A Stopover In Matehuala

The day before we headed out for Matehuala we took the group up to the Cola de Caballo waterfall.  It is a national park with pavered walkways, palapas, and grills.  It's a short hike and very easy to do although there are steps in certain parts.  Even though we are still recovering from a drought, the water is slowly returning and coming down from the mountains.  It has also been rainy and cloudy for the last week.  The week before the sun was shining and it was blue skies.  I guess I hadn't looked far enough into the forecast but we still would have gotten together.  After the waterfalls, we drove into Santiago to take a look around the pueblo magico.   

  

Off we went for downtown Monterrey.  The fog was so heavy we couldn't see the tops of the 40-floor buildings.  We did manage to show the group quite a bit but it was quick.  They were only staying for two nights.  We had lunch at Los Frijoles.  Quite an interesting place to say the least.  They have a huge property in the middle of downtown that includes the restaurant, secured parking, antique cars that have been refurbished and memorabilia.  Margaritas and chile relleños.

 

We took off around 8:30 in the morning.  You can see that the road was still quite muddy and it had rained the night before.  It was a real bummer to have to bring them up and down the road with their rigs but they seemed to have fun getting each rig backed into the driveway.  Actually, no one had any issues and the one that we thought would be a problem was Barb and Sal's class A.  Only 26ft long but it is tall and wide.  Sal backed it in on the first try.  

We made several stops on the way to Linares before crossing the mountains.  One needed propane, another diesel, and one wanted to pick up some carne seca (machacado) in the town of Congregación Calles which is known for its beef and jerky production. 

As we approached Linares, the skies opened up and the fog faded away.  Everyone had the opportunity to see these magnificent drive-through mountains.  Curving back and forth, a few small rock slides had taken place over the last week and clean-up crews were out doing their job.  We made a pit stop in  Iturbide which is not quite half the way across, got a cup of coffee and a potty break and off we went passing Galeana and down the other side to San Roberto and Hwy 57.  They said the drive was beautiful and took lots of pictures.

 

We arrived at Las Palmas Hotel and Rv Park famous to rvers in Mexico traveling south and north.  We usually stay across the street at the Oasis Hotel which has one rv slot and only charges 150 pesos per day with electricity and water. 

 

After a day's drive who doesn't like a nice happy hour!  We took a quick nap first and then got together in the RV section for a drink or two before heading to the restaurant.   We never seem to have any fun.  We reminisced about past rv trips, stops at Las Palmas but most of all the rvers who weren't here on the trip and those that have passed on.  Some rvers will probably never return since Covid.  It just doesn't seem as likely.   Baja though seems to keep a steady stream of rvers going.

I went to get a bag of ice from the restaurant and there is some remodeling going on in the lobby.  They keep this 1950s hotel in pretty good shape.  As I passed to the bar I noticed a small events room with plush seating and a huge table.  I asked if we could use it for our party of eight and they said sure.  It worked out well and we had two waiters and a private bathroom attached.  We had a delicious dinner and then told a few stories before turning in.

Everyone stayed an extra day but we headed on to SMA to do some things to the house.  Today is Saturday and we are celebrating Thanksgiving with a turkey dinner at our friend Barbara's house.  I have the turkey in the oven but this one is a Butterball not a live one like in a previous Thanksgiving at Hacienda Contreras.  I hope everyone is enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday.

I'm thankful for one thing.  That I am here today.  Juan is healthy and back on board.  

Keeping Money Safe in Mexico

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

A couple of good things are going on here at the home base.  The trees are blooming already although we still have a couple of cold fronts coming through.  All that effort to clean up the falling leaves.  Too many trees I guess but I don't do the raking anymore!  That's certainly a plus.  This winter has been the coldest and longest on record for these parts.   I´m not quite sure how we'll make out on the electric bill but we didn't economize this time around.  We decided that since we didn't do any holiday travel we deserved to enjoy our time at home.  Even this week we have the radiant gas heat on at night just to take the chill off along with the electric blanket.   That darn electric blanket is better than any sleeping aid you could ever take.   Truly a deep sleep.

I received my invitation to Ecuador for 10 days starting the second week of April.   Semana Santa this year is the last week of March and the first week of April.  They asked me to come sooner but we want to keep an rving date with Ruth and Kevin to go to Parque Natl Sierra de Organos.  It's not written in stone but we are planning on going there.  I've got itchy feet so we will take next weekend and go down the road a ways to our resort and spend the night.

Keeping money safe.  There seems to be some counterfeit bills running around in Mexico.  Big surprise?  Hardly.  Counterfeit money has been around as long as paper bills have been around.  U.S. bills are counterfeited to the tune of 300 million in the U.S. alone.   

1. Here is my solution although I've never had a counterfeit or beknownst to me counterfeit bill.  Go to Office Depot and buy one of those marker pens you see people use in businesses as well as banks.  They're cheap and might give some paranoic souls some peace of mind.  This pen only on the paper bills not the plastic or polymer 20 and 50 notes.  Another good piece of safety is to stay  away from non-bank ATMs.  Now be wise.  That doesn't mean you have to go to a bank to use the ATM.  It just says that you should use a bank brand ATM which are located in malls and convenience stores.  
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3. Also remember that you can make withdrawals/deposits on your Mexican accounts, transfer money nationally and internationally, make utility and credit card payments at any OXXO convenience store.  Life in Mexico has never been easier.