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On January 1, 2005 we visited my stepmother at her home in Fallbrook, CA. It was a great visit and I got to see
my step-sister, Sandy, and her daughter Elke. I had not seen Sandy for 25 years and it was wonderful to renew
her acquaintance. Regine made us very welcome and we enjoyed her fabulous cooking. We left there on the 2nd
and stopped for a couple of hours at an elderly aunt’s house as we made our way to Fountain Valley to visit my
daughter and her family.
Tisa and Huu have two beautiful children, Austin and Demi, and it was entertaining to participate in their lives for a
couple of days. Tisa and Huu both work but have skewed work schedules so Huu can get the kids ready for
school in the morning and Tisa can pick them up after school and get them to their swimming, piano lessons,
basketball practice and tutoring. Then it’s home for dinner and the kids work on their homework until it is time for
bed. Practicing the piano gets squeezed in there too. The kids are growing so fast and I miss seeing them on a
regular basis. We got to eat some great Vietnamese food with Tisa and Huu.
From Fountain Valley we drove to Long Beach to visit my parents. We were only there for a couple of nights but
enjoyed roast leg of lamb with mint jelly (my personal favorite) and a dinner out at the Seal Beach pier. We got in
lots of good conversation and some shopping for a new recliner. The big overstuffed one we had was too big for
our rig and it had found a new home at Esther and Norm’s house in Rancho Mirage. We replaced it with a very
lightweight one from IKEA that is not nearly as good quality, but much less bulky and heavy. We also got to hear
Arnold Schwarzeneger’s State of the State address as governor of California. I really appreciated what he had to
say about his plans to deal with some of the problems that plague that state (not too dissimilar from the difficulties
other states face) and hope he can implement his strategies. Other governors (Democrat and Republican) could
take some lessons from him.
We left Long Beach and went back to our rig in Fountain Valley to spend a last night there and then on the 8th
early in the morning we started for Laredo, Texas where we would meet Bill and Laurie and head for the Yucatan.
It was a long three days of driving the 1540 miles and it was great to finally get there. Bill and Laurie are just as
friendly, warm delightful and entertaining in person as they were on the phone and in email. They prepared a
great dinner for us as we did a last bit of preparations for the trip.
On the morning of the 11th we crossed the border into Mexico. It took about two hours to do all of the paperwork.
We had to turn in our last temporary vehicle importation permit on the motorhome which hadn’t expired yet and
then get new ones for both the motorhome and the car. We headed south through pea soup fog and got on the
toll road to Monterrey.
As we were making our way through Monterrey Bill called us on the radio and said that he had lost power in his
2003 Dodge truck with which he pulls a 31’ fifth wheel trailer. It appeared that it was a problem with the
transmission as it would not downshift. Magically a Dodge dealer appeared in front of us and we pulled over. They
agreed to look at the truck right away but we had to move the trailer and our rig somewhere else as they have
very little room on their lot. Colleen drove to the nearby WalMart Supercenter (how lucky is that?) and got
permission for us to stay there. We moved down there and then Bill took the truck back to the Dodge dealer’s lot.
Colleen and I are on this vicious schedule trying to make it to Bacalar near the Belize border by the 16th. We now
had to make a decision whether we would go on without them or wait for them as they had the repairs made. If we
didn’t have the commitment to be in Bacalar it would be an easy decision, but since we were meeting our friend,
Bonnie, there we had to do some thinking. We decided that we would wait for two days and see what developed
and then think some more…putting off difficult decisions works great for me!!!
Within a couple of hours they felt they had figured out what the problem was (two electronic components – a
governor and a pressure transducer) and told us they would do some more investigation and to come back in the
morning. Before we could drive there in the morning they showed up at WalMart to say they would be trying to get
the parts there in Monterrey and were hopeful it would be fixed soon and drove off.
