December 2, 2019-With our Wagon-Masters Dave & Darlene leading and Oscar & Barbara as Tail Gunners, the Baja Amigos season is underway.  They started at the De Anza RV Resort in Amado, AZ and crossed in Nogales on November 2nd.  As of this morning they departing Pátzcuaro,  Michoacán and heading for Villa Corona for some much needed hot pools and R & R.

Check out Oscar N Barbara Zamudio’s Facebook Page and Dave & Darlene’s Big Adventure Blog.  You can find both from our Baja Amigos Facebook site.

We have multiple 30 day scheduled in January, February and March. We promise “Fun & Adventure”, but remember they are two (2) different words.

April 6, 2019 – Season is over and we have returned to Surrey. Following the completion of our 1st 45 day mainland Mexico tour, we returned to the La Penita RV Park north of Puerto Vallarta where we spent the month of January and February. We started our trek north March 1 slowly, always best to let the weather clear up before arriving back in Canada. We returned to Canada in March of 2009 and got snowed on, never again we vowed.

March 14th we headed north from our last stop in Mexico, the Punta Vista RV Park in Santa Ana, Sonora on the west side of Hwy 15. We left about 7:30 am jumped on Hwy 15 for a short distance before making the turn onto Hwy 2 westbound. We turned in our Truck permit (TIP) at the Banercito & Aduana complex 21 km east of the border crossing. This was hard to miss given it size and location, make sure you take the Bus entrance. When we arrived the security guard stated we were in the wrong location (go where the cars are), the officials confirmed we were in the correct location.

Our next stop was the US border at the Sonoyta, Sonora-Lukeville, AZ border crossing where we pick up Hwy 85 north. Our wait was 15-20 minutes, the US Customs official very polite and brief, less than 2 minutes we were on our way. Our destination was the Saddle Mountain RV Park in Tonapah, AZ off of Interstate 10 east of Phoenix. Our 1st choice was the Leaf Verde RV Resort, however they were full, seems the snowbirds were in no hurry to venture northward. This was a 474 km drive and took us about 8 hours, lunch and furl stop included.

We booked in for a week, lots to do, Wagon Masters to meet with and more. Purchased the Wi-Fi for the week, mostly it worked well. We had read the reviews on line about the staff, unfriendly and friendly, we were received by “Susan”, and this experience would reflect the “unfriendly” review comments. We made a couple of trips into Buckye for shopping and for Lulu’s “Wash & Groom”. The weekly rate was $28 per night, the pool was heated, the laundry worked well, unfortunately cell service sucked which mattered as we had listed our house back in Surrey.

March 21st and our journey continued as we were headed to the Oasis RV Park in Las Vegas, NV. It was on the road that we learned that Wynter Sylvia Laycock had arrived on her due date. We are pleased to report that Danny & Heather are very proud parents and our newest granddaughter is doing great, she was a biggin, 9’5ounces. This drive was uneventful, not a lot of traffic or scenery, we did see a couple of Prong Horn Antelope, a first for us. Our route of the I-10, Hwy 95, Hwy 11 and a short drive on the I-215 had us on the road for about 8 hours and 478 km.

We met our friends Mark & Kathy in Las Vegas, just turned out we were in the same place at the same time. We joined them for dinner and played some penny slots. Kathy shared her lucky charms with me and I won $169 USD in 15 minutes (spent $4), then cashed out. We will see them again on our travels to the Okanagan this spring. The Oasis RV Resort is billed as a “Full Service” resort with all the bells and whistles, just like staying at a hotel in Vegas, it should be at $55 USD per night (discount included). Problem was no internet between 7am and 9PM unless you had a booster; and we still get complaints about Wi-Fi at Mexico campgrounds!

March 23rd was our next stop, the Wine Ridge RV Resort Pahrump, NV recommended by our San Carlos RV friends, Bob & Nancy. This was a short drive about 96 km westbound on Hwy 160, maybe a couple ours max. We had reservations for March 24 & 25 and were on standby for March 23. The RV Park was next door to the Pahrump Valley Winery, in the past they had a single owner. The park was not cheap at $40 USD per night, but definitely the best in this small town.

We arrived at the RV Park about noon and checked in at the office, Patrick at the front desk told us there were no cancelations but we were welcome to overnight at the overflow parking lot adjacent to the Winery, look for a couple of parked RVs. We found this easy enough, had a look and decided to go shopping and have lunch in town. We saw many other RV Parks in town and some Casino parking but decided the spot we had been referred to was off the main drag with a nice view of the mountains, no big deal for an overnight stay.

We turned in at 9pm or so but were awakened from a dead sleep at 10:30 pm by someone pounding on the outside doors! We were alarmed and groggy but still opened the door to find a women in her fifties shouting at us about parking on private property without permission. We attempted to explain how we ended up parked in this location but this women would have none of it. After a few minutes she relented and told us we could stay overnight. Afterwards we were dumbfounded and what just happened, at the time we assumed that both businesses were connected.

It took us some time to get back to sleep and slept in the next day. We arose about 7:30 am, made coffee and some toast when “Broom-Hilda” again arrived his her bright blue sports car. She parked right behind us, got out of car and started taking photos of the Trailer and the Truck. I opened the door and asked her what she was doing? The shouting started immediately. “I am the owner of the Winery” she proclaimed. “I told you could stay only overnight” “We have nothing to do with the RVs next door” “I am going to call the Sherriff.” I asked her “What is wrong with you?” and added “Calling the Sherriff is probably a good idea”. At no time did this gal ever identify herself. We learned later that she was the Winery Manager, hired only a couple of months ago. To be honest, we were both rattled, immediately packed up, and moved next door to the RV Park. We had decided we would not stay in Pahrump but wanted to tell Patrick in person what happened but it was Sunday and the office did not open until 10 am.

We parked in the RV registration line and on opening we sought out Patrick and shared our story. He was horrified and speechless. Although the Winery was purchased some years ago they had an understanding overflows from the RV Park could stay in the large, mostly empty parking lot, overnight until the next day. He admitted that the relationship between the businesses was changing rapidly since the new manager took over, but this news was stunning. He convinced us to stay, he made it right and sincerely apologized about our experience with “Broom Hilda”. We stayed the 2 nights but passed on a visit to the Winery where we had initially planned to do a wine tasting and have lunch. We have since concluded that this gal previously managed a biker bar in Vegas.

The park itself was very nice, lots of amenities including Pickle Ball and a Pool (not heated). Our Ontario neighbours were friendly enough even though they packed heat (open carry in Arizona). The big anti Trudeau pro Gun decal was the giveaway. Good news, they will never visit Mexico. We did have a nice visit with Bob & Nancy and their Dutch friends.

March 26th With Pahrump firmly in the rear view mirror we headed north not sure where our next stop would be. 438 km and 8 hours later we ended up at the Whiskey Flats RV Park in Hawthorne, NV. Easy in, easy out with all pull thru spaces and friendly to boot. We just followed Hwy 160 for short distance then stayed on the 395 northbound. This was the perfect overnight stay (they even had cable).

March 27th The next day we headed for Susanville, CA which was very doable until the weather showed up. As we headed towards Reno, NV snowfall warnings were issued in the passes including on I-80. Not a big problem we thought as we were not planning to venture that direction. As we turned north out of Reno onto Hwy 395 we were confronted with large Hwy Warning Signs “High Wind Advisory – RVs & High Profile Vehicle Warning”. We got of Hwy 395 at the next exit and drove directly to the Shamrock RV Park, 216 km was all for us. $39 USD and very convenient, good Wi-Fi and Cable, it worked out well for an unplanned stop.

March 28th Off at 9 am we were unsure of our destination, given the recent weather and we were not familiar with this roadway. Turns out this was a wonderful travel day, calm weather, very scenic with little traffic. We were in Susanville in no time and continued on Hwy 395 to Alturas, CA. From there we headed northwest to Kalmath Falls. After driving the commercial strip and finding many sketchy Mobile Home/RV Parks we decided the Home Depot looked best for an overnight. When the skies opened up with rain and hail the Days Inn became the option and we also ate dinner out. What the heck you only live once.

March 29th Valley of the Rogue State Park on I-5 was out next destination. We learned our friends Terry & Lee had taken on Campground Volunteer roles in February and March and we planned to meet them at the end of their term. Hwy 140 W was an easy drive, clear and wet, lots of snow at the passes, just not on the road.  We spent some quality time with them, lots of laughs and catching up to do. Went for a great dinner at an Italian diner in Rogue River, unexpected and very tasty. They have decided to join us in La Penita next season, we are excited about that for sure.

March 31st Back on the I-5 at 8 am heading north with no particulat destination in mind other to get thru Portland. Turns out early Sunday afternoon was perfect timing, we breezed thru in about 45 minutes. We shut it down just before the 500 km mark stopping at Camp Kamala, in Kamala, WA. Pull thru site $37 USD no Wi-Fi signal but whatever. Lots of traffic noise so we just turned the up the volume on the movie.

April 1st Our last day on the road we headed north on I-5 turning east at Pullayup on Hwy 152 headed for Sumner RV for warranty work on our 2018 Arctic Fox. After dropping it off, unloading a number of items we were ready to go before 1 pm. We jumped on Hwy 167, then the Hwy 405 bypass, returned to the I-5 by 2 pm. Interesting enough as we approached the Blaine-Peace Arch crossing we were confronted by an oncoming white pickup truck towing a utility trailer. We took immediate evasive action pulling over to the shoulder as he went whizzing by. We reported this to the Canadian Customs Officer who immediately called his American counterparts. Good news was the excitement for the day was over.

We stopped in White Rock about 4 pm for a surprise visit with Danny, Heather and Wynter, our new granddaughter, all is good, so glad we made this our 1st stop. After that very uneventful drive home, our season has ended after our last 427 km.

We want to thank everyone, including our guests, wagon masters, friends and industry partners who made this a successful season, muchas gracias.

December 17, 2018 – The tour is now over and most everyone is sitting back in De Anza in Amado, AZ safe and sound. The last half was busy for sure, with many memories. Bob & Debbie dropped off in Mazatlan and Gary & Bev headed for Tuscon, AZ after they crossed the border. As you an imagine everyone has many plans around holiday season, some returning home, and others, like us heading to other destinations.

Following the tour of the Teotihuacan Pyramids and bus tour of Morelia in Michoacan the balance of the tour was about relaxing town, shopping, lots of fun, more adventure and of course driving as we extracted ourselves from deep within Mexico. We did have a few wrong turns along the way, resulting in some returnos. Sometimes we listened to Molly when we should not have, other times we should have listened, and we did not. Morelia was one such example, Molly was right and getting ourselves turned around a process to behold. Our drive to Patzcuaro was also exciting as half the Caravan took the “Libre” road with Mike & Kelly, and the other half took the “Cuota” road, led by Lisa & I. When we arrived, we met Jim & Myrna who we first met on Baja 15 years ago. No more bus for them they were now in a Truck Camper.

The Villa Patzcuaro Hotel & RV Park was a tight fit in and even tighter getting out. Chris had to back their 40’ 5th wheel out of the park onto the street with Bob’s truck and drop it. Then connect his truck, which he had already parked outside the campground. Add to this it was pouring with rain and we had cranky neighbours who did not like the street blocked. We did check out another park for next season, lots more room in the park however getting there could be quite a challenge. Lots of major shopping for the gang on our visit to Patzcuaro, including stops in Capula, Quiroga and Santa Clara de Cobra.

The Chimulco Water Park & RV Park in Villa Corona, Jalisco was a unique experience. It is all about the hot water pools, heated thermally from the earth at about 100F (38C). They empty and refill these every day, 3 very large pools and others when required. We met a very friendly couple from Delta who was very helpful. They are permanentes and have been in the park for years, we look forward to seeing them again and spending more time in the park and the region.

It was a wonderful drive from Villa Corona to Melaque on the coast, a real diversity of flora and geography. It became apparent as we were descending to the coast that the cool nights were over. We left Villa Corona at 12C and arrived in Melaque to 32C, hot and humid. Paul Beddows met us on the Hwy and escorted us in thru town, this did take some navigating. Lots of amenities in and around the Hotel & RV Park (Laguna del Tule), including a pool and swim up bar. Lisa & I drove next door to Barra de Navidad to see what that looks like after 33 years, yes many changes. We also had coffee with Linda & Kim, Linda & I worked together years ago at the TWU, they have been living in Mexico for over 15 years. It was good to see them both and get caught up on past events. We also visited Boca Beach, north of Melaque near the small village of La Mazanillo. Our next 45 day tour will stay here which is easy in and easy out, great beach which you can swim in and access to a pool. Laguna del Tule did not help itself by demanding a $100 USD deposit for the reservation in a park that was empty on arrival, then decline to credit us with the deposit or discount our stay as Wagon Masters.

Next stop was the La Penita RV Resort, about an hour or so north of Puerto Vallarta in Narayit. We had never stayed here and no sense of what it was like, however anyone who had said we will like it. They were all correct, we loved it. Carole, the operator and fellow Canadian was very friendly as were the residents. A very different feel from Tlaqupaque Hotel & RV Park in Lo De Marcos down the Hwy. Very upscale, many expensive Class A Motorhome and predominately from Quebec. We approached them almost 16 months ago and they would not commit to reservations, when we arrived to look around, they had at least 20-30 sites open. We are glad we ended up at La Penita. In fact, Lisa & I and Mike & Kelly are heading back to La Penita for January & February, sound like our friends Rafael & Eileen from South Surrey may be joining us. Unfortunately, the day we headed north I became violently ill (suspected food poising from rancid peanuts). Mike & Kelly took over the lead and we caught back up at the El Mirador Restaurant & RV Campground for our hosted farewell dinner and 2 days on the beach.

