01/22/09-01/25/09....Freedom Shores RV, Isla de Aguada, Campeche
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..Satellite view
Freedom Shores RV and Hotel is located next to the beach in a small town called Isla de Aguada. It is a very nice park with lots of spaces. Some spaces have full hookup, some power and water. There is also a dumping station if your site does not have one. The park is very roomy with lots of trees and open spaces. There is access to the beach, a large palapa for get-togethers, clean washrooms and showers. The park has an excellent restaurant and motel like rooms with private wheel chair accessible entrances. The whole park is set up for wheel chair accessibility with concrete ramps everywhere. The owner, Bill, who is wheel chair bound himself, wanted to have a park that catered to others in wheel chairs and in this he has done an excellent job. It is a great place to stay with rates from $20 (260 pesos) to $25(Waterfront) USD depending on your location.
We departed Freedom Shores RV approximately 9am having 214 kms to travel. Once back on Mex180 we had a toll bridge to cross to the next island (Isla del Carmen), which cost us 179 pesos, but I guess it was better than taking a ferry like they used to. A photo of the bridge is in the above photo album. We stopped off at a large grocery store (Chedraui) in Cuidad del Carmen for groceries then carried on. Of course, to get off of Isla Del Carmen we needed to take another toll bridge, this one cost 185 pesos.
The road to Paraiso, was a fair paved road with some road construction and potholes and lots of topes through some of the smaller towns. It was an interesting drive through low land country, lagoons and beach shores.
We had Paraiso as our destination hoping to find a location mentioned in Glenna's notes where they stayed a few years ago. Unfortunately, we could not find it or it was closed, so running out of daylight we opted to stay in Soriana's (A grocery store) parking lot. It was a little noisy but there was room and it was secure. We were show and tell once again with many locals coming by to ask questions about our units, etc. Ben and Bill were kept busy giving tours of their units We had planned to do a fish fry tonight but gave it a second thought and just went over to the store and ordered a couple pizzas....they were very nice..
It was getting late in the day and unable to find a satisfactory location to camp for the night, we asked permission to camp in Soriano's parking lot in Paraiso, Tabasco. It was a bit noisy overnight but nothing my earplugs could not manage. Rate: free.
Please not that on the satellite view, only a field with trees is shown. It appears that the satellite photo is a bit old and before Soriana's was built.
Monday, Jan. 26.
Today we had a BAD day. We studied our paper maps and GPS maps this morning and our group decided to work our way west by trying the smaller secondary coastal road which went past several scenic lagoons. The road was not bad in the beginning. There were topes through the many small communities as well as before and after school zones..
After traveling approximately 25 kms we came upon a washout area where the sand from the beach had piled up and over what was once the road. This probably happened during the last big storm some time ago and was never repaired. There was a detour through the jungle, very sandy and full of ruts. Johnny checked it out in his jeep and we decided not to continue on. We all unhooked our toads, turned around and started traveling back.
Shortly after we started back, Johnny pulled to the right to allow a bus to pass. He passed under a tree and a large limb caught his storage container that was secured to the top of his camper. It ripped loose and fell off the camper onto his tow hitch. The latching lever that locks one side of the tow bars got broke. Bad news!
We managed to re-install the storage container back up on the camper but the hitch could not tow in its present condition. Johnny had to unhook the jeep. Sherry drove it the short distance to a restaurant for lunch and on to our next camping spot. While stopping for lunch they spoke to a young Mexican lad who could understand English. He knew of a machine shop in Paraiso. On the way to Paraiso we came upon an open field and thought that we could set up camp there rather than put up with the noise at Soriana's parking lot. We set up camp while John and Lynnette (our resdident translator) drove back to Paraiso. The machine shop proved to be a modern shop with all sorts of lathes and machines. The owner said he could not repair it now as his computerized lathe was doing a job and he could not stop it. He said that he would be able to repair it first thing in the morning and that it would be ready by noon. Wow, this would be great.
Tuesday, Jan. 27
Today dawned as another sunny day with not much to do. We did some minor repairs and cleaning to our rigs, read a lot and generally lazed out waiting for noon so Johnny could check out his repairs.
Johnny arrived back at camp around 1:30 and everything with his hitch was back in order. He said the guy did a super job manufacturing the new piece required, taking time out from his large commercial jobs to work on Johnny's small low profit repair. We are still amazed at how helpful and friendly the Mexican people can be from an item like this repair, to the fellow that took them to the repair shop, to the people who stop and talk to us to practice their English or simply ask us if we need any help.
Our group decided that the day is too far-gone to bother heading out on our travels so we plan for another night at our present campsite. Tomorrow we will head out around 8:30, our destination; Catemaco is a long 330 km trip. A good portion will be on freeways. We may make it in one day: or not, whenever it is, we take it as it comes.
01/26/09-01/28/09....Open field, near Pariaso, Tabasco...Satellite view
Our motorcycle guide said that the field should be okay to stay the night. A corporation had set up a field camp there but had moved out several months ago..
Later on around six pm while cooking supper a lady walking her dog came over to us and said this was private property, hers, and that we would have to move. She had no English and we had some difficulty understanding what she was saying. Eventually she went and got her daughter who was supposedly able to speak some English. After broken English and Spanish we concluded that she wanted some payment for us staying on her property, we asked how much and she said, "what you would like to pay". We offered her 50 pesos per rig, which she accepted. She was happy, we were happy.
Our campsite proved to be nice and quiet over night. However, early evening we had a lot of mosquitoes especially while cooking supper. We wonder if our propane stove had anything to do with attracting them. A half hour after we turned off the stove, they seemed to mostly disappear. Larry cooked chicken fried rice and Johnny cooked some of their fish they caught while at Freedom Shores RV park. yum. yum. Photo above right shows Johnny cooking after his bad day. Sherry made cheese cake for desert. Life is sure tough!
