MX Trip # 60 Day trip to Lake Chapala ( Monday )

Our original plan was to move to the Lake Chapala area and camp there for a few days as it is only 50 KM from Villa Corona.  However,  we like the hot pools and the friends we have made and of course the camping at Villa Corona so we did a day trip to Ajijic and Chapala which are two cities joined at the hip. Many ex-Pats , both Cdn and Americans have take our residence in this area and are MX citizens of a sort. 

The Ex-Pat couple that we have talk with, said they still have Cdn Passports but they carry Mexican Identification card which allows they certain advantage like full medical treatment for 300.00 a year. In fact one couple from Markham, ON said they have been permanent residence in Ajijic for 11 years and there are many couples just like them in a sub division. They have formed a co-op ( my words ) to obtain a group plan for medical insurance plan.

This same couple seem to live a shallow life style if I am a judge of people. As we perused the menu of a semi-outdoor restaurant they advised us that the restaurant  had  excellent food but more important they had a bottomless glass of wine and margaritas. 

We then took a table close by more or less to get a feel of the area and to chat. That is when they said they had been residence and had left Markham, ON 11 years ago years. While we ate dinner and chatted I noted that the man had knocked back 4 glasses of wine and the waiter kept pouring. I wasn't  sure if they had eaten yet but it appeared the wine was more important than food. Out of curiosity I ask if the came to this restaurant often and I got the answer I expected, "yes we do ".

Carroll and I went for a walk along the lake front as there were at lest a  km long  strip of vendors so we must have killed an hour and a half. We returned to our car which was park in front of the restaurant and the couple was still there drinking free drinks. Hopefully this not the typical Ex-Pat. 

Ajijic and Lake  Chapala is far to busy for us so our day trip was enough to fill our curiosity. We have notice a big change since we last visited 8 years ago. Like most cities it just keeps on growing. cheers 

MX Trip # 59 Dinner at MiGusto ( Sunday )

We went to Cocula for supper and to listen to the Mariachi band that plays at the MiGusto restaurant every Sunday evening.

Cocula is a industrial and farming town located on hwy 80 which is a main thorough fare to the coast so it does see a lot of traffic. It seemed odd that Villa Corona was out of fuel and Cocula did not even have much of a line at the two Pemex that we seen in town. Cocula also has a Wal-Mart but it goes by another name and it is just called the Bodega. Carroll and I will visit the store on Thursday to pick up some item before we head north. 

Fred and Donna are leaving tomorrow so we are taking them to Cocula which is 21 km from Villa Corona because they have never been there and they do like Mariachi music. The band plays for 1 1/2 hours and that is my limit for Mariachi  music. Of course we were the only Gringos in the restaurant so the Master of Ceremonies   came to our table to get our names and ask where we were from so he could introduce us to the crowd.

Fred is multi- lingual so it good to have him decipher the menu and to make sure the waitress understands our order.  The owner  of the restaurant suspected we were camping at Villa Corona so he came over to welcome us and would have bought us a Margarita but none of us drink that " crap ".  We were advised by the guide at the brewery in Tequila that most Margaritas  are made with the cheapest Tequila they make and it usually gives you headache. I have had that headache several years ago I don't need a relapse.

The music was good and the food was plentiful as we all had to get a "doggy bag ". We all had pawns, which not a surprise when you get a plate full of prawns for less than 10.00. Cheers 

MX TRip # 58 ( Saturday )

This was one of those day where you just seem to walk there the day. Of course we hit the hot pools first but the one pool had a zillion kids in it so we took one with less activity. A large crowd   was expected because it is the weekend and the pools are always full. They have a real good Splash Park which has two large tubs that dump water on the kids and some old folks too. These tubs hold 1000 L and 5000 L ( 1300 gals ) and they have to have a spreader to spray the water or I'm sure without it; it would be dangerous. We have never seen tubs that large.

We did skip into town for a few items and to check on the fuel situation.  A tanker was off loading  in one Pemex. However I did a lot of reading as I found a Arthur Hailey   book that I had not read.

 We finished the day with a happy hour with 2 couples. Fred and Donna are leaving on Monday so we re-hashed their trip by suggesting which way they should go and which roads to avoid.  Fuel is not a problem for them as they have a diesel truck. Cheers 

MX Trip # 57 Lazy Day ( Friday )

Some days there is just much to do so I today is one of those "what can I do today " days. The first thing is to hit the hot pools for an hour. 

Well, we have been bragging about the Blueberries and other fruit so after we hit the hot pools in the morning we decide to go into town which is several blocks from the park and do some shopping. 

We have to drive by 2 Pemex gas station on the way to town so we always check if they are open. The first station  was not open but the next one had about 6 cars in line and since I was down a 1/4 tank from our trip yesterday I filled up. The latest rumor is that it will take a month or more before they get the gas supply fixed. I'm not so sure. 

Then I dropped Carroll off  at the fruit stand , because there is never any dam parking and I had to circle the block looking for a space. We agreed to meet at the grocery store after she picked up the Blueberries and Raspberries. After picking up a few groceries we drove around the town just to see what they had for other business. It is not much.

