The Two Gringas

A Work in Progress...

2009-04-02T15:14:00.003-06:00

Well, as so often happens with us, the promised completion continues to be delayed — but it will happen eventually, so please do watch this space.

Remember, your encouragement keeps us writing, so please leave a comment...

Galena Alyson Canada 2 April 2009 Vashon Island, Washington, USA

March 2008 - Return of the Two Gringas

2008-05-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

The Two Gringas have just recently completed the fourth USA-to-Belize drive-down, and we're now sequestered somewhere in Placencia, Belize, compiling and posting the travelogue and photo galleries. You'll see these appear here over the next few days.

Remember that this is being posted in reverse-chronological order (most recent on top). The easiest way to follow along in proper chronological order is to use the table of contents at right. The route map is below, in the column at right, and a description of the planned route is in the first blog entry.

(If you are new to the Two Gringas adventures, please have a look at the first Gringa adventure, A Gringa Drives to Belize.

Remember, your encouragement keeps us writing, so please leave a comment...

Day 12 - Haven't We Been This Way Before?

2008-04-21T10:11:00.001-06:00

After a full day of rest in this nice little motel we feel we can brave the dirt road back to the north end of the canyon.

The question is, can the car make it??

No use in cleaning it up until we're back on pavement, and we know about where that is heading back north. We travel back to San Rafael, get on blacktop and consider getting out and kissing the pavement. But we think better of it and continue on past Cuauhtemoc and on to the city of Chihuahua. It's getting dark so we find a motel and call it day. Tomorrow we start heading south directly toward Mexico City.

Day 11 - Rest Day

2008-04-20T17:06:00.003-06:00

After our harrowing adventure yesterday, we decide this is pretty nice place to take a rest day. We walk around town, enjoy the sights and have lunch at the restaurant that helped us the night before. And they have a nice church next to the town square.

And we find one of the sources of the Tecate bread crumbs.

Tomorrow we'll hit the road with energy renewed.

Day 10 - Never Trust A Mexico Road Map

2008-04-20T14:44:00.002-06:00

We start out and head southwest and soon the paved road gives way to a well travelled dirt/rock road. I can't really call it gravel, for it is mostly this white powdery dirt mixed with rocks that have obviously been put down so the road doesn't wash away in a rain. We have chosen to go this way because our maps (note plural) show this road heading along the side of the canyon and over to more major towns where we can pick up paved road again. We can then take those down to the Pacific coast road which will take us southeast toward Belize.

So we travel along and see all sorts of scenic sights.

And cross some not-so-good cattle crossings.

The car and us are getting a good pounding as we wind our way up and down and around the hills and mini-mountains. In our wake we leave a cloud of dust, and every time we go by another car or truck we close the vents and windows in an attempt to keep the dust out. After what seems like many hours, we come to the town of Temoris. Our maps show this as the half way point of our "unimproved" road adventure. Great. All we have to do is find the road out of town. We find "a" road and after a bit the GPS confirms that it is heading in the correct direction.

As we travel along, we have been seeing a fresh (uncrushed) Tecate beer can in the road. We again see these on the road out of Temoris and soon we calling them our Tecate bread crumbs. We take these as a good omen. Unfortunately, this road is even worse than the road into Temoris. Not a good sign. But we trudge along hoping that the end will come soon. Whose end, the road's or our's, makes less difference as the day wears on. Eventually our good humor fades away as we both wonder how to get the heck out of here, and if the car will actually get us there.

Eventually we come down into a little valley with a village in it. we take what seems to be a road through town and head up the hill. At the top of the hill the road becomes what I call a field road. You know the ones: 2 tire tracks through the high grass. We see a pickup with a couple of guys in it. Lena goes over and attempts to communicate with them. It seems we found the source of the beer cans. 2 drunk cowboys returned from town with a couple cases of beer. The road we came in on is the ONLY road into, or out of, town.

We have no choice but to head back to Temoris. We try to figure our remaining daylight and hope we can make it there before we loose light. Just as we leaving the village, the exhaust pipe falls loose again. Again we jack up the car, right in the middle of the one lane road, and try to cool the pipe and get it back in place. A family in a pick up comes along and trys to see what the 2 white women are doing under the little car.

