Hacienda Contreras, near Valle de Juarez

We didn't set the alarm Friday night because we knew we needed a good nights sleep. But we also wanted to do a long drive Saturday and so we wanted to get a fairly early start. Turned out we got a good sleep and we were on the road just before 9:00am. Not bad.

The highway heading from Zacatecas to the city of Aguascalientes is a nice toll road with enjoyable scenery. But when you actually get to Aguascalientes, the city itself became our first obstacle because there's no easy way around it or through it.

Somewhere in between Zacatecas and Aguascalientes.

You can actually drive a motorhome right through the center of the city. In fact we did that last time we were through because there's a hotel very close to the center that allows RV parking overnight. But it's very busy and slow going so we decided to try one of the many ring roads around the central core. The route we took ended up being very poor roads with lots of traffic. But I'm not sure that any other route would have been any better.

The route we took around Aguascalientes

Lots of topes (speed bumps) heading around Aguascalientes.

The next challenge was deciding our route from there. We could take a nice toll road that leads closer to Guadalajara but that would involve more money and it's about 80 kms (50 miles) further in distance. But the most direct route is highway 307. We took this route north last March and we knew that it had one really bad section of road. But I decided (Ruth wasn't so sure...) to take it again anyhow. And sure enough, it was still really bad. Narrow, with lots of trucks, very little opportunity to pass, and one of the worst road surfaces we've been on since we were in Nova Scotia! Terrible, and we won't do that route again.

DO NOT take this section of road.

But the rest of the drive was enjoyable, through farming areas and villages. A lot of people stare at us, and children wave and smile. It's not every day the local people see a motorhome, and some of them have probably never seen one. Driving through one town, there were some young guys cleaning peoples windshields at a red light. We never take advantage of these services, but this time Sherman's windshield was filthy, and I gave the guy the thumbs up. He and his buddy went to work with big smiles and sprayed soapy water on all the bugs and scrubbed really well. They were doing such a good job that the light turned green and everyone had to go around us. The one guy decided the other guy didn't do a good enough job and proceeded to redo the other side! We sat through the whole light cycle back to red again! Too funny, and nobody got upset, the other vehicles just drove around us. We love this about Mexico. They did a spotless job and I handed them 5 pesos (40 cents) each. 

We made it to Hacienda Contreras just before 5:00pm. We really only stopped for a quick lunch along the way so it took us almost eight hours. In a car, this drive would typically take just over 5 hours. But in the motorhome, it's a lot slower going.

Barb and Sal were at a party, but had left the gate unlocked for us. They said we could use one of their new patio sites, and they've done a really good job building a couple of these new sites for use this season. 

Sherman, parked up at Hacienda Contreras.

We found a nice spot for Whiskey and got that very difficult job out of the way. But it had to be done, and now she is at peace. We will get a plaque or something made for that spot and plant some kind of a tree or bush at some point over the next month. 

Barb and Sal returned in the evening and we had a couple of hours of enjoyable conversation. We can tell we're going to enjoy our time here! The weather in this part of Mexico is about perfect, with lows around 12C (55F) and highs around 23C (74F). We are at elevation of about 6300 ft so it is a little cooler even though we are further south than Miami!

Saturday's drive, 385 kms (240 miles)