Kevin did all of the driving today. He says it keeps him busy. Me, I'm enjoying the scenery and trying to navigate as best I can but you win some, you lose some.
We're both pretty frustrated with things that happened today but Kevin more than me. I'm keeping a positive attitude and know that sooner or later I'll reach my destination. He's on a schedule though as he has a flight home on Thursday from Belize City and the trip is taking much longer and is tougher than we both imagined.
Today we hit the very worst roads imaginable, where we could only travel at 20 mph for very long stretches, and some that we could actually do 50 on for a short period of time. We found that driving in Mexico is not for the feint hearted because at times you find yourself driving in the left lane up hills or around curves because of the road conditions, never knowing what kind of traffic is coming at you. And you have no idea what speed bumps are until you drive in Mexico. They are EVERYWHERE and in great numbers and in the places you least expect to find them. Some are small and others nearly tear the under carriage of the car off. Sometimes there are 2 or 3 and sometimes there are as many as 10 spread over a half a mile. Of course that brings you almost to a stand still while you are trying to navigate over or around them.
The road signs are so bad too that we are constantly making wrong turns and having to back track to the direction that we should have taken in the 1st place. We've met so many very helpful truckers that have corrected the errors of our ways. It takes a while though because of the language barrier. Having a good map of Mexico would help but the best I could find was a Rand McNally folding map that does not have half of the cities / towns marked on it that the traffic signs list. So that's our major problem or was until tonight. More on that later though.
While we are making wrong turns we have been nowhere near as lost as we have been in Matamoros and Tampico. There we drove down streets that never seemed to bring us to where we wanted to go. At times we were sure we'd hit a dead end and have to back up a good distance. So we were always lookeing ahead to where we were going and judging street width and available turning room. Today it was just a matter of driving to the next exit. Sometimes quite a ways and sometimes not too far. It's just frustrating though as it adds time to an already long trip. According to an itinerary I’d been sent the entire drive should take 4 days. Well we’re on our 2nd and almost a half day and only ½ way there.
We stopped at a roadside stand in the morning and bought some fresh fruit and had them open a coconut for us to eat and drink. We also found a really good place for lunch. We drove through some beautiful mountains today but that was a bit disconcerting because at times we travelled all directions of the compass even though we should be driving mostly south and southeast. We also saw the Gulf a Mexico a few times. Now that we thought we'd see quite a lot because we're traveling so near the coast. But today was the 1st day for that.
While passing through Tuxpan we made our usual wrong turn. Driving along the highway we looked for a likely place to start a series of right turns to get us back in the right direction. We didn’t find one so started looking for a place to make a u-turn. We saw a couple that were marked no u-turn and kept looking. We finally found one and Kevin made it without disturbing traffic. As he straightened out a cop walked out into the street and was saying something about the illegal turn we made. Of course we knew we didn’t and the stories we’d heard of cops looking for a payoff came storming into our minds. Kevin asked how much the fine was and the cop, in his almost non-existant English said US$100. “You gotta be kidding!” came flying out of Kevin’s mouth. “No kidding” said the cop in whatever language he was speaking. It sure didn’t sound Spanish to us! I was trying to get Kevin to calm down because it was Sunday and I sure didn’t want to spend the night in jail until court opened on Monday. Kevin pulled some bills out of his pocket but didn’t realize that there were 2 $20’s stuck together. Me I’m telling him we had “no mas dinero”. He kept insisting it was $100 bucks. There was no way we were giving him the hundred. He finally settled for the $40 and we were on our way much the worse for wear. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again. If it does we’ll be sure that we know exactly how much is in our pockets and it won’t be more than $20.
Tonight, as were found ourselves headed in the right direction after a wrong turn, we pulled into a PEMEX station for gas. PEMEX is the national gas station in Mexico and the price is always $ 1.93 a gallon. While we still had over ½ a tank I like to fill up whenever we have a long stretch of highway ahead of us. We have not had any trouble finding gas stations but better safe than sorry! Anyway after pulling up to the pump and asking the attendant to fill it up (all gas stations are full service which is nice) the attendant pointed to the trailer. Kevin got out and noticed that there was smoke pouring out from the left rear wheel of the trailer. I noticed that the paint was bubbled on the hub. He started pouring water on it to cool it off. Boy did it sizzle! I had him pull forward a bit and turned a hose on it. We were lucky it did not catch fire while we were driving! God only knows how long it was heating up but, once again, our Angels were protecting us. Had we driven much farther it very well could have burst into flame and everything in the trailer would have been lost. That would have been terrible.
