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We waited our 72 hours in the Crooked Tree RV park in Brownsville and did errands while we waited. BJ spent
some time out on South Padre Island and then joined us in Brownsville. She had really prepared for the trip well.
She had added to the suspension on her Volvo Cross Country to deal with the roads, gotten a generator so she
could have air conditioning when there were no hookups, gotten a screen room to hang from her awning to give
her and her cat more space once we got to Maricasa, got new tires on her trailer and everything she could think of
to make her trip to the Yucatan successful.
On Saturday, October 1st we lined up to cross the border into Matamoros. The same immigration official was on
duty and informed us that we were only allowed 6 months of stay in Mexico each calendar year and that we had
already used it up but that she would give us a 30 day visa to get to Chetumal to start the process on our FM3
Resident Visa. That was the first time that anyone had enforced the rule with us and we didn’t even know that was
what it was.
While we were doing our paperwork, there were two single fellows in their two rigs and one of them was towing a
small truck behind his Class A. They discovered the hard way that it is one vehicle per person and had to turn
back to find a place to store his little truck. I think we have decided that we are not going to cross at Brownsville
again.
Down the road we went 210 miles to the little fishing town of La Pesca. It is about 25 miles due east off the main
highway, but is well worth the trip and you should plan for a several day stay. We eventually decided to stay on a
piece of property owned by a fellow named Dario from Louisiana who is developing it as an RV park, hotel and
restaurant with a grocery store and ATVs to rent. He is camped on the land himself as he is supervising his
project.
We made a strategic error when we drove onto the property so nicely situated on the Rio Soto la Marina…Dario
had just finished having 900 truck loads of dirt brought to the property to fill in the low lying areas. It was nice and
dry when we got there but it rained that night…a regular downpour. We discovered that the adjoining properties
on either side of his cinder block walls along his boundary were now lakes with lots of herons and other shore
birds having a ball. We were parked mostly on a high part of the land (maybe 3 inches higher) and we were not
sinking but knew that we shouldn’t try to move. During the day it was beautiful and we went to the beach and went
swimming but at night it rained some more. It cleared up after 3 days and we were hopeful it would dry out within a
couple of days and we would get out.
We waited two days until we thought it was possible and gave it a try and sunk into the mud with the rear wheels
…drats …and Hurricane Stan was wandering around out in the Gulf of Mexico and we were sitting ducks….or
dodoes more likely. There was a road grader parked nearby and I decided to ‘borrow’ it and try to pull the rig out
while we were using our own power to do it. The road grader fired right up and we backed it up to KC. I turned the
road grader over to one of Dario’s employees after a short lesson on how to find reverse and first gear. But it was
no go. The rig was now on a tilt to the muddy side and the refrigerator was threatening to give up…we slept on a
tilt for two nights and then decided to abandon ship as it were and head for the Yucatan in the car. We had the frig
empty and were packed and ready to go when we had second thoughts and decided to jack up the low side and
wait it out. So we unpacked the car, and with the help of Dario’s employees and a bunch of looky lous we
managed to get KC on an even keel again. The frig heaved a sigh of relief and started working and we settled in
for the duration.
It rained off and on for more days and then finally cleared up as we held our breath that Stan would not turn north
to where we were. We figured that it would take at least 3 or 4 days of completely dry weather to be able to get
out. While we were waiting Colleen dug out the mud around the tires so as to have a nice dry ramp on which we
could exit when it came time. Then on the day we decided to give it a go, we lined the ‘ramps’ with cinder blocks.
We knew that we would only have one try at it and it had better be a good one. We had to drive forward on to the
higher drier ground and then back out the 100 yards to more solid ground. It worked and we were out!!!! It was the
9th of October and we had been residents of La Pesca for 9 days.
While we were in the process of getting ready to get out, the owner of the road grader came along and I ‘fessed
up that I had borrowed it and offered some money for fuel used but he declined my offer.
So, what did we do for those 9 days? We went to the beach, we went out to eat, we watched the fisherman catch
shrimp and we basically hung out. Oh yeah, we also made two trips to Soto la Marina to try to find someone to pull
us out in case we were not able to get ourselves out. We also got to know Dario and share ideas for our projects.
