Trying to Catch up, Part I

You may all know that I have been out of circulation with my blog since I spilled Gatorade on my laptop. It would not boot up at all. I took it to be serviced in Playa Del Carmen and although the computer would boot up, the keyboard was all but unusable. The señorita  at the service shop recommended using another keyboard with a USB connection. I tried that and it was marginally better, but not good enough to do anything. If I chose to look at a blog, the blog would load and immediately go to the oldest blog on the list. If I brought up a page it would immediately go to the bottom and I could not change. There was an interesting phenomenon with Streets and Trips. When I would go to a route on file it would come up fine, but if I went to do anything on the map, the world would spin and spin, finally stopping on the North Pole.
My IT Tech son told me that there was still a problem with the keyboard and to try to remove the ribbon cable from the motherboard. I did so and the computer worked OK with the Mexican/Spanish keyboard. I found a new keyboard on Ebay for $11.32 with free shipping and I’m using it now. Installation was a breeze and I’m using it now.
OK, when we left off, we were still in Xpu-Ha, in the campground with friends who felt more like family. Our last days were spent dining out. Of course, Friday night was pizza night at Leo’s and we had the usual turn out.

From the left is Carol, Me, Ann, and behind Ann is Gerry. From the right is John, Shirley, Rob, Reed, and Glen.
Another night a bunch of us went back to Oscar and Lalo’s.

Around the table from the left is Reed, John, Peggy, Helen’s seat, Me, Shirley, Rob, Gerry (Brenda’s Gerry), Maddy (Gerry’s Daughter) and Brenda.
Not having our fill of dining, We went to an Italian restaurant in Puerto Adventuras With Shirley and Rob.

It was a perfect evening! The temperature was comfortable and the area with the lagoon and shops is really pretty. I couldn’t help but wonder how I managed to live this lifestyle. Rich and Famous? No! But check us out Robin Leach.
All too soon it was time to leave Paradise and head toward home, via San Miguel de Allende. I worried about the topes in Tulum and crossed them slowly and carefully, listening for the sound of the motorhome scraping them. It never happened. However, Somewhere beyond Tulum we came over a rise or around a turn and encountered an unmarked tope of considerable size. I jammed on the brakes before making contact but it was too late to diminish speed enough. We bounced with quite a jolt. When I stopped to assess damage I was astounded to see the way the receiver extension was bent. What worried me more was that the bumper on the Jeep was bent up at an odd angle.

The rear mount of the base plate was torn from the chassis.  This picture was taken after the base plate was pushed back quite a bit by a “solderer”in Escárcega who removed the bolts. There was about a four inch gap between the bracket and the chassis at first. I made it back to Inverness by making many, many wraps of nylon cord around the base plate and the anti-sway bar. I monitored it closely and had no further problem.

The first day we made it to “La Selva” a small restaurant that allows you to overnight when you eat there. Helen and I ordered quesadillas and we saw the waiter/chef dash out in his truck for supplies. The food was good and the cost for dinner for two with sodas and overnight parking was 120 pesos. Our next night was spent in a Pemex station someplace between Villahermosa and Puebla. Then Cholula, and finally San Miguel.
In San Miguel we met up with some old friends (friends from last year) and some new friends (friends we met this year). We certainly were not surprised to see Sue and Brian, since we were there to see them, but we were shocked to see Mollie, Pat and Mike’s lovable dog, in the campground. We met Pat and Mike again later, but they were just passing through.

 Most campers going to Mexico would not venture there with out Church’s Mexican Campground book. Here are, left to right, Mike and Terri Church and our friends Sue and Brian.
This was our first day and Sue and Brian became our personal guides to the wonders of San Miguel, but that will be in the next blog.
Later

A Note from Texas

We have made it successfully to a campground east of Houston, Texas, but it was not without incident. Leaving Xpu-Ha, I was a bit concerned about the very high topes ( speed bumps to non Mexicans, pronounced towpay), but it was needless. I drove very slowly over them trying to hear the scraping sound of something under the RV, but there was no noise.

Later on, I was not as fortunate. Coming around a curve at considerable speed, I came to an unmarked tope of considerable size and although I tried to brake as much as possible before the front tires hit, we took an awful jolt. When I pulled over to look at possible damage, I was SHOCKED to see the tow extension bent up about 30 degrees and part of the base plate was torn from the car. With few options, I used many, many wraps of nylon cord around the tow plate and anti-sway bar. later I tried to get it welded in a good sized town, but without success.

