We are now in Mexico, home

[Bullfrog]

The Veracruz bypass was a breeze compared to Tampico. The book I mentioned nailed it to the tenth of a mile, all turns correct and easy. We blew on making really good time and got our first glimpse of the ocean in Costa Esmeralda I believe. Ate at a little mom and pop shop, bought a nice handmade coconut tree from an old man on the side of the road. We then cruised on, ate at another small place, I paid mariachis to play and sing for my wife, then drank beer in a Pemex station and slept in the trailer.

We woke up the next day and I looked at the map. This is when I made the worse mistake of the entire trip. We could have backtracked 5 miles and hit 180, straight as an arrow and really good road (to a point) but I decided to take the scenic route through San Andreas Tuxla and Catemaco. The roads were near verticle with hairpin turns. Pulling a trailer, it was really nerve wracking but we did see Catemaco. They have a bruja (witch) festival every year and when the stopped doing medical research on baboons in Mexico, they dumped them all on an island in the huge lake, for a few pesos you can go close in a boat and let them scream at you.

 

[capewind]

Wow, what an adventure!

BTW, I just checked out your site ... those first two books are right up my alley for "modern" style books ... Gawd... that sounded awful! My all time favorite authors are Huxley, Orwell, Wells, Hemingway, and Jean Auel ... I am also a fan of GOOD Historical Romance books, so think between the types I listed, you understand my wording of "modern" and why I am interested in your work Will have to keep you in mind when I get low on books again!

 

[Bullfrog]

Jw on this forum inspired me to write and she is a main character in "Vengeance" named "Angelica". The Kindle version is .99 cents here..

https://www.createspace.com/3471024

The entire novel was written online as a few friends helped me with typos and mistakes.

 

[j.w]

Ahhhhh, those were the good old days Bullfrog! That was a blast being able to read while you were in the process of writing your book. Capewind you would really enjoy his books. He combines history along w/ some fun characters and what an adventure in reading it is! I have a signed copy from the author irate2:

 

[capewind]

I am getting low on books again and was just looking at the Kindle Paperwhite a few days ago,

 

[capewind]

Not sure I could handle reading while it was being written LOL... Id be sitting there tapping my fingers waiting for the next chapter to be written! Reading is supposed to be relaxing. One of the things that was awful about being a Jean Auel fan was waiting YEARS between books! I would try to be patient, and telling myself the amount of research that went into that series took time but the wait was terrible LOL ...

 

[j.w]

We were always trying to be so patient not trying to rush him and sometimes he would leave us hanging by a thread at one of those cliff hanging moments :dunno:

 

[Bullfrog]

I wanted to be historically correct. I'd be ripping along and think, "Did they have makeup in 1614? Dyes? Cards? How long does it take to load a cannon? What animals were indigenous to Mexico? What were the territories called then?" Indeed a lot of research.

 

[Bullfrog]

The next goal was Valle Hermosa, it was easy and 180 for the most part is a great road. We were able to average 60 MPH most of the way. Again, the highway winds straight through a lot of towns, small roads with cars parked on both sides, but you just have to slow down and enjoy the sights. We made a few friends along the way. At a small mom and pop eatery, an old man came in asking people for food. The first two tables shooed him away and he approached us. I told him, "No Habla espanol" and he walked off. I felt bad, then called him back. We shared our lunch with him....

This small boy was selling crabs to the place we ate at..

Moving on, we picked up a young man in El Zapata who needed a ride. Our truck, the camper on back and the trailer was crammed full. I showed him there was just enough room to slide in back in the camper and lay on the things packed. We later learned he was trying to get back home to Chiapas to care for his elderly parents. There is no government assistance here.

Anyway, Valle Hermosa was a breeze, we stopped, slept and headed for Chetumal the next morning. Road weary and cranky after being cooped up in the truck for 6 days, both of our tempers were getting short. I decided to stop just north of Chetumal at the first hotel, there were none. We went on to Tulum, tired and hungry and still, no place big enough to pull over, park and eat. It was getting dark and on we went. We pulled into Paamul about 7:30.

Ricardo is still with us, we are paying him to clear the jungle behind our palapa..

We will take him home in a few days. A long trip, did I enjoy it? Yes. Would I do it again? No. But now that we are here, it's hard to believe just how blessed we are.

 

[j.w]

Well I can see why you would think twice about doing it again but now that you have made it there and met so many nice people on the way you can relax and enjoy the beauty of it all. That last picture is so pretty! How many people live there near you? How far can you travel around there and still feel safe? How far do you have to go to get supplies? I'd love to learn more about the area and the do's and don'ts. This is all just so cool!

 

[Bullfrog]

Paamul is a nice little community of retired Americans and Canadians. It is small enough to be comfortable and cozy, yet large enough so there are some interesting people. A popular resort with a hotel, diving and a fine outdoor cafe, it attracts a lot of divers so once moved in, I will be busy at times taking people diving.... poor me. A gated community, one guard mans the gate while two walk the premises, day and night so it's totally safe. Playa Del Carmen is 15 minutes north and also very safe day or night. We can drive south to the ruins in about 30 minutes or be in Belize in about an hour and a half. You can see pictures here..

.https://www.google.com/search?q=paa...jHurVyAHBw4G4Aw&ved=0CEEQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=631

And heres my job...http://www.scubamex.com/

 

[Big Lou]

Congratulations for having the fortitude to start a new life in a new country. Adventures await!

Big Lou

 

[j.w]

The photos are breathtaking and I've created a pool of drool all over my desk! There's one photo toward the bottom called cancun-cab.com or something and if you hold your mouse arrow over it it will give you a little slide show tour and shows the ruins I think that's what they are anyways. So sorry you have to have such a horrible job Bullfrog

 

[Bullfrog]

Well they built the pyramids, so this was a minor task. I couldn't pull the trailer up and still get my truck out, so in coma the Mayans. They tied ropes and attached ratchets...

Took the scissor jacks off....

Put a big log under it...

And 1/8 of an inch at a time, they pulled it, jacked it up, moved the log forward, let it down and pulled it 1/8th of an inch at a time..

 

[j.w]

1/8" at a time? I see from the last photo it isn't quite there yet. How long will this take? Hope you don't ever plan on going anywhere again................ever! They are some hard stick to it patient workers,that's all I have to say!