He is a wealth of information as he has been in Mexico for more than 20 years.
One interesting thing we discovered is that the local fishermen have created a co-op and share time at a small
channel that connects the river and a lagoon. Shrimp pass through a narrow spot in the channel and the
fishermen throw cast nets called atarallas to catch the shrimp. The members of the co-op pay to join and then
have sliding shifts where they can stand at the channel with their nets. One day the shift is 9am to noon, then the
next day they are assigned noon to 3pm and then 3pm to 6pm etc. Their whole lives are governed by the
schedule. If they don’t want a particular shift they can give it away to their son or another relative. Whatever fish or
shrimp they catch during their shift they can sell to wholesalers who show up at the end of each shift or they can
take them home to eat or sell in their own little stores. A kilo of these really nice sized shrimp went for 60 pesos
wholesale and 80 per kilo retail…about $2.50 a pound wholesale and $3.50 retail.
While we were hanging about in the muck we had managed to get BJ’s car and little trailer out and she spent
several days at the La Gaviota RV park and hotel where she had hookups and a nice location. Her little rig is not
really designed well to boondock for long periods and she was a lot more comfortable there.
On October 9th in the afternoon we left La Pesca knowing that we would be staying in contact with Dario in the
future. We got about half way to Soto and noticed that BJ was not behind us. We stopped and waited and then
unhooked the Jeep to go back and look for her when she arrived. Her car was giving her trouble and was not
running well and there was a diagnostic light that said there was something wrong. We continued up the road with
no further trouble and headed south. We got about another 50 miles before she started having trouble again. She
and I went back to the last Pemex as we were wondering if it was something to do with the engine not getting
enough fuel. The fellows at the Pemex drained the fuel tank as far as possible and cleaned the fuel filter and we
thought we had it licked as the fuel filter was very dirty. On we went to the town of Altamira where we spent the
night in a noisy and small Pemex station. We made 141 miles.
The next day we continued and then more trouble. At that point BJ was pretty certain that she should not continue
as there were no Volvo car mechanics anywhere we knew of in Mexico. We dithered about the situation and she
finally settled on loading her car on a flatbed with the trailer being towed by the flatbed and heading back to the
states. We made the arrangements and waved goodbye. We were sorry to see her go. The trip was not going to
be as much fun without seeing it through her eyes. Note: we got an email later from her and it was a computer
control part that was bad and she was lucky to have it fail early in the trip instead of later. Diagnostics would have
been difficult in Mexico.
Colleen and I continued south and made a grand total 111 miles that day. We spent the night at another Pemex at
MicroOndas #5650. There was a violent and nearby electrical storm and it was raining off and on There were the
world’s worst potholes right in front of the gas station. During the daylight the trucks could see the potholes and
would stop as they went through them, but once it was dark they would hit them full speed and the noise was
tremendous and the earth would shake each time. Ear plugs got us through the night but we were still aware of the
earth shaking.
Just as a side note here…it actually turned out well that we were in La Pesca for so many days as Hurricane Stan
really made a mess of things in the state of Veracruz. We were glad not to have gone through the area any sooner.
From MicroOndas we continued another 140 miles south to the Costa Esmeralda paying 233 pesos in tolls and
stayed at the Hotel Torre Molino at Km marker 81 just north of Casitas. We were the only ones there and it was
beautiful with swimming pools and full hookups. We stayed for two nights for 150 pesos each night and found out
that for a month you could stay there in the high season for 3000 pesos which is quite a good deal. The hotel is
well kept and on the beach…the camping area is pretty close to the highway but otherwise is much nicer than
Alicia’s or Neptuno by far. Neptuno is a mess!!!!
From Costa Esmeralda we continued 256 miles to Acayucan and stayed at the Pemex where we stayed with Bill
and Laurie last year. And then 291 miles to just shy of Escarcega where we again stayed at Old McSanchez’s
Farm….I was afraid that the goats were going to eat the satellite cable…we won’t do that one a third time….35
miles further is a much nicer Pemex….
