Hike up the 15,300 foot Toluca Volcano

It's not as bad as it sounds, because you are able to drive to the 13,600 foot level!

And we never made it to the top of the highest peak, but we did make it to 14,700 feet, so we weren't far off. Still, it was a great day and we enjoyed the hike and we got some fantastic photos.

Nice day to do nothing.

We needed to rest up yesterday to prepare for a big day today...we're headed to the top of the Toluca Volcano. Never been at an altitude of 15,300 feet and still been on the ground! There's supposed to be a road that goes part of the way up, but we will have to hike the last 2 kms or so. Hopefully the skies will be clear and we'll get some great views.

The Monarch Butterflies at Piedras Herrado

Yesterday, we drove about 35 kms (22 miles) through the town of Valle de Bravo, and then uphill all the way, into the mountains south of the city of Toluca. Our destination? The Piedras Herrado Butterfly Sanctuary.

Mexico City is sucking up all the water!

As soon as we arrived here last Saturday, the first thing we noticed was the water level of the lake. This is the third time we've been here at Valle de Bravo and Lago Avandaro, and each time the water level of the lake has been lower than the time before.

What happened to yesterday?

Monday just seems to have disappeared. We didn't do much of anything, yet the day just flew by! We did manage to go out and get some groceries and we stocked up on some beverages for our time here. Speaking of which...

Settled in to the little apartment

Yesterday was a relaxing day. We spent the morning getting the rest of our things into the apartment and sorting out our "kitchen". This apartment does have a kitchen, but it's a separate locked room off the balcony and there's no key!

What can happen in ten months?

Well, quite a lot apparently!

It was almost exactly ten months ago that we were here at Embarcadero Chago (Chago's Marina) on Lago Avandaro near Valle de Bravo.

Where do I start...

This is a fairly long post because it covers almost two full days! We keep fairly busy, so when we miss doing our daily blog post (like we did yesterday!) it's hard to remember where to start. Good thing we take a lot of pictures to help refresh our memories! Okay, when we left you last, we were about to hop on the local bus to go to central Morelia.

Hacienda Contreras to Morelia

Originally planned on leaving at 10:00am yesterday morning, but it was almost 11:30am by the time we finally headed out. Said goodbye to some people, sorry we missed most of you! Had we stuck around to say goodbye to everyone it would have been another half hour!

Hitting the road!

As much as we love it here at Hacienda Contreras, it's time to go out and find some new adventures! We're heading out this morning with the little blue car on a two and a half month Mexican road trip.

Hiking in Guatemala

Yesterday was a wet and windy day, and it got even more wet and windy through last night. It was definitely an indoor kind of a day and I spent a few hours of it researching travel in Guatemala.

Welcoming in 2013

We went with Chris to Sahuayo yesterday morning. Had to pick up some minor grocery items for last night's New Years Eve party, as well as some wiring and special nuts and bolts to fasten Chris and Juan's solar panel to the roof of their trailer.

December expenses

As expected, December expenses were back to normal. We know from past experience that we can live pretty well here in Mexico for very little money, and December fell right in line with that.

A drive and a birthday party

Yesterday after our morning power walk, Ruth and I decided to take a drive in the little blue car. We wanted to see if a particular route was motorhome friendly, and the results of that are in our previous post. We drove 170 kms (105 miles)! We made it back in time to get ready for 4:00pm when all the campers were invited to a birthday party for two year old Francisco.

Villa Corona to Hacienda Contreras

Or vice versa. Hacienda Contreras to Villa Corona.

At the town of Villa Corona, there is a popular RV Park and Waterpark. Many RV'ers often make there way from there to here and the other way around. Using the main roads, there's really only one route, and part of it is on a stretch of busy, narrow road that isn't really "RV friendly".