We jump back in the car and take off up the hill. Now I seem to remember Lena saying as we drove down into the village that she sure hoped we wouldn't have to come back up this hill. Well, we are. The trouble is that the road here is made of marble sized rocks. Lena has the engine revved up trying to get some traction, and rocks are pelting the bottom of the car. We look at each other, barley moving, rocks flying everywhere, and just bust up laughing. It was the only thing we could do....

We arrive back in Temoris, after dark, and find a small restaurant with people still in it. Now I have always been amazed at what rural people will do for stangers. One of the owner's girls escorted us around to find a room to stay. We give her our eternal thanks and bed down for the night, too tired to eat.

Day 9 - To the Canyon

2008-04-20T13:28:00.003-06:00

We leave Cuauhtemoc and head west and then south toward Copper Canyon, Mexico's "grand canyon". One of the principal modes of transportation for many people in Mexico is in the back of pickups, often someone else's pickup.

I always enjoy seeing the different colored buildings while driving through Mexico. It's not like anything I've seen in the States.

We only travel about half the day and find ourselves in San Rafael, right on the edge of the canyon.

There are many street vendors selling all sorts of hand made goods.

We find a little place to stay with the help of some of the locals and prepare to settle down for the rest of the day. But first a little auto maintenance. The exhaust pipe that we sort of fixed before we left home has slipped out of the cat converter. Not to worry, we have our trusty jack and a tool set with us.

Day 8 - The Big Plunge Into Mexico

2008-04-11T18:51:00.001-06:00

We stayed the night at Douglas, Arizona, and made the crossing into Agua Prieta (dark water) first thing in the morning after the requisite money changing, auto insurance getting, etc. We found that this crossing to be the easiest of any of our crossings. Most of the Mexican officials spoke at least some English to go along with our so-so Spanish, and one of them was quite cheerful. That made the experience not only painless, but almost fun.

Having attained the necessary visas and sticker for the windshield of the car, we take off first east and then south through Mennonite country toward the city of Cuauhtemoc, where we plan to spend the first night. We pass numerous orchards with nets that can be strung over them (very labor intensive), and soon we get back into the groove of Mexican driving. And of course, we see some interesting vehicles.

We get into town and use our Mexico guide to find a place to stay. Soon we're bedded down for the night.

Day 7 - Southern Arizona

2008-04-11T11:55:00.003-06:00

As we stumble our way out of bed, Bob fixes us a nice breakfast to send us on our way. We snap a couple pics and we're on the road, heading south, thank goodness.

Our next stop is near Tucson where I enjoy a brief visit with a former co-worker and his lovely wife. Dave and Vicki lived in Washington state until they just couldn't take the rain-blowing-sideways-in-your-ear thing any more. Now they have a nice home on the north end of Tucson and lovin' it.

From there we drive through Tombstone and on to Bisbee, where Lena's father was from. We catch a couple quick pics of each and then on again.

Tomorrow we cross over into Mexico for the second half of our adventure.

Day 6 - Southern Utah & Northern Arizona

2008-04-10T13:57:00.003-06:00

We start day 6 by driving through Zion national park. It has, of course, scenic mountains and the road flows through tunnels hewn out of them.

Next we come upon Glen Canyon Dam. This is the dam that is on the Colorado river directly upstream of Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. This dam is not quite as tall as Hoover dam but is much wider. I happen to be a DAM enthusiast, so a stop here was necessary, even with their bothersome security getting into the visitor's center.

The next attraction today is the Grand Canyon. Again, I was here last fall on my 'round-the-country trip, but Lena's first time. She seems less enthusiastic about the "big ditch" than I was my first time here, but we get some pictures anyway. I went back to the presipice that I ventured out to last fall and we have a little fun.

At last we start heading south to central Arizona to stop at our next 2 gringas meet-up. Bob has a nice home near Prescott. We met his son, enjoyed some refreshments and a delicious dinner, and even got some "kitty time" with one of his pets. We make use of his internet to catch up on some mail and off to bed we go.

Day 5 - Valleys and Casinos, Oh My!