The next day, October 15th, we drove 216 miles to Calderitas and moved back in to our old spot at the Ichpaatun
Restaurant. The Ucs were glad to see us and we delivered their new Honda EU 2000i generator to them. When we
were camped there earlier this year, Don Eulogio admired Jon and Kim’s Honda generator and now he has one
too. You cannot buy them down here. We will stay at the restaurant until we are certain that the ground is not too
soft at Maricasa….we don’t want to be stuck again.
On the Monday after our arrival we met with our accountant to get started on the process of applying for our FM3s
as we were a bit under the gun to get it done with only a 30 day visa. We had to turn in our passports and our
visas with all of the paperwork. We think that once the process is started in earnest we will be given the
appropriate grace period to get it finished. If not, we will be residing in Belize just a few miles away. Actually, we
can’t even go to Belize as we have no passport….all of this will manifest itself in due time…we are not worried….
So, we arrived in Calderitas just in time to start watching Hurricane Wilma’s approach. On October 19th we
decided to move out of her way and told the Ucs at the restaurant that we were headed inland….they thought we
were overly cautious but we are content to be the butt of jokes in the future and sleep well 60 miles inland without
any worries. We left about 5 in the afternoon and headed west but did not find anything suitable….we arrived at
the aduana between the states of Quintana Roo and Campeche and were asked for all of our vehicle paperwork.
Then they asked for my ID…I gave them my US driver’s license and he didn’t even blink….he could have
demanded my visa and passport which we now don’t have….
We spent the night parked at the aduana and then moved 20 miles further down the road the next morning. We
are currently camped at a Pemex just east of Xpujil and will return to Chetumal tomorrow. This is hard for me to just
sit here and read about the hurricane….I am torn between being safe and dying of curiosity about what it is like….
the city of Chetumal was not evacuated so everyone is still there…..just a few minutes ago I talked to a truck driver
who came through and he said that the winds are about 100 mph and it is raining heavily in Chetumal….I guess I
am happy to be here…..
That brings us up to October 21st…the next installment will reveal what effect Wilma had on our land and the
surrounding areas….
We left the Pemex and made it back to Calderitas in about 1 1/2 hours and parked at the restaurant. We were
teased a bit as the hurricane barely touched the area. Other than some broken branches and lots of leaves blown
around, there is no real damage. In this jungly area a few broken branches aren’t even cause for comment. There
was one small tree that fell across the country lane to get to the restaurant but an hour’s machete work did the
trick to get us down the road. Everyone else was just driving around it, but we were too wide.
We spent four days back in Calderitas working with the accountant to get all the papers submitted for the FM3s
and working on the jungle at Maricasa. Colleen has now chopped a path (with some help from Pablo and me)
along the entire south side of the property so we can have access to more areas. She also chopped a path to the
well on the property.
The well is built of rock and concrete and the water level is about 12 feet below the surface of the ground. In order
to make the well usable we need to get most of the water out and then lower someone down into it to get the muck
out of the bottom. Then you wait for a few days and put in a half sack of lime…wait a couple more days and it is
usable. We know that it has some salt mixed in it particularly when the wind blows from the east, but it is usable for
irrigation, showers and washing dishes. Drinking and cooking water will be bought by the 20 liter garafon.
One of the days, as we were driving into town, we saw two kittens on the side of the road where we assume
someone just dumped them. Against our better judgment we picked them up and took them home. One of them
was in good shape and looked well fed. The other one was really small, scrawny and about starved. We fixed up
some food for them and left them under a palm tree at the bus and headed back into town. We got a little farther
than the first time and discovered two more kittens. One was dead and the other barely had its eyes open and was
really tiny. We can’t imagine that these three kittens are from the same litter. So, we picked up the third one and
headed home again where we fixed up a litter box and put them all in the shower.
We didn’t know what we were going to do with 3 kittens but we couldn’t leave them where they all would be run
over. Dinah has always thought that cats are to be chased but these stand their ground so she has resorted to
picking them up and dropping them in various places. They get pretty wet but don’t seem to mind. We don’t really
trust her not to harm them so are always on the alert when they are in the same place.
