More Internet Woes

The WIFI here at Las Palmas is usually very good. This time I got the code but both computers claim it is the wrong one. The woman at the desk insists it is correct. Banda Ancha is not working well. It connects for a minute or two and drops off. It will let me read email but not reply.

We contacted our friends Chris and Juan and will be meeting up with them on Saturday and Sunday at their membership RV park near Monterrey. They can get us a two day pass. It will be fun.

Lets see if Carlos Slim will let me send this.

A Long Drive!

It was a long drive today! We did not intend it that way as we planned to spend the night in Rio Verde, about four hours from where we spent the previous night.

The road started out really bad and got worse. There were potholes on the traveled portion of the road so I drove with the right wheels on the (mostly) paved shoulder and the left wheels between the worn tracks. Following traffic, of course, took this as an invitation to pass which they did regardless of oncoming traffic, creating three wide situations on the two lane road. This prevented me from taking any evasive action to miss the potholes on the shoulder so it was a very stressful drive.

The road surface got a little better as we approached the Sierra Madres but then we started going up... and up! Steep grades, narrow roads and heavy traffic do not make driving a 50 foot combination rig easy! On one of the worst inclines, my "Check Engine" light came on! I know what it will say when they read the computer, "Low Fuel Pressure". This happens every time I tackle a long steep grade in hot weather. I guess the fuel pump just cannot satisfy the V-10's demand for fuel. I will get it reset in the USA where many places do it for free. We finally started the downhill run to Rio Verde (spelled Rioverde by Garmin)

Last time through Rio Verde we stayed in a grocery store parking lot right in town. Problem was, this time we did not need groceries and the turnoff on 75D was just before we got to the city. We did not want to tackle the city traffic so we took the turn onto 75D thinking there should be a spot to park before too long. Well, there was not but 75D is such a beautiful road we decided to keep going. The speed limit was 100 KMH and I set the cruise control for 99. Before we knew it we were on 57 heading to Matehuala so we just kept going. We pulled into the RV park behind the Motel Las Palmas at about 5:30. A 7 1/2 hour, 475 KM day, long for us.

Starchoice is set up, we have eaten, so off to watch TV. I am exhausted!

Our Route:

Internet Again

We are finally out of that electronic sink hole on the Emerald Coast! Carlos Slim would do his customers a huge favor if he invested in a couple of towers along that stretch! It was so frustrating! I could read my mail but the signal was too weak to send a reply. My Blog would post using Windows Live Writer but not using Blogger. I could read the comments but not respond. Facebook worked for about two minutes once. And all this was after driving a few KM to the coffee shop and parking across the street, it would not work form the coffee shop.

Anyway! We left at 10:00 this morning and headed north, thinking we would park for the night is a small, closed restaurant near Tampico. We found the restaurant but they have fenced off the entrance, making it inaccessible. We continued on, looking for a suitable Pemex or other good spots but were out of luck. We arrived at the Pemex on the outskirts of Tampico where we had to make the u-turn to get onto the truck route but there was no room to park there. The next Pemex was not in a very nice neighborhood and it was right where trucks started gearing down for a detour, so that was out.

We got onto Mex 70 and found a nice quiet Pemex with a huge parking lot that actually has a Federali office off to the side.I walked over to tip the pump guys and found one of them speaks English! He asked where we were heading and I said, "Canada". He laughed and said it was much too cold there and we should stay in Mexico.

Still Here

On the Emerald Coast. It is very relaxing here and we are still by ourselves. We got the motorhome washed. We thought of doing it ourselves but the water pressure is so low, the thin stream that comes out of the hose does not reach the top of the motorhome. We hired the caretakers to do it and they hooked the hose up to the larger pump that supplies the showers and that did the trick. Unfortunately for them, the pump burned out just as they were finishing.

The lack of Internet is annoying and is making me lose track of my Blogging friends. The world is going on but I have lost touch of it! Norma is into the figure skating finals so we are staying at least one more day, maybe two.

From here it will be a lot of driving without RV parks as we head towards the border. We drive up the coast to Tampico where there is a complicated set of u-turns to get onto the truck by-pass heading towards San Luis Potosi. There is an abandoned restaurant just before Tampico where we parked last time we were here. Perhaps it is still available. Tampico is not a great place for RV’s as they have a law against “large vehicles” in town and many RV’ers were getting tickets. The u-turns and by-pass route provided in the Church’s book avoids this problem. We have been through here before and had no problem. There is a huge Pemex complex on the bypass road at San Luis Potosi that has a Pizza Hut and a Colonel Sanders Chicken place. From SLP we turn north on Mex. 57 towards Saltillo.

The weather here on the Gulf Coast is not great. It is pretty steady overcast. It rained for a few hours last night and that woke me up. It stopped at about 4:00. This was the first rain we have had here on the Emerald coast and the humidity has not been bad, so all in all, we have little to complain about. We still have the place to ourselves. There are workers here every day and it looks like they are getting ready for a much better year. They refinished the pool and put new stairs on the water slide. There was a truck load of large rocks delivered and yesterday a small crew laid out rocks defining the parking spaces followed by two young men with paint brushes painting all the rocks white. The layout will not work as it does not leave enough room for big rigs to turn onto the road out. Oh well, they will find out after many of the rocks are run over. The Neptuno RV park next door is also being worked on with new roofs on the palapas, pool work and all the buildings getting a new coat of paint. It is nice to see an investment being made in RV parks, this has not been the case where we have traveled this winter.

There is a nice beach here and I will have to walk down the short path to check it out. Maybe even dip my toes into the water. Last time we were here the Gulf was warmer than the pool. I also want to go to one of the local restaurants for a feed of fried camerones, I have a craving! It is nice to just sit back and relax for a few days.