2008-04-10T13:11:00.002-06:00

Day 5 finds us heading down, down into Death valley, the lowest land in North America. As we drive along, we can see down into the valley before us. Once on the valley floor however, we soon learn that this is not Death Valley, but rather the valley before Death Valley. Up and over yet one more mountain range and we finally come to the expected desert floor. It is a pretty barren place but for the one oasis at Furnace Creek.

Next we head for a place familiar to many, Las Vegas. It's almost a requisite that we drive down The Strip, famous the world over. I was here last fall, but this is Lena's first experience. With camera snapping, we slowly make our way through Friday rush hour up the strip past all the wild attractions. What entices people to come here and volunteer up their hard earned money is beyond both of our comprehensions. No recession here!

After withdrawing some cash for the Mexican part of our adventure (from the bank, not the casinos!), we head north again (?) to prepare our traverse of southern Utah, Zion national park and into the Grand Canyon from the east. Finding a little motel, we bed down for the night.

Day 4 - Southern California

2008-04-08T15:10:00.007-06:00

There are few more beautiful places to wake up than in Yosemite valley. We load up the car, snap a few more pictures on the way out and head for our next destination.

We make our way down to Fresno where we pick up freeway again: Highway 99. I'm not sure it can be called a highway, though, as it seemed more like a racetrack. We were doing 75 and practically got run over in our little car. We make it down to Bakersfield and escape with our lives back on 2 lane road. Turning onto highway 41, we find ourselves heading northeast and then turn north on 395.

"Are you sure this is the way to Belize?" becomes the recurring question of the trip.

"I thought Belize was south of here", the following comment.

We're actually making our way to Death Valley to boldly go where no person has gone before... I mean where we can go lower (in elevation!) than either of us has ever gone. But first we have to go by the lake-no-more, drained to feed a growing population of LA and then left high and dry, Owens Lake. There actually is a little water in the bowl, but it's stange to see once lake front property now several hundred yards from the nearest water.

Its getting late and we pull into a little dive to find a bed. One look at the room however and we're back in the car heading a little further down the road. Good thing, too, for in the next town we find several clean motels to choose from.

Day 3 - California Gold Country

2008-04-08T11:09:00.008-06:00

We gave our thanks and farewells to Leah-Ann, snapped a couple quick pictures, and we're on the road again. We travel route 49 down through central California's famous gold country - a winding road up and down and around the hills, through little gold rush towns - heading for Yosemite National Park. Route 49 is definitely a "drivers" road. You know, one of those you see on the sports car commercials with a note at the bottom of the screen that says "Closed course, Professional driver". Unfortunately, we had neither the nice sports car or the closed course....

We drive into the park, a place Lena has been many times before, and I'm snapping pictures of the magnificent mountain formations. We stop at the famous Ahwahnee Hotel and wander through the great palor and peer into the dining room.

Lena gets the wild idea that may be we should stay here tonight.

"Only if you're paying for it" I say.

"Perhaps we could split it" she suggests.

"Uhhhh, I don't think so" I retort, planning our escape to the nearest double digit dollar dive down the road.

"I'll put it on my card if you buy dinner" she proposes.

I hesitate. She knows she has me now.

"Hey, I've got a $100 gift card" I remember.

"You knew you wanted to stay here" she adds.

So we're off to the car to get our bags. Of course, being in bear country, we also have to unload ALL the food from the car. It seems some cars have been opened like tin cans by bears that aquired a taste for food that humans like. Removing all the food from the car is like emptying a chest freezer to defrost - no small task. We find a smelly food locker in the parking lot and fill a section of it.

Needless to say, the room and dinner were very nice. The waiters in the dinning room were top notch, and the atmosphere was awesome. We think we'll get some writing done in the great parlor, but, alas, only a little.

We made it!

2008-04-05T07:19:00.002-06:00

2-1/2 weeks of driving, and home at last.

We're in Maya Centre village, getting settled and catchng up with family this weekend.

Starting Sunday night we'll be holed-up at a friend's beach resort for a few days writing writing writing.

See y'all very soon!

'Lena

A Quick Note!

2008-04-03T08:04:00.001-06:00

Well, we are off in a few minutes to blast from Chiapas to the Belize border. The Bomber has developed an intermittant and worsening fuel or ignition problem, but we're making a run for it and hope it gets us there.

