Here is what we have been up to in the last few weeks since our last post. We left Holtville, California and drove via Phoenix to Sedona, Arizona. Sedona is beautiful with all its red rock formations. We went on a jeep tour which was exciting and brought us “on the rocks”. http://www.pinkjeep.com/jeep-tours/sedona Once we left Sedona we were reacquainted with snow. LOL! We camped in the snow in Grand Canyon National Park. At sunrise we drove to the rim for breakfast and enjoyed the early morning views. This is our second visit to the Grand Canyon and we are still mesmerized by its beauty.

We then continued our journey toward the Colorado Rockies. It had always been our wish to return to Telluride (in the “Four Corners” area -Arizona/New Mexico, Colorado/Utah). The small mining town that we remembered from 1991 has boomed. Nonetheless we enjoyed a fantastic sunny day of skiing. Telluride – Town Elevation 8,750 feet, peak 11,890 ft. http://www.telluride.com Note: We broke our all time low temperature record – it was minus 14 degrees C in the van in the morning (we did check in a hotel for the second night). A pending snow storm chased us out to Grand Junction. Good move – 26” of snow fell in that area. We spent a week in Snowmass/Aspen with Paul’s brother Rob and his wife Wendy. Snowmass: peak elevation 12,500 – http://snowmass.com After seven nights in Snowmass we packed the van and all four of us drove to Vail for a couple of nights. We had a full day of skiing in Vail – peak elevation 11,578 – http://vail.snow.com/winter It’s a huge mountain. We considered skiing for another day but after skiing 8/10 days at high altitude we opted to stay ahead of another impeding storm and head for Denver. We drove on snow covered highways for the first time since the morning of December 1^st. The girls enjoyed a few hours of shopping. We then drove to the downtown area for dinner and strolled the 16^th street mall (we checked out the Coyote Ugly bar). This happened to be the week that many Denver restaurants offer a special menu, which is a complete menu for two for $52.80 (and ours included wine). The next day we dropped off Rob & Wendy at the Denver airport and continued our drive home, again trying to avoid two different winter storms.

We had a last night sleeping in the van at a Flying J in Des Moines, Iowa – it was a breeze as it was above 0 degrees C. We had a lovely visit in Kalamazoo, Michigan with cousin Glenn and his wife Jen and their two wonderful daughters Ebba and Berlin. We were lucky to take in one of Glenn’s hockey games (Kalamazoo K-Wings) – Ebba is quite the little fan! We crossed the border in Sarnia without difficulty and spent the night in Tottenham at Rob & Wendy’s. On our last leg of the drive, we stopped in Peterborough at Jerry & Sophie’s for a visit. It was great to see them and Duke again and we reminisced, planned and dreamed of our next travels. Ah La Manz!!

The following is a link for pictures. http://picasaweb.google.com/PlanteTardif/February2008

I hope that you have enjoyed traveling with us. Thank you Jonathan for the opportunity to share our travels on this blog. We will continue to follow the blog with great envy from the comfort of our home. Cheers to Buses in Zamora!!

Adios amigos, Linda & Paul

“Yuma, the winter vegetable capital of the U.S. Yuma produces 95 percent of the nation’s winter lettuce.” It was interesting to see the fields of iceberg lettuce and see the “pickers” at work. There are huge vegetable gardens everywhere!! We also had the opportunity to pick Tangelo oranges. We visited a date farm, enjoyed a delicious “date shake” and chocolate covered jumbo dates stuffed with pecans.

There are amazing sand dunes (Imperial Sand Dunes) just outside Yuma. We visited Pilot Knob, Imperial Dam (other BLM areas), the towns of Hotville and El Centro.  It’s been great to finally see where my parents have been wintering the last few years.

Link to pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/PlanteTardif/YumaHoltvilleArea

Linda & Paul

San Carlos – (Jan 28)

We drove from El fuerte to San Carlos. During this drive we had a fruita inspection, military inspection and a police inspection. We opted for the cuota road as opposed to the libre (cost: 58, 58, 59 and 25 pesos). San Carlos is a beautiful place – the scenery is amazing. We stayed two nights at the El Mirador RV Park (250 pesos). We had beautiful sunny days dampened with a cold nasty wind therefore we had a r&r, internet and laundry day with a visit to the marina and the beach. (See attached photos.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/PlanteTardif/SanCarlos

Border Crossing – (Jan 30)

13 hour day! San Carlos, Mexico to Holtville, California, USA

Two cuotas today (cost: 59 and 55 pesos) and an interesting military inspection. We both had to get out of the van. One soldier shook hands with Paul as we are Canadians, two friendly soldiers are chatting with us, asking about French and English in Canada, the Garmin GPS, where we have been, etc., and two other serious soldiers are checking the van, hitting it with a stick/screwdriver(!), looking inside and finally Paul raised the roof for them. And then – it’s Adios Amigos!!