Colleen and I had determined that we wanted to move the kayak off the roof of the motorhome to the roof of the
Jeep and move the spare tire and rim from a compartment to the kayak rack on the motorhome roof. We needed
to make some modifications to the roof rack on KC and Bill and I got the necessary parts at the nearby Home
Depot and made the changes. Then we had to get the spare up there….wow!!!! That was hard!!!! It weighs about
145# and Bill and I hoisted it as Colleen and Laurie pushed from a ladder below. We got it almost there and it was
hung up on a window awning when Colleen asked if she should look for two men to help. While we pondered that
idea, two fellows from the Dodge dealership drove up with the repaired truck and gave the tire the last needed
heave-ho to get it to the roof. Phew!!!! Ask for what you need and it shows up…thank the universe.
We spent a second night and then on the 13th took off again with the intention of stopping in the next large city if
the truck wasn’t working right…it worked perfectly all day and we are now south of Tampico camped behind a
restaurant in a cow pasture for 25P/rig/night (11P/US$)
Traveling on this trip is providing some interesting new challenges for us. We are into new territory, we have the
Jeep hooked on behind and the dog to contend with. The extra length of our rig (we are now over 60’ long)
means we need longer spaces for passing and more care with potholes and topes (the ubiquitous speed bumps).
We also cannot back up if we get in a jam….we really have to think ahead more than when we didn’t have the
Jeep behind us. Having our dog, Dinah, is working out fine since Bill and Laurie have two dogs. We have to stop
and let the dogs run every few hours so we get some relief from driving and get to shake out the kinks too. We
also have to find places to boondock where we are not alongside a road preferably with some grass or dirt area
where they stake their dogs out. Our dog, Dinah, is older and sticks a little closer so we don’t always tie her up.
Last night Bill and Laurie treated us to a celebratory dinner…they feel like we are really on our way now and have
some great adventures ahead of us. They are upbeat, enthusiastic, and will be great traveling companions!!!
Bill and Laurie (B&L) have a MotoSat Datastorm so we are hooking into their system wireless while we are on the
road. Once we get slowed down we will be setting up our dish and can have more time online…woo hooo!!!! Back
to online bridge with Larry Space who now has his own satellite dish. He just needs to get another computer and
then we can both feed our computer addictions at will. Bill has said he wants to learn how to play bridge so I will
pass on my novice training that I got from Larry to Bill.
Today we had hoped to make it the 550 kilometers to Veracruz (1 km = 5/8 mile) but didn’t even make half that
distance. We stopped in Poza Rica for lunch at a mercado and bought eggs, tortillas, fruits and veggies to restock
the frig. Larry, we missed you!!!! They had chicken in pipian, chicken mole, albondigas soup and lots of other
tasty offerings for 20P.
We didn’t make it very far at all…we only got to Tajin near Papantla. This is another Mayan brickworks that we
didn’t see on previous trips. B&L haven’t ever been to a Mayan ruin so the idea of sharing it with them made it
much more tolerable for me. We arrived at Tajin around 3:30 in the afternoon after some really delightful (hah!)
roads and were shown where we could park for the night. This is a real bonus!!!! The fellow who showed us
where we could park collected 40P from each rig for the privilege (we thought it was a bargain) and we later found
out that he was just some schmoe who made himself a few extra bucks that day from some unsuspecting
tourists…you would think we would not be so easy to fool by now.
At 4:30 we saw five Totonac Indians climb a 100 foot pole to attach themselves to ropes that they then twisted
around the pole and then, four of them with the flute accompaniment of the fifth one who was standing on a tiny
platform on the pole, flung themselves off the top backward to rotate around the pole as the ropes unwound
themselves. When the rope was fully unwound they landed on their feet on the ground…you would need to be
there to fully appreciate the beauty and grace of it.
The archeological site was closing for the day at 5:00 so we took the dogs walking around the side of the site. We
followed some paths and went under or through some fences and gates through the jungle. Bill decided to climb
up the small mountain where we ended up and called to us that it was worth the climb. We all climbed up then and
found ourselves on top of what appeared to be an unexcavated pyramid looking off over a valley where the
excavated ruins were. What a great first view of a Mayan pyramid for B&L. It was as though we discovered the
ruins because we did not expect to see them.
Later we barbecued some dinner and headed for bed…this had been a short day because we wanted to see El
Tajin and the voladores and so only made about 150 miles.
