On The Road

On The Road
Dutch Star and Subaru ready to go

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Day 4 & 5 November 22nd & 23rd

There hasn't been an opportunity to post as we didn't have an internet connection.

Crossed the border about 8:00am on Nov. 22nd. The Mexican immigration office was almost empty except for one other couple from Ontario driving a car to Ajijic near Chapala.

Getting our immigration and vehicle permits went quickly although there's a new rule about your towed vehicle that now has to be driven across the border by itself so it had to be disconnected from the motorhome.

Shortly after leaving the border area, there was new road construction that confused me and I went down the new section of road being constructed that ended at a ditch. We had to disconnect the Jeep and get turned around. It was a bad driving day for me because shortly after I somehow ended up going the wrong way on the new road and had to cross the median when we say two lanes of big trucks coming right at us.

Highway 57 goes through a mountain range and the SunSeeker was having a little trouble getting up the hills and at one point died but I was able to start it up again. It was still having problems when under any load and fortunately there was a road side mechanic that I was able to drive to. At first they thought it was the fuel filter but after taking it off found it was ok. The problem turned out to be the fuel pump and after watching the mechanics pull the gas tank out and getting the new pump installed and paying $8,500 pesos we were on our way. This was a little over $600 dollars but the same job back home would have cost three or four times as much.

It was getting dark by the time we got out of the mechanic's shop and we went against one of the main rules about driving at night and continued on to Matehuala. There was lots and lots of trucks on the highway but we made it safely to the La Palmas hotel in Matehuala at 10:45pm.

The next day (November 23rd) we had a good breakfast at the hotel restaurant and started on our way. There was still a lot of mountains to go through but the SunSeeker was running much better although it still couldn't get up some of the steep hills with any speed.

The couple from Ontario went their own way to Ajijic while David and Diane and I headed towards Morelia. Unfortunately we got on a few wrong roads during the day which resulted in driving much longer than anticipated but we arrived at David's home in Zinapecuaro at about 9:00pm

There seemed to be many more toll roads than we remembered and paid as much in tolls as fuel. Our motorhome was charged as much as a bus plus we also had to pay for the Jeep.

We met David's wife, Teri and stayed in their home where we're having a relaxing time before heading to La Penita.

Replacing the SunSeeker Fuel Pump
Traveling Friends at La Palmas Hotel
Spanish Conquistador Armor and Sword