Yucatan/Mexico 08 with Brewers

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Betty:

Today is the first day I  could sit down to read your postings, and what a joy they are to read!!  It sounds like you are having a wonderful trip and everyone is having such a good time.  Since we will never get there, like others have said we are living the dream in your posts and pictures.  You do such a terrific job of them.  Can't wait for the next installment...... ;D

Cheers,  Daisy
 
February 4, 2008
Campeche

Today  we toured Campeche on our own.  It is the Capitol city of the  State. It is known for having one of the most impressive Carnivals in Mexico.  In our drive into the city today we saw massive floats parked along streets, remnants of confetti, streamers and it sure looked like we missed the party.  All public museums and Cathedrals and the 7 fortresses in the city were closed today (as they usually are on Mondays) and tomorrow they will be closed due to Constitution day.  We rode into town with Jack and Shirley so that we could make a grocery store run and to see a few sights of the city. We took pictures along the shores of this quaint fishing city, which is very clean.
The MEGA Grocery store was a tourist treat in itself.  It is a massive grocery store on the second floor of a building and we were amazed that the escalator that goes up to the second floor accommodates shopping cats that have special wheels.  It is very strange to see every product labeled in Spanish.  Gosh how I wish I had taken Spanish in high school instead of French.  I knew the familiar color and label of Clorox but I could not determine if it was scented or plain.  We had a hard time figuring out how much Deet was in the insect spray we wanted. 

We found a lunch spot along the Gulf and used our limited knowledge of Spanish to order shrimp tacos. Shirley and I acted out the ingredients of a dish.  You should see our rendition of fish or chicken!  Jack ordered  a shrimp chili relleno and we were all very happy with our meal.  We spent the after noon back in the pool at the campground enjoying the rafts we bought at the Mega store.  My insect bites are healing and I thank you for all of your suggested remedies. 

Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven:  0
Temperatures:    High 92    Low  68  Humidity  89%
GPS Coordinates: N 19 46.41 W 90 38.51
 

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Daisy said:
Today is the first day I  could sit down to read your postings, and what a joy they are to read!!  It sounds like you are having a wonderful trip and everyone is having such a good time.  Since we will never get there, like others have said we are living the dream in your posts and pictures.  You do such a terrific job of them.   Can't wait for the next installment

Daisy (and others)

Thank you for your kind words on my journal.  All during the day I feel as if my "readers" are with me.  I take little notes on things I think might be of interest to those of you following. AND I do this so that when I return home I can recall what I did day by day.  I do realize that many will never be able to experience this kind of a trip and I feel blessed to have the experience.  I'm happy to share!  Travel outside of "home", makes  me much more appreciative of my own roots!


Betty
 
Frank and I will probably not take this trip either.  We are enjoying reading your journal, and look forward to everyday.  We appreciate you sharing very much.  Thank You. 

Have you seen any other caravans along the way?  I was wondering if the campgrounds are filled with Mexican family campers?  Hows the internet and tv satelite down there? 

Safe and happy travels
Barb
 
Alaskansnowbirds said:
How does Terry keep the motorhome balanced on that one axle? 


OK now , Don, I see you've managed to avoid the question.  How much toll do you think we paid?  :)  :)

Betty
 
moreaual said:
Hello, Moreau & Carriere`s & friends.. hope this post - few extra pix for you to enjoy.
.
Thanks for the pictures i was waiting for those.  I'm glad to see that you're having fun.  We miss you lots.  Bye love Jo xx :-* :-*
 
February 5, 2008
Campeche Day 3

Today was another free day in Campeche.  Terry took the optional tour to the Edzna Ruins and left at 7 am with 7 hearty souls in our group.   I opted to sleep in, drink coffee, do my email, defrost the refrigerator and swim in the pool.  I got shots of the brave divers going off the high dive as we rated their skills. Thses will be in a seperate post to follow)

Terry returned around noon and reported that the ruins were fantastic.  Tonight after our potluck, Ede told about them and I took her notes to make my comments here.

The Edzna Ruins (300 BC) are Mayan ruins discovered in 1956 and are only 25% uncovered. The remainder is still buried in the jungle. The pyramids are 5 stories high. If you could see from the top of one pyramid to the next you could see to the next community.  The very educated and articulate guide revealed that he is Mayan and that there is much intermix of races.  In fact Mayan?s here have 2 names, one Mayan and one Spanish. A path to the sea was available to all structures here as salt was an essential element of the life. The manatee and deer were used for their fat for pigment to paint on rocks.   The roads were wide so that the rocks could be rolled on logs.  The structures here are made of rock and covered with stucco and white washed.  The original red paint was made of pigment from fruit and deer fat.   Needless to say it was a happy day in archeology when this structure was discovered. Terry noted how steep the climb down from them was!
I am a little sorry that I did not go today but my tan is coming along nicely. 