Along the highway I'd seen signs for first aid and auto repair that said to call 047. So out came the cell phone. One of the attendants sort of knew what was going on so I asked him to talk to whoever answered and tell them where we were. It actually got more involved than that but he took care of it, giving them my car information and the like. He hung up and said someone would be here in a few minutes. Well a car pulled in and came over and 2 guys hopped out. I had looked up the words "brakes" and "smoke" (as in “Where there is smoke there is fire”) and was waiting for them. They understood and started pulling the rear wheel off. I immediately thought that the bearings were the cause. Kevin thought brakes. When they started pulling apart the wheel tons of brake pad dust came pouring out. Well it turned out that we were both right ... The mechanic said that he could not get parts until tomorrow and was hoping that he can even find the parts here in Mexico. So who knows how long we may be camped here waiting for replacements. We're talking full time to our Angels and know that they will come through for us because they have so far. Thankfully this station has free Wi-Fi so we can give you all an update. While we were sitting here eating a rather terrible dinner a small group of Americans walked in and we started talking. The main guy is in the Army Infantry and stationed at Ft Sam Houston TX. I mentioned our mechanical problems and he made a call for us. He's fluent in Spanish, and that's a definitely plus here in Mexico! He's trying to help us locate parts and a back up mechanic. Funny thing is that he and his party are also headed to Belize to deliver a car.
We certainly have to keep our spirits up and know that we will prevail!!! Sometimes it's a little hard to do though. Maybe more tonight because it's been such an exhausting day and we're so punch drunk. Maybe all we need is a good night’s sleep. Let’s hope so...
Monday, February 1, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Driving to Belize - Day 2
More terrible roads, possibly even more ambiguous signage, and more terrible drivers. Our plan was to drive as far as possible past Tampico before daylight ended our driving day. Tampico was approximately 300 miles and we figured to make it by around 2pm. Kevin offered to drive because i could not keep my eyes open. As soon as we started off I was in dream land. I slept for about 20 minutes and was thankfully wide awake. Again, as in Matamoros, the signage in Tampico was terrible and we got hopelessly lost for about an hour. Kevin stopped at a cab stand and I could see lots of confused looks due to the language barrier. Finally Kevin thought he had the directions to put us headed back south. One of the cab driver ran over and offered to lead us for 100 pesos (approximately $ 8). It was the best we've spent 100 pesos so far! We were finally crossing over the river and out of Tampico. Around 5pm We decided we better find our safe spot to spend the night before the sun went down. We landed in Ozuluama and Kevin negotiated us a spot behind a small motel and shower privileges and right near a rather good restaurant.
After showering we headed down the road a bit to eat. We were told by someone in a shop on the way that the restaurant had free internet so we dragged out laptops with us. Their window said that they did too but it was not working. The menu consisted of 70 pictures of dinners, much like many Chinese takeout restaurants around home. With dinner ordered and more beer in front of Kevin we sat looking around the place at all the religious decorations. They had some very nice unique wooden crosses as well as still having their Christmas decorations still up. The food was good and we were stuffed when we left the restaurant.
Off to sleep now. He's in the trailer and I'm sleeping in the bed at a -1 star motel ...
After showering we headed down the road a bit to eat. We were told by someone in a shop on the way that the restaurant had free internet so we dragged out laptops with us. Their window said that they did too but it was not working. The menu consisted of 70 pictures of dinners, much like many Chinese takeout restaurants around home. With dinner ordered and more beer in front of Kevin we sat looking around the place at all the religious decorations. They had some very nice unique wooden crosses as well as still having their Christmas decorations still up. The food was good and we were stuffed when we left the restaurant.
Off to sleep now. He's in the trailer and I'm sleeping in the bed at a -1 star motel ...
Driving to Belize - Day 1
My trailer axle was finally repaired by about 1:30 and we were on our way. Finally! We both felt that today was going to be lucky for us and we'd actually cross into Mexico. For me it's been a long time in coming what with all the other hiccups and my step mother dying. We headed to the border To obtain my temporary vehicle paperwork. After spending almost four hours getting the paperwork, and going through a very cursory search trailer, we were finally on our way. We left the U.S., entering Matamoros MX, via the Veteran's International Bridge at about 6:15 pm central time.
Their highway signage leaves a lot to be desired. We are light years ahead of Mexico highway for easy navigation. After a few wrong turns, and some initial frustration, we finally found our way onto Mex101 and some very bumpy highway, if you can call it a highway. You have to be very Cognizant Because of the road surface there are many pot holes and you have to be equally aware of the traffic around you in the cities Because the drivers will force their way into the smallest spot, seeking a quick ride to where ever they are going. Of course in Mexico, as in the U.S., no matter how fast you drive, the traffic lights keep you within a few car lengths of where you were in the pack. Interestingly their traffic lights work a bit differently than ours. When the light is about to change network the green light flashes several times before the amber light comes on for about 5 seconds. So you have to beware of the age of the light and be ready for it to change quickly for the highway As they have this very narrow right lane separating it from a normal sized left lane by a dotted line same as in the U.S. You are supposed to keep as far to the right as possible, but there is no way to put a normal sized car in that lane let alone a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a nine foot wide travel trailer. Cars that pass you want to use the left lane traveling at breakneck speeds. Very unnerving to us Americans.