Day 44 we head off to the Hotel Cortez and RV Park in Guaymas, Sonora for a 2 night stay. They were organizing for a wedding on arrival and the party went late into the night, sounded like fun!

The next day another wedding and another evening of party time as expected. Our neighbours from Los Barriles, Brits Tony & Kathy showed up, they had heard that we were in town as they were staying at the Totonaka RV Park in San Carlos. Mike & Kelly, Lisa & I and Tony & Cathy headed over to the Playa Cortez Restaurant/Bar for a beverage and a bite. Later the gang organized a last Happy Hour and we celebrated Gary & Bev’s 47th Wedding Anniversary. Sunday were off at 8:00 AM headed back to the US. After turning in the TIPs we arrived at the border lineup by 4:00 PM (Good Job Mike & Kelly who led us thru Nogales). Unfortunately, because of a stalled truck, traffic blocking the RV lane and inspection plus it took over 2 hours to clear 8 RV thru US Customs.

Congratulations everyone for participating in the 1st ever Baja Amigos Mexico 45 Day Tour!

Did you know?
Álvaro Obregón Salido (February 19, 1880 – July 17, 1928) was born in Siquisiva, Sonora and grew up in Huatabampo. Obregón left farming and entered politics in 1911, elected as municipal president of Huatabampo. Obregón expressed little sympathy for the Anti-re-electionist movement launched by Francisco I. Madero in 1908–1909 in opposition to President Porfirio Díaz. However Obregón became a supporter of Madero shortly after Madero became President of Mexico in November 1911.

In March 1912, Pascual Orozco, a general who had fought with Madero earlier, now launched a revolt against Madero’s regime in Chihuahua. In April 1912, Obregón volunteered to join the local Maderista forces, the Fourth Irregular Battalion of Sonora, organized under the command of General Sanginés to oppose Orozco’s revolt. This Battalion supported federal troops under the command of Victoriano Huerta sent by Madero to crush Orozco’s rebellion. Within weeks of joining the Battalion, Obregón displayed signs of military genius. Obregón disobeyed his superior’s orders but won several battles by luring his enemy into traps, surprise assaults, and encircling maneuvers. Obregón was quickly promoted through the ranks and attained the rank of Colonel before resigning in December 1912, following victory over Orozco (with Orozco fleeing to the United States).

Obregón had intended to return to civilian life in December 1912, but then in February 1913, the Madero regime was overthrown in a coup d’état (known to Mexican history as La decena trágica) orchestrated by Victoriano Huerta, Félix Díaz, Bernardo Reyes, and Henry Lane Wilson, the United States Ambassador to Mexico. After Madero and others were shot, Huerta assumed the presidency. The Sonoran government refused to recognize the Huerta regime, and in early March 1913, Obregón was appointed chief of Sonora’s War Department. As commander of Sonora’s forces, Obregón won the respect of many revolutionaries who had fought under Madero in 1910–11, most notably Benjamín G. Hill.

A Sonoran delegation then met the Governor of Coahuila, Venustiano Carranza. The Sonoran government signed on to Carranza’s Plan of Guadalupe, by which Carranza became “primer jefe” of the newly proclaimed Constitutional Army. On 30 September 1913, Carranza appointed Obregón commander-in-chief of the Constitutional Army in the Northwest, with jurisdiction over Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, Chihuahua, and Baja California. In early July 2014, Obregón moved south to Orendaín, Jalisco, where his troops defeated federal troops, leaving 8000 dead, and making it clear that the Huerta regime was defeated.

Obregón was then promoted to major general and arrival in Teoloyucan on 11 August, on the mudguard of a car, Obregón signed the treaties that ended the Huerta regime. On 16 August 1914, Obregón and 18,000 of his troops marched triumphantly into Mexico City where he was by Carranza on 20 August. Unfortunately tensions between Carranza and Pancho Villa had risen throughout 1914, as Villa created a number of diplomatic incidents that Carranza was worried would invite outside intervention in the Mexican Revolution. Hence Carranza refused to let Villa march into Mexico City in August.

Prior to that on July 8, 1914, Villistas and Carrancistas had signed the Treaty of Torreón, in which they agreed that after Huerta’s forces were defeated, 150 generals of the Revolution would meet to determine the future shape of the country. In September, Villa and Carranza formally split and Obregón paid a visit to Villa in an attempt to make peace that nearly resulted in Villa’s having Obregón shot. The Convention agreed to in the Treaty of Torreón went ahead at Aguascalientes on 5 October 1914. Carranza did not participate in the Convention of Aguascalientes because he was not a general, but, General Obregón did. The Convention soon split into two major factions: (1) the Carrancistas, who insisted that the Convention should follow the promise of the Plan of Guadalupe and restore the 1857 Constitution of Mexico; and (2) the Villistas, who sought more wide-ranging social reforms than set out in the Plan of Guadalupe. The Villistas were supported by Emiliano Zapata, leader of the Liberation Army of the South, who had issued his own Plan of Ayala, which called for wide-ranging social reforms. For 6 weeks, Obregón maintained neutrality between the two sides, and tried to reach a middle ground that would avoid a civil war.

Ultimately Gutiérrez was appointed provisional President of Mexico by the Convention of Aguascalientes, which Venustiano Carranza found unacceptable. Forced to choose sides, Obregón naturally sided with Carranza and left the Convention to fight for the Primer Jefe. Obregón had many friends amongst the Villistas and Zapatistas at the Convention and was able to convince some of them to depart with him. Obregón’s forces easily defeated Zapatista forces at Puebla in early 1915. However, the Villistas remained in control of large portions of the country. Forces under Pancho Villa were moving towards the Bajío; Felipe Ángeles’ forces occupied Saltillo and thus dominated the northeast; the forces of Calixto Contreras and Rodolfo Fierro controlled western Mexico; and forces under Tomás Urbina were active in Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí.

The armies of Obregón and Villa clashed in four battles, collectively known as the Battle of Celaya, the largest military confrontation in Latin American history before the Falklands War of 1982. Villa was defeated by Obregón in all, who lost his right arm in the 3rd and definitive battle. The arm was subsequently embalmed and then put in the monument to Obregón on the site of where he was assassinated in 1928.

In May 1915, Carranza had proclaimed himself the head of what he termed a “Pre-constitutional Regime” that would govern Mexico until a constitutional convention could be held. Carranza appointed Obregón as Minister of War in his new cabinet. Obregón was determined to modernize and professionalize the Mexican military thoroughly and in the process, founded a staff college and a school of military medicine. He also founded the Department of Aviation and a school to train pilots. In September 1916, Carranza convoked a Constitutional Convention, to be held in Querétaro, Querétaro.

During the Constitutional Convention in December 1916, Obregón broke with Carranza and threw his considerable weight behind those supporting land reform and anti clerical initiatives. Shortly after swearing his allegiance to the new Constitution, Obregón resigned as Minister of War and retired to Huatabampo to resume his life as a chickpea farmer. As the victorious general of the Mexican Revolution, Obregón remained enormously popular throughout the country.

By early 1919, Obregón had determined to use his immense popularity to run in the presidential election that would be held in 1920. Carranza then announced he would not run for president in 1920, but refused to endorse Obregón, instead endorsing an obscure diplomat, Ignacio Bonillas. Obregón formally announced his candidacy in June 1919 and began to campaign in earnest in November 1919.

In the meantime, Carranza seemed determined to stop Obregón. At Carranza’s behest, the Senate stripped Obregón of his military rank, a move which only increased Obregón’s popularity. Then, Carranza ochestrated a plot in which a minor officer claimed that Obregón was planning an armed uprising against the Carranza regime. Obregón was forced to disguise himself as a railwayman and flee to Guerrero, where one of his former subordinates, Fortunato Maycotte, was governor. When the election was held, Bonillas defeated Obregón.

On 20 April 1920, Obregón issued a declaration accusing Carranza of having used public money in support of Bonillas’s presidential candidacy. He declared his allegiance to the Governor of Sonora, Adolfo de la Huerta, in revolution against the Carranza regime. On 23 April, the Sonorans issued the Plan of Agua Prieta, which triggered a military revolt against the president. Obregón’s Sonoran forces were augmented by troops under General Benjamín G. Hill and the Zapatistas led by Gildardo Magaña and Genovevo de la O. The revolt was successful and Carranza was deposed. On 20 May 1920, Carranza was killed in the state of Puebla in an ambush led by General Rodolfo Herrero as he fled from Mexico City to Veracruz on horseback.

For six months, from 1 June 1920 to 1 December 1920, Adolfo de la Huerta served as provisional president of Mexico until elections could be held. When Obregón was declared the victor, de la Huerta stepped down and assumed the position of Secretary of the Treasury in the new government.

Álvaro Obregón Salido – President of Mexico, 1920–1924 Obregón’s election as president essentially signaled the end of the violence of the Mexican Revolution. The death of Lucio Blanco in 1922 and the assassination of Pancho Villa in 1923 would eliminate the last remaining obvious challenges to Obregón’s regime. Obregón appointed José Vasconcelos (Rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico who had been in exile 1915–1920 because of his opposition to Carranza) as his Secretary of Public Education. Vasconcelos undertook a major effort to construct new schools across the country. Around 1,000 rural schools and 2,000 public libraries were built.

Vasconcelos was also interested in promoting artistic developments that created a narrative of Mexico’s history and the Mexican Revolution. Obregón’s time as president saw the beginning of the art movement of Mexican muralism, with artists such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, and Roberto Montenegro invited to create murals expressive of the spirit of the Mexican Revolution on the walls of public buildings throughout Mexico.

Obregón also sought to shape public perceptions of the Revolution and its place in history by staging elaborate celebrations in 1921 on the centenary of Mexico’s independence from Spain. There had been such celebrations in 1910 by the Díaz regime, commemorating the start of the insurgency by Miguel Hidalgo. The political fact of independence was achieved by former royalist officer Agustín de Iturbide, who was more celebrated by conservatives in post-independence Mexico than liberals. However, 1921 provided a date for Obregon’s government to shape historical memory of independence and the Revolution.

After a decade of violence during the Revolution, the centennial celebrations provided an opportunity for Mexicans to reflect on their history and identity, as well as to enjoy diversions in peacetime. For Obregón, the centennial was a way to emphasize that revolutionary initiatives had historical roots and that like independence, the Revolution presented new opportunities for Mexicans. Land reform was far more extensive under Obregón than it had been under Carranza. Obregón enforced the constitutional land redistribution provisions, and in total, 921,627 hectares of land were distributed during his presidency.

As president, one of Obregón’s top priorities was securing US diplomatic recognition of his regime, to resume normal Mexico–United States relations. Although he rejected the U.S. demand that Mexico rescind Article 27 of the constitution, Obregón negotiated a major agreement with the United States, the Bucareli Treaty of August 1923 that made some concessions to the US in order to gain diplomatic recognition. It was particularly helpful when the Mexican Supreme Court, in a case brought by Texas Oil, declared that Article 27 did not apply retroactively. Another important arena in which Obregón resolved issues with the U.S. and other foreign governments was the Mexican-United States General Claims Commission. Finance Minister Adolfo de la Huerta signed a deal in which Mexico recognized a debt of $1.451 million to international bankers. Finally, at the Bucareli Conference, Obregón agreed to an American demand that Mexico would not expropriate any foreign oil companies, and in exchange, the U.S. recognized his government. Many Mexicans criticized Obregón as a sellout (entreguista), including Adolfo de la Huerta for his actions at the Bucareli Conference.

In 1923, Obregón endorsed Plutarco Elías Calles for president in the 1924 election (in which Obregón was not eligible to run). Finance Minister Adolfo de la Huerta (1881–1955) who had served as interim president in 1920, before stepping aside in favor of Obregón, believed that he deserved to be the next president and that Obregón was repeating Carranza’s mistake of imposing his own candidate on the country. De la Huerta therefore accepted the nomination of the Cooperativist Party to be its candidate in the presidential elections. De la Huerta then organized an uprising against Obregón. Over half of the army joined De la Huerta’s rebellion, with many of Obregón’s former comrades in arms now turning on him. Rebel forces massed in Veracruz and Jalisco.

In a decisive battle at Ocotlán, Jalisco, Obregón’s forces crushed the rebel forces. Diplomatic recognition by the United States following the signing of the 1923 Bucareli Treaty was significant in Obregón’s victory over rebels. The U.S. supplied Obregón arms, but also aided him by sending 17 U.S. planes that bombed rebels in Jalisco. Obregón hunted down many of his former friends and had them executed. Following the crushing of the rebellion, Calles was elected president of Mexico and Obregón stepped down from office.

Obregón remained in close contact with President Calles, whom he had installed as his successor, and was a frequent guest of Calles at Chapultepec Castle. This prompted fears that Obregón was intending to follow in the footsteps of Porfirio Díaz and that Calles was merely a puppet figure, the equivalent of Manuel González. These fears became acute in October 1926, when the Mexican Congress repealed term limits, thus clearing the way for Obregón to run for president in 1928. Obregón returned to the battlefield for the period October 1926 to April 1927 to put down a rebellion led by the Yaqui people. This was somewhat ironic because Obregón had first risen to military prominence commanding Yaqui troops, to whom he promised land, and the 1926–27 Yaqui rebellion was a demand for land reform.

