Thermal Baths and Gorditas!

You might want to check out yesterday's post first because we were so busy that it actually didn't get posted until late afternoon. Why? We wanted to get an early start because we had another busy day planned. in fact, we were in the car by 7:30am, heading south to the spa town of Ixtapan de le Sal.

Heading south, we continued around the other eastern side of the Toluca Volcano.

Hard to believe we were way up there on Friday!

We drove about 62 kms (37 miles) south of Toluca to Ixtapan de la Sal.

Paco is a retired teacher, and there are facilities for teachers that are discounted throughout Mexico depending on which state you teach in. The Centro Vacacional Ixtamil is one such facility, and Paco and Oti have even had their motorhome there for a period of time. It's not an RV park as such, but there is an area that is great for RV's. You might have to call them first to see if it can be arranged.

The outdoor pool. This particular one is not heated.

But this indoor thermal pool sure is!

 Kevin, Ruth, Oti, Paco.

We sat and relaxed in the thermal water for quite a while. It was soooo relaxing and the water temperature was perfect...not too hot, and it felt like sitting in a warm bath. Afterwards, we went for a walk around the property. The hotel and property is actually open to the public, but teachers from the state of Mexico receive a worthwhile discount. Not sure who actually owns the property...it might actually be the teachers union itself, but I'm not positive. GPS co-ordinates for the gate for RV's is 18.827088,-99.668312

We didn't check prices, but the hotel rates include three daily meals in the on site restaurant.

The property is beautiful.

Showing us the area where they park their motorhome.

There's also a large park on the property, and a walking path that leads to a pretty waterfall.

Ruth and Kevin and the waterfall. 

Yikes...this guy had a huge web and he was about 4" diameter. Took this for you Lindsey. :-)

I had to duck to get through here!

By the time we were ready to leave it was getting close to the lunch hour. The next town of Tonatico is a pretty place and there are quite a few local eateries. Hard to believe we've been in Mexico this long and we've never had a gordita! Well I think we'll be having more of them when the opportunity arises! Found a little spot where they looked good...and they were!

Not the best photo, and the girl was shy and wouldn't turn around. It was funny.

Blue corn shell stuffed with pork, peppers, onions, and beans. Delicious! The first one was so good we had to order a second one! Lunch for all of us, including a couple of drinks of jamaica total cost of 106 pesos ($8.50).

And then we went for a walk around the town of Tonatico. There was some sort of religious celebration going on and there were a lot of people about. Made it fun to walk around and just see the sights. Lots of goods out for sale all around the central plaza, and local dancing and the church was so full that they were having most of the service outdoors so more people could participate.

Busy day in Tonatico.

Local traditional dance costumes.

Then, we drove back to Toluca. Paco and Oti actually live in a suburb of Toluca, the municipality of Metepec. There's a famous church there that overlooks the city, and the area itself has recently become one of Mexico's "Pueblo Magicos"...

View from the church.

Hard to get a good picture of the church...sun was in the wrong direction. This was the best I could do!

Then it was back to their house to relax for an hour before we had to do the hour and a half drive back to Valle de Bravo. Had no problems along the way and made it back just as it was getting dark. Perfect timing. We had a great day and a great weekend with Paco and Oti and we are looking forward to when we see them again. Sounds like they may come to Hacienda Contreras with their motorhome and visit us there towards the end of March!

Today will be a day of rest, although we do have to go into town and do some grocery shopping. Oh, speaking of shopping, we have been on the lookout for an air mattress and we even stopped by a Walmart yesterday and a big Super Che store...they both had camping equipment, including sleeping bags and tents...but no air mattresses! Finally went into a really busy Mega store, and got lucky with a double size one for 268 pesos ($21.44)...very happy with that!