Nov 16, 2017
Almost there
What a long day 🙄 Even though we only drove 317 miles today it was tiring. When the roads were good they were excellent but when they were bad they were the worst we have ever experienced in our 18 years of RVing in Mexico. What we called bad roads last year have deteriorated and today it was either good or bad.  Colin says that it gave the black tank a good shake up. Seriously, the roads were so bad at times that at our slowest we were were only going 20Kph or 12.5Mph. I had to wait for the smooth new concrete roads to be able to take a sip of my hot drink. We usually average 60 – 63 Mph in the US and here in Mexico it is down to 50 – 55 Mph. The slower speeds today made us just over an hour later than our anticipated arrival. Tonight we are staying at Pemex 3970 which is at about KM 75, south of Los Mochis. They have free WiFi here 😀 and it is much faster that the one we paid 420 pesos for last night. By the way we found out that several folks had burned out electrical devices, etc. this morning, which is why we never plugin at Totonaka. This morning it was spiking to 145 volts. We boiled our water outside at the electrical post. Colin spoke to an RVer who says that he bought a special device to bring the voltage down. Tonight we are running the generator as it was so hot today that the RV was like a sauna. We have a heavy curtain that we pull closed behind our driving seats and that keeps the AC right where we are sitting where we need it the most as we drive into the sun.
There is so much more road construction happening in Sonora. In this photo they are working on both sides of the road. As you can see it is a two lane road and rather than being two lanes in one direction as intended it is now single lane in both directions.
One little thing I would like to mention is that they are no longer selling wild parrots at Vicam. Nancy will appreciate that. There is a long story that goes with this but suffice to say that this is a good thing. I was too caught up with the roads today to take many photos.
This giant Yaqui statue is just north of Ciudad Obregon and is meant to be a memorial but the park is not yet open.
I love all these bright city signs going up all over Mexico.
Finally we are in Sinaloa 🙂 This is the state where Mazatlan and Isla de la Piedra are located. I can’t crop out all the bug splatters but you get the idea.
We came across some lovely countryside today. The dirty windshield hides the stunning beauty of these hills.
There are always interesting things to see in Mexico that likely would not be allowed north of its border.
Then there is the price of fuel which has gone up 4.65 pesos per litre since this last November. But Mexico is worth every extra penny. Having said that we had a wee incident earlier this afternoon when the Pemex attendant attempted to trick us out of 1000 pesos ( 66.87CAD or 52.60USD ). The cost for our diesel was 4200 pesos and I gave the guy 4 x 1000 peso note and 1 X 200 peso note. I watched as he palmed one of the 1000 peso notes and put it into his lower jacket pocket. He then turned back to me and said that it was 4200 pesos and not 3200 pesos. I told him in English ( which he suddenly understood ) that I saw him put the bill into his pocket. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a few small bills to show me that I was mistaken. I pointed to his lower pocket and pointed to my eyes and asked him to take the large bill out of his pocket which he did. He then said in English “it’s okay” and walked away. Colin always does the money transactions at the Pemex stations but today I did for some reason. I simply handed over the 5 bills splayed out like a hand of cards. Colin would have placed one bill at a time in the attendants hand and count out 1000 pesos, 2000 thousands pesos, etc. We think that they had us pegged as mere tourists as we started with one guy pumping fuel and another came and took over. FYI this was Pemex 3539 @ km 210 just south of C. Obregon.  Just another incident in our lives.
Meanwhile we are counting every hour until we reach paradise.
PS Welcome to all the new commenters to my blog. You are the inspiration to keep me going. Last night it took so many hours to post, tonight less than half that time. Sometimes it just doesn’t seem worth it and then I get a lovely comment, so thank you for leaving your comments. It means a lot to me.  I hope to go back later this evening and answer your individual questions.
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Glad to see you almost home! I sure don’t miss the roads on that side of the country. 🙂
I had that scam pulled on me at my first fill my trip down in May. Like you, I shamed the guy and it all worked out. Hell hath no fury on a woman who can count and all that. 😉 But a $1,000 note?! I know they exist, but I’ve never seen one.
Mérida also has those colourful letters in a few locations. They’re so cheery.
Dernier dodo!
I got my pesos and one source decided that that was their definition of small bills.
Oui, seulement un dernier dodo.
Nice that you are almost there and can enjoy a nice warm winter again.
Well to be honest it it warm already. Can’t imagine how hot it is even further south. Can’t imagine spending winters in Acapulco again.
Contessa, when we were in Mexico we used a computer power conditioner that we plugged into the pedestals, it was only rated at 20 amps but it did the job for us. It won’t run your A/C but for us we were able to live on 20 amps down there. It brings the voltage up or down and protects against spikes etc.
It’s sitting in our garage unused, I will make you a donation if you think it would work for next year down there
Thanks Al but we already have something we purchased back about 13 years or so. It works similar to a surge protector only it regulates voltage. We purchased it in the US and it was expensive way back then, around $500.00USD. We could run the AC with it. It also sits in our shed. We even tried to sell it a few years ago to no avail. If we start traveling all over Mexico again we likely will bring it with us.