We opted to cross in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, MEXICO / San Luis, Arizona USA and therefore we had to return our vehicle permit and tourist cards at the Migracion and Banjercito offices at San Emeterio (17 miles east of Sonoyta /Lukeville USA, on Mex 2). Everything went smooth, once we found the entrance. The drive from Sonoyta to San Luis was very beautiful with all its mountains. We followed a high border patrol fence to prevent the Mexicans from entering the USA illegally. We even witnessed a couple on the side of the road, hugging and we presumed that it could have been the beginning of a long journey/walk through the moutains for one of them … It’s sure not easy for our Mexican friends to enter the USA. After a 45-minute line-up we crossed the border with no problems. We drove to Yuma, Arizona and then on to Holtville, California (approx. 100 km) and found my parents at the Holtville Hot Spring BLM. (See attached photos.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/PlanteTardif/BorderCrossingAdiosMexico

Adios Mexico!!!

We were very sad to return our Mexican vehicle permit and tourist cards as this signified the end our Mexican journey. We have most enjoyed every aspect of our time in Mexico and we hope to return again some day soon. Fortunately we still have one more month of vacation, so stay tuned …

Linda & Paul

Train – http://www.chepe.com.mx/

A taxi picked us up promptly at 7:30 am and drove us to the Ferrocarril approximately 5 km out of town. Our Spanish-speaking driver promised to pick us up upon our return. The train arrived 45 minutes late – Mexican time LOL! Chepe /Ferrocarril Chihuahua Pacifico, first class train from El fuerte to Posada Barrancas. We purchased our tickets on the train (506 pesos each – one way). The train is air conditioned, has very comfortable seats, two passenger cars, a bar car and a dining car.  You could stand outside in between the cars and take unobstructed pictures of the magnificent ever-changing scenery along the way (approx. 9:30 am to 3:30 pm). It felt like the train was traveling 40 to 60 km /hour (not even).  FYI: The second-class train is approximately half the price, same passenger cars, no dining/bar cars, full of Mexicans and more frequent stops. All hotel pick-ups appear to cater to first class trains. Could be considered.

Hotel Mansión Tarahumera – ” .. A giant stone castle built on the side of a mountain a few steps away from the rim of the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico.  … explore the mountain and canyons where the shy and primitive Tarahumera Indian lives in crude log cabins and caves. The mysterious canyons conceal in their depth Indian caves and villages, old Spanish mines and modern villages.” http://www.mansionTarahumera.com.mx 

Edgar from Hotel Mansión Tarahumera greeted us at the train station in Posada Barrancas and drove us (bus) to the hotel. We had our own little rustic and cozy cabin (once we had the heat under control) and it included TV! CNN only. It was good to see an interview with the NHL league leading goal scorer – our very own Ottawa Senators – Daniel Alfredson.  Go Alfie go!!! Paul joined the walking tour to the rim, through a Tarahumera Indian village on the mountain and visited the sister hotel (this hotel offer canyon views). There were two other groups at the hotel - a RV caravan and jewellery sales people who had won a weekend trip. We paired up with another couple – Dar & Ruth from Phoenix (they had started their journey from Los Mochis). The four of us dined and toured together and we most enjoyed their company. The dining room was very colourful and had a great fireplace. The meals were simple but very good. The entertainment one night was a talented Mexican singer and guitar player. A great time was enjoyed by all especially as the Mexican guests joined in and sang many songs in Spanish. Note: It was cold and damp – morning and evenings (bring lots of comfy warm clothes), as it had been raining for three days in the canyon. Fortunately we did not get any rain during our stay.

Tours

Our wonderful personal Mexican guide Victor (spoke English) drove us to several vistas of the canyon. Many Tarahumera Indians (mainly women and children) were selling their handicrafts (beautiful baskets).  We experienced walking on a suspended bridge and glass bottom lookout that extends over the canyon.

Divisadero/Posada Barrancas

This is where we saw the most spectacular views of the canyon.  There are many handicrafts sold there.