On Wednesday, October 26th we drove to see our friends Danice and John in Xcalak. How fortuitous that we
chose that day as it was John’s birthday. Linda and Marla of the Leaky Palapa were cooking dinner for Danice and
John so we were invited too. Marla really outdid herself. The first course was escargot in some kind of sauce with
veggies, the second course was a Caesar salad, and the main course was steak and lobster with rice and veggies.
For desert we had drunken carrot cake that Danice makes by soaking the raisins in vodka I think. At any rate, it
was a first class meal with great company. Colleen commented to me that she thought it was the best meal she
had ever had.
When I was helping Colleen hack out the jungle, I got into the Chechen again and had some itchy spots on my left
arm. We know that the cure is a tree called Chakah (Indio Desnudo, Tourist Tree and Gumbo Limbo are its other
names) and so Danice got on the local telephone system – a marine radio – and asked if anyone had one of those
trees nearby. Cliff from way south of town responded that he did; so we all bounced and jounced our way in our
Jeep to Cliff’s. It is a terrible road. Xcalak is the town at the end of the road in Mexico and Cliff lives at the end of
the ‘end of the road’. There is nothing south of him in Mexico except for a military installation on the canal that
divides Mexico from Belize.
We visited with Cliff and got some leaves off the tree and then headed home. On the way there was a large (4
foot) diamond backed rattlesnake on the road….big and scary to think we might be walking somewhere and
accidentally step on it.
While there in Xcalak we drove farther north up the road than we had before as we were looking for Felipe who
makes great palapas….we think we would like to have a small one near where we camp to give us an outdoor
shady area where we can hang our hammocks….there are lots of folks up that road…it is truly amazing to us that
there are so many Gringos who have settled in an area where it is a minimum of 2 1/2 hours to get to town for
grocery shopping. They have these little trucks that drive by a couple of times a week and you can buy some
produce and eggs….maybe a can of salsa….shrimp and fish once in a while, but this is really the boonies….
We also took a ride out to the west on the Bay of Chetumal side of the sand spit and I washed a couple of lures
and we hung out on a huge dock that was built some years ago for a ferry from Chetumal. We understand that on
its maiden voyage the ferry ran aground and that was the end of that.
Two of the three kittens found a home in Xcalak and now we only have the one tiny one that we are bottlefeeding.
The black kitten went to Suzanne and Eric of XTC Dive Center and the orange one to Graciella's sister,
From Xcalak we headed back out to the main north south highway that runs between Cancun and Chetumal and
set our sights on some of the small towns where Hurricanes Emily and Wilma laid siege this year. We wanted to
see what kind of buildings were not damaged and then hire that architect. It turns out that all of the concrete
buildings came through in fine shape with a few broken windows if they were right on the ocean at sea level. The
palapas (thatched structures) fared better than we expected. Power lines were down all along the highway corridor
and the jungle is a mess…actually, there isn’t much of it left….it looks like Edward Scissorhands ran amok all
along the route.
We stopped in Tulum to camp at the ruins parking lot (it is now paved) for two nights as we toured the area. First
stop was Akumal to check out Jonna and Mimi’s condo for them. Their third floor ocean front unit came through
wonderfully but their downstairs neighbor on the first floor has a watery, seaweedy driftwood mess in their unit.
Akumal is still without power and the sound of noisy generators is everywhere…..
The next day we went to PaaMul to check on Jim and Debbie’s unit for them…they lost some of their palapa but
the trailer is watertight and no damage there….they also don’t have power yet….more generators….
From there up to Playa del Carmen where 5th Avenue is back in business though a bit ragged around the
landscaping and palapa edges….we had a nice lunch and headed back to Tulum…..Everywhere we went people
were going about business as usual….Colleen commented that seeing your first diamond backed rattlesnake and
living through your first hurricane are a bit unsettling, but you probably get used to these things….
