2019 Mexican Connection Rally - BC, Mexico

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦

After spending last summer in Mexico without our motorhome, we wanted to see what it would be like to travel in Mexico with it. We started researching various caravans that would take us south of the border, and we discovered Escapees Chapter 8 Mexican Connection.

This group has been leading RV caravans to Mexico for decades. Their purpose is for RVers to enjoy Mexican culture, to give back to the Mexican people primarily through charity donations, and to enable Chapter 8 members to feel comfortable traveling in Mexico.

This is our summary of the 2019 rally. We’ve also written individual posts for each of the four campgrounds we stayed at during our month in Baja California.

Stop #1 – Campground at the US/Mexico Border

The group of 109 people (50+ RVs) met at Potrero County RV Park, in San Diego County, just north of the border town of Tecate, BC Mexico. We enjoyed 4 nights together as we learned about the things we would do and places we would visit in the weeks ahead. One day we carpooled to the border crossing and walked over to Tecate where we got our visitor visas that we would need while travelling through Mexico. After getting our visas, we spent some time exploring Tecate. Stops included a local bakery and a brewery.

The weather was rainy and chilly most of time we were at the park. But we still had fun meeting up with people we had met in Quartzsite and making new friends. We especially had fun playing bridge with Paul and Vicki, who we had met in Quartzsite. We were also happy to be assigned to a smaller travel group led by Lynn and Terri, who are other friends we had met in Quartzsite. Our travel group consisted of 7 RVs. This was the group with whom we would caravan to each of our campgrounds in Mexico. We would become fast friends with the people in our group.

Stop #2 – The Zoo

We caravanned into Mexico on February 15th, and drove through the hillsides to the Zoologico Parque del Nino Jersey. The zoo is located in the Valle de Guadalupe, which is a beautiful region in northern Baja known for its wineries.

We camped in the zoo’s huge gravel parking lot, right next to the wolf enclosure. We enjoyed their howling as well as the background sounds of many different animals, including lions, monkeys, birds, and a very vocal donkey. The weather continued to be rainy and cold for most of our stay, but again we made the most of our time here and had fun.

Our stay included a guided tour of the zoo, where we heard about how the facility partners with the San Diego Zoo in conservation efforts and rescuing animals from the threat of extinction. Our caravan, and others like ours, provides needed funds to help the zoo care for the animals. In addition to our camping fees, we collected enough money from our group to buy a used portable xray machine from the San Diego Zoo so the larger animals can be examined in their enclosures without having to be moved to the medical building.

On another day, we were invited to join the care takers in their animal enrichment activities. This felt a lot like playing with the animals. There were lots of laughs. The zoo employees love their work and find joy being with the animals in their care. Their enthusiasm was infectious.

While we were here, our group also found time for happy hour every day, going out to eat, visiting a winery, and we played bridge with Paul and Vicki. Unfortunately, we never got a picture of us playing cards. It was pretty serious business.

Stop #3 – Ensenada

After spending several days at the zoo, we continued southwest to La Jolla Beach Camp, on the ocean south of Ensenada. This was the main stop of our rally, and we were here for 10 days.

The campground is located on a slight hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is a large parking lot, mostly sand and dirt. Because it had been raining so much, it was really muddy for the first few days. The weather was still cool and wet. Everyone said they had never seen so much rain and cold in this part of Baja. We had nice Mexican Connection Chapter 8 wool jackets, and we wore them a lot.

Despite the weather and mud, the beach itself was beautiful, with unusual natural hot springs running under the sand. When the tide was out, we could dig just a few inches into the sand and make a hot tub. Never saw anything like it.

We were busy here at La Jolla Beach Camp. We attended many organizational meetings where we were instructed on charity work we would be doing. I mentioned previously that one focus of Escapees Chapter 8 Mexican Connection is to give back to the people of Mexico. While we were here, we spent a day painting playground equipment at a local elementary school. Other days were spent collecting and sorting donations for a fund-raising auction that we held to raise funds for local charities, including the elementary school, dance classes, food and Christmas gifts for needy families.

But we had fun and explored, too. We spent a day on a guided bus tour of the city of Ensenada.  On another day, some of us took a local city bus to a famous tourist attraction, La Bufadora, where the ocean shoots up through a blow hole when the tide is in. The ocean scenery was pretty, but it was apparent that the main attraction is all of the colorful souvenirs you can buy as you walk down to the blow hole.

We had the usual happy hour every afternoon. These were fun times to gather as a group to drink and munch and get information for the days ahead. We also found a lot of exceptional local restaurants to visit with friends, played more bridge, and we were entertained by a mariachi band and children’s dance group.

The 2019 caravan was led by Ed and Kassandra, who worked hard to plan a trip that would be rewarding and fun for the group, and it was a great success. The rally officially ended after our stay at La Jolla Beach Camp. We were now on our own to either continue travelling in Baja or head back to the US.

Stop #4 – San Felipe

After the rally ended, there was much discussion on what to do next. Some people were extending their stay at La Jolla Beach Camp, some were continuing south, some were driving home, and some were heading to the east side of Baja, to the town of San Felipe on the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez. We decided to join this latter group, and we are so glad we did!