One of the park residences are a couple from Columbus Ohio ( Bill and Carolyn ) and they are not Trump fans. Bill has been trying to set up his satellite with no success so I ventured over to see if I could help. We discussed satellites but I was not much help. However he showed me how to use the satellite direction finder on my iPhone so now I am somewhat smarter. cheers  

MX Trip # 56 Visit two towns ( Thursday )

We heard about two towns within an hour and half drive so we decided to pay them a visit. The first town which is Zacoalco and it is a small but busily industrial town and is known for making furniture such  as chairs, table and sofas. This a cottage industry  town so there are many small shops. We stopped at one furniture shop to investigate , not to buy. The chair frames where already built but we did see them upholstering a chair and they were using pig skin. It follows that they must have lots of pigs in the area but our lack of Spanish doesn't allow us to ask many questions.

While driving into town we went by the Town Square ( Zocola ) and it was market day so we just had to check it out. The market was mostly meat vendors but there were many other vendors along the street so Carroll had to check out the shoes. As she was trying on Crocs and having trouble with the language a gentleman happened along and could see the problem so he stopped to help. He said he was originally from the town and  was home for a visit as he has been working in Portland, OR for 20 years hence the reason he speaks English.

Then we headed to the town of  Sayula and they are noted for manufacturing knife. As we entered town/city I noted that the main  street was paved, 4 lanes with a boulevard. That in itself is not a normal town so I realized it must be highly industrial. As we entered the town to the town square it was obvious that is was middle class town. All streets were paved , there were many one way streets and for the most part people drove the right way down a one way street. That may be because there was several  police driving around the city which is not normal in small towns or cities. 

Our interest in this city was to go to a knife factory to see the knives being made. We did not have an address so we approached  the local taxi who were waiting for a fair at the town square. The taxi's are the 3 wheel motorize cart, much like a 3 wheel motor cycle which has room for 2 people and the driver. The driver took us directly to the factory/store. Unfortunately the factory was closed but the store was open so we were shown around by a young lady. Once again no English but we did see the thousands of knives on display and they are not cheap. We did purchases a knife with a 6 inch blade for 42.00 Cdn. 

We had lunch and return to our camp site. 

MX Trip # 55 Fuel has arrived??? ( Wednesday )

Fuel has arrived in Villa Corona and we have two Pemex station so it appears that they are taking turns at receiving the fuel because both stations are never open on the same day. You never know when fuel will arrive but I suspect it is during the night because I have never seen a tanker in this town. 

Anyway, this morning around 10 I noticed a fairly short line up of probably 200 M long waiting for fuel so I decided to join the line up. It took me 35 minutes to get to the pumps but I have lots of spare time and I need fuel so what choice do I have. When I got to the pumps the sign said a 100 liter limit but since my car was 1/2 full that was not a problem. Since the line up was fairly short I return to the camp site and got the MH.  When I got to the line up there was only 6 or 7 vehicles ahead of me so this was a bonus. I was beginning to think that the short line up meant they were running low on fuel but that was not the case.

As I entered the gas station I was ask if I wanted diesel or gas as most Class A MH are diesel. When I got to the pump I was ask how much fuel I wanted and I said I would like you to fill it. A lady standing near by, and I think a supervisor, heard me and said fill it up. By early afternoon they had run out of fuel again.

We had intended to go south to Patzcuaro however some friends left on Thursday to visit Paztcuaro, and  send us an email saying the fuel crisis is worst in that area. We now have strongly considered leaving MX and  going to TX, which is only 1200 km away and I can reach it with 2 fill ups. AZ is not worth taking a chance.

One couple are leaving tomorrow so they suggested a pizza for a happy hour/ supper with 3 couples so we (actual Carroll ) agreed. One guy ( Fred from Salmon Arms ) speaks several languages so he ordered the pizza by phone and it was delivered by motorcycle. 

We hit the hot pools twice today. Cheers

MX Trip # 54 Market Day ( Tuesday )

Every Tuesday is Market Day and everyone in the area comes to town and I did noticed that the older folks seem to do more visiting then shopping. However to say that it was crowded is a understatement. The Market starts at the town square (The Zocola ) and then they block of off one street for 3 blocks so the vendors can set up their booths. To coin a phase; it is organized confusion.

The grocery store is at the end of the market so we joined the throng of people to see what the vendors had for sale. Then we  did the grocery shopping first and returned through the crowd to pick up fruits and vegetables including the fresh Blueberries etc. 

I have mentioned that there was no fuel. Actually, we have received some fuel every other day but the line up is blocks long and most of the time the fuel runs out before many of those in line get to the pumps. Hence the reason I do not get in the line up. 

Today we dropped over to visit Mike and Barb who are a couple from Delta BC and  have been residences in this park for 10 years and have become  Mexican residence. This allows them to have MX health insurance for 300.00 per year. We want to visit two towns, one that builds furniture and another that makes knives so we  had to get directions from Mike as he knows the location of these places. Cheers