Obregón formally began his presidential campaign in May 1927. Two of Obregón’s oldest allies, General Arnulfo R. Gómez and General Francisco “Pancho” Serrano, opposed his re-election. Serrano launched an anti-Obregón rebellion and was ultimately assassinated. Gómez later called for an insurrection against Obregón but was soon killed as well. Obregón won the 1928 Mexican presidential election, but months before assuming the presidency he was assassinated. Calles’s harsh treatment of Roman Catholics had led to a rebellion known as the Cristero War, which broke out in 1926. As an ally of Calles, Obregón was hated by Catholics and was assassinated in La Bombilla Café on July 17, 1928, shortly after his return to Mexico City, by José de León Toral, a Roman Catholic opposed to the government’s policies on religious matters.

Although Obregón was a gifted military strategist during the Revolution and decisively defeated Pancho Villa’s Division of the North at the Battle of Celaya and went on to become President of Mexico, his posthumous name recognition and standing as a hero of the Revolution is nowhere near that of Villa’s or Emiliano Zapata’s. His assassination in 1928 before he could take the presidential office created a major political crisis in Mexico, which was solved by the creation of the National Revolutionary Party by his fellow Sonoran, General and former President Plutarco Elías Calles.

An imposing monument to Álvaro Obregón is located in the Parque de la Bombilla, Avenida Miguel Ángel de Quevedo at Insurgentes, San Ángel, Mexico City. The monument to Obregón is the largest to a single revolutionary. Obregón’s body after his 1928 assassination is buried in Huatabampo, Sonora.

November 23, 2018 – The group has headed off to tour of Teotihuacan Pyramids at 9:00 am precisely with out 2 guides, Carlos and Alfonso. Hard to believe we are half way thru the tour, where has all the time gone? Tomorrow at 8:00 am the Caravan leaves for Morelia in the state of Michoacan.

Day 11, 12, 13 – Club Roca Azul, Jocotepec
The day after we arrived, we had a tour scheduled to visit Guadalajara, the 2nd largest city in Mexico. Some folks were not feeling well and took a pass on the tour. As it turns out this worked out, as the Van that showed up sat exactly 15 people which included Teo (our guide) and the driver, but it was tight. There was a children’s camp going when we arrived which wrapped up on Sunday, lots of organized events and a soccer school. Our Caravan was parked together at the end of the field with services for everyone, lots of trees, shade and green grass. On day 3 at Roca Azul we had a tour to Tlaquepaque and this time with a much bigger bus. Again, Teo was the guide.

From all reports Teo was fabulous, very attentive and helpful and the group really enjoyed their time in the Guadalajara & Tlaquepaque that included lots of sightseeing, shopping and stops to eat. That last day was a free day and most went into Walmart and Chapala. Lisa and I did some shopping as well, looked after the dogs and refilled everyone’s water containers. We did get a chance to visit Rafa who had been visiting Mexico City. Rafa and his brother now own a Auto Parts Store Chain with a number of stores similar to Pep Boys. The Caravan enjoyed their time at Roca Azul and Lisa and I will be back.

Day 14, 15, 16 – Bugamvilla RV Campground, Guanajuato
We departed at 8:30 am on schedule and headed to Guanajuato and the Bugamville RV Park. Unlike 2016 we were able to bypass the City of Guadalajara using a Hwy that was completed in 2017, definitely a much better and calmer route. As we got closer the traffic increased but Molly (our GPS) got us where we need to be, and we arrived about 4:00 pm with 4 stops in between for lunch, fuel and body breaks. We did loose site of a couple of RVs for 30 or 40 minutes as they had gone ahead for fuel, however they were waiting and rejoined the Caravan prior to our arrival. Carlos was ready for us at the gate when we showed up, and there was already a couple of Motorhomes from Quebec camped out. We celebrated California Mike’s birthday at an impromptu Happy Hour with the gang. *We also figured out those with 4X4 on the side of their trucks routinely paid a higher toll then trucks without that signage (even though they were also 4X4s).

Day 15 Carlos had the Tour Bus arranged for us as reserved which picked up the group at 9:30 am and returned everyone at 4:30 am. Gabriel was the driver and guide and by all reports did an excellent job, the gang tipped him well. Guanajuato is a site to see for sure, particularly the creepy Mummy Museo. Lots of folks had laundry, 40 pesos per kilo, picked up and delivered, expensive but a handy service.  Mike and I took all the empty Propane Tanks to a facility down the highway less then 2 km and had them all refilled before the gang returned. On their return we had a Happy Hour as they wanted to share their experiences, it was fun for sure. We are very happy to report that Carlos now has Wi-Fi that works, although not throughout the park. We also had Carlos change out the jumpers in a meter base for the RV electrical outlets which did help the power. He had #14 AWG jumpers, with #8 AWG feeding both sides, once #8 AWG jumpers were installed the voltage improved. Keep in mind the wiring standards in Mexico are different then Canada and the US.

On our 3rd day everyone relaxed and did there own thing until the Taxis we ordered arrived at 3:30 pm to take us into town. Fee was $130 per Taxi each way and we added a $20 pesos tip. On arrival we did some shopping then dinner at Casa Valadez which had been recommended by our Cabo San Lucas friends Peter & Geraldine. We were joined by Mike & Kelly and Mike & Linda, later Gary & Bev arrived at Casa Valadez. Dinner was a little expensive but worth every peso; great food, service and a wonderful ambience. After we jumped into cabs and returned to the RV Park about 7:30 pm. Before we left Carlos informed us, he had been in touch with the Wi-Fi provider and he planned to put an antenna on his sister’s house behind the park so the internet would be available at each RV, good news!

Day 17, 18, 19 – San Ramon Hotel & RV Park, San Miguel de Allende
Today was a short drive to San Miguel de Allende and the San Ramon Hotel & RV Park, much different then the route we took in 2016. This was a wonderful drive, good road (a little narrow), very scenic and little traffic (except the vehicles behind us). Our planned route was interrupted as the road on our last turn was closed. In turn we were on a major Hwy into San Miguel for 20 minutes or so, not really a big deal. We arrived about 11:00 am, managed to get everyone off the highway and then the fun began. Although San Ramon had our reservations for well over a year including the sizes of the RVs they were unprepared for our arrival. It took us over an hour and a half to get everyone parked and we were last. The upper area where we eventually put 5 RVs was confined because of 3 stored RVs. Like putting a Jig Saw puzzle together, we found spaces for everyone, top and bottom. I needed a beer for sure after this. At 2:30 pm some of the gang joined us and we headed into town on the bus, cost us 7 pesos, and were back by 4:30 pm. On return a Happy Hour broke out at the lower area, and much fun was had as we celebrated Gary’s birthday.

The next day we all headed into San Miguel de Allende on the bus to “El Porton” and the entrance to the “Artisan Alley”. We walked the group thru the shopping area which was just opening when we arrived. We had reservations for an 11:00 am Trolley Bus, pre-paid from Canada for 14 people with an English-speaking guide. Everything went as planned except for the guide, my Spanish was much better then her English and that was disappointing for the group. Having said that they enjoyed the tour of San Miguel de Allende. Afterwards everyone made their way back to the San Ramon Hotel & RV Park, most by bus, some by Taxi.

On our last day we drove out to Dolores Hildago for some serious pottery shopping and no one disappointed with the wide variety of goods and selection. We parked at the nearby Super Mercado and shopping extravaganza was on. After a couple of hours folks had lunch and returned to the campground. We had planned to head back into San Miguel for dinner, however everyone chose to stay put and enjoy some downtime.

Day 20, 21, 22 – Pepe’s Hotel & RV Park, Tepotzotlan
Our drive to Tepotzotlan was great and took us around Queretaro, about 4 hours in all. Our guides Carlos & Alfonso met us after the toll booth and guided us into Pepe’s on an outer road away from the town centre. When we arrived, we were greeted by staff and a large “Welcome Baja Amigos To Mexico” banner, it was wonderful. Parking the RVs was straight forward as there was many spaces available and lots of room to manoeuvre. Later Pepe arrived and hosted a reception for the group personally with staff although he is gravely ill. This was very meaningful for the group and we were privileged to meet him in person. He answered all the questions folks had and was really quite charming.

The next day the group was off to Mexico City by Bus hired thru Pepe’s and it did not disappoint. It was new and could seat at least 24 with a washroom on board. It took less then 2 hours and they were checking in at the Hotel Majestic (Best Western) on the Zokalo. After lunch they jumped on a Turi-Bus for a scenic tour of town, then dinner and finished the day at the world famous Mexican Folkloric Performance at the main downtown theatre. The next day after a buffet breakfast they were off for a walking tour around the Zokalo which included the Templo Mayor which was the Aztec main temple of the Mexica Peoples in their capital city of Tenochtitlan. They returned to Pepe’s after a busy 2 days and an impromptu Happy Hour broke which included pumpkin pie in recognition of the American Thanksgiving Holiday.

*Lastly I want to wish my Brother (older) Rod a Happy Birthday, he turns the big 64 today! Congrats Bro only 1 more year and you can collect OAS!

Did you know?
Guadalajara is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the Western-Pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,495,189 it is Mexico’s fourth most populous municipality. The Guadalajara Metropolitan Area includes seven adjacent municipalities with a reported population of 4,328,584 in 2009, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Mexico, behind Mexico City. The municipality is the second most densely populated one in Mexico; the first being Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl in State of Mexico.

Guadalajara is the 10th largest city in Latin America in terms of population, urban area and gross domestic product. The city is named after the Spanish city of Guadalajara, the name of which came from the Andalusian Arabic wād(i) l-ḥijāra, meaning “river/valley of stones”. The city’s economy is based on industry, especially information technology, with a large number of international firms having manufacturing facilities in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. Other, more traditional industries, such as shoes, textiles and food processing are also important contributing factors.

Guadalajara is a cultural center of Mexico, considered by most to be the home of mariachi music and host to a number of large-scale cultural events such as the International Film Festival of Guadalajara and the Guadalajara International Book Fair and a number of globally renowned cultural events which draw international crowds. It is also home to the C.D. Guadalajara, one of the most popular football clubs in Mexico. This city was named the American Capital of Culture for 2005. Guadalajara also hosted the 2011 Pan American Games.

History
The city was established in five other places before moving to its current location. The first settlement in 1532 was in Mesa del Cerro, now known as Nochistlán, Zacatecas. This site was settled by Cristóbal de Oñate as commissioned by Nuño de Guzmán, with the purpose of securing recent conquests and defending them against the still-hostile natives. The settlement did not last long at this spot due to the lack of water, so in 1533 it was moved to a location near Tonalá. Four years later, Guzmán ordered that the village be moved to Tlacotán. While the settlement was in Tlacotán, the Spanish king Charles VI granted the coat of arms that the city still has today.

This settlement was ferociously attacked during the Mixtón War in 1543 by Caxcan, Portecuex and Zacateco peoples under the command of Tenamaxtli. The war was initiated by the natives due to the cruel treatment of Indians by Nuño de Guzmán, in particular the enslavement of captured natives. Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza had to take control of the campaign to suppress the revolt after the Spanish were defeated in several engagements. The conflict ended after Mendoza made some concessions to the Indians such as freeing the Indian slaves and granting amnesty. The village of Guadalajara barely survived the war, and the villagers attributed their survival to the Archangel Michael, who remains the patron of the city. It was then decided to move the city once again, this time to Atemajac, as it was more defensible. The city has remained there to this day. In 1542, records indicate that 126 people were living in Guadalajara, and in the same year, the status of city was granted by the Spanish king. Guadalajara was officially founded on February 19, 1550 in the Valley of Atemajac. The settlement’s name came from the Spanish hometown of Nuño de Guzmán.

In 1559, royal offices for the province of Nueva Galicia were moved from Compostela to Guadalajara, as well as the bishopric. Construction of the cathedral was begun in 1563. In 1575, religious orders such as the Augustinians and Dominicans arrived, which would make the city a center for evangelization efforts. The historic city center encompasses what was four centers of population, as the villages of Mezquitán, Analco and Mexicaltzingo were annexed to the Atemajac site in 1669.

In 1791, the University of Guadalajara was established in the city, which was then the capital of Nueva Galicia. The inauguration was held in 1792 at the site of the old Santo Tomas College. While the institution was founded during the 18th century, it would not be fully developed until the 20th, starting in 1925. In 1794, the Hospital Real de San Miguel de Belén, or simply the Hospital de Belén, was opened.

In the 18th century Guadalajara’s economy was based on agriculture and production of goods such as textiles, shoes and food products. Guadalajara remained the capital of Nueva Galicia until the Mexican War of Independence. After Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla decided not to attack Mexico City, he decided to retreat to Guadalajara in late 1810. Initially his army were welcome, as he promised to lower taxes and put an end to slavery. However, violence by the rebel army to city residents, especially royalists, soured relations. Hidalgo did sign a proclamation ending slavery, which was honored in the country since after the war. During this time, he also founded the newspaper El Despertador Americano, dedicated to the insurgent cause.

