Huatabampito - we are here.

I started this yesterday, Sunday,  morning. So will use what I wrote and go from there.

Got up early this morning, Started coughing and nose was running so thought I’d be nice and let Bill sleep. I’ve been up an hour already and it is still pitch dark out. Eventually the sun started to come up.

We will probably go out for breakfast and then head north. About a 250 mile drive from here to Los Mochis where we overnight in a big gated truck stop. Might make a couple of stops on the way north just to break up the drive in shorter sections. Or who knows maybe we’ll just goooooooo…

We did go out to breakfast – across the street to Torres. As always very good. Good Bye Torres.

Pulled out of the campground about 9:00 a.m. On what turned out to be a marathon - for us - day. About 30 miles into the trip we were at the first toll booth –as you can see not a cheap one – we pay auto and autobus. 300 pesos.

This was the first of eight toll booths. And since we came south the prices have increased by 4 pesos at every one of them.

There was a nice overcast most of the day so the drive was not hot. We went through four – 4 – agriculture inspections. Three times someone came in, two times that someone opened the refrigerator, the third guy just looked around. Oops remind me I better get the fruit out of the washer, I forgot last night. And one military check point that they just waved us through. And there was one other place they funneled us off the road through some cones, but no one even looked at us???

The road from Mazatlan to Los Mochis was mostly very good. A few bumps here and there but not many.

We stopped at the Pemex on the east side of the highway just south of Los Mochis to get diesel. 80 gallons of diesel! And in pesos and liters that is sure big numbers. $4,162  and 303 liters. Wow. Thought we might stop there for the night. But the lot was FULL guess the truckers take Sunday off. So we parked and went to the restaurant for lunch. Got back in the Alfa about 2:30 HEADED North! Oh Boy! This was the part of the trip north last year that was so so horrid as far as the road went. Much, much better this year. In parts only because the big potholes had been patched so the tires rolled over the patches bump,bump,bump. Not into the holes THUNK. So far so good. Then at the Sonora border the road had been repaved.

Most of the way it was good. Several places the southbound side was under construction – getting a new cement highway. So all traffic was in “our” two lanes. Made for some slow going when behind a slow vehicle.

We did not take the shortest route to Huatabampito – we went through the toll booth and continued on almost to Navojoa to the Periferico and went that way. Backtracking some but better road except for the first mile of it.

We got here at El Mirador at 5:30 – 383 miles, 1426 pesos in tolls, and eight and one half hours after leaving Mazatlan. We will be staying here for a while.

There are seven RVs in here besides us – the most I’ve seen in years. But we managed to get our favorite spot – the first one in line. When we got here the restaurant was full as was the beach.

But this morning all is quiet. Took a couple pictures before it got light out. The moon going down behind my favorite picture taking palm tree.

And the sun just beginning to come up.

Another one of the moon – it was bright orange just before disappearing.

And the Alfa and Jeep. 

Our MiFi doesn’t work here but the campground has pretty good WiFi.

And the Daytona 500 is over – Hamlin won and Kyle Busch came in 3^rd. Good start to the year.

My sore throat is gone but the cold seems to be coming on full force – I’ll let the sun and sea bake it out. Going to be in the mid 80s here for the next week during the day and mid 50s at night. Humidity is much lower than Mazatlan as is the dew point.