, so we decided to stay two more days and leave on Sunday morning for Bacalar. One couple left on Friday and the other two on Saturday, so unless someone comes today we will have the place to ourselves.

Map - Isla Aguada to Bacalar

Catemaco

Monday morning we got an early 7AM start. Lots of road construction but the roads were better than two years ago when we went this way. Stopped at the Soriana grocery in San Andres Tuxtla and then drove through Catemaco to get to the Playa Azul Resort. We have camped here before using a cottage as our bathroom and shower. However, they said no more camping. I liked the place since it right on the lake and an easy paddle with my kayak to the islands with monkeys.



So we drove back and got a campsite at Tepetapan RV Park. We got there about 2 PM. It is a nice place, but we have no water access and the electical voltage is a little high here also.


They are working on their pool so it is not in service yet. Gene the manager is really friendly and makes you feel very welcome.

On Tuesday morning we took a long walk around town, checking out the Mercado, Cathedral and Malecon. It drizzled a little as we got back but quickly stopped. It's in the low 70's today but expected to warm later in the week.


After talking with most of the campers. We found out that they were all heading to Isla Aguada next. It sounds like a nice place so we thought we would check it out and head there tomorrow and we would skip Palenque since Isla Aguada is on the coast Northeast of Villahermosa while Palenque is Southeast. It should make the drive to Bacalar a little shorter also.

Map-Catemaco to Isla Aguada

Trailer Park de Alba

Our first day was cool and cloudy but it cleared later in the day. We had a few nighttime showers. In the morning we took a long beach walk. I was surprised that there was very little debris on the beach. The waves were big and churned up a lot of sand so that the ocean looked murky. After our walk I decided to wash all the dirt from the RV that I picked up in our short two hour ride from the last campground. It now looks new again.

Our camp is very quiet with only a few campers staying here. The one family moved out on Sunday morning. They have a huge fifth wheel toy hauler and are travelling with their 5 kids. They are on their way to Belize for the winter.

We have beautiful blue skys this morning, so we are off on our morning beach walk. We walked for about 1 1/2 hrs and saw only about 10 people on the beach. Temps are in the low 70's at 8 AM.

The campground must have only one 15 amp circuit for all the campers. I installed a electrical protection system which monitors voltage and turns off the power if it above 132 volts or below 104 volts. The camp has about 134v, when no one is using the power. This morning when I turned on my 750 watt waffle iron, the voltage dropped from 124v to 106v. If you want to run your microwave you need to run your generator. Other than that we really like the camp. Mike the manager is from the USA and we have an ocean front lot.

Map - Emerald Coast to Catemaco

First Two days in Mexico

We left the Wal-Mart in Harlingen at 6 AM and got to the Los Indios border crossing and flew right through. No red light this time. We decided since we were unsure of whether the construction was complete on the direct route to Tampico through Soto La Marina, we chose the longer route through the outskirts of Ciudad Victoria. The pavement was good the entire way, we encountered no Tope's since Valle Hermosa, which is full of them. However it seemed more hilly but we found that they had completed a new section which bypasses Gonzalez & Manuel near the intersection of MX180 & MX80. However we missed the new bypass on the East side of CV which would have saved even more time. This got us to our planned campground, Country Express Hotel, at 1 PM. We thought that it was a little too early to stop for the night and once before we had made it all the way to Cerro Azul and the Condado Auto Hotel & RV park, so we pressed on.

Mexico Day 1 Map & Plans

The roads just outside of Tampico on the truck bypass route are terrible, full of large chuck holes. Then further on, we got into some road construction and heavy truck traffic which slowed us even more. But we got to the hotel by 4:45 PM just before sunset and had the grassy campsite all to ourselves.
On the first 330 mi we averaged 50 mph and the second leg of 130 mi, we only averaged 35 mph.

