Central America Trip #97

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

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The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. While here I’ll perform routine maintenance and cleaning of both the motorhome and Bronco.

Mary had surgery on her right shoulder April 15th.

I want to assist her during recovery however I can. I assisted her with her left shoulder surgery in 2009. Whenever it’s convenient and I know that she is comfortable, I’ll make my future travel plans at that time.

 

Recently I’ve been running blogs about my 2004 Central America trip. While here, I’m intending to continue those postings while also alternating with this area blogs.

Today, I’m taking you back to my…

2004 Central America trip…

This trip ended up being 343 days and 16,000+ miles through the back-country of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. 11 rigs started the trip, within a week we broke into three smaller groups for ease of traveling. Only myself and one other rig went the full, pre-planned route. All the others dropped out for various reasons. All returned safely to the United States. I’m planning to show these photos, more or less, 10 a day, whenever I’m not doing something else deserving a blog entry. FINALLY, it must be remembered these photos are prior to my switching to digital in 2006. The films were developed during our trip and the lack of quality control sometimes is plainly evident.

 

Today…Mexico (north-bound) 22…

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

We are still in Taxco with more views of the beautiful Santa Prisca Church…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving on. With lots of unemployment in Mexico, people get creative to make a few pesos. This fellow entertains you while you wait for a red light…then hustles over to beg for his pay before you move on…

 

 

 

We are now in Patzcuaro which according to our guide-book is one of the most picturesque towns in Mexico…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s my trip website link…http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 Yesterday was sunny and 81 degrees. Forecast for today is sunny and 78 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2016

A Drive Into Mexico Leaves Me Both Glad And Sad…

The motorhome is now parked at the Paradise Casino in Winterhaven, California right across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. I’m here with others…hanging out and enjoying the nice weather.

Mary is tending to business at home. She has made her flight reservations to rejoin me on January 28th.

Yesterday I drove the Bronco the 25 miles south of Yuma into San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. The purpose of the trip was to have my no-longer-cooling air conditioning system recharged with R-12 refrigerant which is no longer legal in the United States since 1996.

After crossing the border I drove only about one mile to Midas (mee-DAHS in Spanish). The shop opened at 8:00 AM, I arrived at 9:15 and was the only vehicle there…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

The manager asked why I did not want to convert my system to the new R-134A refrigerant explaining the cost was the same as the R-12. I said okay…let’s do it.

The job took about two hours with the majority of the time taken up by removing the system compressor, draining the oil and installing the new oil…

Once that was done it was time to load the R-134A refrigerant which took four cans…

The job completed, proved than the R-134A cools much better then the R-12. I’m glad!

The Midas shop also had an adjacent car wash which also washes motors…

I ended up with a clean motor and a clean Bronco…

An interesting aside about this story. Returning to the border crossing, on the advice of the Manager of Midas, I got into the furthest right of the three possible lanes of traffic. As it turned out…it was the wrong lane…

As I was informed by very adamant U. S. Customs Agents. The told me that this lane was only for “trusted travelers” who have passed a very detailed background check. Apologizing profusely. I explained how I happened to end up here and offered to go back to get into the correct lanes. Not easily done they gave the Bronco a brief inspection and had me sign a form that stated if I did it once again I’d be subject to monetary fines and vehicle impoundment. The one agent with a sawed-off 12 gauge shotgun and bandoliers of shotgun shells across his chest like Pancho Villa (really) was quite pleasant about the whole affair.

Now about the glad parts…

My R-134A conversion including all parts and labor was $75 U.S. Dollars. I could not resist calling Midas in Yuma to inquire how much it would cost to convert my Bronco to r-134 and was told…figure on between $700-$800. In addition, my engine and hand-car wash in Mexico cost me only $20 in U.S. Dollars. In the United States it probably run at least $75.

Now about the sad part…

I have the equivalent of two years and about 16,000 miles exploring Mexico. I just love the Mexican people, scenery, food, music, etc… and enjoyed wandering freely about the country. That all changed on December 11, 2006 when Mexico formally declared a War on Drugs. Since that time Mexico has become a very dangerous place…relatively speaking. It is estimated that 50,000 people have died in the War on Drugs in the last six years. You can read about it by clicking this link… http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/05/mexicos-drug-war-50-000-dead-in-6-years/100299/

No longer being able to freely wander Mexico makes me sad! But at least I have my hundreds of photographs…and memories…

You can read about San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico by clicking this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Luis_R%C3%ADo_Colorado

Yesterday was a sunny day at 72 degrees.  Forecast for today is sunny and 75 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver?feat=email

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2014

We Visit Dirty Miller in Grand Chenier, Louisiana!

