Tough drive, but worth it!

(Written April 2, 8:00am)

We didn’t really want to leave Delia’s Trailer Park in Etzatlan. But Sherman wanted to test out his new engine battery, so eventually we got things packed up and said goodbye to Bonnie.

Of course Sherman fired right up, and it was just after 10:00am when we pulled out.

Birthday, Battery, and Moving on...

First on the agenda...Happy Birthday to our grandson Cameron!

Yes, Cameron is an April Fool's birthday boy. Many of our regular readers will remember when we made the long cold drive up to Nova Scotia in order to be there for the big event exactly 3 years ago today.

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.