Fern offered to make his beans for the group and it turned into a caravan potluck, which we all enjoyed at 4 pm.  At 7 pm we were invited to a ?Sing along? with Fern and we sang our lungs out to the songs we knew the words to and hummed along if we didn?t know the words. 

Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven:  0
Temperatures:    High 92    Low 73   Humidity 86%
GPS Coordinates: N 19 46.41 W 90 38.51
 

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Campeche Feb 5  Continued..

What Betty Did all day.
 

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Well Betty at least you get to look at the photos like the rest of us.  Fantastic photos of the ruins.  Thanks again for sharing. 
 
Betty Brewer said:
Campeche Feb 5  Continued..

What Betty Did all day.
  Great pictures thanks for the one of my parents (Fern & Annette) !!  I'm happy when i see them.  I miss them lots.  ;D :D
 
Those ruins look like they were worth getting up before 7 am. But the 94 degrees with 86% humidity doesn't sound terribly appealing....maybe something between that and our high temp of 26 degrees???

Keep those pics coming
Wendy
snowbound in Colorado
 
Russ

>>&& pesos?<<

If your trusty Mac keyboard let you down & you meant 77 pesos....Then you are the winner.

 
Betty,
It appears as though you are taking good care of my brother, Jack Peart.
He and Shirley are having more fun than the law allows....please tone it down!

My wife and I have traveled in the area you are in now (Merida) and loved being there.
We found the heat and humidity just like being at home (South Carolina).

Keep up the good work on the travelogue.
You are doing a magnificent job.

David
 
February 6, 2008
Merida

We had a travel day on very good roads.  We are told that the poorest roads are behind us now (except for the return trip on some of those same roads.)   We?ve entered the State of Yucatan so my journal log title is accurate.  We were waved through the agricultural inspection where we had been warned of losing eggs, pork, chicken and cheese.  The officials boarded some of the RV?s but not much was ?taken.? We had used up all of the potential foods to lose and now will shop like crazy here in Merida which is a big city.  When we arrived at this grassy RV Park that had been advertised as ?full hook up?, we found the power does not work in many spots, the water spigots have lost their thread and sewer is not available at all sights.  But hey, we are in the Yucatan, with wonderful friends and we don?t complain.  Some offered to run extension cord to the rigs of others, some moved to park in shade. Everyone is very helpful.  The level of amenities in Mexican RV parks is not something we can count on.  We are flexible.  We are frugal with our supplies.  We are having fun.   When we arrived it was around 12:30 and steamy hot!!!!  Clear skies were blistering us in the heat, which made our quest for power all the greater.  Within a couple of hours big clouds covered the sky, cooling the temperatures. 

The shopping came to us.  Jose and Ricky came selling hats and hammocks.  Many purchases were made.  Ricky showed pictures of how the hats are woven from palm fronds by his family. The work is done in caves to avoid the humidity that stretches the frond too much.  Terry and I bought the tourist mid-grade hats (two for 300 pesos) The good ones felt like real cloth and less like straw but they were more pesos.  The swinging hammocks take a week to make and many of those were sold too.
During our happy hour, it started to rain and we were happy to be under the cover of an open palapa.  Not one single complaint was made about the rain.  The temps dropped nicely.  The animal awards were presented.   WE would have won the tire roulette again tonight but we had forgotten to contribute the $1 to the pot last night.  I?ve now paid in advance for the next travel day.

Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven:  124
Temperatures:    High 95    Low 76   Humidity 90%
GPS Coordinates: N 12 02.494 W 89   37.821
 

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Barb said:
Have you seen any other caravans along the way?  I was wondering if the campgrounds are filled with Mexican family campers?  Hows the internet and tv satelite down there? 

Barb,
The only other Caravan we've seen pulled into our campground 2 days ago and left the  day before we did.  Fortunately the caravan companies try to schedule trips so as  to avoid having 2 caravans in a park at a time.  Just not enough spaces.  The  other campers we've seen have been Canadian or Australian or Swiss.  There have been a few  Mexican campers but not very many.
Our SAT Mex  5  satellite has been wonderful.  Occasionally the  big dish picks up a Direct TV station but the dome gets  nothing this far south.
Betty
 
duty10f said:
It appears as though you are taking good care of my brother, Jack Peart.
He and Shirley are having more fun than the law allows....please tone it down!

David,

I don't think there is any chance at all of having this group tone it down. And yes we are all taking good care of each other.  Jack and Shirley are the best! Tomorrow we get a town tour and have a free day the next. Have you got a suggestion for our free day?
Betty
 
Betty,

It has been a long time, but I think we took the horse-drawn carriage ride around town, which was very nice.

I emailed Shirley earlier and mentioned the gold/silver market in Merida.
Some years ago, my wife bought a very nice ring there for a very decent price.
If it is still around, you might want to check it out if you have unused money to get rid of.
If you don't have any, ask Jack for some of his.

David
 

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