Friday morning we decided to sleep in and have a short 105 mi drive to the Emerald Coast. Well we should have left 5 minutes earlier. We left in a light on-off drizzle and on a winding hilly road the traffic stopped going in our direction. Then it stopped in both directions. I walked past the five cars in front of me and saw that a semi with a double trailer had slid off the road and partially down an embankment and a tow truck was trying to pull all of it back onto the road, blocking all the lanes. After an hour the traffic really backed up and a big semi following a police car passed everyone up and they then used that truck to also pull on the doble remolque. I couldn't believe it, but they not only pulled it back on the road but it drove away to the nearest truck repair. We no sooner got out of that traffic jam but hit another snag. Another truck going in the opposite direction crashed into a bridge railing and was totally destroyed.

Mexico Day 2 Map
We still got to Trailer Park de Alba at 11:15 AM. We have stayed down the road at Quinta Alicia in the past but saw this place on our beach walk 2 years ago and it looked better. We got a site next to the swimming pool overlooking the beach and have fast wireless internet service. It's early in the season so there are only about five other campers here. It looked like it was going to rain but the sun came out and we had a nice relaxing afternoon.

In Harlingen, TX

We left Priem's at 6 AM and got to the Los Indius border crossing just before noon. We crossed into Mexico, paid our $7 toll and got the Mexican red, this means they do a search. It took 10 minutes, most of the time he kept looking at the space where our bulletin board was loacted. He was sure there was a hidden compartment behind there even when I showed him that there is no space. We got our $21/ea FM-T's and made a U-turn back to the states. In this direction the toll was only $4. The last time crossing here we found out that the Bancjerito does not open until 9 AM, even though the border crossing opens at 6 AM. So this will permit us to get on the road earlier in the morning.
We stopped for lunch at our favorite TX Bar-B-Q place, Longhorn Cattle Company. Great Pinto bean soup and smoked beef brisket, we had enough left over for tonight's supper.We are now overnighting in the Super Wal-Mart lot in Harlingen and hope to get an early start tomorrow.

Mexico Day 1 Map & Plans

Three Days In Houston

We got to Houston late Saturday afternoon and spent the last three days with Rich, Tracey, Cade and Dane Priem. Rich is my second cousin but we have been close since we both took up kayaking 35 years ago. So whenever we pass by Houston we like to spend some time catching up with their growing family.

Tracey is expecting another boy in early January.I did some biking with Rich and the boys, we all went to a new park in downtown Houston on Sunday, Discovery Green Conservancy.

Peggy did some antique shopping with Tracey's mother. I helped Rich install a new wine cooler and fixed a few electrical outlets. They are in the middle of an upstairs repainting, so thing are a little hectic.

We want to get an early start on Wed morning to get to the border town of Harlingen, TX early enough for us to get out FMT so we can cross the border over to Mexico on Thursday morning. Then our Mexican adventure begins.

Hitting the road Early Friday

We are dreaming of those Mexican Sunsets.

We got a light dusting of snow yesterday but today was sunny. We got all our leaves raked up in our yard and the RV is packed and ready to go. We will finish packing on Thursday and leave early on Friday morning. It's a 650 mi drive to Jackson, TN but I think we can make it by sundown. After we stay overnight in the Sam's Club lot we will head for Houston.

Packing for the trip

Starting to pack. This is the first year we are planning to leave before the first of the year. We want to get out of Cleveland before the snow falls.

 

A beautiful Fall at our cabin in WV

2008 Mexico Trip Plans

2008-9 Mexico RV trip

View map of our Mexico Map Route & Links

11/15 - Cleveland to Houston, visit Rich Priem

11/20 - Enter Mexico - Puente Libre near Harlingen - 1 nite Travel Day 1 Map & Plans

- Tampico - 1 nite Travel Day 2 Map & Plans

- Emerald Coast - 2 nites Travel Day 3 Map & Plans

- Catemaco - 4 nites Travel Day 4 Map & Plans

- Palenque - 3 nites Travel Day 5 Map & Plans

- Bacalar - 3 nites Travel Day 6 Map & Plans

12/04 - Xcalak Costa Maya Map & Plans

- Xpu-Ha

- Paa Mul

- Puerto Morelos

- Leave RV for two weeks

12/20 - 1/4 - Fly home for the Holidays

Head back south to Paa Mul, Xpu-Ha, Tulum, Xcalak, then to Merida, Progreso & Campeche Map & Plans

no detailed plans after that

3/15 back in USA