Creel

We also had the opportunity to visit the town of Creel (Mission store, museum, etc.).  Just outside of town, we went to an “Indian reserve/village”; we saw cave dwellings (Grandfathers sleep in the caves and the families live in the houses) and the San Ignacio Mission. The Tarahumera Indians speak their own dialect, live very primitively and maintain their traditions. The women and children dress in very vibrant colours. Small Indian villages included roosters, dogs, donkey, goats, men making wooden violin instruments, women and children doing laundry on rocks and children and women selling their handicrafts (baskets, wooden violins). We saw rock formations: valley of the mushrooms and frogs. We had a shore lunch by the man made lake and we were surrounded by children and wild dogs. We did not have the opportunity to meet the medicine man but others reported an interesting visit.

Our train ride back to El fuerte was also very enjoyable. It was a pleasure to have our taxi driver waiting for us holding up a card with our name on it. Our van was found intact. We had a cerveza with Bill back at the RV Park and expressed our satisfaction with the organization of the tour. Our only dissatisfaction was expressed regarding the payment of RV parking for four days (local hotels for approx. 690 pesos include secure parking if you stay there two nights).

Summary

We were very pleased with our adventure to Copper Canyon. There are many canyons leading to Copper Canyon (majestic however not as colourful as the Grand Canyon). We were very impressed with the Tarahumera Indians. If you look carefully in the canyons you can see at a distance little Indian villages (2-3 homes only) - viewed at night when you can spot the fires. Some children walk many km to go to school – and some even go to boarding schools.  The accommodations, the meals and the personalized tours were great (we drove many places that we may not have known about, have access to without a vehicle and would not have been accessible with our Eurovan). The train ride was beautiful and we met many travellers.  This trip was a good introduction to Copper Canyon. If time permitted, we would consider driving to Creel (distance and road conditions unknown but we saw many large RVs in town) as we would enjoy spending more time in the canyon and would have loved the opportunity to do some hiking and join tours down in the canyon. I hope that you enjoyed our journey to Barranca del Cobre!  Linda & Paul

Enjoy a few pictures  http://picasaweb.google.com/PlanteTardif/CopperCanyonBarrancaDelCobre

PS We sure miss La Manzanilla …

PS check out Addendum of our previous post LOL!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/PlanteTardif/TequillaDistilleryTireOnStreet

Frank & Rita – Hunter, Ernst, Peter and Ken & Janel arrived and we were out of space. As Maria’s family was moving in for the holidays, four days later we moved to the lot next door (water only) that Ernst negotiated and we made arrangements to keep access to the facilities (electricity, shower and toilets). This lot (home for the past month) has many palm trees (full of coconuts) that provide shade – we all found a nest avoiding the “dangerous coconut zones”! The group continued to grow. The VW campground was made official with the raising of Canadian, Mexican and German flags. Other VW tenants that joined us are Jean, Ted & Cory, Mathieu, Sonia and the girls and Hans & Rita, and Don from BC (Carlos’ friend). WOW – 31 guests on this lot to-date!

I need to wrap this up as I must get back to the beach and go for my last wonderful two hour walk on the beack to Boca d’Iguanes RV Park. So here are a few notes .. (no specific order)

- Cervezas: Estrella, Corona, Negro Modelo, Noche Bueno, Sol

- Dirty mothers (vodka and Khalua on the rocks)

- Guacamole

- Lavenderia – clothes are weighed and you pick them up the next day

- 5 km of sandy beach, walks to Boca, many birds, fish jumping, sea snake, star fish, sting rays, 8 people buried in sand, sand castles, lots of tents/Mexicans on the beach over the holidays

- Mike & Marianne – VW repair, loan/repair of 4-wheeler

- Duke helped himself to our lunch in the van

- Fireworks

- Roosters (early morning wake up calls)

- Loud Mexican music

- Old cars falling apart but primo sound systems

- Mexicans’ big smiles, Hola, Buenas diaz, Buenas tardes, Buenas Noches, Hasta Luego!

- Played a trick on Ben & Sylvie (moved the 4 wheeler to another corner when in town)

- Jerry’s stuffed shrimps

- Paul’s ABT’s (Atomic Buffalo Turds)

- Ernst’s potatoe pancakes

- Campfires

- Carlos and his sons

- Donald the tenant

- Musicians (father and two sons) – Frank gave his harmonica to the dad!

