December 8-11th
san miguel de allende
It’s nice to be back, we spent three months here during the pandemic, and are very familiar with the town. Our first two nights were spent was at San Ramon RV Park. A big property, beautifully maintained and manicured green lawns. Nearly warm, nearly clean showers, and a swimming pool that was nearly full. A popular place for French Canadian’s, there are several retirees set up for the season, or longer in their large RVs.
schoolwork & laundry
I helped Jaxon & Charley with a couple of hours of schoolwork, before tackling two large buckets of laundry. Washing clothes by hand is tough, so this trip I brought along an old school, hand cranked wringer that we can clamp onto the back bumper. The plunger gets everything clean, having running water and the wringer we got it done in a couple of hours. Drying perfectly under the warm afternoon sun. Charley, ever elusive during chores, miraculously reappeared when lunch was ready.
Meanwhile, Tim spent the day under Bruce. Armed with a spray bottle of soapy water, was able to pinpoint the source air leak, and Identifying part numbers for ordering, As suspected, both rear brake canisters need replacing, possibly the compressor too.
It’s pricey here. Everything is significantly more expensive. We used to pay an average of 250 pesos per night to camp, this time its 400-500. Here it’s 500 p per night! We have found an alternative camping spot—Lavanda Resort—listed on iOverlander that sounds ideal.
On our way there, we stopped by Matthias’s workshop, he’s still delayed in Laredo. Eventually getting back to us on What’s App with a voice message apologizing and letting us know that his crew was fully booked until mid-January. Good news for him, bad news for us…
Just outside San Miguel, at the top of a 3km long dirt road that turns into uneven, cobblestones, behind big blue gates, a 2.5-acre property nestles into the hillside. An odd place, family-run business with camping, various penned animals and spa services. There’s a boutique, and a restaurant that opens on Sundays. Bathrooms are clean with hot water showers and wifi, at 300p p/night.
After trimming a few branches, we squeezed through the gate and set ourselves up. Tim and the kids walked to a corner store, a Tienda, to buy briquettes for the barbecue—burgers were on the menu. I stayed behind to make lunch and chat with my sister Dee in Vancouver.
mexican dawn chorus
It must have been around 5 a.m. when the first cock-a-doodle-doo pulled me from sleep. Moments later another, then another. Soon, there are four or five calling from every direction. Announcing the sunrise that isn’t here yet. The dawn chorus unfolds, a symphony of natural and domestic sounds. By six, a couple of donkeys join in with their uneven hee-haws & Mourning doves with their soft cooing. No more sleep for me. My first thought was truck parts. We emailed Frank a list of what we needed and hoped for a quick reply. Parts could arrive in the U.S. within a week, but shipping into Mexico was another story.
The day was pleasant—not too hot. The kids and I spent most of it doing schoolwork. This school is far more structured than our last, SelfDesign, where we set the curriculum and worked with a teacher for assessments. Now, with Nides, we must meet deadlines and submit everything on time. While the structure is helpful, it demands more attention than we can often give.
We are anxious over the truck and parts situation. Bruce was running fine, but if our air leak increases… best to address it now before heading farther south. Still, no word from Frank. We need to do something, can’t just sit here waiting…
The next morning i’m awake before the roosters, our situation weighs heavily. By 9am we decided to turn back. Shipping parts to the U.S. would be far easier than dealing with potential delays or losses at the Mexican border. Sitting around waiting feels pointless. Within an hour, we were packed up, paid, and back on the cobblestone streets, heading north.
Back up the highway we had just driven, happy with our decision, and planning our next couple of weeks kiteboarding in Corpus Christie, Texas.
A full day driving we pulled back into Las Palmas around 7 p.m., and are welcomed back. The kids are great travellers, they soon disappear into their devices to chat with friends. It’s an important connection for them. Jaxon and Maggie are soon giggling while playing an online game. Charley curled up on our bed to do the same with her friend Riley
December 12th
Determined to cover ground quickly, we were on the road by 8 a.m., leaving the kids to sleep in the back. By 10:30 a.m., we had driven another 100 km when Frank’s email finally came in. It wasn’t the news we hoped for. He estimates a minimum of 3-4 weeks before we could realistically see parts—if they are even available. International shipping around Christmas could add to the delay.
Ugg!!!
We pulled over to weigh our options: continue north to Corpus Christi, Texas, to go kiting while we waited for parts, or gamble on heading south and shipping the parts to Panama.
Oh, what a dilemma, what to do…?
What would you do???