On the 15th, today, we got started at 8:30 and only took out one set of flags flying over the entrance to the ruins
on the way out. We got directions for how to proceed and promptly discovered that the directions weren’t explicit
enough. We had to make a choice at an unmarked turn and soon discovered that we should have turned the
other direction…figures…we ended up in a tiny village with narrow streets. Just as I told Colleen that maybe we
should hire a taxi to lead us back to the highway, a man stepped out of a Volkswagen van and asked if we would
like some help….we gratefully accepted and he started to lead the way in his van. Some of the turns were a little
dicey, and he led us down two really steep streets that gave me butterflies in my stomach. We were soon out of
trouble and back on the road….Colleen thanked him profusely, gave him a few pesos for his gasoline and some
chocolate chip cookies for a snack and we were on our way….
We went down the Costa Esmeralda (we stopped to let the dogs out on a beach that was really polluted) over
some pretty bad roads and then caught the Cuota (toll road) as we headed toward Villahermosa….10 hours, 298
miles and about $85 worth of tolls later we stopped for the night at a Pemex station in Acayucan…we are beat!!!!
We should be in Bacalar on Monday….I can hardly wait to stop driving!!!!
We left Acayucan headed for Escarcega almost 300 miles away. Driving 300 miles in the US is a piece of cake
with our great road system, but 300 miles in Mexico is a very long day. Making our day even longer was an
accident that happened just in front of us. Bill and Laurie were leading the way when they started slowing down
and telling us on the radio that they saw a vehicle roll over the side of the road in front of them. They then
reported that 3 men were crawling out of the vehicle and seemed fine. Bill got out to investigate and then returned
to use the radio to report that it was probably worse than it first seemed and maybe I might want to come forward
and have a look.
I parked our bus on the side of the road and went forward to have a look while Colleen went to get the small
medical kit we carry. I really was dreading dealing with anything very complicated as I had no backup and
practically no tools. Traffic was becoming a problem so Bill and Laurie took their handheld radios and went to
opposite ends of the scene to direct traffic. The crash was occupying one entire lane and it was a two lane road
with no shoulders (absolutely no shoulders) so there were lots of trucks and cars wanting to get through. They did
a great job of getting everyone slowed down and moving traffic by in an orderly way. In the meantime, I discover
that it was a head-on crash and, in addition to the 3 men in the rolled-over truck, there was a family of four in the
other vehicle. So there were seven potential patients…wonderful….lots of blood…glad I had gloves…one semi-
hysterical woman with a bloody face who was driving the car…and one man lying half in and half out of the car as
a front passenger….a bulged out windshield where his head hit…and complaining of a possibly broken leg.
Fortunately for me (and them too) no one was critically injured….I determined that the fellow on the ground (who
weighed well over 300 pounds) was best left there until the ambulance showed up… I gathered some sweaters
and jackets to make him more comfortable…checked all the rest of the patients…and hung out with about 50
onlookers…it took the ambulance about 45 minutes to show up and when it got there I helped the attendants get
him loaded and then we left. They were totally uninterested in my assessment of the patient and told me they
were just drivers. They did have a backboard and a gurney, C-Collar, straps and head chocks…I don’t think there
was much of anything else in their ambulance. There is a picture on the website of the accident scene.
The rest of the day was uneventful and 290 miles, 432 Pesos in tolls, and 7 hours of driving (does not include
non-driving time) later we arrived at Pemex #3580 (N 18:23.254 W 91:11.510 Elev 86’) about 40 miles shy of
Escarcega to spend the night.
On the 17th we arrived in Bacalar after five more hours and 207 miles. We averaged 40.6 mph that day….in
general that is about our average speed because of the narrow roads, stopping at toll booths, and stopping for
topes when we are not on a toll road.
I was really looking forward to arriving at Rancho Encantado and was hopeful this would turn out to be the little
slice of paradise we hoped to find. It was in a beautiful setting on Laguna Bacalar with cute little thatch roofed
casitas, a beautiful rancho where the restaurant is, and nice meandering paths among the buildings.
Unfortunately, the noise from the highway (which was our greatest fear) was very noticeable. We camped in a
heavily treed area on a service road and had dinner with one of the owners, Ramon.