During this time, royalist forces marched to Guadalajara, arriving in January 1811 with nearly 6,000 men. Insurgents Ignacio Allende and Mariano Abasolo wanted to concentrate their forces in the city and plan an escape route should they be defeated, but Hidalgo rejected this. Their second choice then was to make a stand at the Puente de Calderon just outside the city. Hidalgo had between 80,000 and 100,000 men and 95 cannons, but the better trained royalists won, decimating the insurgent army, forcing Hidalgo to flee towards Aguascalientes. Guadalajara would remain in royalist hands until nearly the end of the war.

After the state of Jalisco was erected in 1823, the city became its capital. In 1844, General Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga initiated a revolt against the government of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, which the president managed to quell personally. However, while Santa Anna was in Guadalajara, a revolt called the Revolution of the Three Hours brought José Joaquín Herrera to the presidency and put Santa Anna into exile. During the Reform War, President Benito Juárez had his government here for a time in 1856. French troops entered the city during the French Intervention in 1864, and the city was retaken by Mexican troops in 1866.

Despite the violence, the 19th century was a period of economic, technological and social growth for the city. After Independence, small-scale industries developed, many of them owned by immigrants from Europe. Rail lines connecting the city to the Pacific coast and north to the United States intensified trade and allowed products from rural areas of Jalisco state to be shipped. The ranch culture became a very important aspect of Jalisco’s and Guadalajara’s identity since this time. From 1884 to 1890, electrical service, railroad service and the Observatory were established.

Guadalajara again experienced substantial growth after the 1930s, and the first industrial park was established in 1947. The city’s population surpassed one million in 1964, and by the 1970s it was Mexico’s second largest city, and the largest in western Mexico. Most of the modern city’s urbanization took place between the 1940s and the 1980s, with the population doubling every ten years until it stood at 2.5 million in 1980 where it has remained.

The increase of population brought with it the increase in the size of what is now called Greater Guadalajara, rather than an increase in the population density of the city. Migrants coming into Guadalajara from the 1940s to the 1980s were mostly from rural areas, who lived in the city center until they had enough money to buy property. This property was generally bought in the edges of the city, which were urbanizing into fraccionamientos, or residential areas. In the 1980s, the city was described as a “divided city” east to west based on socioeconomic class. Since then, the city has evolved into four sectors, which are still more-or-less class centered. The upper classes tend to live in Hidalgo and Juárez in the northwest and southwest, while lower classes tend to live in the city center, Libertad in the north east and southeast in Reforma. However, lower class development has developed on the city’s periphery and upper and middle classes are migrating toward Zapopan, making the situation less neatly divided.

Since 1996, activity by multinational corporations has had a significant effect on the economic and social development of the city. The presence of companies such as Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and IBM has been based on production facilities built just outside the city proper, bringing in foreign labor and capital. This was made possible in the 1980s by surplus labor, infrastructure improvements and government incentives. These companies focus on electrical and electronic items, which is now one of Guadalajara’s two main products (the other being beer). This has internationalized the economy, steering it away from manufacturing and toward services, dependent on technology and foreign investment. This has not been favorable for the unskilled working class and traditional labor sectors.

1992 sewer explosions
On April 22, 1992, numerous gasoline explosions in the sewer system over four hours destroyed 8 km (5 mi) of streets in the downtown district of Analco. Gante Street was the most damaged. Officially, 206 people were killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 were left homeless. The estimated monetary damage ranges between $300 million and $1 billion. The affected areas can be recognized by the more modern architecture in the areas that were destroyed.

Three days before the explosion, residents started complaining of a strong gasoline-like smell coming from the sewers. City workers were dispatched to check the sewers and found dangerously high levels of gasoline fumes. However, no evacuations were ordered. An investigation into the disaster found that there were two precipitating causes. The first was new water pipes that were built too close to an existing gasoline pipeline. Chemical reactions between the pipes caused erosion. The second was a flaw in the sewer design that did not allow accumulated gases to escape.

Numerous arrests were made in an attempt to indict those responsible for the blasts. Four PEMEX (the state oil company) officials were indicted and charged, on the basis of negligence. Ultimately, however, these people were cleared of all charges. Calls for the restructuring of PEMEX were made but they were successfully resisted.

Ocampo assassination
On May 24, 1993, Archbishop Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, along with six other people, was assassinated on the parking lot of Guadalajara International Airport. He was inside his car and received 14 gunshot wounds. A government inquiry concluded he was caught in a shootout between rival cocaine cartels and was mistakenly identified as a drug lord, but no one was ever imprisoned for the slaying. Juan Francisco Murillo Díaz “El Güero Jaibo” and Édgar Nicolás Villegas “El Negro”, members of the Tijuana Cartel, were identified as the masterminds of the homicide.

The city has hosted several important international events, such as the first Cumbre Iberoamericana in 1991, the Third Summit of Heads of State and Governments from Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union in 2004, the Encuentro Internacional de Promotores y Gestores Culturales in 2005, and the 2011 Pan American Games. It was also named the American Capital of Culture in 2005, Ciudad Educadora (Educator City) in 2006 and the first Smart City in Mexico due to its use of technology in development.

In its 2007 survey entitled “Cities of the Future”, FDi magazine ranked Guadalajara highest among major Mexican cities, and designated Guadalajara as having the second strongest economic potential of any major North American city, behind Chicago. The magazine also ranked the city as the most business-friendly Latin American city in 2007.

Historic downtown
The historic downtown of Guadalajara is the oldest section of the city, where it was founded and the oldest buildings are located. It centers on Paseo Morelos/Paseo Hospicio from the Plaza de Armas, where the seats of ecclesiastical and secular power are, and east toward the Plaza de Mariachis and the Hospicio Cabañas. The Plaza de Armas is a rectangular plaza with gardens, ironwork benches and an ironwork kiosk which was made in Paris in the 19th century.

Within Guadalajara’s historic downtown, there are a large number of squares and public parks: Parque Morelos, Plaza de los Mariachis, Plaza Fundadores, Plaza Tapatia, Plaza del Agave, Parque Revolucion, Jardin del Santuario, Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Liberacion, Plaza Guadalajara and the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres, the last four of which surround the cathedral to form a Latin Cross.  Construction began on the Metropolitan Cathedral in 1558 and the church was consecrated in 1616. Its two towers were built in the 19th century after an earthquake destroyed the originals. They are considered one of the city’s symbols. The architecture is a mix of Gothic, Baroque, Moorish and Neoclassical. The interior has three naves and eleven side altars, covered by a roof supported by thirty Doric columns.

The Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres (Rotunda of Illustrious Men) is a monument made of quarried stone, built in 1952 to honor the memory of distinguished people from Jalisco. A circular structure of seventeen columns surrounds ninety-eight urns containing the remains of those honored. Across the street is the municipal palace which was built in 1952. It has four façades of quarried stone, and it is mostly of neoclassical design with elements such as courtyards, entrances and columns that imitate the older structures of the city. The Palace of the State Government is in Churrigueresque and Neoclassical styles and was begun in the 17th century and finished in 1774. The interior was completely remodeled after an explosion in 1859. This building contains a number of murals by José Clemente Orozco, a native of Jalisco, including “Lucha Social,” “Circo Político”, “Las Fuerzas Ocultas” and “Hidalgo” which depicts depicts Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla with his arm raised above his head in anger at the government and the church.

The Cathedral is bordered to the east by the Plaza de la Liberación, nicknamed the Plaza de las Dos Copas, referring to the two fountains on the east and west sides. Facing this plaza is the Teatro Degollado (Degollado Theater). Built in the mid-nineteenth century in neoclassical design the main portal has a pediment with a scene in relief called “Apollo and the Muses” sculpted in marble by Benito Castañeda. The interior vaulted ceiling is painted with a fresco by Jacobo Gálvez and Gerardo Suárez which depicts a scene from the Divine Comedy. Behind the theater is another plaza with a fountain called the Fuente de los Fundadores (Fountain of the Founders). The plaza is located in the exact spot where the city was founded and contains a sculpture depicting Cristobal de Oñate at the event (finsemana).

The Jalisco Regional Museum (Ex seminary de San José) was built at the beginning of the 18th century to be the Seminario Conciliar de San José. From 1861 to 1914, it housed a school called Liceo de Varones. In 1918, it became the Museum of Fine Arts. In 1976, it was completely remodeled for its present use. The Museum displays its permanent collection in sixteen halls, fourteen of which are dedicated to Paleontology, Pre-History, and Archeology. One of the prized exhibits is a complete skeleton of a mammoth. The other two halls are dedicated to painting and history. The painting collection includes works by Juan Correa, Cristóbal de Villalpando and José de Ibarra.

Between the Cathedral and the Hospicio is a large plaza called Plaza Tapatía, its centerpiece is the large Quetzalcoátl sculpture/fountain. Southeast of this plaza is the Mercado Libertad, aka the Mercado de San Juan de Dios, one of the largest traditional markets in Mexico. The Temple of San Juan de Dios, a Baroque church built in the 17th century, is located next to the market.

At the east end is the Plaza de los Mariachis and the Ex-Hospicio Cabañas. The Plaza de los Mariachis is faced by a number of restaurants featuring live mariachis play in the evening. The Ex-Hospicio Cabañas extends along the entire east side of the Plaza. Constructed by Manuel Tolsá beginning in 1805 under orders of Carlos III it was inaugurated and began its function as an orphanage in 1810, in spite of the fact that it would not be finished until 1845. It was named after Bishop Ruiz de Cabañas y Crespo. The façade of the building is Neoclassical and its main entrance is topped by a triangular pediment. Today, it is the home of the Instituto Cultural Cabañas (Cabañas Cultural Institute) and its main attraction is the murals by José Clemente Orozco, which covers the main entrance hall. Among these murals is “Hombre del Fuego” (Man of Fire) considered to be one of Orozco’s finest works.

Off this east-west axis are a number of other significant constructions. The Legislative Place is Neoclassical which was originally built in the 18th century. It was reconstructed in 1982. The Palace of Justice was finished in 1897. The Old University Building was a Jesuit College named Santo Tomás de Aquino. It was founded in 1591. Later, it became the second Mexican University in 1792. Its main portal is of yellow stone. The Casa de los Perros (House of the Dogs) was constructed in 1896 in neoclassical design. On Avenida Juarez is the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora del Carmen which was founded between 1687 and 1690 and remodeled completely in 1830. It retains its original coat of arms of the Carmelite Order as well as sculptures of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Adjoining it is what is left of the Carmelite monastery, which was one of the richest in New Spain.

Economy
Guadalajara has the 3rd largest economy and industrial infrastructure in Mexico, contributing 37% of the state of Jalisco’s total gross production. Its economic base is strong, diversified and mainly based on commerce and services, although the manufacturing sector plays a defining role. Ranked in the top ten in Latin America in terms of gross domestic product, 3rd highest ranking in Mexico, in its 2007 survey entitled “Cities of the Future”, FDi magazine ranked Guadalajara highest among major Mexican cities. Guadalajara was designated as having the 2nd strongest economic potential of any major North American city behind Chicago. FDI Magazine also ranked the city as the most business-friendly Latin American city in 2007.

In 2009 Moody’s Investors Service assigned ratings of Ba1 (Global scale, local currency) and A1.mx (Mexican national scale). During the prior five years, the municipality’s financial performance had been mixed, but has begun to stabilize in the last two years. Guadalajara manages one of the largest budgets among Mexican municipalities and its revenue per capita indicator (Ps. $2,265) places it above the average for Moody’s-rated municipalities in Mexico.

The city’s economy has two main sectors. Commerce and tourism employ most: about 60% of the population. The other is industry, which has been the engine of economic growth and the basis of Guadalajara’s economic importance nationally even though it employs only about a third of the population. Industries here produce products such as food and beverages, toys, textiles, auto parts, electronic equipment, pharmaceuticals, footwear, furniture and steel products. Two of the major industries here have been textiles and shoes, which are still dynamic and growing. Sixty percent of manufactured products are sold domestically, while forty percent are exported, mostly to the United States. This makes Guadalajara’s economic fortunes dependent upon those of the U.S., both as a source of investment and as a market for its goods.

However, it is the electronics and information technology sectors here that have given the city the nickname of the “Silicon Valley of Mexico.” Guadalajara is the main producer of software, electronic and digital components in Mexico. Telecom and computer equipment from Guadalajara accounts for about a quarter of Mexico’s electronics exports. Companies such as General Electric, IBM, Intel Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor, Hitachi Ltd., Hewlett-Packard, Siemens, Flextronics, Oracle, TCS, Cognizant Technology Solutions and Jabil Circuit have facilities in the city or its suburbs. This phenomenon began after the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). International firms started building facilities in Mexico, especially Guadalajara, displacing Mexican firms, especially in information technology. One of the problems this has created is that when there are economic downturns, these international firms scale back.

In 2007, a report in fDi magazine stated that Guadalajara has the second strongest economic potential of any major North American city, behind only Chicago for sheer economic potential. The same research noted Guadalajara as the “city of the future” due to its youthful population, low unemployment and large number of recent foreign investment deals; it was also found the third most business-friendly city in North America.

The city also has to compete with China, especially for electronics industries which rely on high volume and low wages. This has caused the city to move toward high-mix, mid-volume and value-added services, such as automotive. However, its traditional advantage of proximity to the U.S. market is one reason Guadalajara stays competitive. Mexico ranked third in 2009 in Latin America for the export of information technology services, behind Brazil and Argentina. This kind of service is mostly related to online and telephone technical support. The major challenge this sector has is the lack of university graduates who can speak English.

