Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Dolores Hidalgo

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com
We slept really well at the university Sunday night. As Croft mentioned, too long of a drive for one day and I agree with that. Short vacation times still so on the way home we will leave on Thursday and make it a two day trip home.

We left the university around 9 a.m. and drove into town. We left the rig at the Soriana after doing some shopping. The security guard said he would keep an eye on it and store management said there would be no problem leaving it for a an hour or two.



Walking into town we found most of the streets under construction, it made it look like it was 100 years ago. The place was full of workers and people going about their everyday business. With the 200th anniversary coming next year the town is gearing up for the celebrations and hoping that this will give a big economic boost to the area.

Winter rvers beware, highways in and out of the area are also under construction. Hwy 110 between Dolores Hidalgo and SMA are under construction and it looks like they are just starting. No official word on how much or how long but I assume they will be working into the winter.

We had a nice breakfast at El Carruage del Caudillo across from the main square. I really recommend this place for breakfast. Their lunch and dinner menu doesn't look to hot but we had the specialty of the house for breakfast. Very good egg dish covered in beans, cream, cheese and ham served with hot bread, juice and pastry for 60 pesos, coffee included.


Most of the morning was spent in DH as we walked around stopped at the Independence museum (La Carcel), tourist office to complain about signage into town and rvers getting stuck on the small streets for lack of warning. They have lots of brochures and a wonderful webpage if you look under "Ruta 201o".

Later we headed back to the Soriana and took off for SMA. A short 30 minute drive we got lost in town looking for Weber's Tennis club. Weber's only has room for rigs under 26 feet. The German couple was there with their all-terrain rv. We didn't seem them but they have been all over the rv forums the last couple of months. The place is a dump, looks like somebody's backyard junkyard. 250 pesos a night with the only advantage being they wifi at the sites and here at La Siesta the signal is only good in the reception and pool area. Typical of Mexican business and yes this is a criticism. They have nice sites with good services but junk laying around, some small apartments they rent for 500 and 600 dollars a month. The place is a ghost town and yet they won't lower their rates. The business mentality is, "I have to make 300% profit and if I don't I'll die of starvation first before lowering my prices". Big mistake, the area has wonderful temperatures and they could rent he apartments in the summer for 350 and make some money to get rid of all the crap laying around and do some repairs.
Street reconstruction in Dolores Hidalgo preparing for 2010.

Cathedral in the main plaza in Dolores Hidalgo.

Anyway, as I said, we got lost and hired a taxi. He took us to the rv park and on the way we passed La Siesta. Good thing we had him stop and that is why we ended up here. Rvers, don't waste your time trying to find you way around, hire a taxi. It cost us 20 pesos. Safe, sound and no transito problems.

Enjoy the pics, we are off to find a gym and get our day started here in SMA.

3 comments:

  1. Funny about the RV park. We've seen that a lot. We don't get it at all but it's an interesting philosophy which never works. Your travels sound wonderful. Enjoy.

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  2. Ah, the taxis. $20 Pesos if you habla Espanol but $30 Pesos if you don't. I guess this is what they call the "Gringo Tax". That's OK - it is still cheap. ;)

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  3. I should learn Spanish anyway!

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