We crossed into Mexico on February 15, 2018. We were told by the border guard that she couldn’t stamp our passports and that I had to go into the office. Paul pulled over and waited. And waited. And waited. I was in the office for such a long time, and a young man kept coming to check on me and was apologetic. I think the only person who could stamp our passports was involved in a deep game of Candy Crush and refused to stamp them. He was going to show me! So, we never got our passports stamped.

Paul went to the insurance office, which was only a matter of meters from the border. I stayed in the Chinook and I staved off window washers. Those guys don’t take “no” for an answer. The insurance office had to call the office in Puerto Peñasco to get the price that Ted negotiated for on our behalf, and it all went smoothly. However, we only got the policy, but not the receipt, which we need to give to our Canadian insurance company for a refund when we return. Something else to do.

Ted and Dona are staying at a full-service park, Playa Bonita, but we stayed just down the beach at Concha del Mar. It is family owned and operated. It is dry-camping, but the showers are hot and free, and for $11/night, we were satisfied. Yes, we were satisfied — until night came.

Concha del Mar

Concha del Mar

Donna Dee and her dogs

There is a nearby nightclub that blasts music starting at 10 pm on weekends. That first night (Thursday), it went on until 3:30. However, the next night (Friday), it was much worse. A mariachi band, complete with several trumpets, played from 10 pm – 5:15 am. Then, from 5:15-6 am, it was “open mike”. At that point, I was so delirious from lack of sleep that I couldn’t stop laughing. This one man could only play the low E-string on his guitar while he did some sort of Mexican yodeling.

The next morning, we walked over to Ted and Dona’s park to see if other people had heard it. Yes, it was audible there too. Ted and Dona drove us around to find a new park far from the madding nightclub.

Playa de Oro

Playa de Oro

So, on Saturday, we moved to Playa de Oro. It is a full-service park, and more expensive ($22/night), but quiet. Also, the beach is more picturesque and accessible. We stayed there Saturday night and returned to Concha del Mar on Sunday. What a difference a good sleep makes!

Of course, there was still a nearby party Sunday night, but the wind was so fierce that it drowned it out. We stayed from Sunday-Thursday at that park. There are things we liked about that park (the owners and workers and the fact that it was open parking), but it was like staying at a drydock. There was a crew of workers that repaired, washed & waxed, and painted RVs and cars. Most of the work was done on-site, but sometimes they took vehicles to a shop.  For example, Donna Dee had the side of her truck painted ($450 US). They took it to a shop, but most RVs are just done at the park. They actually turn out quite well, considering all the dust and sand.  I was very impressed by the speed and care taken.

Washing & Waxing

Painting

One day, Paul asked the owner where he gets his hair cut. The owner said, “My wife. She can do yours too, but she’s up a ladder waxing an RV right now.” Yup. They do it all! The next day, Paul got his $3-hair cut.

Our neighbour had his graphics removed and painted.  It turned out better than new.

Prepping for new painted graphics

Masked

Finished! Better than new

On Thursday February 22, 2017, we moved back to Playa de Oro to avoid the nightclub madness (and to get wifi — glorious wifi!). We decided to stay at this park until we leave. It is really cutting into our budget (yes, Mexico is proving to be more expensive than the US for us), but it is quieter and we can walk to more places (and I have wifi to update the blog). The malecon is only a 35-minute walk.

Unfortunately, where there is a beach, there are fireworks.  Also, it was an American long weekend.  Luckily, there weren’t many fireworks, and people called it a night by 9 pm, but still Poppy has to wear her Thundershirt on weekends.

Nevertheless, both girls love the beach.  Poppy chases seagulls and bites the waves.  Daisy just likes a soft landing when she loses her balance.

About Poppy and her slender body — One man asked us if we got her here in Mexico.  No, she just looks like a homeless dog.  A Mexican woman who came to our RV selling snacks told Poppy to “Eat! Eat!” in Spanish.  So funny!

There is an excellent rescue organization here: Barb’s Dog Rescue.  I had read about it a few years ago on a blog.  We met people here in this park who go there to volunteer and they are also fostering a dog in their RV.  They invited us to join them.  I really want to; however, with Daisy’s weakened immune system, we can’t this year.  We will definitely help out if we are back this way next year.  For this year, we can only make food donations.  Thank you to Barb and all the volunteers.

We plan to stay one more week, and then we are heading back north. It’s hard to believe that it will be March on Thursday. Many RVers are already heading back to their home States and Provinces. We won’t be heading back that quickly.