We arrived back in Calderitas and moved onto the land. We are making lists of all there is to do and then we will
get started on the lists……
some time out on South Padre Island and then joined us in Brownsville. She had really prepared for the trip well.
She had added to the suspension on her Volvo Cross Country to deal with the roads, gotten a generator so she
could have air conditioning when there were no hookups, gotten a screen room to hang from her awning to give
her and her cat more space once we got to Maricasa, got new tires on her trailer and everything she could think of
to make her trip to the Yucatan successful.
On Saturday, October 1st we lined up to cross the border into Matamoros. The same immigration official was on
duty and informed us that we were only allowed 6 months of stay in Mexico each calendar year and that we had
already used it up but that she would give us a 30 day visa to get to Chetumal to start the process on our FM3
Resident Visa. That was the first time that anyone had enforced the rule with us and we didn’t even know that was
what it was.
While we were doing our paperwork, there were two single fellows in their two rigs and one of them was towing a
small truck behind his Class A. They discovered the hard way that it is one vehicle per person and had to turn
back to find a place to store his little truck. I think we have decided that we are not going to cross at Brownsville
again.
Down the road we went 210 miles to the little fishing town of La Pesca. It is about 25 miles due east off the main
highway, but is well worth the trip and you should plan for a several day stay. We eventually decided to stay on a
piece of property owned by a fellow named Dario from Louisiana who is developing it as an RV park, hotel and
restaurant with a grocery store and ATVs to rent. He is camped on the land himself as he is supervising his
project.
We made a strategic error when we drove onto the property so nicely situated on the Rio Soto la Marina…Dario
had just finished having 900 truck loads of dirt brought to the property to fill in the low lying areas. It was nice and
dry when we got there but it rained that night…a regular downpour. We discovered that the adjoining properties
on either side of his cinder block walls along his boundary were now lakes with lots of herons and other shore
birds having a ball. We were parked mostly on a high part of the land (maybe 3 inches higher) and we were not
sinking but knew that we shouldn’t try to move. During the day it was beautiful and we went to the beach and went
swimming but at night it rained some more. It cleared up after 3 days and we were hopeful it would dry out within a
couple of days and we would get out.
We waited two days until we thought it was possible and gave it a try and sunk into the mud with the rear wheels
…drats …and Hurricane Stan was wandering around out in the Gulf of Mexico and we were sitting ducks….or
dodoes more likely. There was a road grader parked nearby and I decided to ‘borrow’ it and try to pull the rig out
while we were using our own power to do it. The road grader fired right up and we backed it up to KC. I turned the
road grader over to one of Dario’s employees after a short lesson on how to find reverse and first gear. But it was
no go. The rig was now on a tilt to the muddy side and the refrigerator was threatening to give up…we slept on a
tilt for two nights and then decided to abandon ship as it were and head for the Yucatan in the car. We had the frig
empty and were packed and ready to go when we had second thoughts and decided to jack up the low side and
wait it out. So we unpacked the car, and with the help of Dario’s employees and a bunch of looky lous we
managed to get KC on an even keel again. The frig heaved a sigh of relief and started working and we settled in
for the duration.
It rained off and on for more days and then finally cleared up as we held our breath that Stan would not turn north
to where we were. We figured that it would take at least 3 or 4 days of completely dry weather to be able to get
out. While we were waiting Colleen dug out the mud around the tires so as to have a nice dry ramp on which we
could exit when it came time. Then on the day we decided to give it a go, we lined the ‘ramps’ with cinder blocks.
We knew that we would only have one try at it and it had better be a good one. We had to drive forward on to the
higher drier ground and then back out the 100 yards to more solid ground. It worked and we were out!!!! It was the
9th of October and we had been residents of La Pesca for 9 days.
While we were in the process of getting ready to get out, the owner of the road grader came along and I ‘fessed
up that I had borrowed it and offered some money for fuel used but he declined my offer.
So, what did we do for those 9 days? We went to the beach, we went out to eat, we watched the fisherman catch
shrimp and we basically hung out. Oh yeah, we also made two trips to Soto la Marina to try to find someone to pull
us out in case we were not able to get ourselves out. We also got to know Dario and share ideas for our projects.