We drove south for approximately one and a half hours, headed for Tampico, and hit an immigration check point where your passport, visa, and temporary vehicle permit are checked. My paperwork was fine but poor Kevin did not have a visa. Having traveled in Mexico numerous time he's never been anywhere that required one. In the section of the country we were in it's required to have a visa when you plan to travel more than 70 kilometers from the border. In our halting Spanish we asked where we could get one for Kevin. The answer you ask? Back at the border crossing in Matamoros. Yes one and a half hours back the way we came and as close to the border as we could get without crossing back into the U.S. Kevin was understandably upset! Me I took it as just one more hiccup in our trip. So back to Matamoros where we started. We had plenty of time to get back before the office closed at 9pm. We did have one almost disastrous mishap on the way back. I pulled as far over to the right as possible to allow traffic to pass and failed to see a steep drop off. The right wheels of the Jeep and trailer dropped down and I, in my moment of panic, jerked the steering wheel hard to the left. Obviously not the right thing to do but I was tired. The trailer jack knifing began but I was able to get it under control and off the highway in a safer spot. We both jumped out to see what damage I may have done, and wondered if it would necessitate being towed back to Brownsville for repairs. But my Angels have been working overtime these past few weeks and successfully pulled my butt out of the fire eleven o'clock with no damage. Within minutes we were on our way and I drove more slowly and carefully so that we could get back to our original starting point.
Back at the border I was sure there was parking on the Mexican side that would allow us to go into the office and get back on the road without any trouble. I was right. But I did manage to make a HUGE mistake gringo before we got to the office. I stopped at a group of soldiers looking to see if any of them spoke so I could ask Español directions. What came out of my mouth though was, "You speak Spanish?" (Do you speak Spanisch?) Of course they all started laughing even though I tried to correct myself. I think they were still laughing 20 minutes later when we were headed back on our way.
So back over the same crappy roads but with a bit less traffic. Our plan was to return to a spot just before the check point and find a safe spot to spend the night. Just yards before the checkpoint was a restaurant where it looked like we could find a good meal. I almost said a "Mexican" restaurant but here they are all Mexican. Another gringo mistake I would think. So we ordered bisteak with potatoes, refried beans and salad. Since Kevin had been beating himself up the entire trip back to the border and back to the check point I was ready for a beer to calm himself. Needless to say they had a quart bottle that really did the trick! Kevin asked the restaurant owner if it was ok to leave the car and trailer on the shoulder of the road for the night. He offered us a spot in his parking lot, nicely and safely out of the way of any traffic. We finally went to bed about 11:30
The highway noise was pretty loud though but did quiet some during the night. Kevin wears ear plugs so was bothered a bit less than I but I was out within a few minutes. We both got up about 6:30 and were back on the road by 7:05.
Their highway signage leaves a lot to be desired. We are light years ahead of Mexico highway for easy navigation. After a few wrong turns, and some initial frustration, we finally found our way onto Mex101 and some very bumpy highway, if you can call it a highway. You have to be very Cognizant Because of the road surface there are many pot holes and you have to be equally aware of the traffic around you in the cities Because the drivers will force their way into the smallest spot, seeking a quick ride to where ever they are going. Of course in Mexico, as in the U.S., no matter how fast you drive, the traffic lights keep you within a few car lengths of where you were in the pack. Interestingly their traffic lights work a bit differently than ours. When the light is about to change network the green light flashes several times before the amber light comes on for about 5 seconds. So you have to beware of the age of the light and be ready for it to change quickly for the highway As they have this very narrow right lane separating it from a normal sized left lane by a dotted line same as in the U.S. You are supposed to keep as far to the right as possible, but there is no way to put a normal sized car in that lane let alone a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a nine foot wide travel trailer. Cars that pass you want to use the left lane traveling at breakneck speeds. Very unnerving to us Americans.
We drove south for approximately one and a half hours, headed for Tampico, and hit an immigration check point where your passport, visa, and temporary vehicle permit are checked. My paperwork was fine but poor Kevin did not have a visa. Having traveled in Mexico numerous time he's never been anywhere that required one. In the section of the country we were in it's required to have a visa when you plan to travel more than 70 kilometers from the border. In our halting Spanish we asked where we could get one for Kevin. The answer you ask? Back at the border crossing in Matamoros. Yes one and a half hours back the way we came and as close to the border as we could get without crossing back into the U.S. Kevin was understandably upset! Me I took it as just one more hiccup in our trip. So back to Matamoros where we started. We had plenty of time to get back before the office closed at 9pm. We did have one almost disastrous mishap on the way back. I pulled as far over to the right as possible to allow traffic to pass and failed to see a steep drop off. The right wheels of the Jeep and trailer dropped down and I, in my moment of panic, jerked the steering wheel hard to the left. Obviously not the right thing to do but I was tired. The trailer jack knifing began but I was able to get it under control and off the highway in a safer spot. We both jumped out to see what damage I may have done, and wondered if it would necessitate being towed back to Brownsville for repairs. But my Angels have been working overtime these past few weeks and successfully pulled my butt out of the fire eleven o'clock with no damage. Within minutes we were on our way and I drove more slowly and carefully so that we could get back to our original starting point.