We were in a small caravan of three RVs that included new friends Bob and Cathy, our friends Lynn and Terri, and us.  We had a five hour drive ahead of us that began at La Jolla Beach Camp, continued through the south end of Ensenada, then over a couple of mountain ranges to the east side of the Baja peninsula. The road itself was in good condition, but it was very narrow with no shoulder most of the way. We would call it harrowing.

Once we reached San Felipe, it was as if we had entered another world. The sun was shining and it was warm, the first nice weather that we had on this trip. Pete’s Camp, where we were staying, was on a beautiful beach with white fluffy sand that you wanted to dig your toes into. The area seemed prosperous, with pretty brightly colored homes on the hillside. There was a wonderful bar and restaurant overlooking the sea. Food was good and the view was spectacular.

Our three RVs parked in a U shape on the beach. We met up with some others from our group who had traveled from Ensenada separate from us. There were no hookups on the beach, totally dry camping. Every day was more beautiful than the one before it. While the previous weeks at the rally were fun, we had been struggling with the wet and cold. It now felt so good to have warm sunshine. We fell into a relaxed vibe.

During our stay, we spent a day in the town of San Felipe. It was Carnaval, and there was a parade with festive music and dancers. We also watched a volleyball tournament on the beach. Some of our rally group were staying at another campground in town. We met up with them a couple of times for happy hour.

It seems that there are quite a few expats from the US and Canada who have settled in this area. We can see why. It is a great spot, at least during the month of March. We’ve been told that it gets hot during the summer months.

We loved San Felipe, especially Pete’s Camp. The drive back to the US was on a good road, straight north to Mexicali. Our border crossing was fast and easy. It took about two hours to get home. Can’t wait to go back!

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Havasu Balloon Festival - Lake Havasu City AZ

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦

While hanging out in the desert, we stumbled upon this fun balloon festival in Lake Havasu. It is about 70 miles from where we’re staying in the desert, and a pretty drive up through the mountains.

The weather was perfect for the festival. We arrived early in the afternoon and went down to the park where there were musicians, magicians, comedians, and dancers, plus a food court with anything you would want to eat. And then there were the balloons! The festival had around 70 balloons this year, with all kinds of shapes and colors.

We were able to get up close to watch the balloons being prepped to go up. It was interesting to see fans inflating the balloons so the pilots could check them for any tears or other issues. Then a propane burner heats the air inside the balloon to blow it up and make it float above ground. Fun fact we learned:  You can buy a new balloon system for around $30k or a used balloon for as low as $10k.

They held a mass ascension every morning and evening. We watched the evening ascension the day we arrived, then spent the night at a local motel so we could watch the early morning ascension. It was fantastic watching the balloons float over the hills. The highlight was the shaped balloons. So fun!

After that, we took a short drive to see the famous London Bridge that had been moved to Lake Havasu from London back in the late 60’s.

The story of the bridge is fascinating. Desert land that is now Lake Havasu City was purchased by Robert McCulloch, Sr. in 1963. McCulloch had a vision to build a city at Lake Havasu where he could test the small marine engines his business manufactured. A landing strip provided him the airport necessary to bring in prospective land buyers. But he needed a reason for people to want to settle in his new city.

It so happened that London was selling an old bridge that crossed the RIver Thames to make room for a new one. McCulloch purchased the London Bridge on April 18, 1968 for $2,460,000. To prepare the bridge for transport to the Arizona desert, each block was numbered before the bridge was disassembled. The blocks were then shipped overseas through the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona.

The bridge was reconstructed in Lake Havasu City on dry land on a small peninsula jutting into the lake. Then a channel was dug underneath it turning the peninsula into an island and making a “river” for the bridge to cross. Pretty crazy. A re-dedication ceremony was held on October 10, 1971. Including the expense for relocation and reassembly, the total cost of the bridge was $5.1 million.

The establishment of Lake Havasu City was a success! The population grew from 15,500 residents in 1975 to 52,527 residents in 2010. The city regularly tops the lists of best Arizona tourist attractions. The Lake Havasu Tourism Bureau estimates that 1.5 million people visit the city each year.

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Summary of Our Summer - Jalisco Mexico

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦+

We assumed we’d find Mexico to be an interesting place to spend the summer, but we had no idea how much we would come to love it.

We had heard that thousands of expats from the US, Canada, and other countries around the world are making Mexico their home. We wanted to go there for ourselves to see what all the fuss was about.

The Lake Chapala area looked particularly inviting to us. The lake is in the mountainous region of central Mexico where the weather is nearly perfect year-round. The summers are relatively cool. Residents of the hot desert and coastal towns of Mexico go to the mountains to escape the heat, just as they do in the US. Enough residents there speak English that it was not necessary to learn Spanish, though we taught ourselves a little before our trip, and picked up some more during our stay.

Our home base was in the village of Ajijic on the shore of Lake Chapala. The pictures here were taken around the village and other areas we visited. All of these pictures are included in other posts we published during our stay in Mexico.

Before we left Ajijic, we reserved another stay at Casa del Angel Feliz for the summer of 2020. Yes, that’s a long way off, but those of us of a certain age know how fast time flies. It will be here before we know it, and we look forward to our return to Mexico!

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