NO INTERNET SIGNAL AT LAST NIGHT’S LOCATION…LATE POSTING THIS MORNING.

Yesterday we drove the motorhome the about 40 miles from Holly Beach to Grand Chenier, Louisiana. The yellow line on the below Google Earth image shows our route…

The day started with a beautiful sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

The gulf was nearby on our right as we drove east along the shore route…

We were also on the Creole Nature Trail…

We took the ferry from Holly Beach across the Calcasieu Waterway 1/4 mile to Cameron on the far shore…

About 25 miles later we came to the Mermentau River Bridge where we stopped to take a few photos…

We started along this narrow road following the river shore…

About two miles later the road narrowed to a single lane and a sign saying PAVEMENT ENDS. I said to Mary…I don’t think I want to do this. Looking to the left we saw our only escape…a circular driveway…

As we made the circle we could hear someone shouting at us. I asked Mary we he said and she replied she did not know. So, I decided to stop…and that’s when we met him…DIRTY MILLER…a crazy, Cajun Coonass…

As we approached his shed…he shouted…it’s not done cooking yet! I asked him what was cooking and he replied…Cowboy Stew! With him was his girlfriend Rachael whom he calls Ray-Ray and several other friends. He introduced himself as Dirty Miller. His real name is Pravato Miller. He works for Cameron Parish and has lived there all of his life.

He explained the concrete slab in front of his shed covers the remains of his house which was destroyed by Hurricane Rita in 2005…

Next thing we knew he was giving us the grand tour of his utility shed which includes among other things…a refrigerator, cooking stove, washer and dryer, a great sound system and numerous photos…

He had had a little to drink by then and kept repeating…I love life and having fun and I’m one crazy Cajun Coonass! He also told us that he was a guide who has had a number of famous people as clients…including Hank Williams, Jr.

He and the crowd were super friendly and a barrel of laughs. We were fast becoming friends…so much so that Mary shared a tobacco chew with him…

All the while the French Cajun Music was blaring away and dancing happened…

As time passed it was time for delicious Cowboy Stew and coleslaw…

As he was stirring the stew, I asked the ingredients and you can enjoy his Cajun accent by clicking this link…
http://youtu.be/t2LCubq0RCA

He’s a gun collector and showed Mary the largest handgun made…a Smith & Wesson 50 caliber…

He wanted to show us how loud it was and we were absolutely amazed when he actually hit the beer can…

This dog wasn’t impressed…

Nor this dog…

He offered to show us the scenery along the gravel road that included cattle…

And lots of birds and ducks of which Mary took many photos…

By now we were fast friends…

He invited us to spend the night in his driveway…which we did. Here’s the dinette photo…

He and Ray-Ray insisted on cooking us a breakfast…

So at 6:00 AM they served us a tasty shrimp, crab and crawfish omelet complete with home-made hot sauce…

Here’s the view from Dirty Miller’s shed just before we left this morning…

Needless to say we had a ball visiting Dirty Miller and his friends. He really did not want us to leave and he actually had tears in his eyes as we made ready to depart.

A whole bunch of that great Louisiana Cajun hospitality. Thanks y’all for a great visit!

Enjoying meeting fun and interesting people is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

INDIA’S NEW ZERO EMISSIONS CAR

Tata Motors of India, has come up with some startling innovative automobiles. This one will make you green with envy as petrol pushes toward $5 a gallon. In India, you can buy this car for around $8,000 dollars. It  runs on compressed air. That’s right. Compressed air, zero emissions.
It costs about $2 for a fill-up which will run about 10 hours, or approximately 200 miles. It has a glued,  fiberglass body instead of a welded, metal body, which is one of the reasons it won’t get exported to the U S.  The 2nd biggest hurdle would be the powerful oil lobby we have here.

Its a great city car. If you don’t live close enough to a station that can fill you up in 3 minutes, the six seater carries a compressor that can fill you up at home in 3 to 4 hours. Now, that’s an auto to make the world a better place. In India, the Tata will be available in August of this year.