Local economy
Most of the economy revolves around commerce, employing 60% of the population. This activity has mainly focused on the purchase and sale of the following products: food and beverages, textiles, electronic appliances, tobacco, cosmetics, sport articles, construction materials and others. Guadalajara’s commercial activity is second only to Mexico City.

Globalization and neoliberal reforms have affected the form and distribution of commerce in Guadalajara since the early 1990s. This has led to tensions between traditional markets, such as the Mercardo Libertad, and retailers such as department stores and supermarkets. Local governments in the metropolitan area used to invest in and heavily regulate traditional markets but this is no longer the case. To attract private corporate investment, regulatory control eased and most commercial developments now are controlled by private concerns. The city is the national leader in the development and investment of shopping malls. Many shopping centers have been built, such as Plaza Galerias, one of the largest shopping centers in Latin America, and Andares. Galerías Guadalajara covers 160,000 m2 (1,722,225.67 sq ft) and has 220 stores. It contains the two largest movie theaters in Latin America, both with IMAX screens. It hosts art exhibits and fashion shows, and has an area for cultural workshops. Anchor stores includes Liverpool and Sears and specialty stores such as Hugo Boss, Max Mara and Lacoste. Also Best Buy opened its first Guadalajara store here. It’s on the third floor and has its own additional private entrance on the top floor of the adjacent parking lot. Another Best Buy store was inaugurated in Ciudadela Lifestyle Center mall, which was the chain’s third largest in the world, according to the company.

Andares is another important commercial center located in Zapopan. This $530 million mixed-use complex opened in 2008, designed by renowned Mexican Sordo Madaleno architecture firm features luxury residences and a high-level mall anchored by two large department stores, Liverpool and El Palacio de Hierro. The 133,000 m2 (1,400,000+ sq ft) mall offers hundreds of stores, a big food court located on the second floor and several restaurants at the Paseo Andares.

A large segment of the commercial sector caters to tourists and other visitors. Recreational tourism is mainly concentrated in the historic downtown. In addition to being a cultural and recreational attraction and thanks to its privileged geographical location, the city also serves as an axis to nearby popular beach destinations such as Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Mazatlán. Other types of visitors include those who travel to attend seminars, conventions and other events in fields such as academic, entertainment, sports and business. The best-known venue for this purposes is the Expo Guadalajara, a large convention center surrounded by several hotels. It was built in 1987 and it is considered the most important convention center in Mexico.

Foreign investment and trade
Most of Guadalajara’s economic growth since 1990 has been tied with foreign investment. International firms have invested here to take advantage of the relatively cheap but educated and highly productive labor, establishing manufacturing plants which re-export their products to the United States, as well as provide goods for the internal Mexican market. A media report in early October 2013 stated that five major Indian IT (information technology) companies have established offices in Guadalajara, while several other Indian IT companies continue to explore the option of expanding to Mexico. Due to the competitiveness in the Indian IT sector, companies are expanding internationally, and Mexico offers an affordable opportunity for Indian companies to better position themselves to enter the United States market. The trend emerged after 2006 and the Mexican government also offers incentives to foreign companies.

Exports from the city went from 3.92 billion USD in 1995 to 14.3 billion in 2003. From 1990 to 2000, socio-economic indicators show that quality of life improved overall; however, there is still a large gap between the rich and the poor, and the rich have benefited from the globalization and privatization of the economy more than the poor. International investment has not only affected the labor market in the Guadalajara metro area but also that of the rural towns and villages that surround it. Guadalajara is the distribution center for the region and its demands have led to a shifting of employment, from traditional agriculture and crafts to manufacturing and commerce in urban centers. This has led to mass migration from the rural areas to the metropolitan area.

Politics
Like other municipalities in Mexico, Guadalajara is governed by a municipal president, who exercises executive power for three consecutive years, this office is currently occupied by Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz candidate for the PRI. The legislature has the cabildo, formed by the form chosen by the candidate for mayor, made up of aldermen, who are not elected by the people by direct or indirect voting, but the return happens automatically if the mayor wins. The municipality is divided into five electoral districts for the purpose of election of representatives of the city in the federal legislature. These districts are the VIII, IX, XI, XIII and XIV of the state of Jalisco.

Municipality and the metropolitan area
The city of Guadalajara and the municipality of Guadalajara are essentially co extensive with over 99% of the municipality living within the city limits, and nearly all of the municipality urbanized. Urbanization centered on the city spreads out over seven other municipalities; of Zapopan, Tlaquepaque, Tonalá, Tlajomulco de Zuñiga, El Salto, Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos and Juanacatlán. These areas form the “Guadalajara Metropolitan Area” (Zona Metropolitana de Guadalajara in Spanish), which is the most populous in the state of Jalisco and the second most populous in the country after the Mexico City Metropolitan area. This metropolitan area had a population of 4,298,715 in 2008.

Education
Guadalajara is an important nucleus of universities and educational centers with national prestige. The most important is the Universidad de Guadalajara, which was established on October 12, 1791 by royal decree. The entity underwent a number of reorganizations since then, but the modern university as it exists today was established in 1925, when the governor of Jalisco convened professors, students and others to re-establish the university. These precepts were organized into a law called the “Ley Organica.” Ranked fifth among the best Mexican Universities in year 2012

Guadalajara is also home to ITESO, a Jesuit university, and has campuses of several private schools such as a campus of the Universidad del Valle de México, Tec de Monterrey, Universidad Marista de Guadalajara,Universidad Guadalajara LAMAR, Universidad Panamericana Sede Guadalajara, as well as the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG), which was founded in 1935 and is the oldest private university in Mexico, and Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (UNIVA). In addition, the city hosts The American School Foundation of Guadalajara (ASFG) which has 1420 students in pre-school through twelfth grade; it is the only US-accredited school in Guadalajara.

Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, Guadalajara has a humid subtropical climate (Cwa) that is quite close to a tropical climate, featuring dry, warm winters and hot, wet summers. Guadalajara’s climate is influenced by its high altitude and the general seasonality of precipitation patterns in western North America. Although the temperature is warm year-round, Guadalajara has very strong seasonal variation in precipitation. The northward movement of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone brings a great deal of rain in the summer months, whereas for the rest of the year, the climate is rather arid. The extra moisture in the wet months moderates the temperatures, resulting in cooler days and nights during this period. The highest temperatures are usually reached in May averaging 33 °C (91 °F), but can reach up to 39 °C (102 °F) just before the onset of the wet season. March tends to be the driest month and July the wettest, with an average of 273 millimetres (10.7 in) of rain, over a quarter of the annual average of about 1,002 millimetres (39.4 in).

During the rainy season, afternoon storms are very common and can sometimes bring hail storms to the city, especially towards late August or September. Winters are relatively warm despite the city’s altitude, with January daytime temperatures reaching about 25 °C (77 °F) and nighttime temperatures about 10 °C (50 °F). However, the outskirts of the city (generally those close to the Primavera Forest) experience in average cooler temperatures than the city itself. There, temperatures around 0 °C (32 °F) can be recorded during the coldest nights. Frost may also occur during the coldest nights, but temperatures rarely fall below 0 °C (32 °F) in the city, making it an uncommon phenomenon. Cold fronts in winter can sometimes bring light rain to the city for several days in a row. Snowfall is extremely rare, with the last recorded one occurring on December 1997, which was the first time in 116 years, since it last fell in 1881.

Transportation
Line 1 of the Guadalajara light rail/metro system, in median of Avenida Colón. The two-line system is partly on the surface and partly underground.

Guadalajara is well connected by modern highways to Mexico City, to the Northwest and to the major beach resorts of Manzanillo, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. The main highways are Highway 15, which connects the city northwest to Nogales, Sonora, via Tepic, Nayarit and east to Mexico City via Morelia. Highway 80D leads northwest towards Aguascalientes, and Highway 54D leads south to the coast via Colima. The city is served by the Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport, also known as Guadalajara International Airport (ICAO code: MMGL) opened in 1966. It is located 16 km (10 mi) south of downtown Guadalajara, and it was built on the Tlajomulco de Zuñiga city, way down to Chapala. This airport is the third most active of the country (after Mexico City and Cancún) with direct flights to many Mexican and American cities. It also has a lively and distinctive network of car-free streets.

Within the city itself, there are various forms of public transportation. The Guadalajara light rail/metro system, named SITEUR (Sistema de Tren Eléctrico Urbano), Spanish for Urban Electrical Train System, provides rapid transit service within Guadalajara and the neighboring municipalities of Zapopan and Tlaquepaque. It consists of two lines: line 1, running from north to south, with 19 stations, and line 2, running from downtown to the east, with 10 stations. The trains are electric and have a top speed of 70 km/h (43 mph). Currently there are 48 articulated cars in service, built in Mexico by Concarril/Bombardier. There is a plan for Line 3 going from north-central Ávila Camacho station to Tesistán as well as plans to extend Line 2 from Tetlán to Tonalá. The Guadalajara Macrobus is a public transportation system based on the concept of Bus Rapid Transit, where buses run in lanes specifically for them and have stations for boarding. Phase I of the Macrobús project opened in 2009 as a line 16-km line following Calzada Independencia and serving 27 stations. The city also has the Guadalajara trolleybus system, which has been operating since the 1970s, and there are several private companies operating regular city buses.

Culture
Guadalajara is the cultural center of western Mexico and the second most important cultural center in the country. It is nicknamed the “Pearl of the West.” While it is a modern city, it has kept many of the rural traditions of Jalisco, such as mariachi and a strong sense of Catholicism. Cultural tourism is one of the most important economic activities, especially in the historic center. Guadalajara is a center of learning with six universities, two culinary institutes and a thriving art scene. Guadalajara has twenty two museums, which include the Regional Museum of Jalisco, the Wax Museum, the Trompo Mágico children’s museum and the Museum of Anthropology. The Hospicio Cabañas in the historic center is a World Heritage Site. For these attributes and others, the city was named an American Capital of Culture in 2005.

This city has been the cradle and dwelling of distinguished poets, writers, painters, actors, film directors and representatives of the arts, etc., such as: José Clemente Orozco, Dr. Atl, Roberto Montenegro, Alejandro Zohn, Luis Barragán, Carlos Orozco Romero, Federico Fabregat, Raul Anguiano, Juan Soriano, Javier Campos Cabello, Martha Pacheco, Alejandro Colunga, José Fors, Juan Kraeppellin, Davis Birks, Carlos Vargas Pons, Jis, Trino, Erandini, Enrique Oroz, Rubén Méndez, Mauricio Toussaint, Scott Neri, Paula Santiago, Edgar Cobian, L.Felipe Manzano, and (the artist formerly known as Mevna); The freeplay guitarist and music composer for the movies El Mariachi and The Legend of Zorro, Paco Renteria; important exponents of Literature such as: Juan Rulfo, Francisco Rojas, Agustín Yáñez, Elías Nandino, Idella Purnell, Jorge Souza, among others; classic repertoire composers like Gonzalo Curiel, José Pablo Moncayo, Antonio Navarro, Ricardo Zohn, Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez and Gabriel Pareyon; film directors like Felipe Cazals, Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, Erik Stahl, Guillermo del Toro and actors like Katy Jurado, Enrique Alvarez Felix, and Gael García Bernal.

The cuisine is a mix of pre-Hispanic and Spanish influences, like the rest of Mexico, but dishes here have their own flavors and are made with their own techniques. One of the main distinguishing dishes is birria. This is goat or lamb meat cooked in a spicy sauce seasoned with chili peppers, ginger, cumin, black pepper, oregano and cloves. The traditional way of preparing birria is to pit roast the meat and spices wrapped in maguey leaves. It is served in bowls along with minced onion, limes and tortillas.

Another dish that is strongly associated with Guadalajara is tortas ahogadas, literally “drowned tortas (sub sandwiches).” This sandwich is an oblong “bolillo” bun (made denser in Guadalajara than in the rest of the country) filled with pork and other ingredients. Then the sandwich is covered in a red tomato/chili pepper sauce. Other dishes that are popular here include pozole, a soup prepared with hominy, chicken or pork and various condiments and pipián, which is a sauce prepared with peanuts, squash and sesame seed. Bionico is a popular local dessert. The city hosts the Feria Internacional Gastronomía (International Gastronomy Fair) each year in September showcasing both Mexican and international cuisines. A large number of restaurants, bars, bakeries and cafés participate as well as producers of beer, wine and tequila.

Mariachi music is strongly associated with Guadalajara both in Mexico and abroad even though the musical style originated in the nearby town of Cocula, Jalisco. The connection between the city and mariachi began in 1907 when an eight-piece mariachi band and four dancers from the city performed on stage at the president’s residence for both Porfirio Díaz and the secretary of State of the United States. This made the music a symbol of west Mexico, and after the migration of many people from the Guadalajara area to Mexico City (mostly settling near Plaza Garibaldi), it then became a symbol of Mexican identity as well Guadalajara hosts the Festival of Mariachi and Charreria, which began in 1994. It attracts personages in the fields of art, culture and politics from both Mexico and abroad. Regularly the best mariachis in Mexico participate, such as Mariachi Vargas, Mariachi de América and Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano. Mariachi bands from all over the world participate, coming from countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Belgium, Chile, France, Australia, Slovak Republic, Canada and the United States.