- Jolanda’s Restaurant and Leon’s internet café (palapas on the beach)

- Jolanda’s pecan and key lime pie

- Open mic at Palapa Jo’s – great impressionist of Neil Diamond

- Belly dancers, pizza, bought fresh pasta – Coco Loco’s

- Feliz Navidad (18 course Indonesian Christmas dinner – Rice table at Jolanda’s and others went for Italian at Coco Loco’s)

- Thank you Santa Sophie for the wonderful Mexican bowl

- Christmas Dinner (chicken, stove top stuffing, St-Hubert poutine sauce, mashed potatoes and vegetables)

- Feliz compleanos – Richard & Linda – Thank you Jerry & Sophie for the great fun green tube

- Feliz Aneo Nuevo – Dinner with Sophie & Jerry at Martin’s (Steak – shrimp bisque, shrimp and grapes in grape sauce, pecan pie(with coconut)

- Campfire, birthday pecan pie for everyone and 2008 countdown and burning of Santa Claus

- Anabelle made New Year’s card for everyone

- Jonathan the disc jockey and dancing party

- Engine discussions, repairs, trip planning

- Tequila tasting, Frank’s Tequila glasses, and “creamy Tequila”

- Ernst’s mermaid and mermaid in training!

- Jonathan’s music in the morning

- Most of us purchased a 40 pesos straw mat

- ++ sand flea bites on legs (Jerry wins the prize)

- Sophie’s many bites

- Swimming, noodling and tubing, Sophie’ boogy board

- Frank’s canoe – fishing

- Influx of Mexicans and tourist over the holidays

- La Manzanilla won the regional soccer

- Big soccer party in town – huge band, free beer, tables with tablecloths and covered chairs with lime green bows. No money for a new bridge but lots for a party! What’s is wrong with our priorities!

- Hans patience with repair of Christmas lights

- Solar showers bags / cold showers

- Bus (10 pesos) to Melaque: bank, grocery shopping at Hawaii (some Kirkland products), fishing supplies, machete (for coconut), bakery (wholesale)

- Bus to Barra de Navidad: Market, massage

- Drive to Tenacatita: coral reefs, snorkling & noodling & snorkling from canoe), lagoon boat tour, great food – Frank’s oysters, Visit to the Tequila Distillery

- Visited Blue Bay All Inclusive Resort – Beautiful and pretty tempting. We obtained prices (reasonable) for an afternoon, full day and overnight. Alternatively we could try Tamarinda exclusive hotel (8K a night – too rich for our blood!)

- Topes, holes in street, ah that tire in the middle of the road on our way to Tenacatita!

- Hans’ shopping at VW junk yard and show and tell

- Van car wash – 40 pesos – meticulous!

- Man floating/paddling standing up

- Thank you Hans for selling us your propane stove

- Thank you Nurse Rita – purchased antibiotics over the counter

- Eggs put in bag and weighed

- Enjoyed lots of CAMARONS shrimp and fresh fish

- Ada the real estate agent

- Linda & Paul had the pleasure of meeting Maria

- Walk up the mountain to see the beautiful houses – Raymond from Montreal

- Marine biology students (30) camped at Casa Maria next door (they would go fishing with big nets in the water)

- Coconut removal (one man climbs the tree and ties/cut a bunch and lowers them down), one man down to release them

- Mexicans/peddlers selling jewelery, pottery, wooden bowls, mats, fresh bread, dessert, hammocks, etc.

- Paul’s scare with the crocodiles – Surprised and a little too close for comfort Crocodile Hunter!

- Dead turtle on beach (no head)

- Beautiful sunsets

- Change into long pants and socks right after sunset as bugs are bad for an hour or so

- Sunshine ++ all day – some intermittent clouds, wind, big waves

- Generally cool and damp in early morning and evening

- Dancing whales

- Hike up the mountain

- Hans driving on the beach and getting a little stuck

- Jumping sting rays ++

- Young couple from California cycling to Mexico. She rides around standing on the back of his bike! Makes for a beautiful picture with the sunset in the background

- Art gallery

- Met couple traveling from Switzerland with Westfalia Sprinter – our dream retirement vehicle

- Met three couples again from Villa Corona – Chimulco – who winter at Boca d’Iguanes after the holidays (Bob, Larry, …)

- Internet café, Skype, walks on the beach in the dark with our flashlights

- The square, the church, market, and all the beautiful people in La Manzanilla

Addendum:

-  Evening visit from the “tomato mexican guy” – doombuggy – sister looking for a rich Canadian!

-  Kite flying, frisbee, boomarang (oops!), Tai-Chi, Yoga on the beach

-  Sophie’s visit to the cementary with the dogs and Hunter returning full of burs

-  Coconut – grating fresh coco and coco-locos

-  Wonderful visit at Mike & Marianne’s beautiful home up on the mountain. The most amazing view of the entire bay!! We are quite envious of their lifestyle

Photos? ah maniana !!!

Hasta luego, Puero Vaillarta is tomorrow’s destination. Hope to see you Peter

Linda & Paul