If we get through tonight we'll be jetting for home in the dark. But if we cross tomorrow morning (more likely) we'd like to make a meetup in Corozal -- we'll call in this case.

Wish us luck,
'Lena

A Quick Note!

2008-03-31T19:08:00.002-06:00

We are in San Cristobal de las Casas, in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico; and finally back online!

You would not believe the adventures we've had! The close calls! The near-disasters! The incredibly idiotic misjudgements!

Boy do we have a lot of catching up to do.....

Prometo escribir pronto!

'Lena

A Quick Note!

2008-03-25T13:09:00.000-06:00

We are in Creel, Mexico, at the head of Copper Canyon, about to head down into the slot...

Probably no internet until tomorrow or next day, so...see you soon!

'Lena

A Quick Note!

2008-03-23T11:04:00.001-06:00

We are now in central Arizona, on our way through Phoenix and Tucson, and on to the border at Douglas/Agua Prieta via Bisbee -- the birthplace of my father...

'Lena

Day 2 - Oregon to California

2008-03-21T21:51:00.005-06:00

We left Chemult this morning and headed down to Crater Lake. At the turnoff to the north end of the road that runs through the park, we discover a sign that says the road is closed for the season, winter that is. Crater Lake is high and even last October when I was there considerable snow littered the ground. So we do a by-pass as the south end of the through road is a little out of our way.

As we head through southern Oregon toward California, we break out of the rain and start to enjoy a beautiful day of sunshine. We soon discover that there really isn't much air in our little car with the back seat packed full of stuff, and the slightest sun through the windows warms us up quickly. This is not a good omen for Mexico where the air temperature will not be a comfortable 60F, but rather more like 85F or higher. The AC that we plan to install in this car is currently down in Belize and will probably be one of our first projects when we arrive down there.

As we drive through northeastern California, we come upon an odd sight. A lone tree beside the road filled with something that one would not expect to find in a tree: lots of tennis shoes with the laces tied together. It seems that someone started the tradition and others have simply added to it. I'm sure the locals refer to it as the tennis shoe tree.

Passing by Reno to fuel up, we try to decide whether to drive by Lake Tahoe or head over to Sacramento to line up with the west entry to Yosemite. Just then we make contact with our first 2 gringas meet-up. So we head over Donner Pass and down to Auburn to find Leah-Ann's lovely townhome. We enjoy a very nice dinner, some interesting conversation and bed down for the night.

Denise

A Quick Note!

2008-03-20T12:36:00.000-06:00

We are in Yosemite Valley on our way to Death Valley, then Las Vegas and on to Tucson.

I promise to write soon!

'Lena

Day 1 — Monday 17 March 2008 — Washington - Oregon

2008-03-17T22:31:00.004-06:00

"Live from the Dive"

We left Vashon, Washington about 9 this morning, and headed south through Tacoma, Olympia, and on south through Portland and Salem Oregon, then east over the mountains through Bend.

We are now nestled down for the night at the Bit-of-a-Dive Motel in Chemult, southern Oregon, near Crater Lake. Tomorrow morning we'll do a scenic loop around the lake.

I'll post a proper log of today somewhat later.

See you all in California...

Galena Alyson Canada 17 March 2008 Chemult, Oregon, USA

Day Zero — Sunday 16 March 2008 — Vashon Island, Washington

2008-03-17T00:14:00.003-06:00

"Is that a nook or a cranny?"

At long last it is Day Zero.

Tomorrow morning we point the Belize Bomber II south towards Central America, never to return to this northern clime...

Yesterday we installed the new water pump, belt, etc. and changed the oil; today we took her for a test drive and rated her road-worthy. From here on down, anything else that requires replacement is officially "a problem."

It is the final packing day — clothes, toiletries, books — and the cats are confused and nervous. Something is happening, and they don't know what to make of it.

The Bomber is utterly packed: Denise took the nooks and I got the crannies, and I'm running out of crannies.

The weather was decent today, tomorrow we're off with the rain...a Two Gringas tradition we've never missed.

We'll see you all in Oregon...or maybe California...