We were just getting hooked on RVing when we lost our last pet . At that point we decided it would be easier to travel with less worries. Today we enjoy other peoples pets.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It’s about time.
I agree with you about it being easier to travel pet free but at the same time we would give anything to have then back. Perhaps one day but not for a few more years.
We totally agree with your road report! Eric counts out the money as Colin does. Good that you make note of station numbers where these things happen. Also, our truck computer tells us that we never get the amount of fuel that the pump says we do here in Mexico. We are always shorted about 10%, sometimes more. It is always right in the USA and Canada. That’s a lot of fuel for a motor home. Hot and steamy in Maz.
Most interesting about that 10%. How neat to have that special truck computer. We leave the US full and fuel up twice on the way here and only once on the way North in Navajoa. Costs us about 11,000 pesos while in Mexico.
Ah yes … the old hidden bill trick. LOL
Good job catching that ‘magic’ trick.
I think because I was still sitting up high in the RV I was able to catch what he was doing. It was interesting that he came to the window asking me to be paid when he had been dealing with Colin all the while. Normally I pass the money to Colin to pay the attendant.
I have followed you for years! I enjoy your Canadian/Mexican life. We live in the US but spend the winter (4 months) in Mazatlán. Hope you have a wonderful stay on Stone Island.
Thank you for making a comment. Welcome to my blog, nice to know that you are our there. We have many American friends who live in Mazatlan. If you ever cross the shipping channel over to the Isla let us know. Would love to meet you. Thank you for being a faithful follower.
Almost there… The beach becons.
Yes it does and looks lovely but we didn’t make it today.
ALmost there! Enjoy once your set up! Were in Calif.. Cheers!
Glad you are safe in California. Do you think that you might come back for a visit?
Contessa, thanks for your detailed information about the roads and Pemex’s. I was looking in my road log for Pemex 3970 at km 75 so I could note it as a possible place to stay. I could only find Pemex 3979, do you think my road log has a typo or is 3970 a new Pemex ? Is there a compound there ?
We have driven in the past from San Carlos all the way to Mazatlan in one day but it sounds like the roads are pretty bad and it might not be a good idea even in a smaller class B ?
Thanks again, Alison
Alsion how lovely to have you join the comment section of my blog. My travel road log also shows 3979 but in fact it is 3970, must be a typo. It is just a regular Pemex but away from any towns and is very safe. This was our third year staying there. The only negative are the semi’s that overnight and leave their engines running. This time we stopped behind the restaurant area and even though it is untidy we were able to sleep with the windows open and there was just the odd truck that passed by our bedroom window and I did not smell diesel fumes.
We discussed today that we don’t think we can do the Isla – Totonaka run any longer, at least not until the roads are improved. Likely we will stay here till about 1PM, enjoy a final beach walk and stop at that same Pemex then get to Totonaka the next day.
Thanks Contessa, I have been following your blog for a few years. Guess they call it “lurking” !? We actually walked along the beach on the Isla in front of your RV a couple of years ago but you weren’t around to say hi and besides we are “strangers” but then again when we all travel in Mexico we aren’t strangers to each other are we ?
Next you time you are here just come on over and say hello. I have so very many readers who just show up and I really love to meet you all. A blog reader is not a stranger. In fact there is someone here right now who came in their RV several years ago because of my blog and are here again this week. We had a visit this afternoon and it was funny as they of course having read my posts knew everything that we had been up to and all the problems we have had. Please make a point of coming by. If you send me an email letting me know when you are coming to the Isla than we will plan to be here.
Unfortunate that there are people who continue to take advantage of tourists. This has never happened to me and it is embarrassing to hear about it.
This email is direct to Pemex and is setup to handle complaints.
atencion.ciudadana@pemex.com
This email is to present complaints to PROFECO which is similar to the BBB in the U.S.
ucs@profeco.gob.mx
It’s important to always ask for a receipt with the station information. Since stations are franchises, a complaint via telephone can be made directly to the station or station owner. Also, the station has a number assigned to it which appears on the PEMEX sign, for example, ES8452.
Thank you for your information. I did note the number of the Pemex on my blog for others to be aware of.
Wonder what that big white thing was? A water tank or something like… Sure was top heavy, and no, don’t think that would have gone over very well in US!
Take Care, safe travels, watch those guys!!!
Yes you are right, it is a tanaka, a water storage unit usually on the roof of a home. It was just funny a this was such a large item to be in his small truck.
Contessa, I can attest fort the fact that I for one I am very thankful that you post in your blog. It gives us a break from the every day life. Your blogs are so exciting, and it really has inspired me to talk with my wife and we will slowly moving the same direction as you… A life of travel in the winters away from cold climate in our RV. You are inspirational, and you have moved us is such a good way. We are very thankful for your wonderful blogs. All the very best to you and Colin. I can’t wait to meet both of you someday…
All the best and safe travels.
Sincerely,