Blowhole at the waterfront of Xcaret Park near Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Toluca on December 24th!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Tally ho!

And we're off to merry ole England! Well, we're not off yet, but we've booked the flight! Leaving Toronto the evening of June 12, overnight flight, and arriving London the morning of June 13.

We don't normally plan things this far in advance. But the price was too good to turn down. One way, Toronto to London, for $327.50 each, taxes and fees included! Sunwing had a 50% off for the second person deal, and we got the first flight for $99 plus tax, so the second flight was only $49.50. Yes, taxes out of Canadian airports and into UK airports are high. But even if we flew out of the U.S., we couldn't find a deal that good.

So, although we don't yet have a house sitting booked over the pond, we are going. We haven't been to Britain since 2003, and Ruth has a lot of relatives over there we want to visit, as well as looking forward to seeing our travel "mentors" Glen and Steve, the ones who got us into this whole RV'ing thing in the first place.

We only bought a one way ticket because we have no plans. No idea how long we will be over there, or which city we will use to fly back. We want to visit some of Europe, and we don't know yet about the house sit we might or might not find. Now, the only thing to figure out is how we will get up to Canada!

Anyhow, back to the present....!

Yesterday, we took the collectivo taxi into town. The 15 minute ride costs 10 pesos (80 cents) each. We walked for a good two hours or so, just exploring and wandering around the back alleys and streets and up some very steep hills.

El Pino

We found our way to "El Pino", The Pine Tree. This tree is estimated to be 700 years old, and it's not really a pine tree, but it has similar needles so the name stuck. It's actually a Montezuma Bald Cypress Tree.

Another view of the area.

And the town of Valle de Bravo from a different angle. It is the rock on the right that we climbed for a view the other day.

Then we walked to the Super Che grocery store and stocked up for another week. We took a private taxi back to Sherman directly from the store. Cost was 50 pesos ($4.00). We laugh because it now costs a ridiculous $6.50 for two people to take the local bus in our hometown of Ottawa, Canada. A private taxi here is cheaper than the public bus in Ottawa. How skewed is that??!!

20 comments:

  1. Looking forward to spending time with you in England, with luck we will have a motorhome by then so may be able to help out with a bit of a tour.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The trip to the UK should be a lot of fun. Visit a pub or two for us:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. WOw how exciting ~ England... can hardly wait to see what you two get into there!!!
    Have fun & Travel safe
    Donna

    ReplyDelete
  4. Man, that will be a great blog when you go to England. I can hardly wait for you guys to go.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow. London just before the Olympics start. Should be much going on.

    ReplyDelete
  6. sounds like a great adventure for the summer months!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. WOW...great price on the flights! Will you be going to the Olympics? Will you continue to blog?
    Love El Pino. It just amazes me how big these trees can get and still be so lovely! ~wheresweaver

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No plans on going to the Olympics. Sounds far too crowded, busy, and expensive for us!

      Yes, we will blog daily provided we have internet access.

      Delete
  8. Another nice area there, and the trip to England should be awesome, I know you will enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can't wait to hear about the trip to England. You have till June, why can't you drive the RV to Toronto? Guess I'm missing something. I really enjoy your blogs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, we could drive the RV to Toronto. But, it's actually cheaper for two people to fly from Guadalajara! Plus, we have our small car in Canada and we're thinking of driving it to Mexico in the fall, and then into Central and South America and leaving the motorhome parked in Mexico for a while.

      Delete
  10. Sounds like you have a great trip planned. Enjoyed all your photos and like the new header photo. I don't blame you for staying away from the crowds at the Olympics. I think you can see more on TV anyway if you care to watch.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Geez, just when I think it's going to be another trip to "El Centro" or to buy some veggies, you throw out a huge curve ball.
    Awesome deal on the flight.
    Should be fun.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Am I the only one who didn't understand the flight deal? $327.50 sounds great but $99 and then half of that. Where did I get lost?

    Wow leave Sherman in Mexico for some period of time while you go to London. And then again when you go further south? Is that easy to do with no concerns??

    I am sure wishing I could have figured out what you guys know at your age so I could have done what you are doing. Color me green AGAIN!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As Kevin mentioned Sunwing had a special the first person paid $99 and the second person paid 1/2 that which was $49 then we had to add in the taxes so it worked out to be a total of $655 or $327.50 each.

      We aren't worried about leaving Sherman in Mexico for any lenght of time. Hacienda Contreras is a safe and secure spot to leave him. Plus, we still aren't positive what we will be doing this following winter. These are only ideas at the moment.

      Delete
  13. Whewie sounds like a great plan! We will all be here reading along the way for sure.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. What fun! I can't wait to read about your Europe Travels!!!! Get a Euro pass for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  15. yes!!! we're all going to England :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Kevin and Ruth, what will you do about the termination of Sherman's RV permit when you both leave Mexico and leave Sherman behind? The Mexican government now checks all that by computer when you leave the country, whether by land or air.

    Dee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Regarding your question, we won't do anything. Sherman has a 10 year permit to remain in Mexico. And regarding your statement, that is simply not true. Perhaps they are supposed to, but they don't. Our daughter flew out of Mexico a few weeks ago, and they took back her tourist visa and put her on a plane. They never checked whether she had entered with a motorhome. Also, MANY people leave their RV behind every year, just ask the RV'ers at Diamante Trailer Park in Acapulco, many who fly back and forth each season.

      Delete

There are more comments on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TravelwithKevinAndRuth

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.