Galena Alyson Canada 16 March 2008 Vashon Island, Washington, USA

T minus 4 days — Wednesday — Vashon Island, Washington

2008-03-12T23:57:00.003-06:00

"How do you stuff a hippopotamus into a Tercel?"

The scheduled departure for Two Gringas Adventure #4 is Sunday 16 March 2008.

There is a hippopotamus in the living room. OK, not a real hippo, but a heap the size of a hippo, which is now supposed to go into the Belize Bomber II. A heapopotamus.

Unfortunately, there are already two large ruminants in the car:

(Yes, Dear Reader, that really is a standard-size air compressor and a large microwave oven. Before now you've suspected that we are insane. Now you're certain.)

So how do we cram the heapopotamus into the Tercel?

Simple! First we carry the whole mess out...

...and then you just put it all into the vehicle.

And it's just that easy!

Look! The doors even close!

Galena Alyson Canada 12 March 2008 Vashon Island, Washington, USA

T minus 1 week — Monday — Vashon Island, Washington

2008-03-10T12:00:00.000-06:00

"Uh, what's that drip?"

The scheduled departure for Two Gringas Adventure #4 is still Sunday 16 or Monday 17 March 2008.

OK, the Belize Bomber II *was* ready for the road...and now it isn't. And it all my fault for looking for trouble...

I'm under the Bomber hunting down an annoying rattle in the exhaust line. I find the offending clamp and Denise joins me to have a look. She brushes a hand across her forehead.

"Something dripped on me."

"What?"

"I don't know..."

I stick out my hand and catch the next drip — just one tiny drop, every minute or so. It's fluorescent green.

"Coolant."

Denise rolls out from under, saying "This is your fault, you know..."

"Yeah, I know."

So we're tearing into the motor assembly. Again. Or rather, Denise is. The bit we need to get at is, of course, at the back, under a manifold, between other assemblies, equally unreachable from above or below.

"Gee Neecie, I'd sure like to help, but it looks to me that there's only room for one pair of hands..."

"So why don't you plug your pair in here?!"

In fact, there is barely room for one hand, much less a pair.

"No...no... you know you're much better at that than I..."

So now there's an engine component sitting on the kitchen counter. It's a water pump. It's supposed to be attached to the engine, but it isn't. This is a problem.

The nice man at the auto parts store promises to have the part the next day. The next day arrives, we call, yes, the delivery arrived. We go.

They do not have the part. What they have is an irrelevant part which goes on the other side of the motor. A part, which in fact, we've already replaced. One among dozens.

I stay at the counter to sort out the parts-irrelevancy issue with the parts-ordering wizard; meanwhile Denise roams the aisles in search of cup-holders, which the little Tercel lacks. She returns empty-handed and looks inquiringly at the nice man.

"Cup-holders?"

"No cup-holders."

She is clearly disoriented...

"Auto parts store...automotive cup-holders...none???"

"No cup-holders."

Turns out it's a "liability issue" — hot coffee, spills, hot groins, distracted drivers, lawyers, all that. Good grief.

We return to the Bomber empty-handed. Since she can't fix the car, Denise gives it custom cup-holders.

Galena Alyson Canada 10 March 2008 Vashon Island, Washington, USA

"Fit to be tied!"

2008-03-03T12:21:00.004-06:00

T minus 2 weeks — Monday — Vashon Island, Washington, USA

I'm beginning to come unstuck.

Yes, I am looking forward to this adventure, and yes, I really want to get back to my southern home and away from the Culture of Acquisition. But creatures don't relish change and, as this creature ages, she likes change less and less.

Yesterday afternoon, as we were working on the Belize Bomber II, I realised I was about to start throwing things. It has been several decades since I threw things and I don't intend to resume now, so I packed it in and crawled under the covers. Brrr, it's cold here.

We are now two weeks from departure and the Bomber is just about ready: this afternoon we reinstall the front struts, and that should be about it.

We've been acquiring "road foods" for a couple weeks now (drinks, nuts, eat-from-the-can stuff, ...), and the pile to be packed is mounting. Next weekend we'll do a preliminary pack of the car; hopefully a major fraction of this heap will fit in that heap...