Our first night was at the Selva Restaurant and our second was in  Pemex station. The third day we made it to SMA to meet our friends Sue and Brian. Sue took Helen to Delores Hidalgo one day and toured the Talavera factory and then they went shopping the next day also. We had a good time with the people at Hotel Rancho San Ramon. There is a lot of land there and the dogs had quite a good time doing more running than they have in a long time. 

I had a problem with the engine overheating on the hills and that had never happened before. Even running in low gears and keeping the RPMs up didn't help. Finally, I stopped and hooked up the hose to my water pump and gave the radiator a good, long back flush. I was shocked at the amount of dirt that has accumulated in the radiator during my driving over the dusty roads of Mexico. It's running nice and cool now, but I do have a small coolant leak which I think is coming from the low coolant level sensor. It's happened before.

After spending another night in  a Pemex, we approached Columbia Crossing early this morning. I wish I could say it all went well, but it wasn't as smooth as it could have been. In Mexico, I pulled into a wrong place, (well out of the way, but the wrong place) so I had to make another trip around the complex to park exactly where some parking attendant wanted. Then I turned in our Tourist Permits. The Immigration Officer wanted to see the receipt that said we paid for them. Who keep that? I don't even remember seeing the sample he showed me. He checked on-line and since we passed through that same office only a few months ago he was able to validate that we were leaving.

Over the bridge to USA. I stopped on the bridge and walked to customs to find out where I should go. Last year I got the royal run-a-round. One arrogant agent told me that if I could pass through the car lane, fine. Otherwise I would have to go through Cargo. I took a good look at the car lane and reasoned that I could do it. Please note that there are straight through lanes, but they were closed. The one open lane required a close turn, but I was confident I could make it.

I got back to the motorhome and pulled into the car lane and Mister Arrogant said "You can't seem to follow directions, I told you to go through the cargo lane." The other agents told him to leave me alone and we were visited by the agent that has the drug dog. He didn't come in with his dog, just to inspect and he got along great with our three. Something about dog people. Finally got the signal to go and we did. Much better than last year, but I could have done without the attitude on BOTH sides of the border.

I'm still working with Old Faithful, my Dell computer, so there are no pictures, but I hope to catch up when I get home.

Later

How to Compound Computer Problems

 

Friends who know me understand that I am not to be trusted after I have taken my sleeping pill. When my sons call in the evening, they will ask if it’s OK to talk to me or am \I under the influence of my medicine. Unfortunately, Helen isn’t always able to keep me from doing something stupid.

Several days ago I got up in the middle of the night to email a friend. He replied that I must be hanging out with a new group of people who were taking me home drunk. When I checked the message, I was embarrassed at the gibberish that I sent him.

that didn’t keep me from trying again a few nights later. I went to bed with the thought that I would have to get a new water pump for the motorhome and decided to do some web surfing in the wee hours. It just happened that I was also thirsty, so I turned on the computer and got a bottle of Gatorade. Somehow, the drink got sloshed over the keyboard and the result was not pretty. The next day, the computer would not even turn on. I found a place in Playa Del Carmen and took it in for service. It was ready in a few hours and I picked it up. In the shop it worked very well. Back at the motorhome it had a very hard time booting up and would not respond properly. It was back at the shop first thing the next morning.

I picked it up again this AM and was told that I would really have to buy a separate keyboard as the damage to the original was too bad to fix permanently. Drat!!!! A quick trip to Walmart and my problems were solved. NOPE!!! NOT QUITE!!

Here is where I tried to insert a picture of the new keyboard, with all of the Spanish punctuation keys, but the system will not ley me do so.

Oops, I found another way. Just another work a round, one after another. You may notice the letter ñ next to L. I did that by using the Alt key and 0241, which you can do on any computer. BUT, if I actually hit the ñ key, I get ;. Some of the punctuation I can get by looking at the laptop keyboard but some I cannot locate at all.

This my PC connection right now. Pathetic, isn’t it? This is the penance I will have to pay until I get back to my desktop in Florida. Gosh, am I a L O N G way from Florida.