He is a wealth of information as he has been in Mexico for more than 20 years.
One interesting thing we discovered is that the local fishermen have created a co-op and share time at a small
channel that connects the river and a lagoon. Shrimp pass through a narrow spot in the channel and the
fishermen throw cast nets called atarallas to catch the shrimp. The members of the co-op pay to join and then
have sliding shifts where they can stand at the channel with their nets. One day the shift is 9am to noon, then the
next day they are assigned noon to 3pm and then 3pm to 6pm etc. Their whole lives are governed by the
schedule. If they don’t want a particular shift they can give it away to their son or another relative. Whatever fish or
shrimp they catch during their shift they can sell to wholesalers who show up at the end of each shift or they can
take them home to eat or sell in their own little stores. A kilo of these really nice sized shrimp went for 60 pesos
wholesale and 80 per kilo retail…about $2.50 a pound wholesale and $3.50 retail.
While we were hanging about in the muck we had managed to get BJ’s car and little trailer out and she spent
several days at the La Gaviota RV park and hotel where she had hookups and a nice location. Her little rig is not
really designed well to boondock for long periods and she was a lot more comfortable there.
On October 9th in the afternoon we left La Pesca knowing that we would be staying in contact with Dario in the
future. We got about half way to Soto and noticed that BJ was not behind us. We stopped and waited and then
unhooked the Jeep to go back and look for her when she arrived. Her car was giving her trouble and was not
running well and there was a diagnostic light that said there was something wrong. We continued up the road with
no further trouble and headed south. We got about another 50 miles before she started having trouble again. She
and I went back to the last Pemex as we were wondering if it was something to do with the engine not getting
enough fuel. The fellows at the Pemex drained the fuel tank as far as possible and cleaned the fuel filter and we
thought we had it licked as the fuel filter was very dirty. On we went to the town of Altamira where we spent the
night in a noisy and small Pemex station. We made 141 miles.
The next day we continued and then more trouble. At that point BJ was pretty certain that she should not continue
as there were no Volvo car mechanics anywhere we knew of in Mexico. We dithered about the situation and she
finally settled on loading her car on a flatbed with the trailer being towed by the flatbed and heading back to the
states. We made the arrangements and waved goodbye. We were sorry to see her go. The trip was not going to
be as much fun without seeing it through her eyes. Note: we got an email later from her and it was a computer
control part that was bad and she was lucky to have it fail early in the trip instead of later. Diagnostics would have
been difficult in Mexico.
Colleen and I continued south and made a grand total 111 miles that day. We spent the night at another Pemex at
MicroOndas #5650. There was a violent and nearby electrical storm and it was raining off and on There were the
world’s worst potholes right in front of the gas station. During the daylight the trucks could see the potholes and
would stop as they went through them, but once it was dark they would hit them full speed and the noise was
tremendous and the earth would shake each time. Ear plugs got us through the night but we were still aware of the
earth shaking.
Just as a side note here…it actually turned out well that we were in La Pesca for so many days as Hurricane Stan
really made a mess of things in the state of Veracruz. We were glad not to have gone through the area any sooner.
From MicroOndas we continued another 140 miles south to the Costa Esmeralda paying 233 pesos in tolls and
stayed at the Hotel Torre Molino at Km marker 81 just north of Casitas. We were the only ones there and it was
beautiful with swimming pools and full hookups. We stayed for two nights for 150 pesos each night and found out
that for a month you could stay there in the high season for 3000 pesos which is quite a good deal. The hotel is
well kept and on the beach…the camping area is pretty close to the highway but otherwise is much nicer than
Alicia’s or Neptuno by far. Neptuno is a mess!!!!
From Costa Esmeralda we continued 256 miles to Acayucan and stayed at the Pemex where we stayed with Bill
and Laurie last year. And then 291 miles to just shy of Escarcega where we again stayed at Old McSanchez’s
Farm….I was afraid that the goats were going to eat the satellite cable…we won’t do that one a third time….35
miles further is a much nicer Pemex….