Over the next four days we explored the area trying to figure out whether this was the perfect place and see if we
got used to the highway noise. We liked the area, the Laguna is spectacular, and the noise ruins the peace of it
all. We told Ramon that this was not the place for us and moved to a balneario in the village of Bacalar where
Laurie and Bill had moved a day before.
We were still checking out the area, but now were moving our focus to nearer Chetumal and found a piece of
property for sale near Calderitas on the Bay of Chetumal. We met a local caretaker named Pablo who took us
tromping through the jungle to look at the land where we got into a bunch of ticks. We were picking tiny seed ticks
off of ourselves and Dinah for a couple of days afterward. We found the owner and have begun discussions with
him about the property.
From the village of Bacalar we moved up to Tulum on the beach at the fishermen’s cooperative where we camped
last year (N 20:12 W 87:26 Elev 2’) and spent an afternoon at the beach with Bonnie who was flying out the next
afternoon, the 23rd.
Bonnie flew back to the States and we stayed on at the beach for another 9 days. While we were there we got
caught up with email (this was the first time since Yuma a month ago that we had the dish set up), and basically
hung out. The last couple of months had been non-stop driving and visiting and we were glad to do nothing for a
while. Colleen went with B&L to Coba, a Mayan brickworks. We all went and had an incredible dinner at a local
timeshare where Bill and Laurie were exploring the possibility of purchasing and we also got discount tickets to Xel
Ha, a nearby resort where there was snorkeling, food, tubing down a river, and swinging in hammocks at the end
of the day.
On February 2nd Colleen and I moved to Calderitas (N 18.5874 W 88.2329 Elev 2’) where we are figuring out
whether the piece of property we found will work for a small retirement community. As that progresses we will write
about our findings.
We have temporarily separated from B&L while Bill makes a trip back to the States and Laurie stays on in Tulum.
They are going off on their own to discover the Yucatan when Bill gets back and then we will hook up again in
about a month. Bill writes a travelogue too (his is a much funnier read than mine) and would provide some more
details about their travels. He also posts lots of pictures. You can find it at www.doylesroadtrip.com and send him
an email asking to get on his distribution list.
my step-sister, Sandy, and her daughter Elke. I had not seen Sandy for 25 years and it was wonderful to renew
her acquaintance. Regine made us very welcome and we enjoyed her fabulous cooking. We left there on the 2nd
and stopped for a couple of hours at an elderly aunt’s house as we made our way to Fountain Valley to visit my
daughter and her family.
Tisa and Huu have two beautiful children, Austin and Demi, and it was entertaining to participate in their lives for a
couple of days. Tisa and Huu both work but have skewed work schedules so Huu can get the kids ready for
school in the morning and Tisa can pick them up after school and get them to their swimming, piano lessons,
basketball practice and tutoring. Then it’s home for dinner and the kids work on their homework until it is time for
bed. Practicing the piano gets squeezed in there too. The kids are growing so fast and I miss seeing them on a
regular basis. We got to eat some great Vietnamese food with Tisa and Huu.
From Fountain Valley we drove to Long Beach to visit my parents. We were only there for a couple of nights but
enjoyed roast leg of lamb with mint jelly (my personal favorite) and a dinner out at the Seal Beach pier. We got in
lots of good conversation and some shopping for a new recliner. The big overstuffed one we had was too big for
our rig and it had found a new home at Esther and Norm’s house in Rancho Mirage. We replaced it with a very
lightweight one from IKEA that is not nearly as good quality, but much less bulky and heavy. We also got to hear
Arnold Schwarzeneger’s State of the State address as governor of California. I really appreciated what he had to
say about his plans to deal with some of the problems that plague that state (not too dissimilar from the difficulties
other states face) and hope he can implement his strategies. Other governors (Democrat and Republican) could
take some lessons from him.
We left Long Beach and went back to our rig in Fountain Valley to spend a last night there and then on the 8th
early in the morning we started for Laredo, Texas where we would meet Bill and Laurie and head for the Yucatan.
It was a long three days of driving the 1540 miles and it was great to finally get there. Bill and Laurie are just as
friendly, warm delightful and entertaining in person as they were on the phone and in email. They prepared a
great dinner for us as we did a last bit of preparations for the trip.