 

Later

Hunting for the Elusive Hammock

 

Helen has had the hots for a hammock for much of the time we’ve been at Xpu-Ha. Several other campers have them and seem to completely enjoy their time in the hammock, reading a book, while the wind breezes in from the ocean. In particular, John seems to absolutely revel in his hammock time and Helen has noticed. It’s not that Helen hasn’t looked, because she has looked at dozens, but none have the quality and feel of the hammock that she wants. So……..Sunday we headed out on a 180 mile round trip to the ONLY place where one can purchase the hammock of one's dreams.  90 miles one way……a trip that would be nasty on the west coast where we were last year was a dream by comparison. All the roads are in great condition and if I hadn’t run afoul in Valladolid it would have been a snap. Of course, those who know me know the route I eventually take is not the best.

We drove down to Tulum and took the road to Coba. Long before we got to Coba, our journey came to a halt as we came upon a large display of ceramic goods. OK, Helen wanted a hammock, but she also wanted a Talavera Water dispenser, what she referred to as a ginger jar.

This is NOT it. This is a picture I got off the internet because I didn’t want Helen to hunt down and unpack the one she bought, which is mostly blue and white……..I think.

A  SMALL part of the display.

More of the display. Helen has looked for the container at dozens of places and now she has what she wants. So now it’s off to Valladolid, or rather the prison just west of Valladolid.

The directions from John specifically stated that I should take the bypass around Valladolid and when the bypass rejoins Rt 180, the prison would be on the left 1 and 1/4 miles on the left. The sign for the bypass actually says Chichen Itza and Merida and I ASSUMED that this was the entrance to the Cancun-Merida toll road, so I bypassed the bypass.

One of the BEST roads in the city, and we drove over almost all of them trying to find our  way to the western side of the city.

The streets were wide open and there was little traffic, it was just that I had no idea where I was, where I was going, or how I was going to get there. Eventually, we stumbled on a sign for Rt. 180 heading east. I made a couple of left turns and was heading WEST on 180 and soon we were out of the city. Very soon we passed the other side of the bypass and up ahead was the prison.

A bonanza of hammocks awaits the discerning buyer.

There was every color and size combination and I’m very happy to report that Helen found one that she is comfortable with. Placed in the Jeep, we were soon on the way home, via the bypass this time. One thing to note about the route is that the road we took from Coba to Valladolin does not exist on MS Streets and Trips or my Garmin GPS. During the period we were on that road my Garmin showed that I was “Off Road”.

It was a quick ride home except for one more unscheduled stop at a place that sells gourd lamps. Helen bought one (most everyone here has at least one) and later bought a second. However, Ann told Helen about a place on the road to Coba where they were cheap. So we stopped and now Helen has three………so far. After that it was a quick stop for groceries and then home. Phew!

Later!

Snorkeling the Reef at Puerto Morelos

 

Eight intrepid snorkelers left the campground early today to sample the reef off Puerto Morelos. Pat and Mike rode with Elaine and Reed while Rob and Shirley rode with Helen and Me. It’s only 38 miles or so to P.M. and we were there in no time. The weather forecast for today was for 70% chance of rain and I was concerned. Around 3:00 AM we had some rain and at daybreak we had some heavier rain and I started to worry a bit. Actually, the weather cleared and we had bright sun but breezy weather for the trip.

Here the group is preparing to board the boat under the watchful eyes of Juan and Julio.

Helen is looking happy to be doing something other than reading. She’ll get her time in the water today!

Most of the group is ready to go!

A very nice picture of a trumpet fish courtesy of Elaine. She seemed to see a lot more fish than I did, and she was able to document her find with pictures. I did see a trumpet fish.

Here is another of Elaine’s pictures and I never saw this triggerfish. Nor did I see the barracuda or many of the fish she saw.

Miscellaneous colorful fish hanging around the coral. No, I missed this, too.

After the dive we gathered for lunch. Checking out the menus around the square in Puerto Morelos, we found the prices very high. The restaurant “Amor” was recommended to us and I asked for directions from one of the guys at the snorkel kiosk. He told me where “Amor” was and asked if we really wanted Mexican food or seafood. When I replied “seafood”, he told us about a little restaurant right on the beach just a short way. We ended up at “La Playalita” where the food was very good and a fraction of the price “downtown”

Not shown are a bunch of pictures I took of everyone getting back on the boat. Since I do not want to make enemies of this group, those pictures will never see the light of day. I hope that if anyone has such an unflattering picture of me, they will do the same.

