El Amparo mine and ghost town

Our host here at Delia's Trailer Park is Bonnie. We're the only ones here just now, so she offered to take us in her Jeep up into the mountains south of Etzatlan to an old mining town. The El Amparo mine was one of the most successful silver mines in the state of Jalisco. The mine was originally started up in 1904, but had it's heyday between in the 1920's.

It's difficult to find all the information online, but it seems that the still productive mine was shut down around 1940 because of a combination of poor management and the unreasonable demands of the unionized miners.

All that remains are the ruins.

Exploring Etzatlan and a rare night out at a show!

We've been pretty much relaxing during our week here. We enjoyed our winter in Southern Africa, but we found that we didn't allow much time for simply doing nothing! So we're trying to make up for that here.

But we did feel the need to go for a hike.

No pictures to prove it!

I got ambitious yesterday and cleaned Sherman's roof. I was up there for a couple of hours, and Ruth never got a picture to prove it.

All RV'ers know that an RV rubber roof should be cleaned every three months. But I've stood on Sherman's roof in an RV park and it's pretty easy to tell that most rubber roofs hardly ever get cleaned.

Shopping for Sherman's new battery

Yesterday, we wandered in to the town of Etzatlan. Had to pick up a few things, as well as do some shopping for Sherman's new engine battery.

Last time we were here, two and a half years ago, you had to walk into town alongside the highway. Now, they have a foot and bicycle path!

Blue sky and sunshine

And warm temperatures too. It's been fantastic weather here in Jalisco farm country. They could probably use some rain, but that wouldn't be normal for this part of Mexico at this time of year. Highs of 30C (86F) and lows of 13C (56F).

Perfect.

A few glitches along the way!

Yesterday was a travel day for us. In fact, it was our first travel day with our motorhome Sherman in over two years! And we were pretty excited.

I was a little concerned about Sherman's engine battery though. I had a feeling it needs to be replaced.

"Something doesn't smell right!"

We wasted the morning away yesterday. Had a couple of coffees and teas, then Ruth made bacon and eggs for a bit of a late breakfast. Spent some time on the internet, and read our books a little bit.

We had been planning on going into the nearby town of Mazamitla, but that would entail taking a bus that goes by infrequently, or a taxi.

Manhattan Vacation Rental

We recently spent three nights in Manhattan's Lower East Side district of New York City. It's a great area to stay in if you're looking for everything that New York City has to offer. Walking distance to some of the most vibrant parts of the city.

Chinatown. Little Italy. And of course the world famous Brooklyn Bridge.

Down time

Although we enjoyed our four months in southern Africa, we never felt like we got a lot of relax time in. We wanted to experience as much as possible because you never know when we'll get back there. Here in Mexico however, we don't feel the need to rush about.

So yesterday, we took advantage of that.

New RV Park in Jalisco, Mexico

Yesterday morning we were up bright and early. Sherman was going to stay at a new RV Park. Quite a change for him, as he's been parked at the same place since March 16, 2012! We had taken him for a drive a couple of times over the past two years, but he hasn't been to a new RV Park in that time. Hard to believe.

Yesterday, he got a change of scenery. Except it's only a kilometer (less than a mile) down the road!

A fiesta in town!

There was to be a parade in town yesterday morning, but it was supposed to start at 9:00am. We were a little late getting going, so we missed the parade but we still saw most of the participants in the central plaza of Valle de Juarez.

I should tell you a little more about this little town.

Sherman needs a bath!

For those of you who don't know, Sherman is the name of our motorhome.

Sherman has been parked here at Hacienda Contreras RV Park near Valle de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico. He's been been parked here since April 1st of 2013, almost one full year without us!

He was sure happy to see us yesterday. And we were happy to see him!

What a day...but we made it!

Thrilled to be back at our motorhome Sherman and with our friends at Hacienda Contreras RV Park!

But what a long day it was to get here.

When we left you last, we were on our way to the Cancun airport. It was about 9:30pm and our flight departed at 1:40am. We gave ourselves lots of time because we were taking local transport and weren't sure how that was going to go.

Beach Palace Resort (day 3)

Best day yet, from a weather point of view. Perfect temperatures, hardly any wind, and mostly sunshine.

We didn't do very much though! I guess that's the idea, although they certainly do have activities should you wish to take part. Seems to me we took part in a lot of food and drink the last three days!

Beach Palace Resort (day 2)

The day started out okay, but around the noon hour the clouds moved in. And then the skies opened up and it poured with rain for a couple of hours here in Cancun. But we still had a good day!

Beach Palace Resort (day 1)

Shortly after 9:00am yesterday morning, we said good bye to our couchsurfing host Carmen and her dog Ghia. Thanks for having us Carmen, we enjoyed seeing you again!

We were headed to the luxury all inclusive Beach Palace Resort. All we had to do was to figure out how to get there!

Spring break? No thanks!

Yesterday morning we went for a walk on the beach. A long walk on the beach!

Where we have been staying is in the city of Cancun, not the hotel zone. So we're actually about 4 kms (2.4 miles) walking distance just to get  to the beach.

