Thursday, October 27, 2011

Wednesday Was A Nightmare

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

Yesterday started off great.   We got up, wonderful heat in the trailer, it was 9C outside.   Nice and toasty having coffee and a warm bed.   Showered and headed down the mountain for Hwy 57.  Drove over to the Parador Potosino and got another cup of coffee and checked our email.  They have great wi-fi there.

Got to one toll booth, and based on the signs the cost was 88 pesos.   We pulled up and the guy wanted to charge us 97 pesos.  Now for most of you, you would say it is no big deal.  Well, for me it is.   The sign says one thing and you pay another.  This is where the things go wrong with tourists in Mexico.   They go home saying that they got overcharged, it's all mañana attitude, etc.   So we parked and talked to the station manager.  He was relentless in backing down.  He agreed the sign had not been updated.  As we spoke, a group of special Canadians came through with their rvs.  I pointed out to the manager that these people, according to the sign, were being overcharged.   In the end, we got his card and complaint form and will send a letter.

Off we went and that was the conversation for awhile.  We laughed about it and about the snooty rvers who wouldn't give us the time of day.  

We neared the toll booth for Morelia.   We have never used the system where you take a ticket and pay at the end.   They wanted to charge us 300 pesos.   No way.   And to boot, the guy wasn't even sure what the price would be upon exiting in Morelia.   We wanted to back up and we had to wait for the manager.  He came right out and said it was alright to turn around.   Done.   We headed for the libre.  

After crossing the lake some 20 kms from Morelia, we followed the instructions to the rv park.   Take the 15 towards Mexico and turn around at the first toll booth which will take you to km 237.   As we approached the intersection of the 15 and the 43, it said Mexico-Guadalajara exit 1 km.   We got to the exits and there were no signs indicating which exit was which, it is a giant cloverleaf so you really can't tell by looking at it.  We ended up on the road to Guadalajara and drove 40kms to the next exit, cost was 110 pesos to turn around.   We went to other side and never found the rv park.  None of the phone numbers worked, the webpage is now mysteriously down and there is no exit at km 237.   As we approached the toll booth, I remembered about the water park.   Well, as luck would have it we were 10 minutes away.   Safe and sound.

Something is strange about that rv park, not sure what, but sometime this week I will find it.  BTW, at the exiting toll booth there was a huge checkpoint.   They really shook us down.  At one point, he wasn't happy with our import papers for the trailer, I have to admit I got a little nervous.  He turned out to be a great guy and helped us find our way to the water park.

3 comments:

  1. We went through exactly what you did trying to find that park last December. That park simply does not exist. We were also at km 237, and you can see the property that is supposed to be the RV park, but there isn't one. How can the guy say they are open to receive RV'ers starting in December? Yes, very strange!

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  2. Hang in there and keep posting. We really do enjoy your trip reports!

    rocmoc n AZ

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  3. What a day my friend but all good in the end. I suggest you send a note to Mike & terri about the non existent park.

    We always argue the prices at the tolls. Best answer is Culiacan where they say they have special privileges to charge the higher rate!!!

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