All in all, I think we all had a good time. The current at the first location was brisk and it took an effort just to hold a place in it. To make actual headway required an extra bit of work. We all survived, so it was never that bad. Just one more interesting day out of Xpu-Ha.

Later.

Rainy Day at the Beach

 

It has been unsettled for the last few days with occasional rain some areas of sunshine. Last night the weather changed as we had rain all night, sometimes coming down in torrents. I’m glad! No, I’m not against nice weather, but for nearly two months we have been subject to the salt air and mist that blows in from the Caribbean. Each time we drive off in the car, we have to use the windshield washer to get the salt off the windshield, even when we use the car every day. So what this great rainstorm has done is rinse all the salt off the motorhome, and that is a good thing

I took a walk to the beach and it was a view I hadn’t seen since we got here.

On a normal day this area would be crowded and the restaurant would be extremely busy. Today………..nothing.

Looking north, there would be scores of tourists walking the beach. It’s an ill wind that does no good, and this cool weather makes it easier for the guys on the left to sand the hull of their boat.

 

This picture was meant to show the bleakness of the day. There are no people in the water, no snorkelers, no jet skis, nobody at all.

Even the empty parking lot of the restaurant doesn’t tell the whole story because not only is the parking area normally full, but so is the entire area. Every possible place to park a car is usually occupied and management had to rope off the access to the campground to keep people from driving in and parking with us. One day, a tour bus parked in the campground when there was no room anywhere else. Now the extra vehicles are forced to park on the access road and the line extends well up the road.

This is Leica, one of the campground mascots. This was taken today during a lull in the rain, but it could be taken almost any day as Leica enjoys chilling out in any depression in the sand. We have to be careful backing up as she is generally someplace  in the parking area.

 

This is one version of the panga, a style of boat found all over Mexico.

As you can see, this one had a deck, center console, and dual engines. It also has the wood trim along the gunwales, making it something of an “upscale” boat. The hull is basic, but the way it’s used will determine how it is fitted out. There are dive boats, with racks for air tanks, fishing boats with outriggers, there are plain open boats, and boats with an awning for shade. We took a trip up the coast in one last week to snorkel near Puerto Adventuras. Although the sea was rough, the panga was very comfortable and handled the waves very well. In addition, the ride was MUCH drier that I would have though with the wind and waves,

This panga is behind our camper. Is this the end of the line? Not necessarily. There is an enormous amount of fiberglass on one of these boats and when I knock on the side, it’s like knocking on a piece of granite. Since there is NEVER a frost down here, there is little damage from letting it sit a while. One day this “relic” will be repainted and re powered and be put back to use.

Later

JEEP Thrills

 

I suppose that if you want some Jeep thrills you have to have a Jeep, which is not to say that it is the only way to have thrills. I reported last night on a slight aberration I was having with the electrical system of our Jeep Cherokee. We’ve had it for a long time and it has really been a workhorse for us. With almost 140,000 miles, we have not had any real problems, yet. last night it caught my attention when we started down to Leo’s Pizza. The “check engine” lamp was on and the voltmeter was showing about 8 volts, but everything else seemed to be working properly. I put on the head lights and A/C and all worked well. There was no indication that the voltmeter was correct. Shortly the “check gauges” lamp also came on and I again checked ALL the gauges. Everything was functioning fine. After stopping and restarting the engine, the “check gauges” lamp went out and the voltmeter showed nearly 14 volts. The “check engine” lamp remained lit then and all the way home.

Back at the campground I got out my battery charger and connected it to the Jeep battery. It showed a voltage of 12.6 volts. That was about what it should have been. With the charger plugged in, it was showing a trickle charge rate and I left it on all night. In the AM, I again started that car and the darn “check engine” lamp was still on. Since we were going to Playa Del Carmen in the afternoon, I planned on a visit to Autozone and a free scan. However, I had one last thing to try, disconnecting the battery and turning on the headlights to drain any capacitors. After an hour or so, I reconnected the battery and started the car………no problems……..none. We made the run to Playa and encountered no other problems. I ASSURED Helen that he car is OK to drive for a shopping trip in the next few days. I’d better be right!