Nov 08, 2011
THE ROAD !
Please accept my apologies for the delay in this post. Quite honestly it has been a wee bit of a challenge dealing with the temperature and dryness. We aren’t exactly just sitting around but trying to set up our new home for the next five months. We prefer to get it all done and set up ASAP and then do nothing for the rest of our stay.
These temps are making it more difficult to work fast plus we have NO shade on this new site. Can you believe this is our 3rd new site in 3 years......but it will be the final one. Any other Mexico travel will be just that, travel, not staying in one place which is what we need right now. We have no shade but that is also being dealt with.
We left Culiacan about 6:30AM and it was an easy drive via the autopista. Mazatlan itself is in the midst of major road construction. It is all very well marked, just follow the orange signs to Tepic. When this project is completed, driving thru Mazatlan will be a breeze. Actually the detour was quick, about 15 minutes.
Follow the signs to Tepic.
So back to the road!
The final 8.5 miles of the road into the RV PARK Tres Amigos is by gravel road. The road does get graded a few times per year but generally at this time of year they wait until all the puddles from the rainy season have dried up. The day before we got here the grading had begun. We actually felt that the road was in the best shape we have ever seen it. The pot holes had been filled with gravel and the road in general was smooth.
We left Estrella del Mar, a golf resort community, where the road begins at 9:30AM! We were so pleased to see that amount of grading that had been done but a mere 2 miles in we were stopped in our tire tracks!!
There was no way we were going to drive our RV thru those bushes with the long thorns and get our paint job scratched up.
So......Colin decided to get the ladder, grabbed a saw and some garden shears and tackle the bushes!! It was about 35C with no breeze.
So if Colin is walking down the road, who the heck is driving the rig? ME!!! I have not driven before, what a great way to learn, dodging bushes and ruts!
Hack to the right~ Can you see Colin in the mirror?
By now, Colin has been at it for over an hour. We have a line of vehicles behind us! This fellow jumps out of his truck with a machete and clears enough for us to pull to the side so everyone can pass.
Colin resumes the hacking!!
Salvation....finally someone we held up mentioned to the back hoe operator that we needed help.
...so when Colin got back in the RV....he said I might as well follow Sebastian. He needed to cool down. Do I look stressed? You betcha!
This fellow was a life saver. At this point we figured we would be here for one night, perhaps two. After a little over an hour Colin has to stop. He felt that his blood was boiling at 150 degrees. Thank goodness we have a generator and were able to keep the A/C at top notch. We explained our situation ( in our best Mexican we had ) to the back hoe fellow….Sebastian….he drove ahead and cleared and cleared and cleared.
He took care of height and width. At one point he stopped and indicated we should go ahead. The road ahead was good he said. We gave him 100 pesos and drove on. Soon we encountered a few more problems, Colin got out to do his hacking! Not 10 minutes later Sebastian and his backhoe appeared. The 100 pesos ( really a mere 9.00 CAD) must have spoke. Sebastian moved ahead of us and cleared the path right thru to Stone Island.
Sebastion was now having a good time....almost ballet like!
So we arrived at Tres Amigos RV Park on Stone Island about 12:45 PM. Those last 8.5 miles took 3 hours and 20 minutes. Certainly a new record. There were 4 RV’s that arrived the day prior to us and just plowed thru the brush, something we will not do.
So we arrived……
...dirty but in one piece.
...with a few gentle marks ( not scratches ) that can be washed & waxed out.
We have arrived in paradise and the road to paradise is open to you all. It is in the best shape it has ever been so now is the time to come and check out Isla de la Piedra and Tres Amigos RV Park.
If we and our ( well really my 288 bottles of wine can make it ) so can you!!
Today we only drove 140.1 miles, a very short distance yet much time involved.
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That was a lot of work but I agree with you. I wouldn’t want my rig all scratched up either. Hopefully your weather cools down a little. I’d take some of that warmth up here in AZ.
Sandie….lots of work but worth it!
Marty….give me a date and the wine will be chilled!
Connie….cute about the ponytails! The wine went down a few bottles that first night!! We will enjoy!
George…..if I run out I’ll have you make a trip down with refills.
Larry….thanks you..yes we worked hard to be able to be here and we plan to enjoy every second. It has take a few days for the relaxation to set in but its coming on fast.
Kevin & Ruth….the road is the entrance to the village itself, Stone Island ( Isla de la Piedra). Everyone else uses the road with no problem, in fact several RV’s came in the day prior and one was a big rig but they just ploughed on thru. We choose not to scratch our still new to us paint job. The road does get graded and the trees cut back but in true Mexican fashion they were late this year. Apparently all the extra rain this summer had the jungle really growing fast as I could see from my plants when I arrived.
Joan…..come on down. The conditions are perfect this year!
What an ordeal! I figured you were busy getting things set up-I would do the same thing. Save a glass or two of chardonnay and we’ll see you in late winter!
OMGoodness – now that WAS something to deal with! I had to chuckle when I saw how you had your hair pulled back – that is exactly how I’ve been wearing mine – our ponytails are the same length! Do you know the song 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall? Do you know how long it would take to sing 288 Bottles of Wine in the RV??? Enjoy!
Sounds like an exciting drive in, so nice to have friendly Mexicans around to help you out, it could have taken a lot longer. Now all set up and relax with some wine, but be sure to pace yourself, don’t want to run out!
And the all lived happily ever after. Enjoy the weather and the view and the sand and the wine. You better, you both worked your buns off to get there.
You would think that an RV park that expensive would make sure their entrance road was accessible. Sort of had the same problem at Roca Azul, and we couldn’t figure that out. So I gotta ask…why didn’t you unhook your toad, drive it in, and ask them to please get out there and do some trimming so you can bring your rig in. No way would I have done all that work!
We have travelled with you every step of the way. We know every inch of the road your travelled. Didn’t go last year, waffling this year. Your pictures are driving us crazy. I know it’s work doing the blog but it is so appreciated and I love wine too. So typical of Mexico that the road was overgrown.