The night before, our adorable security guard had told us that there would be road closures the next day because people would be running, riding their bikes, etc, in the surrounding streets. We figured it was due to some kind of race like a fun run, but the roads were simply closed so people could use the streets to exercise! What a great initiative by the city to encourage people to get out and move--we're definitely advocates of more cities doing this!
We needed to get more groceries, and saw that there was a Walmart nearby--but the parking lot was completely empty, and we wondered if it was closed? But we headed over and it was open--but unlike the Walmart stores in the US, there was hardly anyone shopping there! It was like an alternate universe Walmart. As we inspected the prices, we soon realized why--things here are way more expensive than what we'd expect to pay (even in the US), so certainly the majority of locals would be shopping elsewhere, and even we were reluctant to purchase anything, opting to find somewhere else later.
On the Road Again
As our goal is to get to Nicaragua as quickly as possible rather than this being a sightseeing trip (let's face it, our RV is not the best vehicle for stopping to do touristy things on these roads, and we now have a traumatized dog to look after), Michael just focused on driving. And driving. And driving for as long as we could.
We drove through a ton of cuotas, and we'd pass a toll booth where we'd need to pay, and it seemed that it wasn't long before we had to pay yet another toll! There are toll calculators online, but because we didn't know exactly where we'd stop for the night (we had a few options, but we'd see how far we'd get), we weren't sure what the full amount would be for tolls for the day. Additionally, the tolls aren't all the same fee--depending on the road, we paid anything from 70 pesos on one, to 202 pesos on another (today's total would be 582 Mexican pesos, equivalent to about US$33). Plus we paid the autobus rather than the car rate. There are e-passes also available to pre-purchase and load, but we'd read that multiple people had issues with it working, so we chose to pay cash at the toll booths. Whenever we'd stop at a booth, Sheila would hear a stranger's voice outside and start barking nonstop, which would be quite a lot to deal with!
We passed through some rural parts of Mexico, zooming past a farmer and his goats on the side of the road, and driving past a section where the community seemed to all be selling cacti to people passing by. We were still in the mountains (and our RV brakes were feeling it), and after yet another lunch of Japanese peanuts (darn, Lisette only bought 3 packets at H-Mart and this is the second day in a row of eating these for lunch), we passed the state of Guanajuato in Central Mexico before arriving in the state of Querétaro, where we'd be staying for the night.
Our Poor RV
Our stop for the night was the Hotel Flamingo Inn, in the city of Santiago de Querétaro. Like the previous night, there are hotel rooms, but they also allow RVs and campers to park for a different price. Lisette had sent the hotel a message while on the road to confirm availability, but in hindsight we should have confirmed where to enter, because the entrance we went into was the side entrance, and it was too narrow for our RV! Michael pushed through, and we scraped the right back side of our RV (unfortunately that side gets all the action), which was stressful enough, but Sheila also was barking nonstop at the same time. Urffff...
After a few moments to figure things out with a hotel staff member, Michael managed to drive the RV down the bumpy cobblestone path, through the boom gate, and into the parking spot. Cobblestone paths look way nicer to look at, rather than drive! But we made it, and there was a space for us to plug into electricity (though we didn't), although no water hookups. However, this hotel was fancier, so we also had access to a pool, and nice showers, which was great to have to relax in the evening. Plus there was a lovely grassy lawn next to us that had been used for an event earlier in the day, but was perfect for giving Sheila a walk (her paws are still shredded so we had to bandage them up again--we ended up doing this for about 3-4 consecutive nights with paw balm underneath, and she healed pretty quickly).
For dinner, we found a pizza restaurant within walking distance, where we shared a pizza (veggie on one side, non-veggie on the other), and had a yummy flan for dessert. The pizza came with various salsas which sounds odd, but was really delicious with the pizza! Kind of like when Americans dip their pizza in ranch dressing perhaps?
Just Drive!
The next morning, we stopped first at a grocery store near our hotel. No parking for RVs, so Michael had to double park while Lisette ran into the store and shopped as quickly as possible. She came back and then Michael ran out to find a place to exchange dollars into pesos (these cuota toll prices are no joke!), but no luck... we'll have to drive on and find someplace later.
And drive, and drive and drive! Lisette finished all 3 of her Japanese roasted nut assortment snacks, and wished she had bought more at H-Mart. Oh well! As we drive through the city of Xochitlán de las Flores in the state of Hidalgo, the roads get really bad. There were bumps, potholes, and corrugated marks along the road, that made driving through this section a white knuckle experience. Our RV is low clearance and rattly at the best of times!
Beware the Dodgy Gas Station
We made it through the bumps, inadvertent jumps into the air, and clangs, skipping lunch again (our stomach was already full from the bumpy ride anyway). But we had to stop and fill up on petrol, so we stopped at a Pemex. Here's what's interesting. We got out and asked the guy to fill it (someone fills up for you in Mexico, you don't do it yourself), but when it came to pay, the charge was apparently denied on the credit card. Then the guy said that there's a limit to how much to pay on card (our gas price came to 3,990 pesos, and apparently the limit is 3,500 pesos). So the worker told Lisette to come with him to the office, where Lisette thought that perhaps they had a machine. Well no--she goes with him up to the office, and he gets on his computer and starts composing an email to what presumably is head office, to ask for this limit to be waved, which would require him typing in our credit card info! Hell no...!
So Lisette walks out, goes back to Michael and one of the other gas station employees, and we then get them to charge the card in 2 separate installments to equal the total price. It seems dodgy, and it was--Michael got charged twice on the card, so we had to call the bank to dispute it and get a refund (we later went to a different Pemex and were told there was no limit on cards, so who knows what the deal was with this one).
The Rundown Park
We battled a few more bumpy roads and plenty of cuotas. We passed a series of pickup trucks that had statues of the Virgin Mary on the back, completely surrounded by flowers and other decorations, for what were evidently religious processions. And of course, we navigated through more swarms of traffic, including weaving around vehicles, and driving in what were officially 2 lanes, but everyone used as 3!
Our stop for the night was an iOverlander entry--a rundown park with security, called Xtreme Adventure Park in the city of Tehuacan, in the state of Puebla. At one point this amusement park had a pool and some rides, but the amenities looked like they'd seen better days many years ago, and the pool was empty. As we drove down towards the basketball court, we passed a few dogs, and also a hall that had a lot of young girls learning silks, which was fun and lovely to see! Lisette is very partial to circus arts!
We didn't see any security as we entered (a couple of men on their phones kind of ignored us), but when we got out to explore our surroundings we bumped into a man on a pushbike, who apparently was the security for this place. He said it would cost 50 pesos per person for us to stay for the night, so we said we'd come back and pay him, and another man selling ice cream walked over while we were chatting. We went back to the RV and returned with 100 pesos, to which he promptly said that it was actually 150 pesos! Now Lisette was the one doing the talking, and she wondered if she'd misheard this? Hmm, it was also odd because on iOverlander we'd seen folks mention 50 pesos per person. He said that it was actually 200 per person(?), and that this place also had toilets we could use at any time so.... Still uncertain and after a bit of a pause, we agreed to pay him the rest tomorrow.
As a side note, today would end up being the most expensive day for paying cuotas during our time in Mexico... we paid a total of 1,740 pesos, which was US$96!! Our cheapest cuota was 117 pesos, while the most expensive one was 895 pesos. Yes, almost US$50 for one toll!!
That night, we didn't feel like heading out to find food, so it was instant noodles night in the RV! There were quite a few dogs around us, so we only took Sheila out in the evening briefly, before reapplying her bandages again and going to sleep.