Day trip to the island of Cozumel

Up bright and early yesterday morning at 5:30am in order to catch the 8:00am ferry to the island of Cozumel. We had to walk to the bus station, then take the bus to Playa del Carmen, then take the ferry to Cozumel.

It didn't go as smoothly as we planned!

Lost in Cancun

Yup. We got lost this morning.

Still can't quite figure out how we did it. But had we been on "The Amazing Race" television show, today would have been the day we would have been eliminated from the race!

Sometimes our life can be a little complicated...

Trying to figure out the best way to get to places and be where we want (or need) to be is pretty difficult sometimes. Different flight options and prices, what to do with the motorhome and the little blue car, and other "stuff" that we own, and then the variety of unknowns thrown into the mix.

Yesterday, another piece of the puzzle fit nicely into place...

Cheap Cape Town Car Rental

We had to do a shout out to the company who rented us our car in Cape Town. As you know, we tell it like it is and when we find a well run company who also gives us a deal, then we feel obliged to tell you about it!

We had been looking for cheap, basic transportation for our two month visit to South Africa and Lesotho. Here's what we found...

Happy to be back in Mexico!

Hard to believe that it's been almost a year since we left Mexico. In fact, it was April 6th of last year when we drove the little blue car across the border from Mexico to the United States. Our motorhome Sherman has been sitting patiently waiting for us all that time. And we are missing our motorhome lifestyle! But we don't get back to Sherman until the 19th, a week from today.

For the next week, we are in Cancun!

New York CityPASS

Busy day yesterday. And because we only had two and a half days in New York, we didn't want to waste any of it!

First thing, we went for a walk half way across the Williamsburg Bridge. We wanted to see if we could get a different view of midtown Manhattan, but it turns out that they've got screening mesh across most of it so that you can't throw things (or yourself!) onto the cars and subway trains that are also crossing the bridge.

New York City Food Tour!

Well, this was a fun and different way to spend a few hours yesterday.

We had been invited to take part in a walking tour of New York's Chinatown and Little Italy areas. But with an added twist. This tour included stopping at restaurants along the way and sampling some of their offerings!

Back in the Big Apple!

Seems we brought some South African weather back to New York City. Well, almost. Yesterday was probably the nicest day New York has seen since last December!

But what a long trip to get here. When you include the hour and a half stop in Dakar, Senegal, we were on the plane for eighteen and a half hours!

Travel day!

Actually writing this from the departure lounge at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport.

Said goodbye this morning to our Cape Town couchsurfing host Mark. Thanks for having us Mark!

Then we drove our rental car over to Key Car Hire, filled it up with gas one last time, and owners Gary and Liesl personally drove us to the airport from there. So nice dealing with a small company where the owners are there to properly look after their customers.

Then, we had a two hour wait for our flight.

On top of Table Mountain

The city of Cape Town is dominated by the famous geological structure of Table Mountain. You don't really understand it until you see it, and it's almost always visible from some angle no matter where you are in the city.

And you can't help but look at it. Stuck in traffic? Stare at Table Mountain. Sitting on an outdoor patio? Odds are good that it faces Table Mountain. Very often, you will be able to watch the clouds falling over the edge of the mountain. They call that "the tablecloth".

But really, what you want to do is to be on top of the mountain. Fortunately, there are two ways to accomplish this!

Cape Town views

We drove back downtown yesterday. First goal was to find some gluten free bread. Second was to visit with a lady we had couchsurfed with back towards the beginning of January.

We knew where we wanted to go for the bread. The Wellness Warehouse on Kloof St.

Scenic drive around Cape Town

It's pretty easy to figure out why Cape Town is a popular place to live. There are mountains, and beaches, it has perfect weather, and there's a lot to do. There's always something going on.

There's a big bicycle race happening here this weekend and the route is very scenic. Yesterday, we took the car for a drive and followed much of the route that the cyclists will be doing.

Ronnie's Sex Shop

I know, from looking at the title, you're thinking we must have taken on a high paying advertising deal. We wish!

But it's a fun story story, so read on!

We have the best readers, fans, and followers!

We're a little overwhelmed by the show of support. Some of it from people we have never met. When we thought that a few of you might want to help us help our friends, we didn't know what to expect.

Stanley's Light

One of the reasons that we came to the town of Ladismith was to do a hike that we had read about. And, there's a kind of an oddball story that goes along with this hike.

So we were up at 5:30am yesterday morning. We had read that it was a difficult climb up and so we wanted to do that part early before it got too hot out.

February Expenses

Another pricey month, mostly because of our visit to Lesotho (which was totally worth it!) and our overnight and accommodation costs. Probably the most we've ever spent on accommodation for the month!

We spent a total of $2,284 for the month. Here's how it all broke down...

Just an update

On Thursday morning, we drove from Oudtshoorn to Ladismith. Once again, we had the highway pretty much to ourselves. We had no idea where we would end up for the night. Sometimes that strategy pays off, and sometimes it doesn't!

This time, things worked out pretty good!