Emerald Coast

It took us about five hours to get to the Emerald Coast and the Trailer Park Alba. No real reason, we just drove slow and stopped at a few places looking for a painted bowl to replace LindaLee’s that their cat broke. No luck, we are out of the area where they do that kind of pottery but we will keep looking.

We stopped for gas and a pickup full of Federalis polled up. Two in the cab and five in the back, one standing behind a very large mounted machine gun which he never left. The other four in the back all had smaller machine guns and got out of the truck. They saw me and came over to chat. Very nice guys. One spoke perfect English and had gone to school in Seattle. They were amazed that we drove all the way down to Mexico every year. They wanted to know where we had been in Mexico. The only one who could shake hands was the boss, the others were holding onto their guns. They told us to have a good trip and I thanked them for keeping us safe and secure. Like I said, nice guys in a very dangerous job.

The last time we parked here the place was half full. This time we are the only customers! No one is here. The pool is open and there are workers painting the wall. All the electrical outlets are new but ungrounded! We found a spot where someone had driven a metal rid into the ground and fastened a wire to it leading to the outlet. It was grounded. Norma went and asked the workers if they would wash the rig and they said they would do it tomorrow morning. It is just coated with salt!

The bad news is, we have no Internet. No WIFI (which they advertise) and no Banda Ancha. We are going to the nearby town of Nautla tomorrow to take in laundry so I will send this from there but other than that, I am going to be silent for a couple of days.

Cloudy, 30% Chance Of Rain

That is the forecast for today in Veracruz and it does not appear to be getting much better in the short term. So, we will move a little north to the Emerald Coast. It does not look much better there but there is no suggestion of rain. We are on our way home so we will take the weather as it comes.

The wind blew most of the day yesterday and of course, being close to the very salty Gulf, we are coated with salt and cannot easily see out of the windshield or side windows on the water side! Hopefully there will be a car wash along the way that has a parking area big enough for the motorhome.

It looks like a 210 KM drive today so that will be about 3 or 4  hours on the coastal roads. An easy day. Talk to you soon. Life is Good!

El Gran Café de la Parroquia

El Gran Café de la Parroquia is probably the most interesting coffee shop in the Americas! Founded in 1808, it is a requisite visit if you are in Veracruz! In fact they say, "Visiting Veracruz without a visit to El Gran Café de la Parroquia is like not visiting Veracruz at all".

Here is the old bar with the espresso machines.

You order Cafe' Lecharo. You can order other coffee's, but what's the point? You are given a heavy, ribbed glass with a large shot of espresso in it.

You then start clanging your spoon loudly on the side of the glass to attract the waiter who brings over a kettle of steaming hot milk and starts to pour.

He then raises the kettle up in the air as a thin stream of hot milk lands, perfectly centered, in your glass.

The finished product! Enjoy!!

This same ceremony has gone on dozens (hundreds) of times a day for decades! The cafe is full of happy customers, tourists and locals alike, happily clanging their glasses. Cost? I am not sure as we had a guacamole salad to share as well but the coffee was less than 40 pesos ($3) each, less than a Starbucks coffee at home.

3:30 AM

It is BLOWING!! It started about an hour ago with some rocking and rolling. We got up and brought the slide in and I went outside to close the bedroom window with the broken crank. It has not let up and the bed is shaking too much to sleep.

Weather.com says it is currently blowing 31 mph out of the north but I think it is a little behind the times and is actually much more than that. Weather Underground has their "Blowing Sand" warning that I hate to see up again.

Weather Underground has just updated to 37 mph at 6:00 AM. The gusts are much more than that!

What's it doing up on the Texas side of the Gulf, Rae?

Veracruz!

It was about 85F yesterday and fairly humid but there is another wind storm forecast for Sunday so we jumped in the Honda and headed downtown. We were waved over to a free parking space by an enterprising car washer whom we told could wash the car and that gave us parking. I didn't know I told him to wash it but he did.40 pesos, not a big deal and the car is clean again.

All the interesting sights are within a four or so block radius so we started walking. It was Saturday noon and crowds were just starting to form. The beach restaurants were starting to fill up but we resisted, having been out for dinner twice in three days. We did however go for a very special coffee which I will save for a separate post.

 

It's OK, mom is selling jewelry on the street right beside her. She is enjoying the sights from a convenient shaded seating area.

We arrived back at the RV park to find three different groups starting parties, one with a Karaoke machine. Well, it being Mexico, the music went on all night. At sunrise they all went into their tents but both stereos got left on. They are still on but much louder. Mexico!

Our Guard Dog

This friendly girl belongs to the night watchman. Promptly at 6:00 PM the watchman arrives and sets up at the entrance to the park. His dog then runs down the 1/4 mile road to where we are parked, lays down near our steps and guards us all night! She works cheap, one cookie per night and the odd head scratch. She gives a single, short bark when anything approaches that she does not approve of. Early the next morning the watchman drives his car down to the beach and the dog jumps in, her shift over.

Today she showed up at noon as the watchman has been hired to do some maintenance work around the pool. Being here in the daylight gave me a chance to take her photo. I can highly recommend her. She does a great job.

Norma went over to some of the workers this morning and asked them if they would wash the motorhome on Sunday for some extra cash as it is covered with salt spray. No problem! She then tried to ask about the poor water pressure and if they could get enough pressure to do the job. They said not to worry. I hope they have a trick up their sleeve as the lawns are watered with sea water and that outlet has tons of pressure. Please don't wash the rig with sea water!