The next day, October 15th, we drove 216 miles to Calderitas and moved back in to our old spot at the Ichpaatun
Restaurant. The Ucs were glad to see us and we delivered their new Honda EU 2000i generator to them. When we
were camped there earlier this year, Don Eulogio admired Jon and Kim’s Honda generator and now he has one
too. You cannot buy them down here. We will stay at the restaurant until we are certain that the ground is not too
soft at Maricasa….we don’t want to be stuck again.
On the Monday after our arrival we met with our accountant to get started on the process of applying for our FM3s
as we were a bit under the gun to get it done with only a 30 day visa. We had to turn in our passports and our
visas with all of the paperwork. We think that once the process is started in earnest we will be given the
appropriate grace period to get it finished. If not, we will be residing in Belize just a few miles away. Actually, we
can’t even go to Belize as we have no passport….all of this will manifest itself in due time…we are not worried….
So, we arrived in Calderitas just in time to start watching Hurricane Wilma’s approach. On October 19th we
decided to move out of her way and told the Ucs at the restaurant that we were headed inland….they thought we
were overly cautious but we are content to be the butt of jokes in the future and sleep well 60 miles inland without
any worries. We left about 5 in the afternoon and headed west but did not find anything suitable….we arrived at
the aduana between the states of Quintana Roo and Campeche and were asked for all of our vehicle paperwork.
Then they asked for my ID…I gave them my US driver’s license and he didn’t even blink….he could have
demanded my visa and passport which we now don’t have….
We spent the night parked at the aduana and then moved 20 miles further down the road the next morning. We
are currently camped at a Pemex just east of Xpujil and will return to Chetumal tomorrow. This is hard for me to just
sit here and read about the hurricane….I am torn between being safe and dying of curiosity about what it is like….
the city of Chetumal was not evacuated so everyone is still there…..just a few minutes ago I talked to a truck driver
who came through and he said that the winds are about 100 mph and it is raining heavily in Chetumal….I guess I
am happy to be here…..
That brings us up to October 21st…the next installment will reveal what effect Wilma had on our land and the
surrounding areas….
We left the Pemex and made it back to Calderitas in about 1 1/2 hours and parked at the restaurant. We were
teased a bit as the hurricane barely touched the area. Other than some broken branches and lots of leaves blown
around, there is no real damage. In this jungly area a few broken branches aren’t even cause for comment. There
was one small tree that fell across the country lane to get to the restaurant but an hour’s machete work did the
trick to get us down the road. Everyone else was just driving around it, but we were too wide.
We spent four days back in Calderitas working with the accountant to get all the papers submitted for the FM3s
and working on the jungle at Maricasa. Colleen has now chopped a path (with some help from Pablo and me)
along the entire south side of the property so we can have access to more areas. She also chopped a path to the
well on the property.
The well is built of rock and concrete and the water level is about 12 feet below the surface of the ground. In order
to make the well usable we need to get most of the water out and then lower someone down into it to get the muck
out of the bottom. Then you wait for a few days and put in a half sack of lime…wait a couple more days and it is
usable. We know that it has some salt mixed in it particularly when the wind blows from the east, but it is usable for
irrigation, showers and washing dishes. Drinking and cooking water will be bought by the 20 liter garafon.
One of the days, as we were driving into town, we saw two kittens on the side of the road where we assume
someone just dumped them. Against our better judgment we picked them up and took them home. One of them
was in good shape and looked well fed. The other one was really small, scrawny and about starved. We fixed up
some food for them and left them under a palm tree at the bus and headed back into town. We got a little farther
than the first time and discovered two more kittens. One was dead and the other barely had its eyes open and was
really tiny. We can’t imagine that these three kittens are from the same litter. So, we picked up the third one and
headed home again where we fixed up a litter box and put them all in the shower.
We didn’t know what we were going to do with 3 kittens but we couldn’t leave them where they all would be run
over. Dinah has always thought that cats are to be chased but these stand their ground so she has resorted to
picking them up and dropping them in various places. They get pretty wet but don’t seem to mind. We don’t really
trust her not to harm them so are always on the alert when they are in the same place.