Camp Rate: 50 pesos per rig/night.
Jan 29/09….. Betty's notes
We managed to get away from our quiet camping spot at Paraiso around 8:30. None of us had a very good sleep though. Ben was up reading around 4 a.m. He had a light on. A man (well dressed) arrived at his door and spoke very rapid Spanish. While Ben was trying to understand him, the rest of us were in our own units listening behind our closed blinds. The man kept pointing at our units pulled into a circle and saying something about "aqui, aqui". Ben finally said he did not understand him and that he needed to go. The man left and that was the end of it but none of us slept after that. Later we thought that he might have been stuck on the road the same as we were and wanted to park near us but at 4 a.m. in the morning we found it a little odd.
After the hassle of trying to follow the coastal roads we decided to stick to the better roads and headed from Paraiso to Heroica Cardenas which by-passed Villahermosa. We had over 300 kms to go. Once we hit Heroica Cardenas we got on a freeway that helped to make good time. The signage was reasonably good. We arrived at Lake Catemaco around 4pm. John picked up a nail in one of his jeep tires. He managed to get to Catemaco before getting it repaired. Bill noticed this morning that one of his truck tires is low so he is heading to the tire shop with his unit to get that repaired.
We are enjoying the Tepetapan RV Park in Catemaco. It is in a lovely jungle setting overlooking a river that drains into the lake. There are lots of birds in the area. Sherry has spotted a Toucan but I am yet to see one.
It was not until we had arrived at Lake Catemaco that we realized that when we by-passed Villahermosa we also went by one of the best museums that displayed the Olmec heads. These are on display at La Venta Park, on the outskirts of Villahermosa. The Olmec heads and many other unusual Olmec sculptures are not found anywhere else except in the States of Tabasco and Vera Cruz. We were somewhat disappointed that we did not think to check our guidebooks before we rushed to Catemaco. Nevertheless we found out that there are smaller sites in Tres Zapatoes about 41 km from Catemaco. The Olmec heads weigh more than 15 tonnes and are dated back to 1000 BC. No one knows how or why the Olmecs built these heads (they look like warriors) and how they moved them (without the wheel). Some of the heads and some of the altars weighed more than 30 tonnes. The mystery is the raw materials used came from an area over 100 km in the distant.
There is so much to see and do in and around Catemaco that we decided to spend a few more days here. Yesterday was a bit drizzly off and on. Johnson's and Polcyn's did a little trip into town while Bill and Ben dropped off the laundry and got the oil changed on our trucks. Today we are doing a road trip into the hills surrounding Catemaco. There are supposed to be several waterfalls in the area. There are also coffee and tobacco plantations in the area that may be interesting to explore. Tomorrow we will try to get to Tres Zapotes in our small cars. I am still fighting a cold. More of an allergy reaction than a cold but it is still annoying. The smell of burnt garbage plays havoc with me.
Hotel Tepetapan and RV Park is located in the Mexican Resort Town of Catemaco, elevation 1100 feet on the shores of the Tepetapan River where you can watch the fishermen with their nets and boats. This RV Park is listed in Church's travel book and their directions to the park are very easy to follow. In Church's book the name of the park is in error, listed as Tepetepan it should be Tepetapan and Gene (the owner, bottom right photo) says he no longer operates a hotel but that the units are now long term apartment rentals.
The RV Park has many full hookup spots with 30-amp service, some sites with 15-amp service and some for dry camping. It has a beautiful setting in the trees with a lovely swimming pool, hot showers, washrooms and excellent wireless Internet coverage (no extra charge) and laundry. This years rates are: 200 pesos/night or 1200 pesos/week or 4000 pesos/month, a fair rate for this type of park. You can visit Gene's website for more information by clicking HERE.
Please note: On the satellite map link for Google, our location is shown on a very old picture which does not show the park as it is now.
Dear Readers....CHECK OUT "battery charging puzzle" a new and interesting item in TIPS AND TRICKS.
Jan 31…..Lake Catemaco
What a neat place this is. For those of you who are coming down the East Coast be sure to plan a few days to visit this area. The Tepetapan RV park is easy access off Hwy 180 and close enough to the town of Catemaco to get supplies and to explore. The people here are very friendly. The commercial center of San Andres is a few minutes down 180 where there are two large grocery stores (Bodega and Soriana's). The delightful town of Santiago is just a few miles further down the highway
Yesterday we drove out to Monte Pio. It was a blistery blowing day but the drive out there was quite pretty. Lots of jungle scenes. Monte Pio is a small fishing community by the sea. We had lunch there and then returned back to Catemaco. It was still raining but we did manage to have a smokie and sauerkraut dinner under our awnings.
Today we did a day trip to the museum at Santiago. We were told that the Olmec ruins at Tres Zapatoes were not as nice at the museum in Santiago. What a pleasant trip we had. At the town square of Santiago they have the largest Olmec head that has been uncovered. In the museum they also had the smallest head as well as several other sculptures. The town square was very attractive. On the way back we stopped by a group of roadside stands and bought some local honey and beans. Cheryl I will share some of these with you…..well, maybe I better try them out first. The Indian lady tried to tell me how to cook them…I hope I understood her correctly!
We had hoped to tour a cigar factory and coffee bean cooperative but somehow ran out time. The cigar/tobacco curing barn is on the south side of San Andres but was not open when we drove through. The coffee cooperative was at the nearest town at the top of the hill before you come into Catemaco from the south.
The owner of Tepetapan RV Park is very informative on what to see and do around here. One thing us gals wanted to see was the Brujas at the market in town. They are shamans or witches. Maybe one of them could tell me how to win at Hand and Foot. That darn Lynette keeps beating me.