Back at the border I was sure there was parking on the Mexican side that would allow us to go into the office and get back on the road without any trouble. I was right. But I did manage to make a HUGE mistake gringo before we got to the office. I stopped at a group of soldiers looking to see if any of them spoke so I could ask Español directions. What came out of my mouth though was, "You speak Spanish?" (Do you speak Spanisch?) Of course they all started laughing even though I tried to correct myself. I think they were still laughing 20 minutes later when we were headed back on our way.
So back over the same crappy roads but with a bit less traffic. Our plan was to return to a spot just before the check point and find a safe spot to spend the night. Just yards before the checkpoint was a restaurant where it looked like we could find a good meal. I almost said a "Mexican" restaurant but here they are all Mexican. Another gringo mistake I would think. So we ordered bisteak with potatoes, refried beans and salad. Since Kevin had been beating himself up the entire trip back to the border and back to the check point I was ready for a beer to calm himself. Needless to say they had a quart bottle that really did the trick! Kevin asked the restaurant owner if it was ok to leave the car and trailer on the shoulder of the road for the night. He offered us a spot in his parking lot, nicely and safely out of the way of any traffic. We finally went to bed about 11:30
The highway noise was pretty loud though but did quiet some during the night. Kevin wears ear plugs so was bothered a bit less than I but I was out within a few minutes. We both got up about 6:30 and were back on the road by 7:05.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
My Angels have saved me once again!?!
You are not going to believe this, well maybe you are at this point...
Kevin and I are sitting in the exact same room at the exact same hotel on South Padre Island that I checked out of yesterday when I went to pick him up as he flew into Brownsville! So get a cup of coffee, smoke 'em if you got 'em and I'll fill you in on how my Angels have saved me once again.
You all probably know that I've been downloading movies, TV series, and audio and ebooks like a madman for months now in anticipation of using them as entertainment when I finally found my spot to settle down in. I have them all on a 1 terabyte external hard drive (well actually on two 1 terabyte hard drives because the other is a mirror image of the 1st in case something happens). Now hold that thought!
Kevin and I arrived at the border, on the U.S. side, and were politely questioned by the local county sheriff's department and Border Patrol about what we had in the trailer. They decided to do a routine check. Absolutely no big deal because, like the good citizen and international traveler I am, I don't have any contraband products, too many cigars (thanks to Kevin not smoking and our allotment being double because there are 2 of us), too much liquor, or anything else that I shouldn't be carrying. During an outside walk around one of the officers noticed that the left front trailer tire looked tilted. No kidding it was! Checking it we found that the tire was worn to the metal tread bands on the far inside of the tire. Well, knowing that we were about to hit some pretty iffy roads in Mexico, and having about 1800 miles ahead of us I decided we better have it checked out. We drove to a truck repair shop that I had seen on my travels in and around Brownsville. They looked at the wheel, replaced the tire, and then told me that the axle was bent. I don't know when, where, or how it happened but it did. So I told them to fix the axle and we'd stay the night because they wouldn't be done until 5pm. Kevin and I decided to head back to South Padre Island and visit a bird sanctuary and a turtle rescue facility that we'd seen the day before when we went out there for dinner. He and I packed for the night and I went looking for my hard drive case (holding both of them) and I COULD NOT find it! Crap!!! All that work and now they were gone!? Thinking I, and saying it to Kevin, "I wonder if I left it at the hotel?" Nah, I couldn't be that careless or forgetful. Din,g ding, ding wrong answer! When we got to the hotel desk I asked if they had a black hard sided case and showed him it's twin. Out he came with it! Now I don't know what's worse, having more work done on the trailer that's holding me up from crossing the border or having more work done on the trailer to prevent me from crossing the border and finding out days later, when it was too late to do anything about it, that I couldn't find my hard drives. I always looked at these delays to my trip as my Angels watching out for poor old Rich and not letting me do anything until it was the right time for me to do it. I am a very firm believer in my Angels guiding and protecting me. Those of you that know the story of Angels All Around and our journey finding a store front and all the good works that it allowed us to do know that. And if you haven't heard the stories please go to http://www.angelsallaround.com/ourstory.html and read about it.
I just called the repair shop and learned that the trailer won't be ready until noon tomorrow. Poor Kevin has a return flight from Belize City to Phoenix next Thursday. Leaving tomorrow will not give him time for the photo ops he was anticipating and still get us to Dangringa Belize. He's going to call American tonight to see if he can extend his trip through the following Sunday. He's using frequent flier miles so extending his trip may not be an option. I'm praying that it happens though as I want to see him enjoy his trip and us not be so rushed to get where I'm going so that he can make his flight.
