Los Moches to Mazatlan

There was some symmetry to the day. Seventy dollars worth of gas and seventy dollars worth of tolls! Some as low as $7 and one at $30 with the rest of them somewhere in between. There does not seem to be any reason to them. They count the wheels and axles and then charge you whatever the heck they want. There is a chart on the wall but none of the illustrations show a motorhome towing a car. Sometimes I am a truck and trailer and other times a motorhome being followed closely by a car.

I know I sound harsh about the tolls but it is not really that bad. In Canada we pay a high tax on our gas for highway maintenance and construction but in Mexico they choose to do it this way. Gas is only about $.70 per litre here and the roads, although narrow, are quite well maintained. It just gets frustrating to see all those toll booths. Mexican Law however prevents tolls being charged unless there is an alternate, toll free route. The locals use these "Libre" highways which are even narrower and go through every village along the way. Potholes are rampant and maintenance is seldom done on the Libres.

We are at Las Jaibas RV Park, the same one as we were in last year. It is only about ten percent filled. Rumour has it there have been many cancellations in Mazatlan this winter. Maybe the recent hike in gas prices, maybe the economy, who knows. They added many back-in sites over the summer and upgraded the electrical. We booked three nights and will head further south after that. We are toying with the idea of following the coast down for a bit before heading inland. This is what I really like about RV travel. You make up your route and timing as you go.