The events of this festival take place in a number of venues all over the metropolitan area and includes a parade with floats. In August 2009, 542 mariachi musicians played together for a little over ten minutes to break the world’s record for largest mariachi group. The musicians played various songs ending with two classic Mexican songs “Cielito Lindo” and “Guadalajara.” The feat was performed during the XVI Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y la Charreria. The prior record was 520 musicians in 2007 in San Antonio, Texas. In the historic center of the city is the Plaza de los Mariachis, named such as many groups play here. The plaza is being renovated for the 2011 Pan American Games in anticipation of the crowds that will visit the city. Over 750 mariachi musicians play traditional melodies on the plaza, and along with the restaurants and other businesses, the plaza supports more than 830 families. A recent innovation has been the fusion of mariachi melodies and instruments with rock and roll performed by rock musicians in the Guadalajara area. An album collecting a number of these melodies was produced called “Mariachi Rock-O.” There are plans to take these bands on tour in Mexico, the United States and Europe.

In addition to mariachi, the city is home to a renowned symphony orchestra. The Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco (Jalisco Philarmonic Orchestra) was founded by José Rolón in 1915. It held concerts from that time until 1924, when state funding was lost. However, the musicians kept playing to keep the orchestra alive. This eventually caught the attention of authorities and funding was restated in 1939. Private funding started in the 1940s and in 1950, an organization called Conciertos Guadalajara A. C. was formed to continue fundraising for the orchestra. In 1971, the orchestra became affiliated with the Department of Fine Arts of the State of Jalisco. The current name was adopted in 1988, as it became the orchestra for the state, not just the city of Guadalajara although it remains based here. International soloists such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Claudio Arrau, Jörg Demus, Henryck Szeryng, Nicanor Zabaleta, Plácido Domingo, Kurt Rydl and Alfred Brendel have performed with the organization. Today the orchestra is under the direction of Héctor Guzmán. The city is also host to several dance and ballet companies such as the Chamber Ballet of Jalisco, the Folkloric Ballet of the University of Guadalajara, and University of Guadalajara Contemporary Ballet.

Guadalajara is also known for several large cultural festivals. The International Film Festival of Guadalajara is a yearly event which happens in March. It mostly focuses on Mexican and Latin American films; however films from all over the world are shown. The event is sponsored by the Universidad de Guadalajara, CONACULTA, the Instituto Mexicano de Cinematographía as well as the governments of the cities of Guadalajara and Zapopan. The 2009 festival had over 200 films shown in more than 16 theatres and open-air forums, such as the inflatable screens set up in places such as Chapultepec, La Rambla Cataluña and La Minerva. In that year, the event gave out awards totaling 500,000 USD. The event attracts names such as Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, Greek director Constantin Costa-Gavras, Spanish actor Antonio Banderas and U.S. actor Edward James Olmos.

The Guadalajara International Book Fair is the largest Spanish language book fair in the world held each year over nine days at the Expo Guadalajara. Over 300 publishing firms from 35 different countries regularly attend, demonstrating the most recent productions in books, videos and new communications technologies. The event awards prizes such as the Premio FIL for literature, the Premio de Literatura Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, also for literature, and the Reconocimento al Mérito Editorial for publishing houses. There is an extensive exposition of books and other materials in Spanish, Portuguese and English, covering academia, culture, the arts and more for sale. More than 350,000 people attend from Mexico and abroad. In 2009, Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk, German children’s author Cornelia Funke and Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa participated along with about 500 other authors present. Activities include book presentations, academic talks, forums, and events for children.

The Festival Cultural de Mayo (May Cultural Festival) began in 1988. In 2009, the event celebrated the 400th anniversary of relations between Mexico and Japan, with many performances and exhibitions relation to Japanese culture. The 2009 festival featured 358 artists in 118 activities. Each year a different country is “invited”. Past guests have been Germany (2008), Mexico (2007), Spain (2006) and Austria (2005). France is the 2013 guest.

Despite the Guadalajara area historically being an ethnically Caxcan region, the Nahua peoples form the majority of Guadalajara’s indigenous population. There are several thousand indigenous language speakers in Guadalajara although the majority of the indigenous population is integrated within the general population and can speak Spanish.

Architecture
The style of architecture prevalent in Europe during the founding of Guadalajara is paralleled in the city’s colonial buildings. The Metropolitan Cathedral and Teatro Degollado are the purest examples of neoclassical architecture. The historical center hosts religious and civil colonial buildings, which are noted for their architectural and historical significance and are a rich mix of styles which are rooted in indigenous cultural contributions (mainly from Ute origin), incorporated in the Mozarabic and castizo, and later in modern European influences (mainly French and Italian) and American (specifically, from the United States). The French-inspired “Lafayette” neighborhood has many fine examples of early 20th-century residences that were later converted into boutiques and restaurants.

Guadalajara’s historical center has an excellent assortment of museums, theaters, galleries, libraries, auditoriums and concert halls, particular mention may be made to Hospicio Cabañas (which dates from the 18th century), the Teatro Degollado (considered the oldest opera house in Mexico), the Teatro Galerías and the Teatro Diana. The Hospicio Cabañas, which is home to some of the paintings (murals and easel) by José Clemente Orozco, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. Among the many structures of beauty is the International Headquarters Temple of La Luz del Mundo in Colonia Hermosa Provincia, which is the largest in Latin America.

During the Porfiriato the French style invaded the city because of the passion of former president Porfirio Díaz in the trends of French style, also Italian architects were responsible for shaping the Gothic structures that were built in the city. The passage of time reflected different trends from the baroque to Churrigueresque, Gothic and neoclassical pure. Even the architectural lines typical of the decades of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s the Art Deco and bold lines of postmodern architects of the time.
Some architectural styles found in the city are:
• Incipient Baroque
• Baroque
• Viceregal
• Neoclassical
• Modern
• Eclectic
• Art Deco
• Neo-Gothic

The modern architecture of Guadalajara has a numerous figure of different architectural production from the neo-regionalism to the primitiveness of the 60’s. Some of these architects are: Rafael Urzua, Luis Barragán, Ignacio Díaz Morales, Pedro Castellanos, Eric Coufal, Julio de la Peña, Eduardo Ibáñez Valencia and Félix Aceves Ortega.

November 11, 2018 – We arrived at Roca Azul RV Resort on Laguna Chapala in Jalisco yesterday from Tequila, Jalisco and this morning sent the gang off to see Guadalajara. Lisa and I are watching the dogs which includes giving Lulu her insulin shots. We have been on tour for 11 days now and I finally have time to get this Blog out, this has been a busy past 11 days and more.  At Baja Amigos we promise Fun & Adventure, two different words we remind people.  The first 11 days have embraced this concept in spades.

Orientation & Rendezvous – De Anza RV Resort, Amado, AZ – This was an opportunity to reacquaint our selves with everyone, most have been with us on Baja in the past, Mike & Linda were with Dom & Dianne, although we had met them.  Unfortunately Gary & Bev could not meet us in Amado, they had to drive to Texas and register their RV they had purchased.  We enjoyed our stay at the De Anza RV Resort, the owners very friendly and sites very clean and easy to get in and out. 

October 31-Nogales Home Depot, AZ – We all made our way to the Walmart parking lot in Nogales, AZ.  This is when we first met Gary & Bev our Aussie guests from down under. The plan was to meet Paul’s group (Caravana de Mexico) and leave for the border crossing the next morning early.  We had a Happy Hour with some last minute instructions, met the others and moved to the Home Depot up the hill for the night.  Lots of last minute shopping at Walmart and a repair on Paul’s water heater which blew a connection just prior to the move.  Good news Alf jumped in and before you knew it all was repaired.

November 1 & 2-Totonaka RV Park, San Carlos, Sonora – 7am departure and we were off in a bit of a Texas scramble and gathered just on the street at the entrance to Home Depot.  In an hour we were at KM 21 in Mexico doing our paperwork at 8:00 am, did not leave until 10:37 am. Those with pre-paid TIPs were in and out in no time at all, those without took longer.  Alf & Barb took the longest, we believe the problem was the age of the truck, a 1999 Dodge.  It appears the Mexicans were skeptical that Alf & Barb would actually use this for an RV and would sell it.  Really not sure, but with Paul’s help and persistence, they issued a TIP.

The drive was long, lots of road construction and at a fuel stop Bob & Debbie clipped a sandwich board sign (that was attached to the ground).  Some damage (minor), but we chewed up time negotiating a resolve ($500 pesos).  We arrived in San Carlos at sunset and the exit we would normally take off 15D was closed for construction which required a couple of U turns with an RV Caravan of 13 RVs.  We did make it and set up in the dark, what a day. 

The original schedule called for a 1 night stop, worked out well that it was 2 because of the schedule change for the Copper Canyon Tour .  Tried out the pool and pickle ball court. many went for a drive to Guaymas and into San Carlos.  We can see lots of changes since we were here in 2002 with all our kids.  The Wi-Fi (all important) was better then expected, the weather was perfect 28C for a high and 12C for a low.  We hosted a dinner at the restaurant in front of the park and this was fun and very tasty, a good time by all. 

Day 3, 4, 5 & 6-El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Bugamvilla Motel & RV Parking – 8:00 am departure under sunny skies and we were off, we encountered more construction and our original plan to take Hwy 114 was changed as the hurricane damage made that route not possible.  This added an additional 1.5 hours to our road time plus a couple of encounters with the Transito Police made for another long day but at least we got parked and set up before it go dark.  Gabriel and his wife Fran met us at the park and at sunset our group met with them about their Copper Canyon Tour.  After a few of us went across the street for dinner, this was a local Taqueria just like La Pasadita in Pescadero, Baja.

We cannot forget to mention the bity bugs at this place, they were brutal.  They were on us before we knew and had dozens of bites and they were mega itchy.  The gang got picked up at 7:25 am and they were off.  Our time in El Fuerte with Mike & Kelly was fun, also very hot, 36C each day.  We went town and checked out the Hotel of Zorro fame, the local Museo and the Zokolo.  We also had dinner in town and did some shopping.  The gang returned in the afternoon on Day 6 and some went into town, by all reports they had a wonderful time and Gabriel & Fran did a great job.

Day 7-Mazatlan, Sinaloa-We had a 7:30 am departure and it took hours doing the posted speed limit to reach Hwy 15D, Mexicans were not happy and blasted by us, some were visibly pissed. However we could not risk more stops by the Transito Police.  It is a problem to have one set of rules for locals and another set for tourists.  No problems with the drive and we arrived at about 3:30 pm.  The sites we tight but they worked.  Laundry & Wi-Fi at the office, next season this will be a 2 night stop as originally planned.

Day 8 -Tequila, Jalisco – This was a stunning drive, very beautiful and lush green everywhere.  Our stay at the baseball field was interesting, both with challenges in and out along a narrow neighbourhood road.  Lots of extra work was required when we arrived and left.  Our local organizer Brayan was helpful and worked a lot on my Spanish.  We walked to the square (8 minutes), so the location was excellent.  The field was flat, so all good there.  We went for an optional group dinner at a traditional restaurant, lots of fun and good food.

Day 9 – Casa Herradura – This was a day to remember for all time. The entrance to Casa Herradura included Railway tunnel which most could not fit thru, as it turns out, also not us. We attempted this and got stuck, luckily only a couple of scratches on the housing for the awning.  It was a Mexican moment for sure extracting the trailer from the tunnel then getting it turned around. The distillery had no record of reservations for us and the person we dealt with had left months earlier.  The photos I sent (pictures of an RV Caravan) were a waste of time.  Clearly the person we were dealing with had no idea or concern regarding what we needed.  We ended up sleeping on the street, which was noisy and uncomfortable as most could barely put the slides out.  The tour was long, but good, Saul did a good job.  Could we accessed the Casa Herradura property there were plenty of great parking spots for our RVs.  It was a noisy night.  On a bright spot I confirmed with Sylvia (nee Parker) that Bruce Parker was my biological father and have six siblings.  Looks like a road trip next summer.

Day 10 – Roca Azul, Laguna Chapala – We had the poorest start ever and it was my fault. I had told everyone we were leaving at about 8:30 am and there was no hurry.  We were up early and moved our trailer off the street where we were a choke point for traffic.  Chris & Dixie and Mike & Susan were ready to go.  My idea was that we should get out of the way and find a spot for all of us to regroup.  Good concept, poorly executed. What I should have done is communicate this change to everyone, not just a couple of people. Some folks were asleep when we left and that was bad.  Luckily Mike and Kelly, our Tail Gunners, stepped in and took charge.  It all worked out but I created way to much stress by not clearly communicating to everyone.  We gathered down the road at a new Pemex station that was still under construction. The drive to Roca Azul was uneventful except at the end and took the wrong entrance. Some were able to carry on 100 meters down the road to the correct entrance, the rest had to back out, yet another cluster.  We ended the day with a hosted Margarita Happy Hour, Fun & Adventure, two different words.

*Thanks to Alf & Mike H for moving my hitch to a higher position, this should help our front stairs from dragging over uneven payment. 

Did you know?
Copper Canyon (Spanish: Barrancas del Cobre) is a group of canyons consisting of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico. The overall canyon system is the result of more than 60 million years of erosion and is 4X larger than the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The canyons were formed by six rivers that drain the western side of the Sierra Tarahumara (a part of the Sierra Madre Occidental). All six rivers merge into the Rio Fuerte and empty into the Gulf of California. The walls of the canyon are a copper/green color, which is where the name originates. The city of Los Mochis is a gateway town to Mexico’s famous Copper Canyon which is one of Mexico’s most spectacular mountain adventures!