On the morning of the 11th we crossed the border into Mexico. It took about two hours to do all of the paperwork.
We had to turn in our last temporary vehicle importation permit on the motorhome which hadn’t expired yet and
then get new ones for both the motorhome and the car. We headed south through pea soup fog and got on the
toll road to Monterrey.
As we were making our way through Monterrey Bill called us on the radio and said that he had lost power in his
2003 Dodge truck with which he pulls a 31’ fifth wheel trailer. It appeared that it was a problem with the
transmission as it would not downshift. Magically a Dodge dealer appeared in front of us and we pulled over. They
agreed to look at the truck right away but we had to move the trailer and our rig somewhere else as they have
very little room on their lot. Colleen drove to the nearby WalMart Supercenter (how lucky is that?) and got
permission for us to stay there. We moved down there and then Bill took the truck back to the Dodge dealer’s lot.
Colleen and I are on this vicious schedule trying to make it to Bacalar near the Belize border by the 16th. We now
had to make a decision whether we would go on without them or wait for them as they had the repairs made. If we
didn’t have the commitment to be in Bacalar it would be an easy decision, but since we were meeting our friend,
Bonnie, there we had to do some thinking. We decided that we would wait for two days and see what developed
and then think some more…putting off difficult decisions works great for me!!!
Within a couple of hours they felt they had figured out what the problem was (two electronic components – a
governor and a pressure transducer) and told us they would do some more investigation and to come back in the
morning. Before we could drive there in the morning they showed up at WalMart to say they would be trying to get
the parts there in Monterrey and were hopeful it would be fixed soon and drove off.
Colleen and I had determined that we wanted to move the kayak off the roof of the motorhome to the roof of the
Jeep and move the spare tire and rim from a compartment to the kayak rack on the motorhome roof. We needed
to make some modifications to the roof rack on KC and Bill and I got the necessary parts at the nearby Home
Depot and made the changes. Then we had to get the spare up there….wow!!!! That was hard!!!! It weighs about
145# and Bill and I hoisted it as Colleen and Laurie pushed from a ladder below. We got it almost there and it was
hung up on a window awning when Colleen asked if she should look for two men to help. While we pondered that
idea, two fellows from the Dodge dealership drove up with the repaired truck and gave the tire the last needed
heave-ho to get it to the roof. Phew!!!! Ask for what you need and it shows up…thank the universe.
We spent a second night and then on the 13th took off again with the intention of stopping in the next large city if
the truck wasn’t working right…it worked perfectly all day and we are now south of Tampico camped behind a
restaurant in a cow pasture for 25P/rig/night (11P/US$)
Traveling on this trip is providing some interesting new challenges for us. We are into new territory, we have the
Jeep hooked on behind and the dog to contend with. The extra length of our rig (we are now over 60’ long)
means we need longer spaces for passing and more care with potholes and topes (the ubiquitous speed bumps).
We also cannot back up if we get in a jam….we really have to think ahead more than when we didn’t have the
Jeep behind us. Having our dog, Dinah, is working out fine since Bill and Laurie have two dogs. We have to stop
and let the dogs run every few hours so we get some relief from driving and get to shake out the kinks too. We
also have to find places to boondock where we are not alongside a road preferably with some grass or dirt area
where they stake their dogs out. Our dog, Dinah, is older and sticks a little closer so we don’t always tie her up.
Last night Bill and Laurie treated us to a celebratory dinner…they feel like we are really on our way now and have
some great adventures ahead of us. They are upbeat, enthusiastic, and will be great traveling companions!!!
Bill and Laurie (B&L) have a MotoSat Datastorm so we are hooking into their system wireless while we are on the
road. Once we get slowed down we will be setting up our dish and can have more time online…woo hooo!!!! Back
to online bridge with Larry Space who now has his own satellite dish. He just needs to get another computer and
then we can both feed our computer addictions at will. Bill has said he wants to learn how to play bridge so I will
pass on my novice training that I got from Larry to Bill.