We had a great time at the bird sanctuary and turtle rescue and Kevin was as giddy as a kid at the almost 100 pictures that he took while we were at the sanctuary. He does some kind of photography that used 2 low end out of f-stop focus, 2 high end out of f stop focus, and 1 perfectly focused pictures which are then merged into a single photo using a software program that he says turns out incredibly sharp pictures. It will be interesting to see the results when he's finished.
Trust me when I tell you that I'm not demoralized in any way but now we're waiting until tomorrow to see if we can successfully cross the border and be on our way or if my Angels have something more in store for me...
Kevin and I are sitting in the exact same room at the exact same hotel on South Padre Island that I checked out of yesterday when I went to pick him up as he flew into Brownsville! So get a cup of coffee, smoke 'em if you got 'em and I'll fill you in on how my Angels have saved me once again.
You all probably know that I've been downloading movies, TV series, and audio and ebooks like a madman for months now in anticipation of using them as entertainment when I finally found my spot to settle down in. I have them all on a 1 terabyte external hard drive (well actually on two 1 terabyte hard drives because the other is a mirror image of the 1st in case something happens). Now hold that thought!
Kevin and I arrived at the border, on the U.S. side, and were politely questioned by the local county sheriff's department and Border Patrol about what we had in the trailer. They decided to do a routine check. Absolutely no big deal because, like the good citizen and international traveler I am, I don't have any contraband products, too many cigars (thanks to Kevin not smoking and our allotment being double because there are 2 of us), too much liquor, or anything else that I shouldn't be carrying. During an outside walk around one of the officers noticed that the left front trailer tire looked tilted. No kidding it was! Checking it we found that the tire was worn to the metal tread bands on the far inside of the tire. Well, knowing that we were about to hit some pretty iffy roads in Mexico, and having about 1800 miles ahead of us I decided we better have it checked out. We drove to a truck repair shop that I had seen on my travels in and around Brownsville. They looked at the wheel, replaced the tire, and then told me that the axle was bent. I don't know when, where, or how it happened but it did. So I told them to fix the axle and we'd stay the night because they wouldn't be done until 5pm. Kevin and I decided to head back to South Padre Island and visit a bird sanctuary and a turtle rescue facility that we'd seen the day before when we went out there for dinner. He and I packed for the night and I went looking for my hard drive case (holding both of them) and I COULD NOT find it! Crap!!! All that work and now they were gone!? Thinking I, and saying it to Kevin, "I wonder if I left it at the hotel?" Nah, I couldn't be that careless or forgetful. Din,g ding, ding wrong answer! When we got to the hotel desk I asked if they had a black hard sided case and showed him it's twin. Out he came with it! Now I don't know what's worse, having more work done on the trailer that's holding me up from crossing the border or having more work done on the trailer to prevent me from crossing the border and finding out days later, when it was too late to do anything about it, that I couldn't find my hard drives. I always looked at these delays to my trip as my Angels watching out for poor old Rich and not letting me do anything until it was the right time for me to do it. I am a very firm believer in my Angels guiding and protecting me. Those of you that know the story of Angels All Around and our journey finding a store front and all the good works that it allowed us to do know that. And if you haven't heard the stories please go to http://www.angelsallaround.com/ourstory.html and read about it.
I just called the repair shop and learned that the trailer won't be ready until noon tomorrow. Poor Kevin has a return flight from Belize City to Phoenix next Thursday. Leaving tomorrow will not give him time for the photo ops he was anticipating and still get us to Dangringa Belize. He's going to call American tonight to see if he can extend his trip through the following Sunday. He's using frequent flier miles so extending his trip may not be an option. I'm praying that it happens though as I want to see him enjoy his trip and us not be so rushed to get where I'm going so that he can make his flight.
We had a great time at the bird sanctuary and turtle rescue and Kevin was as giddy as a kid at the almost 100 pictures that he took while we were at the sanctuary. He does some kind of photography that used 2 low end out of f-stop focus, 2 high end out of f stop focus, and 1 perfectly focused pictures which are then merged into a single photo using a software program that he says turns out incredibly sharp pictures. It will be interesting to see the results when he's finished.
Trust me when I tell you that I'm not demoralized in any way but now we're waiting until tomorrow to see if we can successfully cross the border and be on our way or if my Angels have something more in store for me...
Underway...shift colors!
It's finally happening! My cousin Kevin arrived in Brownsville yesterday and we're ready to head for my new home in Belize! Well almost... We're sitting in McDonalds using their free internet for the last time in the U.S. Not sure if McD will have it available out of the country. That certainly would be nice but I'm not counting on it. Plus I'm not planning on driving into any of the cities with my trailer attached because I don't want to get stuck on some narrow street or somewhere I can't easily turn around.
Kevin and I are trying to come up with a name for the trailer. He calls his the "Fun Hut". He's going to use "Beliz-a-bago" for his writings for now. Any suggestions?
