Uruapan

Yesterday was a driving day, but not a long one. Only 65 kms (40 miles) but of course it took us over two hours. Partly because we stopped for groceries at a Soriana just before we left Patzcuaro, but even on the toll road it was difficult to get over 70 km/h (42 mph).

The altitude drops from 7,200 ft at Patzcuaro to 5,200 ft at Uruapan in a fairly short distance, so most of the drive was downhill.

Yesterday's drive 65 kms (40 miles)

Downhill almost all the way.

Scenery along the way.

Follow the red line if you need to use the runaway vehicle ramp!

We were headed for the Hotel Pie de la Sierra, which was on the far side of the city of Uruapan. The only way to get there was on a congested road at the north end of the city. That 8 km (5 mile) section alone probably took a half an hour!

Busy road at the north end of Uruapan. We will have to use this road again when we leave here, but we will do it at sunrise and hopefully it won't be quite as busy.

We arrived at the Hotel Pie de la Sierra at around noon. This is really the only advertised option for RV parking around here, and it is on the road leading to the Paracutin Volcano that we want to visit this morning. And, it is a very nice hotel, however the RV parking is a bit expensive. They were not willing to negotiate their  265 peso ($20.14) price, but we are staying anyhow. Unless we find another option in our travels today, we may actually stay two more nights just for the convenience. As I say, the hotel itself is very nice, but the RV parking is really just a parking lot. We relaxed for the rest of the day, so the only pics we have to share are of the hotel...

Sherman, parked up at the Hotel Pie de la Sierra. There is only one other RV here, a small Class C belonging to Bruce and Julie, a couple we had met at Hacienda Contreras a couple of weeks ago.

The hotel has a beautiful swimming pool area, with water that is supposedly solar heated, but it is too cold for me!

Ruth and the flowers around the pool.

The hotel's restaurant has a nice view of the city of Uruapan.

And the other side of the restaurant overlooks the pool and grounds.

This RV parking area is really only good for units up to about 32 feet. There is a bit of a difficult entranceway for larger vehicles, and I think anybody towing a trailer or fifth wheel might have a hard time making the corner.

Today we are taking the bus to the town of Angahuan and the church that is buried in lava from the Paracutin volcano that erupted between 1943 and 1952. This is one of the things that has been on our Mexico "bucket list", so we're looking forward to seeing it. More on that tomorrow!