Today we had hoped to make it the 550 kilometers to Veracruz (1 km = 5/8 mile) but didn’t even make half that
distance. We stopped in Poza Rica for lunch at a mercado and bought eggs, tortillas, fruits and veggies to restock
the frig. Larry, we missed you!!!! They had chicken in pipian, chicken mole, albondigas soup and lots of other
tasty offerings for 20P.
We didn’t make it very far at all…we only got to Tajin near Papantla. This is another Mayan brickworks that we
didn’t see on previous trips. B&L haven’t ever been to a Mayan ruin so the idea of sharing it with them made it
much more tolerable for me. We arrived at Tajin around 3:30 in the afternoon after some really delightful (hah!)
roads and were shown where we could park for the night. This is a real bonus!!!! The fellow who showed us
where we could park collected 40P from each rig for the privilege (we thought it was a bargain) and we later found
out that he was just some schmoe who made himself a few extra bucks that day from some unsuspecting
tourists…you would think we would not be so easy to fool by now.
At 4:30 we saw five Totonac Indians climb a 100 foot pole to attach themselves to ropes that they then twisted
around the pole and then, four of them with the flute accompaniment of the fifth one who was standing on a tiny
platform on the pole, flung themselves off the top backward to rotate around the pole as the ropes unwound
themselves. When the rope was fully unwound they landed on their feet on the ground…you would need to be
there to fully appreciate the beauty and grace of it.
The archeological site was closing for the day at 5:00 so we took the dogs walking around the side of the site. We
followed some paths and went under or through some fences and gates through the jungle. Bill decided to climb
up the small mountain where we ended up and called to us that it was worth the climb. We all climbed up then and
found ourselves on top of what appeared to be an unexcavated pyramid looking off over a valley where the
excavated ruins were. What a great first view of a Mayan pyramid for B&L. It was as though we discovered the
ruins because we did not expect to see them.
Later we barbecued some dinner and headed for bed…this had been a short day because we wanted to see El
Tajin and the voladores and so only made about 150 miles.
On the 15th, today, we got started at 8:30 and only took out one set of flags flying over the entrance to the ruins
on the way out. We got directions for how to proceed and promptly discovered that the directions weren’t explicit
enough. We had to make a choice at an unmarked turn and soon discovered that we should have turned the
other direction…figures…we ended up in a tiny village with narrow streets. Just as I told Colleen that maybe we
should hire a taxi to lead us back to the highway, a man stepped out of a Volkswagen van and asked if we would
like some help….we gratefully accepted and he started to lead the way in his van. Some of the turns were a little
dicey, and he led us down two really steep streets that gave me butterflies in my stomach. We were soon out of
trouble and back on the road….Colleen thanked him profusely, gave him a few pesos for his gasoline and some
chocolate chip cookies for a snack and we were on our way….
We went down the Costa Esmeralda (we stopped to let the dogs out on a beach that was really polluted) over
some pretty bad roads and then caught the Cuota (toll road) as we headed toward Villahermosa….10 hours, 298
miles and about $85 worth of tolls later we stopped for the night at a Pemex station in Acayucan…we are beat!!!!
We should be in Bacalar on Monday….I can hardly wait to stop driving!!!!
We left Acayucan headed for Escarcega almost 300 miles away. Driving 300 miles in the US is a piece of cake
with our great road system, but 300 miles in Mexico is a very long day. Making our day even longer was an
accident that happened just in front of us. Bill and Laurie were leading the way when they started slowing down
and telling us on the radio that they saw a vehicle roll over the side of the road in front of them. They then
reported that 3 men were crawling out of the vehicle and seemed fine. Bill got out to investigate and then returned
to use the radio to report that it was probably worse than it first seemed and maybe I might want to come forward
and have a look.
I parked our bus on the side of the road and went forward to have a look while Colleen went to get the small
medical kit we carry. I really was dreading dealing with anything very complicated as I had no backup and
practically no tools. Traffic was becoming a problem so Bill and Laurie took their handheld radios and went to
opposite ends of the scene to direct traffic. The crash was occupying one entire lane and it was a two lane road
with no shoulders (absolutely no shoulders) so there were lots of trucks and cars wanting to get through. They did
a great job of getting everyone slowed down and moving traffic by in an orderly way. In the meantime, I discover
that it was a head-on crash and, in addition to the 3 men in the rolled-over truck, there was a family of four in the
other vehicle. So there were seven potential patients…wonderful….lots of blood…glad I had gloves…one semi-
hysterical woman with a bloody face who was driving the car…and one man lying half in and half out of the car as
a front passenger….a bulged out windshield where his head hit…and complaining of a possibly broken leg.