History
The Spanish arrived in the Copper Canyon area in the 17th century and encountered the indigenous locals throughout Chihuahua. New Spain (Mexico) was a new land to explore for gold and silver and spread Christianity. The Spanish named the people they encountered “Tarahumara”, derived from the word Raramuri, which is what the indigenous people call themselves. Some scholars theorize that this word may mean ‘The running people’. During the 17th century, silver was discovered by the Spaniards in the land of the Tarahumara tribe. Some were enslaved for mining efforts which led to uprisings by the Indians. They eventually were forced off the more desirable lands and up into the canyon cliffs.

Cities and towns- Among the villages located in or on the Copper Canyon are:
• Bahuichivo, ChePe train stop for Cerocahui, Urique, Piedras Verdes, Tubares
• Basaseachi, located near the pouroff of 840 ft (246m) Cascada Basaseachi in the Barranca Candameña. The towns and ranchos of San Lorenzo, Cahuisori, and Huahumar encircle the rim of the canyon, also home to Mexico’s highest waterfall Piedra Volada (1200 m). Located on Federal Highway 16 between Chihuahua, Chihuahua, and Hermosillo, Sonora. The Rio Candameña is a tributary of the Rio Mayo which flows into the Gulf of California.
• Batopilas, elevation 600 m, a town on the Batopilas River at the bottom of a canyon; first established by the Spanish around 1632 to mine silver. It is located 30 km southeast of Urique.

• Bocoyna, 30 km east of Creel, and on the eastern escarpment of the continental divide. The nearby Rio Conchos flows into the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande) on the Mexico-Texas border. Carichí, Sisoguichi, and Panalachi are important Tarahumara settlements on the Rio Conchos drainage system.
• Cerocahui, 14 km S. of the train stop at Bahuichivo.
• Creel, atop the canyon and, at 2,340 metres (7,677 ft) altitude, marking one of the highest points on the ChePe railroad route (San Juanito is higher at 2,400 metres (7,874 ft)); a central point for commerce and tourism.
• Divisadero, a key train stop and vista point with amazing views down into the Urique Canyon of the Barranca del Cobre. The ChePe train allows a 15-20 minute stop for visitors to enjoy the view. Divisadero and nearby Areponapuchi (located 4 km south) are major canyon-rim trailheads for hiking into the Rio Urique canyon.
• Témoris, a dual town located 400 m apart in elevation. The ChePe train traverses the valley 3 times including a mile long tunnel to gain elevation. Located on the Rio Septentrion, lower Temoris is at 1000 m.
• Urique, 560 m. Located at the bottom of the canyon rim below Bahuichivo, on the Urique River. It is 30 km NW of Batopilas, now connected by a rough road.

Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico
The Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico (Chihuahua-Pacific Railway), also known as El Chepe from its reporting mark CHP, or Ferrocarril Chihuahua-Pacífico is a major rail line in northwest Mexico, linking the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, to the city of Los Mochis, Sinaloa and its port Topolobampo. It runs 673 km (418 mi), traversing the Copper Canyon, a beautiful and rugged series of canyons that have led some to call this the most scenic railroad trip on the continent. It is both an important transportation system for locals and a draw for tourists. The tracks pass over 37 bridges and through 86 tunnels, rising as high as 2,400 m (7,900 ft) above sea level near Divisadero (the continental divide), a popular lookout spot over the canyons. Each one-way trip takes roughly 15 hours and is the preferred way to enjoy this scenic wonderland. The track also crosses over itself to gain elevation. Actual canyon elevations run as high as 9,500 feet above sea level, while the surrounding mountains rise to over 12,000 feet! Along the railway, many Tarahumarans lay out their food, crafts and other wares for sale.

History
The concept of the railroad was officially recognized in 1880, when the president of Mexico, General Manuel González, granted a rail concession to Albert Kinsey Owen of the Utopia Socialist Colony of New Harmony, Indiana, USA, who was seeking to develop a socialist colony. The railroad was actually built by Arthur Stilwell as the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, starting about 1900. The Mexican revolution, lack of funding, and the overall difficulty of building a railroad over such terrain hindered its completion until 1961. The private rail franchise Ferromex took over the railroad from the Mexican government in 1998.

Schedule
Two passenger trains (68 passengers) run daily: a slower service with more stops for locals—15 official stops including 50+ flag stops where boarding’s or disembarkations can be made at passenger request—and the other a direct service for tourists that is faster and more expensive. There is also regular cargo service running between Topolobampo and Chihuahua which might be further increased and extended so as to connect with the Texas Pacifico Transportation Railroad at the Ojinaga Presidio Crossing into the United States as a part of the La Entrada al Pacifico. The practice of loading RVs on railroad flatcars (with owners inside) in Ciudad Chihuahua, then delivered to Los Mochis ended about 10 years ago.

Tarahumara or Rarámuri

Copper Canyon traditional inhabitants are the Tarahumara or Rarámuri. The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a Native American people of northwestern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability. Living in the canyons, they travel great vertical distances, which they often do by running nonstop for hours. A popular Rarámuri community race called rarajipari, is played by kicking a wooden ball along the paths of the steep canyons. n their language, the term rarámuri refers specifically to the men, women are referred to as mukí (individually) and as omugí or igómale (collectively). Originally inhabitants of much of the state of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri retreated to the high sierras and canyons such as the Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre Occidental on the arrival of Spanish explorers in the 16th century. The area of the Sierra Madre Occidental which they now inhabit is often called the Sierra Tarahumara because of their presence.

Current estimates put the population of the Rarámuri in 2006 at between 50,000 and 70,000 people. Most still practice a traditional lifestyle, inhabiting natural shelters such as caves or cliff overhangs, as well as small cabins of wood or stone. Staple crops are corn and beans; however, many of the Rarámuri still practice transhumance, raising cattle, sheep, and goats. Almost all Rarámuri migrate in some form or another in the course of the year. Many Rarámuri reside in the cooler, mountainous regions during the hot summer months and migrate deeper into the canyons in the cooler winter months, where the climate is more temperate. Their survival strategies have been to occupy areas that are too remote for city people, way off-the-beaten-path, to remain isolated and independent, so as to avoid losing their culture. Many Rarámuri groups maintain their independence by living in areas that are as far away from city life as possible. Their way of life is protected by the mountainous landscape. The Tarahumara language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family. Although it is in decline under pressure from Spanish, it is still widely spoken.

History
The Tarahumara are believed to be descended from the Mogollon culture. The Raramuri were introduced to the Spanish in the 1500s, and the Spanish called them the Tarahumara. By the early 17th century, the Spanish had established mines in Tarahumara territory and made some slave raids to obtain mine slaves. Jesuit Juan Fonte established a mission, San Pablo Balleza, at the southern end of Tarahumara territory, expanding from missionary work with the Tepehuan to the south. The Tepehuan’s violent resistance to Spanish incursion in 1616 killed Fonte and closed the mission for over a decade. The discovery of the mines of Parral, Chihuahua, in 1631 increased Spanish presence in Tarahumara lands, bringing more slave raids and Jesuit missionaries. Missions were established at Las Bocas, Huejotitlan, San Felipe and Satevo. In 1648, the Tarahumara waged war against the Spanish. They met at Fariagic and then destroyed the mission of San Francisco de Borja. Two of the leaders of this attack were captured by the Spanish and executed. Shortly after, the Spanish established Villa de Aguilar in the heart of the upper Tarahumara county.

After this the Tarahumara split into two groups. Those in the lower missions continued to move into the general Christian population and largely lost their tribal identity. Those in the upper areas went to war under the leadership of Tepórame and others. This drove the Jesuits and Spanish settlers from the area. The Jesuits returned in the 1670s and baptized thousands of Tarahumara, but these people retained a separate identity. Tepórame was executed by the Spanish in 1690. From 1696 to 1698, the Tarahumara again waged war against the Spanish, but were defeated. By 1753, the lower Tarahumara missions were turned over to secular priests, and in 1767 the Jesuits were expelled in Spanish territories. Most missions in Tarahumara ceased to operate or were turned over to Franciscans. Despite devoted and enthusiastic efforts, the Franciscans could not match the Jesuits’ feats, and the missions declined. The Jesuits re-established the missions in the early 20th century.

Athletic prowess
The Tarahumara word for themselves, Rarámuri, means “runners on foot” or “those who run fast” in their native tongue. With widely dispersed settlements, these people developed a tradition of long-distance running up to 200 miles (320 km) in one session, over a period of two days through their homeland of rough canyon country, for inter-village communication and transportation and hunting. Their running in sandals are described in the book Born to Run.

Threats & Challenges to the Tarahumara
The Tarahumara were not conquered by the Aztecs, and survived wars with the Spanish, the French and the Americans but today they struggle to protect their land from being taken by the Mexican army, drug lords or corporations that want to exploit their mineral resources. 

“Lest we forget” today is Remembrance Day in Canada, a day to remember all the brave men and women that have fallen serving our nation. 

October 25, 2018

I must say our southbound journey starting on Sunday, October 14 has been memorable and includes “the Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. Definitely the “Good” has been the sunny skies with little wind. Departure day saw 6C for a low and 17C for a high on our arrival in Yakima. Taking Hwy 2 east at Everett, WA, thru Stevens Pass, Leavenworth into the US Okanagan was wonderful with stunning fall colours everywhere. We arrived in Yakima at about 3pm and parked at the Walmart for our usual shop on arrival to the US. This Walmart has permitted overnight RV parking since it was built, but no longer. Before you say “VISA or Master Card” we were told to leave, thankfully the Security Guard sent us to the nearby “Legends” Yakama Indian Casino (488 km day). We signed up for a Players Card and won a “Free Buffet” each! Free dinner, free stay and we did not gamble (to tired). Overnight we went down to 1C, it and it kept getting colder the further south we went.

Monday we were off to Idaho and landed in Boise at the Hi Valley RV Park on the southeast side of town, this was a long day (566 km day). Easy in, easy out, $32 for the night however the Wi-Fi did not work in the Trailer. We used Lisa’s Hot Spot on her smart phone to check messages. 15C was our high, 0C was our low, more to come.

Tuesday we continued our journey south bound, our destination today was Wells, Nevada and landed at the Angel Lake RV Park. However this would be a shorter day (406 km day). No lake to be seen at Angel Lake, but easy to find, pull thru sights, clean washrooms and plenty of hot water in the showers,  Wi-fi worked well too.  What is the aversion to making level sites in a gravel parking lot? How hard can it be? We had to put the trailer on blocks and disconnect the trailer to level it.  We actually had considered staying longer in the north as we had the time, but it was to darn cold. We struggled to 13C for a high and overnight it dropped to -2C, brrrr (we were at 5600′). Sometime over night the furnace shut off, looks like the gas ran out, this was “Bad”. I switched tanks but to no avail. We sorted the gas was to cold, near liquid and we could not get the furnace started. We plugged in the electric heater to take the frost off then headed south again. This time to Las Vegas where it was warmer for sure.

It was a very long day but we made Las Vegas and booked into the Road Runner RV Park, thank goodness (675 km day). We had noticed for a while that Lulu was drinking a lot and peeing a lot, off to the Vet it was. Then it got “Ugly” turns out Lulu has diabetes, very treatable but expensive, with tests, vet visits, meds, needles and special food we are almost at $1000 USD and much more to come, ouch! But we love our Lulu, however the 5K USD for potential cataracts are a none starter, we will get her sunglasses. When we left Las Vegas after 3 days the low was 17C and the high 31C, much better.

Next we were off to Buckeye, AZ and the Leaf Verde RV resort for some much needed pool time and perhaps some pickle ball (448 km day). Not so fast! Less an hour out from our destination we picked up a rock in the windshield, bang, just as the truck hit 10,000 km. First of order on arrival was to find someone to make the windshield repair. Did that, got set up, had a beer (not many these days) and enjoyed the breeze outside at 34C (84F). Election night back home (Saturday, October 20) and am still interested in outcomes and local races. No Wi-Fi across the RV Park, only the Office building. No problem, the RV Park offered AireBeam Broadband Wi-Fi at $8.95 USD for 3 days, that should be easy? Not so fast; signed up, paid, created a Username and Password and good to go? Nope! 12 hours later, 8 contacts to the support line by email and phone and still no help or Wi-Fi. I was calmer the next day but still am very frustrated. I stopped into the Office when it opened the next morning and Connie was very helpful including calling the Owner.  Within 20 minutes everything was resolved, easy fix, I had written down the Username wrong.  I am sure the owner will ask his support staff what they have been doing for 18 hours.  Good thing we went to the top, the rep we phoned phone us near 5pm, the support center almost 24 hours after our first call for help. Our stay at Leaf Verde included some good pool time and local shopping.  Jason from USA Replacement Auto Glass arrived on schedule and replaced the windshield for $200 cash, very happy!

Wednesday we continued our southern direction heading to the Desert Diamond Casino (281 km) for the complimentary buffet free RV parking. We arrived after lunch (and a visit to Camping World) and set up with many other RVs.  After an all important “Siesta” we headed for the Buffet, after the $10 discount coupon and 2 for 1 option, dinner was free, no complaints for sure.  We lost a few dollars then headed to the Arctic Fox to retire for the evening. 13C for an overnight low, the high was 30C.