So once we're done with the net we have to head back to Walmart, fill some gas containers, stow a few things, hitch the trailer to the Jeep then head for the border. Not sure how long the crossing will take because I still need the temporary vehicle doc and I'm sure they'll want to tear the trailer apart before letting us get on our way. In things we've read on the Mexican roads the first 35-40 miles are the worst in all Mexico. Lots of pot holes and bad road surface that will keep us down to 30-35mph, although I typically don't drag the trailer faster than 55 anyway. I figure that they want to make sure whatever you are driving and/or dragging is up to par or that they want to help their auto/truck repair shops are happily busy. After that it's mainly paved 2 lane highways and 60-70mph. We'll be traveling on MX180 for about 90% of the trip. Not sure how far we'll get today or where we'll stop for the night. All I know is that Kevin is drooling over getting real Mexican tacos and make some photo stops. Fine by me! And I think he's already thinking about extending his trip. Fine by me too! I'm hoping he'll love Belize as much as I do. he's looking for a foreign country to retire in when his time comes. Maybe we'll be neighbors!
More later but I'm not sure when! Adios!
Kevin and I are trying to come up with a name for the trailer. He calls his the "Fun Hut". He's going to use "Beliz-a-bago" for his writings for now. Any suggestions?
So once we're done with the net we have to head back to Walmart, fill some gas containers, stow a few things, hitch the trailer to the Jeep then head for the border. Not sure how long the crossing will take because I still need the temporary vehicle doc and I'm sure they'll want to tear the trailer apart before letting us get on our way. In things we've read on the Mexican roads the first 35-40 miles are the worst in all Mexico. Lots of pot holes and bad road surface that will keep us down to 30-35mph, although I typically don't drag the trailer faster than 55 anyway. I figure that they want to make sure whatever you are driving and/or dragging is up to par or that they want to help their auto/truck repair shops are happily busy. After that it's mainly paved 2 lane highways and 60-70mph. We'll be traveling on MX180 for about 90% of the trip. Not sure how far we'll get today or where we'll stop for the night. All I know is that Kevin is drooling over getting real Mexican tacos and make some photo stops. Fine by me! And I think he's already thinking about extending his trip. Fine by me too! I'm hoping he'll love Belize as much as I do. he's looking for a foreign country to retire in when his time comes. Maybe we'll be neighbors!
More later but I'm not sure when! Adios!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Hanging out on South Padre Island TX
My cousin Kevin Dre's, who owns a construction/remodeling company in Phoenix, decided he needed a break and will be taking a week off to drive through Mexico and down to Belize with me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate his doing this with me! Besides having the company he has a lot more experience towing a trailer than I (and you'll see how little I have in a minute) and speaks some Spanish. Not sure if I wrote why I'm still in the U.S. or now so I'll briefly tell you, and if I did please bear with me.
Early last week one of my nieces posted on Facebook that my step-mother Jean had passed away. After a panic phone call I found out that she was still alive but Hospice was now taking care of her. She passed early Saturday morning. I've been having sniggle little problems keeping me from crossing into Mexico and I decided that my Angels were holding me up until Jean left us and I while I was still in the family loop. Friday Kevin sent me an email asking if I was up for company. I jumped at the chance and he booked a flight to Brownsville for Wednesday so he could take care of some outstanding business. So, once again my Angels helped me out.
So now I have a few days to wait so I thought I'd take a ride out to South Padre Island. My Houston cousin Pat Coyle loves the place and it's one of his top two beaches in the country, Destin FL being the other. I hitched the trailer yesterday and dragged it out and parked along the road and walked onto the beach to talk with some of the RVers parked on the sand. I found out it only costs $18 for a 90 day stay. Of course there are no facilities and you're living off the grid but who cares! Here's what happened though. I drove onto the beach and looked for a suitable spot to park until Wednesday morning, finding one about a mile from the beach access building. Now I'd passed quite a few RVs and trailers parked prettily on spots with excellent views. So I found one that I liked and did a U-turn so that I was parked parallel to the water and where I thought it was above the high tide mark. Bad move!!! I immediately started to bog down and tried heading back for the firmer wet sand of the beach path. I didn't make it. Well thought I that's why I got a 4 wheel drive jeep, for just such situations. Wrong answer. The sand was just too soft and the trailer a bit too heavy to pull forward or push back. I placed a couple of the 2x12's I carry for placing under the stabilizer jacks under the 4 wheels of the jeep and was just about to unhook from the trailer. My thought was to get the Jeep out using the 4 wheel drive and then hook to the rear of the trailer, since it was closest to the firmer sand, and yank it out with towing straps. My Angels are always around me though and sent a 4-some with a monster pickup to help me out of my predicament. They hailed from northwest Iowa and are "winter Texans" as the snowbirds are called here. We soon had their pickup and my Jeep secured and they pulled me out with one big tug. I certainly thanked them, God, and my Angels as soon as I hit firmer sand. One of the guys mentioned that they were staying at the Best Western and had remembered seeing my trailer parked in the McDonalds parking lot. He laughingly remembered the large blue garbage can (about 75-80 gallons) on the back storage deck. The 4 of them jokingly said I must be planning on generating a lot of garbage but were glad that I had somewhere to put it. I actually brought it for water storage (I have another 40 gal one that will go on top of the trailer for showering, heated by the sun) for when I find my plot of land in Belize. I won't have access to city water or a well, at least not in the near future. I'm familiar with the water catch containers on the Cayes. There aren't any wells and no city water so they catch rain water and use reverse osmosis to purify it. Me, I'll use household bleach. Don't believe me? Here's a website that gives you all the info on using bleach. Bookmark it because it may come in handy one day when your city water is turned off due to a water main break and they tell you to boil your water until further notice.
