Great drive, until the very last kilometer...

We did a 198 km (123 mile) drive yesterday from the Balneario Pueste del Sol to Club Nautico Los Olas del Valle near Valle de Bravo.

Ruth and I have done most of this drive in the past, so we knew that we had a lot of twisty windy mountain roads to do and that it would take some time. We left at 9:00am, stopped for lunch for an hour and a half, and arrived at about 3:30pm... so it was about 5 hours of driving to do 198 kms (123 miles)!

And it went problem free until the very last kilometer!

We started off with 40 kms (24 miles) on the main toll highway that runs between Guadalajara and Mexico City...

4 lane freeway.

Scenery along the way.

Surprisingly, not that busy.

Rough road entering Maravatio.

I think somebody pocketed the road repair money!

But, we just took our time, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

We had to climb up into the mountains near where some of the monarch butterfly wintering grounds are located. Guaranteed it's the first time an RV caravan has taken these roads! We sure had a lot of people staring and waving at us... they must have figured we were lost.

Nice views as we climbed to around 8,600 ft.

We wanted to stop at a town called Tlalpujahua. Don't worry if you can't pronounce it properly... we have to work at it as well and I still can't get it right! We've been there before, but it's a really pretty spot with a lot of history and it is known for producing Christmas ornaments.

But we weren't sure if there would be enough parking for eight RVs!

We stopped the group at a gas station a couple of kms from town and Ruth and I went ahead to check out the parking situation. We were in luck, and I called back to the group to come on ahead.

We stopped in Tlalpujahua for a quick hour and a half combined lunch/sightseeing break. Too bad we didn't have more time... we could have spent a day there. I think if we do this trip again next year, we will see if we can stay in that parking lot overnight.

Another nice big Christmas tree.

Lynette and Paul... Christmas elves!

Tlalpujahua church.

Being a Saturday, there was a wedding taking place.

Pinatas for sale.

From there, we headed south across the altiplano to Villa Victoria...

Yep, we're out in the countryside.

But still a few towns to go through.

An informal market.

Scenery along the way.

Laundry day for some of the local folks.

And then it was downhill from 8,600 ft to Valle de Bravo at 5,900 ft.

We don't actually bring the RVs into Valle de Bravo itself. We are about 5 kms from the town, located in between the villages of El Arco and San Gaspar. But you have to drive through El Arco to get here, and it's a busy, congested area with a lot of taxis and buses.

We were about 1 km (less than a mile) from our destination, and everything was going fine, when we heard from Barry and Jeannie on the radio.

"Kevin, we need help, I think we hit a taxi!"

There was nowhere for us to pull over though, so the rest of us had to continue on. I told them I would return as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we got to the turn into the embarcadero (marina) where we would be parking.

This is our fifth or sixth time here. Ruth and I love the place, despite it's drawbacks. Every time we come, something has changed and although we had organized this in advance with the owner Chago, we weren't sure what he had in mind for us as far as where we were supposed to park.

So in the lead, I pulled under some low wires into an empty lot just to get myself out of the way to allow enough room for others to pull into the lane way from the main road. I got out and started directing others. I got Bob and Denise pulled into another spot out of the way, and I went with one of Chago's workers down to the water to check out where he wanted us to park, leaving Ruth out at the main road so that others didn't miss the turn.

I was walking back to get them, when I heard some noise and saw a bunch of wires hanging from poles tighten up. I knew exactly what had happened, and came up the lane to find Garth's rig covered in various cables and wires!

Yikes. What a mess.

He had followed Wendy in her much shorter rig, and simply didn't see the low hanging wires. Sorry, no photos... there was simply too much going on to worry about snapping photos.

Chago's workers helped get Garth sorted out, and I went with Wendy in her rig back to see how Barry and Jeannie were making out. I found them parked at the side of the road with a taxi in front of them. I spoke to the taxi driver, and he says they clipped his mirror. Sure enough, the mirror is damaged, although minor. I negotiated with him for a 600 peso ($30 USD, $41 CAD) settlement. 

We finally got everyone parked up. Our parking area isn't ideal, but that's not why we came here. There is a lot to see and do in the area, and the friends we have here are always a lot of fun. We love the place, and we hope the group ends up loving it too!

Happy hour sunset by the lake.

It's one of our three favorite places in Mexico and we haven't been here since January 7th, 2016. So, almost three years. We were so disappointed that last year's route didn't include any of our three favorite places, so when I designed the route this year, it includes long stops at all three!

Chago's kids are all growing up. Last time we were here, Isidro was 15, Mariell was 14, and little Fatima was 3. Now, Isidro is a young man of 18, Mariell is 17, and little Fatima is going to turn 6 this week. We will be having a birthday party!

Fatima is such a little sweetheart.

And so we are here through Christmas and New Years, planning on departing January 3rd. The original idea of staying here so long was so that any of the group could fly home from Mexico City for Christmas if they chose, but everybody is staying put.

Yesterday's drive, 198 kms (123 miles).

Calling for sunshine with a high of 22C (72F) and a low of 6C(43F). Perfect.

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