This is a second post
in a series on our Mexican Adventure. The first one is here.
When on the beach there is no better way to start the day off
than with breakfast burritos from Ricardo. Every morning he came by with a
selection of homemade burritos, tamales, tortillas and the like. Yum.
Speaking of vendors…We found that one of the charms of being
on the beach were the many vendors who walked the beach selling everything from
handmade tables and blankets to offering pedicures and massages.
While the
beaches in Mexico are public the RV park was private and that meant that only a
select few pre-approved vendors could come into the RV Park. Besides Ricardo,
there was a RV wash and wax crew, a mobile RV repair guy, and Carlos
Hernandez’s body repair and paint crew.
I know Carlos because I had him repair and paint the front
of our Honda Fit. Some of you will remember that a couple of years ago a piece
of wood flew off a truck on Hwy 10 outside of Palm Springs and damaged the
front drivers side quarter panel. Also, the front was pretty pitted from being
towed on dirt roads. To make a long story short we received a check from our
insurance company for $1,200 but decided not to get stuff fixed until we were
done towing the Honda. But for $150… yes $150 I couldn’t not get it repaired
and painted – It is now as good as new.
But my story is nothing compared to our new friends John and
Barb Ely who had their whole bus painted for less than ½ of what it would cost
in the U.S. Another Escapee had received an insurance check for $7500 for
damage to the front of their RV. Carlos saved them enough in Mexico for a trip
to Europe.
Why so “cheap?” Well, instead of completely replacing parts
with minor damage they fix the damage the old fashioned way – hand sanding and
using special “putty like stuff” that works with plastic and fiberglass. Lots
of labor but very little spent on replacement parts. Also, no insurance and no
brick and mortar overhead (they painted gel coat and all right in the
park).
BTW – a wash was $1.00 per foot and $1.50 for wash and wax!
Both our RV and Fit looked much better leaving the Reef RV park than when we
arrived.
Getting new glasses was another great deal we took advantage
of. We had previously gotten glasses in Los Algodones. While that experience
was totally fine… This was even better. Optica Turati is a
small independent shop. The advice and service were great. Like in Algodones
you can bring your own prescription or get a free eye exam. Prices seem to be
less than half of what they would be in the U.S. We both love our new glasses.
On the first full day at The Reef many signed up and went on
a city tour. Another large group went on ATV/Jeep 4-wheeling adventure in the
surrounding hills and desert.
We decided to take off on our own and explore around town. The
Mercado (market) is where many of the restaurants and shops are as well as the
plaza. JoAnne loves to bargain – a holdover from her Real Estate days.
The Point one of our favorite restaurants is also is this area.
While shopping we got a $3.00, by hand car wash.
A few miles out of town we went on a quest to find oyster farms. Success!
On the way we also stopped at Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans (CEDO).
I mentioned that The Point was one of our favorite
restaurants. Bedsides eating lunch here on this tour of town a few days later we
met RV friends MonaLiza and John Lowe here for lunch as well. By sheer
coincidence they arrived in Puerto Penasco 3 days after we did with a caravan
organized by Winnebago Outdoor Adventures and were staying just down the road
from us at Playa Bonita RV park. MonaLiza is great with a camera and keyboard
and you can catch her blog on Puerto Penasco here.
A stop at the Tequila Factory was also
a must. If you want to know everything there is to know about Tequila this is
the place to go. We have been to plenty of wine tastings – this was our first
tequila tasting. Of course we secured our legal limit to take back to the U.S.
with us.
A gathering with friends to share the day’s experiences and
enjoy the ocean breeze and watch the sun set over the Sea of Cortez was the
custom.
So, what else is there to do in Puerto Penasco…lots! Some of
the highlights included a whale watching cruise, (and yes, we did see plenty of
whales),
The
final night party at Mare Blu
along with the Mariachi Band was also great fun.
Some miscellaneous items. Google Maps worked great and
helped us navigate around town with ease. We also used the Google Translate App
and Convert App to help us with the language and peso conversion.
Gus the manager/owner of The Reef was amazing. No issue or
request went unattended. Even “dumb gringo” questions were answered with
patience. The park itself would be my choice out of the parks we have seen in
the area. The sites are larger than other parks and both 30 and 50amp service
is available.
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The beach and park from our whale watching cruise |
In my first post I talked about this rally being entirely
organized and lead by volunteers. Orene Brown and her team did an amazing job.
The organization was impressive.
All of us “first timers” were warmly welcomed and
encouraged to become involved in the many events.
A special thanks to
Ron & Janet, Woody & Sharon, and John and Barb for your friendship.
We had a great time and are planning to return for a month next
October.
Adios!