http://www.newjerusalem.com/PureWater.htm
So anyway on with my tale. I drove up the beach toward the entrance and stopped to talk with a guy who had a trailer much like mine. I came to find out that they use sections of 2x12 plank to ease up to where they will park and then leave the final section under the tires. Since I didn't think of that in my earlier planning I decided to be safe and head for somewhere off the beach. I'll have to hit Home Depot and pick up some planks for the trip because I may run into the same situation when I go looking for my plot of paradise. As I was headed back to the local Walmart to park I passed a really nice small motel offering $23 a night. Hmmm...a hot shower, free continental breakfast, and 24 hour Internet... So here I sit, checked in for 2 nights for a total of $52, writing on my blog and waiting for Kevin to fly in at 5pm Wednesday. Not sure what the next couple of days will have to offer but I know I'll be spending a few hours of it in my beach chair, enjoying the warn sunny weather staring out at the Gulf Of Mexico, smoking cigars and reading a book. Another of my TX cousins, Matt, recommended a seafood joint that he says is really good so I may try it tonight. But if nothing else I'm getting in some very restful days. Now you may think that all I'm doing since I retired is resting but that truly is not the case. I've spent many long days investigating the requirements for possibly living off the grid, finding a trailer to live in, outfitting it foremost for basic survival and then comfort, and preparing for the drive. So I'm pretty worn out from all that and having a few days to just kick back before the long drive to Dangringa BZ is just what the doctor ordered!
More later!
Early last week one of my nieces posted on Facebook that my step-mother Jean had passed away. After a panic phone call I found out that she was still alive but Hospice was now taking care of her. She passed early Saturday morning. I've been having sniggle little problems keeping me from crossing into Mexico and I decided that my Angels were holding me up until Jean left us and I while I was still in the family loop. Friday Kevin sent me an email asking if I was up for company. I jumped at the chance and he booked a flight to Brownsville for Wednesday so he could take care of some outstanding business. So, once again my Angels helped me out.
So now I have a few days to wait so I thought I'd take a ride out to South Padre Island. My Houston cousin Pat Coyle loves the place and it's one of his top two beaches in the country, Destin FL being the other. I hitched the trailer yesterday and dragged it out and parked along the road and walked onto the beach to talk with some of the RVers parked on the sand. I found out it only costs $18 for a 90 day stay. Of course there are no facilities and you're living off the grid but who cares! Here's what happened though. I drove onto the beach and looked for a suitable spot to park until Wednesday morning, finding one about a mile from the beach access building. Now I'd passed quite a few RVs and trailers parked prettily on spots with excellent views. So I found one that I liked and did a U-turn so that I was parked parallel to the water and where I thought it was above the high tide mark. Bad move!!! I immediately started to bog down and tried heading back for the firmer wet sand of the beach path. I didn't make it. Well thought I that's why I got a 4 wheel drive jeep, for just such situations. Wrong answer. The sand was just too soft and the trailer a bit too heavy to pull forward or push back. I placed a couple of the 2x12's I carry for placing under the stabilizer jacks under the 4 wheels of the jeep and was just about to unhook from the trailer. My thought was to get the Jeep out using the 4 wheel drive and then hook to the rear of the trailer, since it was closest to the firmer sand, and yank it out with towing straps. My Angels are always around me though and sent a 4-some with a monster pickup to help me out of my predicament. They hailed from northwest Iowa and are "winter Texans" as the snowbirds are called here. We soon had their pickup and my Jeep secured and they pulled me out with one big tug. I certainly thanked them, God, and my Angels as soon as I hit firmer sand. One of the guys mentioned that they were staying at the Best Western and had remembered seeing my trailer parked in the McDonalds parking lot. He laughingly remembered the large blue garbage can (about 75-80 gallons) on the back storage deck. The 4 of them jokingly said I must be planning on generating a lot of garbage but were glad that I had somewhere to put it. I actually brought it for water storage (I have another 40 gal one that will go on top of the trailer for showering, heated by the sun) for when I find my plot of land in Belize. I won't have access to city water or a well, at least not in the near future. I'm familiar with the water catch containers on the Cayes. There aren't any wells and no city water so they catch rain water and use reverse osmosis to purify it. Me, I'll use household bleach. Don't believe me? Here's a website that gives you all the info on using bleach. Bookmark it because it may come in handy one day when your city water is turned off due to a water main break and they tell you to boil your water until further notice.
