I wanted Moog parts. In my opinion, they are the best aftermarket suspension and steering parts out there. You can buy the ball joints two different ways... individually, or included with the lower control arm assembly.
One of the things I was looking at was actually going up to the U.S. border, picking them up myself, and bringing them back. I could have flown from Puebla to Monterrey, taken a bus from Monterrey to McAllen, Texas and then doing the return trip. If everything went smoothly, I likely would have been back here with the parts on Tuesday evening.
Or, I could have ordered the parts to someone who lives near the U.S. border and had them taken to a DHL courier outlet to be shipped to us here in Puebla. That might have worked.
Then, I tried Amazon because I know that Amazon U.S. will ship some items to Mexico. Unfortunately, the parts I need were not part of that program. As soon as I input the Mexican address, the system said they could not be shipped.
Just for fun, I tried Amazon Mexico. I was amazed when I saw that the ball joints and the tie rod end and sleeve were available, with sourcing from the U.S. and with expedited shipping at an additional cost of 876 pesos ($63 CAD, $48 USD) for shipping, and 475 pesos ($33 CAD, $26 USD) for import taxes they would arrive in two to four business days.
Ordered.
The only minor disappointment was that the ball joint and control arm assembly that I would have preferred to buy was not available. I crawled back under Sherman to take another look at the control arm, and other than being scraped up on the bottom, I think it's fine. It's not bent... it's a heavy duty piece of steel that weighs 32 lbs!
So, now we wait for the parts, scheduled to arrive here between Tuesday and Thursday next week.
With that done, I took an Uber taxi downtown to meet the group for lunch.
Ruth had been with the group at Uriarte Talavera pottery place for the morning doing a tour...
Talavera Pottery
The different stages of manufacture.
Natural paint colors.
The old oven.
Making pots.
Painting.
Ready to be fired in the oven.
From this...
... to this!
Ruth said the stuff is quite expensive.
After lunch, we went for an open air bus tour...
Streets of Puebla.
On the bus.
But if we're being honest, this is not a bad place to be stuck. And to be more honest, we're kind of looking forward to the vacation here for the next few days! There is lots to see in the area, and the last time we were in Puebla, we said we wanted to spend more time here someday. Well I guess someday has arrived!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great deal on a new shower head!
Premium High Pressure Rainwater Shower Head
And in Canada...
Kraft Dinner.... pack of 4
Puebla looks beautiful, looking forward to your stories. May the next few days bring you solutions and peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter. Puebla for the most part is a very modern city except for it's historical center which happens to be an UNESCO site. So yes, it is beautiful and has lots of things that can kept Kevin and I busy.
DeleteThanks Peter. Puebla for the most part is a very modern city except for it's historical center which happens to be an UNESCO site. So yes, it is beautiful and has lots of things that can kept Kevin and I busy.
DeleteUnfortunate news about Sherman's continuing ball-joint troubles. While you wait in lovely Puebla and are "free", take a short side trip to Cholula and view the Popo from the church (Nuestra Senora de los Ramedios) on top of the Great Pyramid! On a clear day you can almost touch it.
ReplyDeleteWe are actually staying in Cholula and if we climb the water tower here at the park we can see the Great Pyramid, the church and both of the volcanoes.
DeleteWe definitely plan on visiting it, we can even walk there or take our bikes from here. We will also check out the ruins site as well.
We loved Cholula Puebla. great prices on renting a home there nice climate for the spring and summer.
ReplyDeleteI remember last time we were here we really like the area. The weather would be perfect for us year round, we don't mind some cooler days or cold nights.
DeleteHope everything arrives on time. We have some talavera dishes that don't say talavera so I have always assumed they were fake. That's ok because we love them. No beads sticking up! I read someplace that China produces talavera look alike. Did the tour leader mention anything about that. I think each factory is certified in order to be called talavera pottery.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that real Talavera dishes have to have the certificate that goes with them but we could never afford them. They are beautiful but expensive. Doesn't really matter if what you got isn't Talavera as long as you love it that is all that matters.
DeleteWe were broken up into two groups for the tour and unfortunately our guide wasn't all that good and didn't mention that or perhaps she did and I just missed that part. I do believe that you are correct, you should be able to feel the beading, or the rise in the texture from the paint on the surface of the item.
I guess you could have been in a worse situation. Hopefully you will be back on the road by next weekend. In the mean time relax and enjoy your stay!
ReplyDeleteWe could have been in a much worse situation so if it had to happen then we are glad it happened where it did.
DeleteYes, hopefully we will be back on the road by the end of the week.
Omg I love the city & snow capped mountains, pottery, etc oh yes, I can always count on Amazon to have what I am looking for 100 percent. They are world wide. As I said earlier I order my truck parts from Amazon and the success rate is five stars. Have a pleasant vacation because I’ll be vacationing right along with you. Out of lemons comes lemon cream pie with sugar on top as Tioga George says 😋👌
ReplyDeletePuebla is is a beautiful location, we are happy to spend more time here to explore the area a little better and the temperature is perfect for us. :-)
DeleteThis is our first experience with Amazon in Mexico so we are curious to see how well it works and hopefully it does work well.
Love Tioga George's saying!
