Vincent Guerrero - Back on the Pacific Side

We had a grueling drive today, traveling 231 miles over eight hours.  Another RV lost their rear-view mirror and one guy put regular gasoline in his diesel engine but no other accidents.  There are a lot of gun-shy drivers though who slow down to almost a complete stop as semis drive past and we had a few more rest breaks than usual to calm nerves.  Even though we have driven this road going down, it seemed much rougher going back.  We spent a lot of time dodging pot holes and driving on the left side just to miss the damaged pavement.  

We drove in some mountains but coming into Vincent Guerrero we drove through rolling hills of cultivated land.  Vincent Guerrero is a small community in the heart of the Baja’s farming region and only 2.5 miles from the ocean.   My mouth keeps watering with the sight of acres of ripe strawberries!

We arrived at the Posada Don Diego RV park around 4 pm and they served our dinner at six.  While waiting for dinner a small band was setting up to play later this evening on their patio.  They didn’t start playing until 9 pm.  It was not bad but they are obviously a new group and still learning the ropes and some songs.  It seemed apparent that most of the audience were family and friends of the band.

Since there is only two more days to this caravan I want to take a minute to share some of our thoughts on our experiences.  This is much too large of a group (20 RVs) for a trip into Mexico.  The camp areas and gas stations are not made to handle this many people, long waits to park or get gas, too many meals to serve and too many people for their city tours.  We are sorely lacking in leadership for this many rigs.  Our wagon master is used to smaller caravans and has not adjusted his instructions or directions for a large group.  Many of the people on this trip did not do their research or preparation for the Mexican culture and lifestyle.  They need lots of handholding and, again, with this many people that is not possible.  Several of the rigs are much too long for the Mexican conditions. Many are not prepared or even know how to dry camp, and in some cases not willing to even try.  Often if the campground says they have water or electric they don’t have enough for American usage and it is easier to rely on our own power and water as if dry camping. There are a number of folks who never adjusted to this which results in an inordinate amount of complaining considerably diminishing the experience for those of us who came with realistic expectations.