Change of plans, and another busy tour day

This time, the vans arrived to pick us up at just after 8:30am. But first, while everybody was gathered around, we had to have a quick group meeting to discuss how Sherman was going to get caught up with the group.

As the group leaders, we had decided that everyone would spend two extra nights here at Oaxaca, and have the group carry on to the next destination of Puebla on Thursday morning. Ruth and I will return to Sherman on Wednesday. Then, with any luck at all Sherman would be ready on Thursday and we would catch up to the group in Puebla in time for their departure on Saturday morning to Patzcuaro.

Busy day touring around Oaxaca

The two vans arrived to pick up our group at 9:00am yesterday for a busy day touring. Almost too busy!

First stop was a place that does rug weaving. I thought it wouldn't be up my alley, but the local Zapotec woman who's husband revived this art form was really interesting, and it was almost kind of odd that her English was so good.

Good news, and bad news...

By 8:30am yesterday morning, there were two guys underneath Sherman working away to remove the right front lower control arm and ball joint. It turned out that the ball joint itself had not broken at the stud... it had broken at the collar that holds it together. And strangely, it doesn't even seem to be that worn.

Anyhow, it needs a new ball joint, and we are going to get the one on the opposite side replaced as well.

Sherman - Towed to a truck mechanic shop in Juchitan, Mexico!

We sat on the side of the busy road for a total of about 28 hours. Essentially, doing nothing. Good thing we had a decent cell signal so we had communication and internet access.

The tow truck had been arranged the night before, but they had said they couldn't make it there until about 11:00am. We had the impression that the towing company is very busy and that there aren't many towing companies in this area. The roadside assistance people were not able to find one to help us, and they had said that they would reimburse us up to $300 USD if we submitted the invoice to them once we found help.

Houston, we have a problem...

A big problem.

The day started off as planned, with a scheduled 8:00am departure from the orphanage. We got on the toll road going south towards Arriaga, and it was a decent enough road, although fairly busy.

Great scenery too!

Sumidero Canyon boat trip, and back to the orphanage

The van was there to pick us up at 8:00am Wednesday morning to take us to the boat launch at Chiapa de Corzo. That is where you get the tour boats to take you into the nearby Sumidero Canyon. Ruth and I had done the canyon boat tour back in 2009, but we were looking forward to a return visit.

The dam was built in 1981. At that time, the river was just a series of un-navigable rapids, but with the rising waters from the dam, popular boat tours started in the spectacular canyon.

San Cristobal and the surrounding villages of Chamula and Zinacantan

Yesterday was the day trip to San Cristobal de las Casas. Ruth and I have been there twice before, 3 nights in February of 2009, and two nights at the end of February 2013. We like San Cristobal, but it sure has grown in the nine years since the first time we were there.

San Cristobal is located in the mountains at an altitude of around 7,000 ft. Where we are parked with the motorhomes is only 1,400 ft. And San Cristobal is only 50 kms (30 miles), away so it is up hill all the way.

We've said it before... smaller is easier when exploring Mexico in an RV

We sure enjoyed our experience at the orphanage, but boy it sure wasn't very relaxing for Ruth and I. On the go again yesterday morning as we had to finish spending the money. First stop was a papeleria... a paper goods store. The small town Mexico version of Office Depot!

This was a little one man operation, and he had everything! Veronica had made a list again, and it took them almost two hours to get everything together. Just adding everything up was time consuming...

Shopping for the orphanage

We had a long drive yesterday morning and we hit the road at 8:00am. Well, not that long as in distance, at only 333 kms (206 miles), but we know that you don't get anywhere fast in Mexico and so we planned on it taking five hours with minimal stops.

There was no easy way to get from Villahermosa to Ocozocoautla. The most direct route at 230 kms (143 miles) is a curvy mountain road that goes through small villages. If Ruth and I were on our own, we would have done it, but with 12 rigs it would have been a long slow journey.

Mexico RV Caravan Travel Day - Palenque to Villahermosa

We left Palenque on schedule right at 9:00am.

By 9:05am, we encountered a change in plans!

Entering the main road that runs beside the town, we saw some police cars, and then some detour signs. There was some kind of special bicycle race going on, and they had the main road closed off. The detour went through the town!

Wow. We are a little overwhelmed...

By the generosity of our readers.

Two days ago, we asked if anybody wanted to help us buy some things for a local orphanage we will be staying at with our Mexico RV Caravan group.

In two days, 20 readers have donated a total of $1,670 in combined U.S. and Canadian dollars. Either way, it works out to over 30,000 pesos!

The fabulous Mayan ruins at Palenque

Our guide Salvador showed up exactly on schedule at 9:00am with two minivans to take our group to the Palenque archaeological site.

Ruth and I visited the Palenque ruins at the end of January 2009, and it has been our favorite ruins site out of the probably 10 or 12 other Mexico ruins we have been to. It has the best architecture, and the best surroundings, in our opinion.

Mexico RV Caravan Travel Day.... and a request...

On Wednesday morning, we were on the road from Conhaus to Palenque at 9:00am. Very often, we have the Green Angels travelling with us, but not always. It depends on their availability and the route we are on. Anyhow, they were supposed to show up at 9:00am, and they are normally early. This time, we were pulling out and they had not yet arrived. We leave on time, Green Angels, or not.

Just as we were about to pull out onto the highway, there they were!

3 Outdoor Adventures in Wrightsville Beach

Wrightsville Beach is a paradise for lovers of water activities and outdoor adventures. It's got water sports like surfing and paddleboarding along with scenic cruises along the waterways around the island. There are fishing spots along the piers and charter boats that go further out onto the ocean for deep water sportfishing. It's a small town full of seemingly endless outdoor adventures on the water. Following are three outdoor adventures that are not to be missed while on a trip to Wrightsville Beach.

The remote ruins of Calakmul, and the bat cave!

Well that was an interesting day!

We were on the road at 7:00am Tuesday morning! Sometimes the schedule isn't to everybody's liking, but if you want to see what is on the planned route, you need to take the good with the bad. In this case, it was going to be a very busy day... but we think that everybody enjoyed the final outcome!