Hopefully, you will arrive in here in Melaque no more than a day late. The St Patricks celebrations are not to missed. I think Michael is probably OK getting the caravan here, but I may meet him in Villa Corona anyway. Good PR. The main thing is the show is going on as they say.
ReplyDeleteYes, hopefully we will arrive in time for St. Patrick's Day for the celebrations although we have had a bit of experience with the Mexican fireworks so we know exactly what to expect and if we miss it it won't be a huge deal for us but it will be a great experience for the caravan group to see.
DeleteMichel and Louise are doing a great job leading the caravan in our absence. We are just happy that all the organized tours are over which makes things much easier with us not being able to be with the group. We are however giving them lots of information of things to see in the town of Patzcuaro and in the neighbouring communities so I am sure they won''t have trouble keeping themselves busy.
I am so enjoying following your travels. Sorry about Sherman but fortunately the group can continue on without you. I'm wondering - how many days are some of the other tours you have? My husband and I reslly like the idea of doing a group tour but 86 days might be too long for us.
ReplyDeleteWe are so happy to hear that you are enjoying our travels the good and the bad.
DeleteWe are glad that the group is also able to carry on without us, we would feel terrible if they were held back and missed out on things that they had been promised because of our breakdown.
The caravan company does have a short 30 day tour Copper Canyon tour, which would be an excellent tour to start with. Here is their website. www.mexicorvbuddies.com
I had good luck with Amazon Mexico so hopefully you will too. In fact I was amazed that they could ship so quickly to my small pueblito. Surely shipping to Puebla will be a snap. Fingers crossed that all goes smoothly.... but Puebla is good place to be “stuck”
ReplyDeleteThat is great news Cindy, fingers crossed that it will work well for us too! :-)
DeleteWe agree, Puebla and Cholula are definitely great places to be stuck in.
Nice to hear good news all around! Yay! Puebla looks like a beautiful city and your “someday” has definitely arrived! Enjoy your free time and I look forward to more pictures and narratives!
ReplyDeleteWe will use our time here wisely and check out some of the sights in the area. It really is a pretty place to be "stuck".
DeletePuebla looks gorgeous! The street with the colorful buildings and plants along the road is just stunning. Not a bad place to be stuck for awhile, eh?
ReplyDeletePuebla is gorgeous and it's downtown historical centre is also a UNESCO site which makes it even better. We are going to enjoy our few extra days here.
DeleteWhat a multi-colored extravagana! Loving all these pics as well as the narrative. It's like a good installment novel - waiting for the next part of the story is hard to do! (even though we're sorry about your troubles, we do love reading all your solutions!)
ReplyDeleteIt is a very colourful downtown, not quite as colourful as Campeche though. We are going to enjoy our "extra" few days here.
DeleteSometimes I wish our life wasn't so full of "drama"! ;-)
Beautiful city and lots of great things to see and do. Don´t forget the Chinese food!
ReplyDeleteWe are looking forward to our extra time here! Not sure that we will go out for Chinese food but who knows.
DeleteEnjoy your holiday!! I love your attitude. At least this time you are at home in Sherman all the time.
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to be able to be in Sherman and in a nice place rather that in a dusty dirty mechanic shop's parking lot.
DeleteWe took things easy yesterday but today we will get out and explore a little. :-)
What is that yellow thing?
ReplyDeleteHope your holiday away from your vacation is as good as it can be! :-)
(Poor Sherman)
The yellow thing is a piece of modern art called the “The Guardian Angel” because Puebla's full name is Puebla de los Ángeles or Town of the Angels.
DeleteWhen you are full timing you are never on a vacation or a holiday because this is your life. We consider a vacation/holiday to be when we go somewhere where we leave Sherman behind. :-)
Agree with you wholeheartedly about Moog parts, always been pleased with them. Glad you got stuck in such a great place to get stuck! Very interested to learn how well Amazon México performs next week---as one of the major drawbacks there is the lack of quick/affordable Amazon/eBay when you need them.
ReplyDeleteGood news to hear that you think that Moog parts are superior too, that just makes us feel all the more better about our decision to go with them.
DeleteKevin is very interested in seeing how the system works as well. Our fingers are crossed that it works as well here as it does back in Canada or the US.
Good luck with the repair again and enjoy your vacation.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI just love how you are rolling with the punches. Oil boy you sure have been punched lately. let's hope for a smooth installation and catching up to the rest of the group. That's great that they have a 5-day window in one spot so you can hopefully catch up and get back to business!!!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to enjoy life to it's fullest you have to just learn to roll with the punches otherwise you would just be miserable and life is too short for that! ;-)
DeleteOur fingers are crossed that parts will show up on time and then we can get the repair done and back on the road. We are sad that we can't be with the group and show them some of the neat places that they could see at the next two locations on their tour but we have sent along a list of things to see and do so hopefully they will love the area there as much as us. Once we are on the road we will take a slightly different route to get to where we hope to meet up with them at the beach.
Ruth and Kevin, Why have the people in your tour group chosen to see Mexico in a tour group, have any shared this information?
ReplyDeleteYep, lots of different reasons. Some like the camaraderie of a group dynamic. Some see safety in numbers, some are totally unfamiliar with traveling Mexico and wanted to travel with a group, some like having things all planned out for them, some a combination of the above reasons.
Delete