We departed the U.S. on Tuesday, January 17 with our first overnight stop in Santa Ana, approximately 150 miles south of the border. One of the coaches had a problem with a leaky water hose and we had a tire that was losing air in spite of our attempt to get it repaired in the States. Our gracious camp host, Edgar, called his “trusty” mechanic to check the leaky water hose and guided us to a tire shop for repair of our tire. Our “fix it” chores were completed by noon and to celebrate, the group walked the several blocks to downtown for lunch at a local restaurant. After a gala “locals” lunch with ample refreshments to wash it down, we hiked back to our respective coaches for a “siesta” in the spirit of our temporary domicile. Amid the early morning cloud we found sunshine and vitamins in liquid form.
Wednesday, January 19th we departed Santa Ana for our next stop in Guaymas. We stayed at the Hotel Bahia de Bacochbampo, a beautiful location on the Sea of Cortez. We enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of the area and our surroundings enough to stay over for a day of laid back relaxation. Some of the group visited San Carlos while others visited downtown Guaymas and the pearl factory. It was a pleasant lay over and reflective of a laid back travel style that we enjoy.
Saturday, January 21 – We stopped for the night in Los Mochis approximately five hours out of Mazatlan. Our trip thus far has been very pleasant, the weather beautiful though cooler than we had anticipated. The park in Los Mochis was very crowded with two large caravans already ensconced when we arrived. This is the starting point for many of the Copper Canyon excursions and at least one of the caravans will take an overnight Copper Canyon trip from here and return to pick up their coaches.
Sunday, January 22, we crossed into the Tropic of Cancer several miles outside of Mazatlan. We arrived in Mazatlan on schedule and established our residence at the La Posta RV Resort, a few blocks from the beach and near many of the modern beach resorts. Once settled in our respective sites, the group met to toast our exceedingly competent wagon masters, Bill and Diane Herbert who provided good stewardship in guiding us safely to our location. There was only one miscommunication and that was not the fault of the wagon masters but rather a missed turn by the 2nd coach which happened to be us. We traveled mostly on toll roads that were, for the most part, above expectations.
We expect to be here approximately a month with side trips planned for Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and of course, Ken is anxious to try the fishing opportunities that abound. Mazatlan is a lively city of approximately 450,000 people and is heavily populated this time of year by retirees from Canada and the United States who choose this destination to avoid the harsh realities of the winter season.
We are all impressed with the accomplishments of change that seems to be taking place in Mexico. Changes are being implemented and one sees signs of progress in the evolution of a lifestyle. It is a long drawn out process but our first impressions seem to reflect progress and that is hopeful for the future of the good people of this region.
After a two week pleasant enough stay in El Golfo, a small fishing village along the shores of the Sea of Cortez in Sonora Mexico, we returned to the US. Ken’s brother, Don and sister in law, Linda joined us for a week in the sand and we enjoyed their company. They have visited El Golfo at various times through the years so they are familiar with the area both on land and at sea. Don has a catamaran that he usually brings with him but this time we had to rely on the jeep to provide us with adventure and fun. The highlight of Our New Year’s eve celebration was a disruption in our snoring as fellow residents and locals rang in the New Year amid much cheering. New Year’s day we ventured out into the canyons of the surrounding desert for a first hand look at the sand dunes, animal tracks and desert fauna. Don and Linda left on Wednesday for a return home and their respective jobs.
While exploring the approximately 30 miles of beach along the Sea of Cortez, Ken extracted from a “fermenting whale” a bone of some distinction. He spent hours cleaning and preparing it to bring home with us. As we crossed the border, we were asked what fossils or items we might have that were not permitted to be brought in the U.S. i.e., chicken, pork, eggs, fruits, vegetables, fossils, whale bones etc. Of course, we had a whale bone. Much to our surprise, that was a ‘BOO BOO”. We were told that we would have to complete the necessary paperwork before we could proceed and that we would be liable for any damage that might be caused by our bringing the whale bone into the States. We could not imagine what damages might result from our possession of a whale bone but we quickly determined that it might not be worth finding out. Simply stated, the border agent strongly suggested that it would be better for us to return the bone to Mexico. We returned across the border, found a likely place to unload the bone and hopefully, some Mexican now enjoys the addition of a whale bone in his/her yard. They may also be looking for whoever left it there. Other than the whale bone, we had only one half dozen eggs that were claimed as contraband and our way was cleared to reenter the United States. So much for our brief venture into the study of fossils.
Our last weekend in El Golfo, we were entertained with the latest in flying machines that we termed "people movers of the future". There were four of them, two with an occupancy of two and two with an occupancy of one. Fascinating and very interesting. Can you visualize a sky full of these guys in Los angeles?
We spent the weekend with my niece, Joy, in the Arizona desert and enjoyed a day in the sprawling outback ranch that she calls home. Our visit reminded us of many happy memorable weekends in the California Desert area near Palm Desert where Ken’s family lived and Ken grew up. We enjoyed the day “tromping” the acreage, visiting the date palm and grapefruit trees and simply enjoyed the silence and simple beauty of the desert.
That night we enjoyed a bond fire and weenie roast, reminiscent of the good times on the desert with Ken’s family during our early married years. On Monday, we meet the people with whom we will be traveling to Mexico. Ours will be a modern day wagon train caravan of recreational vehicles filled with retirees roaming the countryside in search of their youth. Our wagon wheel pioneers would surely be aghast at our travel style and accommodations that would surely have been unimagined during their lifetime.