Fortunately for me (and them too) no one was critically injured….I determined that the fellow on the ground (who
weighed well over 300 pounds) was best left there until the ambulance showed up… I gathered some sweaters
and jackets to make him more comfortable…checked all the rest of the patients…and hung out with about 50
onlookers…it took the ambulance about 45 minutes to show up and when it got there I helped the attendants get
him loaded and then we left. They were totally uninterested in my assessment of the patient and told me they
were just drivers. They did have a backboard and a gurney, C-Collar, straps and head chocks…I don’t think there
was much of anything else in their ambulance. There is a picture on the website of the accident scene.
The rest of the day was uneventful and 290 miles, 432 Pesos in tolls, and 7 hours of driving (does not include
non-driving time) later we arrived at Pemex #3580 (N 18:23.254 W 91:11.510 Elev 86’) about 40 miles shy of
Escarcega to spend the night.
On the 17th we arrived in Bacalar after five more hours and 207 miles. We averaged 40.6 mph that day….in
general that is about our average speed because of the narrow roads, stopping at toll booths, and stopping for
topes when we are not on a toll road.
I was really looking forward to arriving at Rancho Encantado and was hopeful this would turn out to be the little
slice of paradise we hoped to find. It was in a beautiful setting on Laguna Bacalar with cute little thatch roofed
casitas, a beautiful rancho where the restaurant is, and nice meandering paths among the buildings.
Unfortunately, the noise from the highway (which was our greatest fear) was very noticeable. We camped in a
heavily treed area on a service road and had dinner with one of the owners, Ramon.
Over the next four days we explored the area trying to figure out whether this was the perfect place and see if we
got used to the highway noise. We liked the area, the Laguna is spectacular, and the noise ruins the peace of it
all. We told Ramon that this was not the place for us and moved to a balneario in the village of Bacalar where
Laurie and Bill had moved a day before.
We were still checking out the area, but now were moving our focus to nearer Chetumal and found a piece of
property for sale near Calderitas on the Bay of Chetumal. We met a local caretaker named Pablo who took us
tromping through the jungle to look at the land where we got into a bunch of ticks. We were picking tiny seed ticks
off of ourselves and Dinah for a couple of days afterward. We found the owner and have begun discussions with
him about the property.
From the village of Bacalar we moved up to Tulum on the beach at the fishermen’s cooperative where we camped
last year (N 20:12 W 87:26 Elev 2’) and spent an afternoon at the beach with Bonnie who was flying out the next
afternoon, the 23rd.
Bonnie flew back to the States and we stayed on at the beach for another 9 days. While we were there we got
caught up with email (this was the first time since Yuma a month ago that we had the dish set up), and basically
hung out. The last couple of months had been non-stop driving and visiting and we were glad to do nothing for a
while. Colleen went with B&L to Coba, a Mayan brickworks. We all went and had an incredible dinner at a local
timeshare where Bill and Laurie were exploring the possibility of purchasing and we also got discount tickets to Xel
Ha, a nearby resort where there was snorkeling, food, tubing down a river, and swinging in hammocks at the end
of the day.
On February 2nd Colleen and I moved to Calderitas (N 18.5874 W 88.2329 Elev 2’) where we are figuring out
whether the piece of property we found will work for a small retirement community. As that progresses we will write
about our findings.
We have temporarily separated from B&L while Bill makes a trip back to the States and Laurie stays on in Tulum.
They are going off on their own to discover the Yucatan when Bill gets back and then we will hook up again in
about a month. Bill writes a travelogue too (his is a much funnier read than mine) and would provide some more
details about their travels. He also posts lots of pictures. You can find it at www.doylesroadtrip.com and send him
an email asking to get on his distribution list.
Copyright - All Rights Reserved
2005
2005
January 2005
Around the World with Kathe and Colleen