A NEW PLAN & THE LIST

Only two days since my last post and already changes….

That MUST be a record.

Or not. We do seem to change course on the fly.

Not 12 hours after I posted about our Mexico schedule, someone in the Wood Clan wanted to toss it and come up with a new one - one that involved heading to Mexico NOW. Can't blame him - is it cold or is it cold?

Just think - last year at this time we were living large and warm at the Patzcuaro Market.

Anyway, as I sat down to rework our route I checked to see if Chris and Juan were thinking of coming home early. Good news! They should be there by Thursday. So - so will we.

New plan: We are back on the road come Monday; with a pit stop in Luling for lunch we'll be headed over to Victoria for the night. Tuesday we will continue south with an overnight stop in Corpus Christi or a little further south. We'll see - we are trying to meet up with Bear8Photo who is in the south with his dog Ink. We will need Wednesday as a prep day to get our vehicle insurance and any last items together.

Thursday -- into Mexico!

The last few days have also given us some time to think about our route after we are done listening to the howler monkeys at Palenque. Initially we thought to go to the Yucatan but we have a feeling that area is not our scene. At this point we are thinking to head to the west coast - so from Palanque over to Huatulco, then up to Acapulco, a return visit to Zihuatanejo (mmm the burgers from El Manglar), up to the Lake Chapala area, Guadalajara, Zacateca, Torreon, Chihuahua and finally El Paso.

We were planning on sticking to the east this year and come up the middle but this is an exciting new plan - involving heat and beaches. Plus, it will give us a chance to stop in at the Club Roca Azul RV Park on Lake Chapala. Teo, the Operative and Commercial Manager, has been working hard to get the word out about his park. We have been invited to visit and profile the park. It was to be something for next winter but now we may get a chance this year.

It'll be quite the trip - at the moment I don't even want to think about the number of miles. But at a $1/litre at Pemex, I'm not that worried. Sorry if you cannot place all these cities - I really tried to help you out with a google map but it wouldn't let me mark such a long route. Sheesh.

Two months may not be enough.

I've spent the day thinking about all the things we need before we cross over. Really - we could just pack up and head over and be fine. There isn't much you can't find in Mexico. And if you can't find it you probably really don't need it. Adapting to the ways of the country you are in seems to work the best.

However, there were a few things we missed last year that we will take along - especially since we have a trailer this year to hold all this kind of stuff.

+ coffee -  yes, you can find coffee in Mexico although they really seem to like instant which we drank our fair share of last year. The beans we found seemed on the expensive side for us since we drink the cheap stuff from Walmart.

+ salt and vinegar chips - nope - I don't think they exist in Mexico - or even much of the south USA actually.

+ black tea - really really hard to find and when you do it's not very good.

Other things on our list that we will have to do or acquire in the next few days:

+ an oil change for Hraefn - with all of this driving around from here to there we are on to our second oil change since we left home
+ sun glasses - sadly my pair broke. Now that we are headed for the sun I'll have to replace them some how. Derek was a little smarter than me - he bought the working sunglasses that are super sturdy.
+ a bathing suit - again for me. The one I have been using for the last couple of years is completely thread bare - not really the look I am going for. Interestingly they are very expensive in Mexico. I may have a hard time finding one though - darn - I wish I had paid better attention back in the fall.
+ tent pegs or we are thinking large nails - more sturdy - from Home Depot - shouldn't be any problem there - right?

We've already picked up an electric kettle and hot plate. Since we end up plugging in, in Mexico, far more than we do here in the USA, it makes sense to have electric appliances. Butane, which you get in Mexico instead of propane, is fairly cheap but as with all things I have a feeling it is going up in price. Nice that we won't need it for heat…….

Since Derek and I rival for the position of leader of the procrastinator's club this list will most likely be completed just in the nick of time.

All for me tonight,

By the way - if you want to keep up with our trip plans and destinations I have started a pinterest Mexico 2014 board.

Teresa

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