On Wednesday, October 26th we drove to see our friends Danice and John in Xcalak. How fortuitous that we
chose that day as it was John’s birthday. Linda and Marla of the Leaky Palapa were cooking dinner for Danice and
John so we were invited too. Marla really outdid herself. The first course was escargot in some kind of sauce with
veggies, the second course was a Caesar salad, and the main course was steak and lobster with rice and veggies.
For desert we had drunken carrot cake that Danice makes by soaking the raisins in vodka I think. At any rate, it
was a first class meal with great company. Colleen commented to me that she thought it was the best meal she
had ever had.
When I was helping Colleen hack out the jungle, I got into the Chechen again and had some itchy spots on my left
arm. We know that the cure is a tree called Chakah (Indio Desnudo, Tourist Tree and Gumbo Limbo are its other
names) and so Danice got on the local telephone system – a marine radio – and asked if anyone had one of those
trees nearby. Cliff from way south of town responded that he did; so we all bounced and jounced our way in our
Jeep to Cliff’s. It is a terrible road. Xcalak is the town at the end of the road in Mexico and Cliff lives at the end of
the ‘end of the road’. There is nothing south of him in Mexico except for a military installation on the canal that
divides Mexico from Belize.
We visited with Cliff and got some leaves off the tree and then headed home. On the way there was a large (4
foot) diamond backed rattlesnake on the road….big and scary to think we might be walking somewhere and
accidentally step on it.
While there in Xcalak we drove farther north up the road than we had before as we were looking for Felipe who
makes great palapas….we think we would like to have a small one near where we camp to give us an outdoor
shady area where we can hang our hammocks….there are lots of folks up that road…it is truly amazing to us that
there are so many Gringos who have settled in an area where it is a minimum of 2 1/2 hours to get to town for
grocery shopping. They have these little trucks that drive by a couple of times a week and you can buy some
produce and eggs….maybe a can of salsa….shrimp and fish once in a while, but this is really the boonies….
We also took a ride out to the west on the Bay of Chetumal side of the sand spit and I washed a couple of lures
and we hung out on a huge dock that was built some years ago for a ferry from Chetumal. We understand that on
its maiden voyage the ferry ran aground and that was the end of that.
Two of the three kittens found a home in Xcalak and now we only have the one tiny one that we are bottlefeeding.
The black kitten went to Suzanne and Eric of XTC Dive Center and the orange one to Graciella's sister,
From Xcalak we headed back out to the main north south highway that runs between Cancun and Chetumal and
set our sights on some of the small towns where Hurricanes Emily and Wilma laid siege this year. We wanted to
see what kind of buildings were not damaged and then hire that architect. It turns out that all of the concrete
buildings came through in fine shape with a few broken windows if they were right on the ocean at sea level. The
palapas (thatched structures) fared better than we expected. Power lines were down all along the highway corridor
and the jungle is a mess…actually, there isn’t much of it left….it looks like Edward Scissorhands ran amok all
along the route.
We stopped in Tulum to camp at the ruins parking lot (it is now paved) for two nights as we toured the area. First
stop was Akumal to check out Jonna and Mimi’s condo for them. Their third floor ocean front unit came through
wonderfully but their downstairs neighbor on the first floor has a watery, seaweedy driftwood mess in their unit.
Akumal is still without power and the sound of noisy generators is everywhere…..
The next day we went to PaaMul to check on Jim and Debbie’s unit for them…they lost some of their palapa but
the trailer is watertight and no damage there….they also don’t have power yet….more generators….
From there up to Playa del Carmen where 5th Avenue is back in business though a bit ragged around the
landscaping and palapa edges….we had a nice lunch and headed back to Tulum…..Everywhere we went people
were going about business as usual….Colleen commented that seeing your first diamond backed rattlesnake and
living through your first hurricane are a bit unsettling, but you probably get used to these things….
We arrived back in Calderitas and moved onto the land. We are making lists of all there is to do and then we will
get started on the lists……
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2005
2005
October 2005
Around the World with Kathe and Colleen