Valle de Bravo

First job of the day was to try and get Sherman out of the parking area at the Givali Hotel. The height was okay, but when we entered they had to lift up the 4 strands of barbed wire to get us in. Plus, I was sure that our back end was going to drag when we exited.

So the first thing I did was get out the ladder and some rope and I tied the barb wire up as high as I could. You learn sometimes that even though it’s not your establishment, if you don’t want to damage your rig you had better do things your way. Besides, we kind of had the impression that once these people got your money, the help kind of stopped there. Actually, that’s not totally fair…when we arrived, Ruth asked if she could get some laundry done, and the caretakers wife did it for us and then said that it was included in the price we paid. We insisted she take a few pesos anyhow. But after our episode about being locked out yesterday and then having them not show any effort to help us to get out despite knowing the problems we had trying to get in…we were not impressed.

As I drove Sherman out, Ruth placed some boards on the ground for the rear wheels to run up on so that the bottom wouldn’t drag. This worked really well, and we made it to the road outside the gates.

Then, we drove the 7 kms (4.5 miles) or so straight downhill. At least it felt that way. Now I remember why Sherman was so tired after the drive up. And it was hard on the front brakes. We stopped for an hour in the first village to let things cool down.

We had planned on stopping at one of the greenhouses where they grow the nochebuenas (poinsettias) but there wasn't anywhere convenient. Did get a quick pic though...

It was pretty slow going. We did 100 kms (62 miles) today and it took us over three hours. This area just west of Mexico City is very mountainous and you can’t expect to get anywhere quickly.

The last 10 kms (6 miles) coming into the lake town of Valle de Bravo was also straight downhill. We were at 9,000 feet yesterday and now we’re at 5,860 feet. It’s also warmer here!

We had directions to two different camping possibilities in the area. We made it to one, but the other was our first choice. Ruth and Whiskey stayed with Sherman, and I walked back to try and find the boat launch (embarcadero) owned by a fellow named Santiago. I had read a good review about him, and we have not been let down! When we made it to the property, (GPS 19.22469, -100.13944) he was nothing but helpful. And his dog Oso was such a good dog. He’s a big dog who likes to play, but seems to give Whiskey her space. Whiskey is such an old lady sometimes!

Oso wants Whiskey to come out and play!

Santiago got us parked up right in front of the lake. We can have a campfire if we like and he showed us where the bathroom and hot showers are. We’ll play it by ear, but we’re already thinking we’re going to spend more than a few days here. Price is 100 pesos ($8.50) per day, or 600 pesos ($51.00) per week.

Sunset from our front door.

Posted some more butterfly pics if you want to see them...

http://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2010/12/el-rosario-day-3-butterflies.html