http://www.newjerusalem.com/PureWater.htm
So anyway on with my tale. I drove up the beach toward the entrance and stopped to talk with a guy who had a trailer much like mine. I came to find out that they use sections of 2x12 plank to ease up to where they will park and then leave the final section under the tires. Since I didn't think of that in my earlier planning I decided to be safe and head for somewhere off the beach. I'll have to hit Home Depot and pick up some planks for the trip because I may run into the same situation when I go looking for my plot of paradise. As I was headed back to the local Walmart to park I passed a really nice small motel offering $23 a night. Hmmm...a hot shower, free continental breakfast, and 24 hour Internet... So here I sit, checked in for 2 nights for a total of $52, writing on my blog and waiting for Kevin to fly in at 5pm Wednesday. Not sure what the next couple of days will have to offer but I know I'll be spending a few hours of it in my beach chair, enjoying the warn sunny weather staring out at the Gulf Of Mexico, smoking cigars and reading a book. Another of my TX cousins, Matt, recommended a seafood joint that he says is really good so I may try it tonight. But if nothing else I'm getting in some very restful days. Now you may think that all I'm doing since I retired is resting but that truly is not the case. I've spent many long days investigating the requirements for possibly living off the grid, finding a trailer to live in, outfitting it foremost for basic survival and then comfort, and preparing for the drive. So I'm pretty worn out from all that and having a few days to just kick back before the long drive to Dangringa BZ is just what the doctor ordered!
More later!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Another delay...and a very good reason for it
Well I didn't get to cross the other day due to minor, but critical, electrical problems. But I decided it was my Angels keeping me here in the states for a reason.
Cause and effect: My fridge stopped working the other day. Stupidly I thought about not bothering to fix it. That thought lasted all of 10 seconds. I bought it on to a repair shop on Saturday and they found a short in the wire to the heater, which is on the same circuit as the fridge. That's fixed now. But stupidly failed to check my electrical outlets. So when I parked for the day I plugged in my cell phone charger and it didn't turn on. That clued me to the new problem. So it's back to the repair shop on Monday morning. I decided that these and the other sniggly problems are what my Angels were placing before me to delay my crossing the border.
Reason 1: I had heard from my brother Tom that my step-mom Jean, who has been in a nursing home in a Chicago suburb for 4 years, had died. It turned out that she was still alive but critical. She finally passed early Saturday morning. In talking to a couple of my siblings, and due to the funeral arrangements that were made I can't get up there for the service. So I went to the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville and lite a candle and said a prayer for her and my Dad and Mom who are already enjoying heaven.
Reason 2: Now this is worth sticking around for! My cousin Kevin, who is a world traveler, contacted me about traveling with me on the drive through MX and BZ. Having a traveling companion is going to be GREAT! Plus he has a lot of experience towing a travel trailer, which will be a big plus. And he even speaks rudimentary Spanish. I can ask for a beer and the bathroom and that's about it. So anyway Kevin flies into Brownsville on Wednesday at 5pm and we're shooting for crossing the border at sun up on Thursday.
Since I have a few extra days here I'm thinking about taking a side trip to South Padre Island. My cousin Pat says it's one of the prettiest beaches he's ever seen here in the states. He also favors Destin FL.
Cause and effect: My fridge stopped working the other day. Stupidly I thought about not bothering to fix it. That thought lasted all of 10 seconds. I bought it on to a repair shop on Saturday and they found a short in the wire to the heater, which is on the same circuit as the fridge. That's fixed now. But stupidly failed to check my electrical outlets. So when I parked for the day I plugged in my cell phone charger and it didn't turn on. That clued me to the new problem. So it's back to the repair shop on Monday morning. I decided that these and the other sniggly problems are what my Angels were placing before me to delay my crossing the border.
Reason 1: I had heard from my brother Tom that my step-mom Jean, who has been in a nursing home in a Chicago suburb for 4 years, had died. It turned out that she was still alive but critical. She finally passed early Saturday morning. In talking to a couple of my siblings, and due to the funeral arrangements that were made I can't get up there for the service. So I went to the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville and lite a candle and said a prayer for her and my Dad and Mom who are already enjoying heaven.
Reason 2: Now this is worth sticking around for! My cousin Kevin, who is a world traveler, contacted me about traveling with me on the drive through MX and BZ. Having a traveling companion is going to be GREAT! Plus he has a lot of experience towing a travel trailer, which will be a big plus. And he even speaks rudimentary Spanish. I can ask for a beer and the bathroom and that's about it. So anyway Kevin flies into Brownsville on Wednesday at 5pm and we're shooting for crossing the border at sun up on Thursday.
Since I have a few extra days here I'm thinking about taking a side trip to South Padre Island. My cousin Pat says it's one of the prettiest beaches he's ever seen here in the states. He also favors Destin FL.