So many things to get done in these next two weeks and, like the pile to be packed, I'm just not sure how it's all going to fit in. Thus the pre-trip anxiety, which is beginning to render me into the state known as "fit to be tied."

"The Compleat Two Gringas Chronicles..."

2008-02-25T00:00:00.007-06:00

T minus 3 weeks — Monday — Vashon Island, Washington, USA

The scheduled departure for Two Gringas Adventure #4 is still Sunday 16 or Monday 17 March 2008.

But how did we get to the point of doing this a fourth time, fercryinoutloud??? How many wheels do these girls need?

The answer is: one economical car for general use and one working truck for hauling. When you add the three vehicles already driven down to a fourth bought in Belize, you may wonder that we currently have only one surviving truck in Bz, and that on its last legs. Of course if you have lived in Belize for any period, you will not wonder.

So, bring on number five...

We have been so happy with the performance of the 1992 Toyota Tercel, both in the States and in Central America, that we've bought another to replace the original Belize Bomber which, alas, failed to recover from its third totalling at the hands of the help.

The Belize Bomber on her first day in Belize at the end of Gringas #1:

And three years, two months later...
(The lesson here, BTW, is something like "do not allow young Belizean men to drive your vehicle without you in it." Or maybe "at all.")

[The astute Two Gringas fan will note, at the right rear of the photo, the front grille of the venerable Beast monster truck from Two Gringas adventure #2 — now a helpless lawn ornament thanks to the efforts of an over-confident Belizean mechanic. Belize is murder on vehicles. Belizean "breakanics" are worse.]

So we have opted to purchase our third 1992 Tercel standard. The first two were bought new in 1991 for US $8500 apiece. This one was bought as junk for $1000. Needless to say, we had to put a bit of work into her...

Clic to enlarge.

. . .

Everyone — We'd still like one or two more USA meet-ups. And we'd LOVE to get a couple Mexico meet-ups if you have people there. Please post a comment here or email themisslena á gmail õ com. Please see the route map in the column at right, above.

IN MEMORIAM

The Beast
1978-2005

P.O.S. Truck
1991-2006

The Belize Bomber
1992-2006

In lieu of flowers please donate Belikins.

"Washington Rain"

2008-02-19T00:00:00.005-06:00

T minus 4 weeks — Tuesday — Vashon Island, Washington, USA

It is cold and foggy this morning, here on Vashon Island in Puget Sound, but it is expected to become sunny towards mid-day. I hope so, because it is expected to rain all week beginning tomorrow. Yuk. I am tired of the cold rain of North America's Pacific Northwest. I am eager to head south toward my tropical home...

Denise and I reviewed our schedule and possible routes last night after dinner. We have decided to depart Washington State on Sunday morning 16 March or Monday the 17th at the latest. We try to choose a different route for each trip (this will be the third time Denise and I have made the drive to Belize together), and this time we will again follow mountains: first the Cascade Range through Washington and Oregon, then past the volcanoes at Lassen to the Sierra Nevada of California, past Lake Tahoe and Yosemite and Owens Lake, then across Death Valley to Las Vegas where we will drive The Strip. Then on across to Zion National Park, across Glen Canyon Dam, and a loop around the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. Then straight south past Phoenix to Tucson, Arizona, where we will meet up with some friends.

Where we will cross into Mexico, and which route we take south, is still unsure. This will be decided when we get to Tucson. For the first time we have the luxury of a loose schedule on this trip, so we intend to do more sightseeing this time. Denise has a paid annual pass for the USA National Parks and we plan to use it as many times as possible on the USA part of the adventure. The main routes we're considering through Mexico are the central and Pacific Coast routes. Either way, once we get south of Mexico City we will head into Chiapas and take a rest day in San Cristobál de las Casas, where I want to meet some people doing work with the poor.

Leaving Chiapas, we intend to start very early, take a short break to visit the Classic Maya city at Palenque, then rush along our usual route across the Yucatan to Chetumal and the northern frontier of Belize. If the crossing into Belize goes well we should make it home to Stann Creek by late evening, exhausted. This should happen around 28 March, but perhaps as late as 31 March.

I can hardly wait.

Meantime, there are just a few more minor repairs to make to the car we bought for this journey...