Villa de Reyes, San Luis Potosi

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

The main plaza en Villa de Reyes.

Wow, not having internet can be a bummer these days.  I had access via my cell phone but that's way too small of a screen and keyboard to do the blog.   Here's how things went down.  I can tell you that we are home now but I will have another blog post or two regarding the trip.   The trip was a text book case, not a hitch ( no pun intended), not a problem, no transito issues or towing issues.   When we arrived home today at noon I backed that puppy right into the driveway on the first try (I almost always do).   Steve, I don't know how, but I have a good eye for getting the rv into the driveway.

After we left Mexquitin, we headed down Hwy 49 towards San Luis Potosi.   A short drive to the periferico which is Hwy 32.   We took a bit of a short cut after stopping twice to ask questions.   The periferico goes around the city of SLP to the north, northeast and then south.   We wanted to be on Hwy 57 but there is the business loop and the interstate (so to speak).   I know from working in SLP over the years that you cannot take the business loop with an rv. 

We started out on the periferico.  Peter had told us that they may, not always so don't take this as bible, stop you looking for something wrong.  I was a bit paranoid but we headed out anyway.  Based on what we had hoped was good advice from a parador gas station, that the bridges were taboo and to use the lateral except for the third bridge.  "Take the third bridge because the lateral is being worked on and you can't get through.  Transito knows this so no issues".   That's exactly how it went down.  We continued on to Hwy 57 business loop and it is clearly marked for "trafico pesado" to take the laterals.  We did and had no issues.

Villa de Reyes is about an hour and a half (driving 80 kms as I do now) from SLP.   It was a leisurely drive and the signage is well-marked.   From the 57 to the town of Villa de Reyes is 30 minutes.   All great road and no issues.  

 A huge camping area that can handle any size rig through the gates.  Buses came into to unload youth groups.   They sell gorditas for eight pesos, tacos, beer and you can have your own fire or grill.

There are several pools.  All of them are drained and filled everyday.   The water is hotter than that at La Gruta in San Miguel de Allende.   This pic was taken in the early morning hours so it wasn't full of people yet.  Very relaxing though and I have to say that the kids were well-behaved.   

Upon arrival we knew we were heading into the heat of Semana Santa and three well-known balnearios.   We did and we visited each one to check them out.  The first, Centenario, did deserve a stop.  Second up was San Diego.   We liked it but went on to the third, El Gogorron.   Very nice and I wish we had stayed there but it was 300 per person.  High season and they get it.  The placed was packed.  It has a hotel which is 2800 pesos per night family of four all meals included.  The hotel had been booked for months.   Top drawer. 

We parked on the far left side of the field.  It was quieter and I slept pretty good.  We were parked under some huge eucalyptus trees.   Good thing because Saturday late afternoon we had a hail storm.  I had disconnected the SUV from the trailer so when it started I moved it under a fuller tree.  The hail turned out to be between pea and gumball size.   No damage but a lot of commotion.

We headed back to number two, San Diego, and it was perfect.  Still pricey at 140 per person camping and balneario included.  We couldn't boondock with the cat and also do any exploring.  I didn't care much for the raza (the local people).    We had a great time and the price actually dropped our second night as things were winding down.   The aguas termales (hot springs) were the best.   Crowded as it was, as noisy as the music was, I slept well both nights.   The place is very nice and I am sure when it is low season even better.   Good thing I didn't have a sledge hammer though.  One woman had a speaker that is called the 2500 Watt and is good for up to, get this, 300 meters or 900 feet.   She played that damn thing 24/7.   She smiled the whole time.  Needless to say there was no conversation at her site and we were far away.  I don't get excited much anymore with those things.

The town of Villa de Reyes is very nice although the people are a bit stand offish.  Maybe cause I was the only gringo there and at the balneario.  I did get a laugh though in the pool when Juan took my picture and I jumped out of the water and he yelled, "boobies".   The girls thought it was funny.

Typical town with its cathedral and main plaza.   We did a bit of window shopping, sitting in the plaza and walking around.   We try to get 6 to 8 kms of walking everyday apart from general moving around.   Nice place but San Luis outside of its mountains is not my favorite state.   Xilitla, Aquismon, Tam Lajas, those are places to be seen and cherished.   

I think this area is worth a visit and the balneario San Diego is too.   Great camping and with little to no crowds it is very attractive not to mention the lower off season prices.

To end this blog post for today, we arrived home at 11:30 this morning.  I'll explain all that later.  At 6 p.m. I still haven't seen Little Bit since we got home (he traveled with us).  I found him sitting in the rv and he hasn't moved yet.   Hmm, maybe if I do that someone will get the idea about traveling more frequently.