Today we left early and continued south, stopping at the big Ms and the Bank of America to order some pesos for the tour.  We arrived at the De Anza RV Resort (51 km) early and were welcomed by the owners, Amy & Bob.  Looks like a wonderful facility with lots of amenities and we will try out the restaurant tonight (it was fabulous).  Mike & Susan H. arrived yesterday and the rest will be here by Monday.  Our adventure has almost began and we are very excited!

Did you know?

I have always wondered how many 1st Americans were present in North, Central and South America before the Europeans arrived. Not surprising the answer is not a simple one and the population figure indigenous peoples in the Americas before the 1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus have proven difficult to establish. Scholars rely on archaeological data and written records from settlers from Europe. Most scholars writing at the end of the 19th century estimated that the pre-Columbian population was as low as 10 million; by the end of the 20th century most scholars gravitated to a middle estimate of around 50 million, with some historians arguing for an estimate of 100 million or more. As we know contact with the Europeans led to the European colonization of the Americas, in which millions of immigrants from Europe eventually settled in the Americas.

The fact is as the population of African and Eurasian peoples in the Americas grew steadily, the indigenous population plummeted. Eurasian diseases such as influenza, bubonic plague and pneumonic plagues, yellow fever, smallpox, and malaria devastated the Native Americans, who did not have immunity to them. Conflict and outright warfare with Western European newcomers and other American tribes further reduced populations and disrupted traditional societies. The extent and causes of the decline have long been a subject of academic debate, along with its characterization as a genocide.

Population overview
Given the fragmentary nature of the evidence, even semi-accurate pre-Columbian population figures are impossible to obtain. Scholars have varied widely on the estimated size of the indigenous populations prior to colonization and on the effects of European contact. Estimates are made by extrapolations from small bits of data. In 1976, geographer William Denevan used the existing estimates to derive a “consensus count” of about 54 million people. Nonetheless, more recent estimates still range widely which means there is a lot of guessing going on.

Using an estimate of approximately 37 million people in Mexico, Central and South America in 1492 (including 6 million in the Aztec Empire, 5-10 million in the Mayan States, 11 million in what is now Brazil, and 12 million in the Inca Empire), the lowest estimates give a death toll due from disease of 90% by the end of the 17th century (nine million people in 1650). Latin America would match its 15th-century population early in the 19th century; it numbered 17 million in 1800, 30 million in 1850, 61 million in 1900, 105 million in 1930, 218 million in 1960, 361 million in 1980, and 563 million in 2005. In the last three decades of the 16th century, the population of present-day Mexico dropped to about one million people. The Maya population is today estimated at six (6) million, which is about the same as at the end of the 15th century, according to some estimates. In what is now Brazil, the indigenous population declined from a pre-Columbian high of an estimated four (4) million to some 300,000.

While it is difficult to determine exactly how many Natives lived in North America before Columbus, estimates range from a low of 2.1 million to 7 million people to a high of 18 million.

The aboriginal population of Canada during the late 15th century is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two (2) million, with a figure of 500,000 currently accepted by Canada’s Royal Commission on Aboriginal Health. Repeated outbreaks of Old-World infectious diseases such as influenza, measles and smallpox (to which they had no natural immunity), were the main cause of depopulation. This combined with other factors such as dispossession from European/Canadian settlements and numerous violent conflicts resulted in a forty- to eighty-percent aboriginal population decrease after contact. For example, during the late 1630s, smallpox killed over half of the Wyandot (Huron), who controlled most of the early North American fur trade in what became Canada. They were reduced to fewer than 10,000 people.

Historian David Henige has argued that many population figures are the result of arbitrary formulas selectively applied to numbers from unreliable historical sources. He believes this is a weakness unrecognized by several contributors to the field and insists there is not sufficient evidence to produce population numbers that have any real meaning. He characterizes the modern trend of high estimates as “pseudo-scientific number-crunching.” Henige does not advocate a low population estimate but argues that the scanty and unreliable nature of the evidence renders broad estimates inevitably suspect, saying “high counters” (as he calls them) have been particularly flagrant in their misuse of sources. Many population studies acknowledge the inherent difficulties in producing reliable statistics, given the scarcity of hard data. I would agree.

The population debate has often had ideological underpinnings. Low estimates were sometimes reflective of European notions of cultural and racial superiority (aka racism). Historian Francis Jennings argued, “Scholarly wisdom long held that Indians were so inferior in mind and works that they could not possibly have created or sustained large populations.” It is also important to remember that the indigenous population of the Americas in 1492 was not necessarily at a high point and may actually have been in decline in some areas. Indigenous populations in most areas of the Americas reached a low point by the early 20th century. In most cases, populations have since begun to climb.

According to Noble David Cook, a community of scholars have recently, albeit slowly, “been quietly accumulating piece by piece data on early epidemics in the Americas and their relation to subjugation of native peoples.” They now believe that widespread epidemic disease, to which the natives had no prior exposure or resistance, was the primary cause of the massive population decline of the Native Americans. Earlier explanations for the population decline of the American natives include the European immigrants’ accounts of the brutal practices of the Spanish conquistadores, as recorded by the Spaniards themselves. This was applied through the encomienda, which was a system ostensibly set up to protect people from warring tribes as well as to teach them the Spanish language and the Catholic religion, but in practice was tantamount to serfdom and slavery. The most notable account was that of the Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas, whose writings vividly depict Spanish atrocities committed in particular against the Taínos. It took five years for the Taíno rebellion to be quelled by both the Real Audiencia—through diplomatic sabotage, and through the Indian auxiliaries fighting with the Spanish. After Emperor Charles V personally eradicated the notion of the encomienda system as a use for slave labour, there were not enough Spanish to have caused such a large population decline. The second European explanation was a perceived divine approval, in which God removed the natives as part of His “divine plan” to make way for a new Christian civilization (convenient eh?). Many Native Americans also viewed their troubles in terms of religious or supernatural causes within their own belief systems.

Soon after Europeans and enslaved Africans arrived in the New World, bringing with them the infectious diseases of Europe and Africa, observers noted immense numbers of indigenous Americans began to die from these diseases. One reason this death toll was overlooked is that once introduced, the diseases raced ahead of European immigration in many areas. Disease killed a sizable portion of the populations before European written records were made. After the epidemics had already killed massive numbers of natives, many newer European immigrants assumed that there had always been relatively few indigenous peoples. The scope of the epidemics over the years was tremendous, killing millions of people—possibly in excess of 90% of the population in the hardest hit areas—and creating one of “the greatest human catastrophe in history, far exceeding even the disaster of the Black Death of medieval Europe”, which had killed up to one-third of the people in Europe and Asia between 1347 and 1351.

One of the most devastating diseases was smallpox, but other deadly diseases included typhus, measles, influenza, bubonic plague, cholera, malaria, tuberculosis, mumps, yellow fever and pertussis, which were chronic in Eurasia. This transfer of disease between the Old and New Worlds was later studied as part of what has been labeled the “Columbian Exchange”. The epidemics had very different effects in different regions of the Americas. The most vulnerable groups were those with a relatively small population and few built-up immunities. Many island-based groups were annihilated. The Caribs and Arawaks of the Caribbean nearly ceased to exist, as did the Beothuks of Newfoundland. While disease raged swiftly through the densely populated empires of Mesoamerica, the more scattered populations of North America saw a slower spread.

Virulence and mortality
Viral and bacterial diseases that kill victims before the illnesses spread to others tend to flare up and then die out. A more resilient disease would establish an equilibrium; if its victims lived beyond infection, the disease would spread further. The evolutionary process selects against quick lethality, with the most immediately fatal diseases being the most short-lived. A similar evolutionary pressure acts upon victim populations, as those lacking genetic resistance to common diseases die and do not leave descendants, whereas those who are resistant procreate and pass resistant genes to their offspring. For example, in the first fifty years of the sixteenth century, an unusually strong strain of syphilis killed a high proportion of infected Europeans within a few months; over time, however, the disease has become much less virulent.

Thus both infectious diseases and populations tend to evolve towards an equilibrium in which the common diseases are non-symptomatic, mild or manageably chronic. When a population that has been relatively isolated is exposed to new diseases, it has no resistance to the new diseases (the population is “biologically naive”). These people die at a much higher rate, resulting in what is known as a “virgin soil” epidemic. Before the European arrival, the Americas had been isolated from the Eurasian-African landmass. The peoples of the Old World had had thousands of years for their populations to accommodate to their common diseases.

The fact that all members of an immunologically naive population are exposed to a new disease simultaneously increases the fatalities. In populations where the disease is endemic, generations of individuals acquired immunity; most adults had exposure to the disease at a young age. Because they were resistant to reinfection, they are able to care for individuals who caught the disease for the first time, including the next generation of children. With proper care, many of these “childhood diseases” are often survivable. In a naive population, all age groups are affected at once, leaving few or no healthy caregivers to nurse the sick. With no resistant individuals healthy enough to tend to the ill, a disease may have higher fatalities.

The natives of the Americas were faced with several new diseases at once creating a situation where some who successfully resisted one disease might die from another. Multiple simultaneous infections (e.g., smallpox and typhus at the same time) or in close succession (e.g., smallpox in an individual who was still weak from a recent bout of typhus) are deadlier than just the sum of the individual diseases. In this scenario, death rates can also be elevated by combinations of new and familiar diseases: smallpox in combination with American strains of yaws, for example.

Other contributing factors:
Native American medical treatments such as sweat baths and cold water immersion (practiced in some areas) weakened some patients and probably increased mortality rates.

Europeans brought many diseases with them because they had many more domesticated animals than the Native Americans. Domestication usually means close and frequent contact between animals and people, which allows diseases of domestic animals to migrate into the human population when the necessary mutations occur.

The Eurasian landmass extends many thousands of miles along an east–west axis. Climate zones also extend for thousands of miles, which facilitated the spread of agriculture, domestication of animals, and the diseases associated with domestication. The Americas extend mainly north and south, which, according to the environmental determinist theory popularized by Jared Diamond in Guns, Germs, and Steel, meant that it was much harder for cultivated plant species, domesticated animals, and diseases to migrate.

Biological warfare
When Old World diseases were first carried to the Americas at the end of the fifteenth century, they spread throughout the southern and northern hemispheres, leaving the indigenous populations in near ruins. No evidence has been discovered that the earliest Spanish colonists and missionaries deliberately attempted to infect the American natives, and some effort was actually made to limit the devastating effects of disease before it killed off what remained of their forced slave labor under their encomienda system (which we plenty of on Baja). The cattle introduced by the Spanish contaminated various water reserves which Native Americans dug in the fields to accumulate rain water. In response, the Franciscans and Dominicans created public fountains and aqueducts to guarantee access to drinking water. But when the Franciscans lost their privileges in 1572, many of these fountains were not guarded any more and deliberate well poisoning may have happened. Although no proof of such poisoning has been found, some historians believe the decrease of the population correlates with the end of religious orders’ control of the water.

In the centuries that followed, accusations and discussions of biological warfare were common. Well-documented accounts of incidents involving both threats and acts of deliberate infection are very rare, but may have occurred more frequently than scholars have previously acknowledged. Many of the instances likely went unreported, and it is possible that documents relating to such acts were deliberately destroyed, or sanitized. By the middle of the 18th century, colonists had the knowledge and technology to attempt biological warfare with the smallpox virus. They well understood the concept of quarantine, and that contact with the sick could infect the healthy with smallpox, and those who survived the illness would not be infected again. Whether the threats were carried out, or how effective individual attempts were, is uncertain.

One such threat was delivered by fur trader James McDougall, who is quoted as saying to a gathering of local chiefs, “You know the smallpox. Listen: I am the smallpox chief. In this bottle I have it confined. All I have to do is to pull the cork, send it forth among you, and you are dead men. But this is for my enemies and not my friends.” Likewise, another fur trader threatened Pawnee Indians that if they didn’t agree to certain conditions, “he would let the smallpox out of a bottle and destroy them.” The Reverend Isaac McCoy was quoted in his History of Baptist Indian Missions as saying that the white men had deliberately spread smallpox among the Indians of the southwest, including the Pawnee tribe, and the havoc it made was reported to General Clark and the Secretary of War Artist and writer George Catlin observed that Native Americans were also suspicious of vaccination, “They see white men urging the operation so earnestly they decide that it must be some new mode or trick of the pale face by which they hope to gain some new advantage over them.” So great was the distrust of the settlers that the Mandan chief Four Bears denounced the white man, whom he had previously treated as brothers, for deliberately bringing the disease to his people.

During the Seven Years’ War, British militia took blankets from their smallpox hospital and gave them as gifts to two neutral Lenape Indian dignitaries during a peace settlement negotiation, according to the entry in the Captain’s ledger, “To convey the Smallpox to the Indians”. In the following weeks, the high commander of the British forces in North America conspired with his Colonel to “Extirpate this Execreble Race” of Native Americans, writing, “Could it not be contrived to send the small pox among the disaffected tribes of Indians? We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our power to reduce them.” His Colonel agreed to try. Most scholars have asserted that the 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic was “started among the tribes of the upper Missouri River by failure to quarantine steam boats on the river”, and Captain Pratt of the St. Peter “was guilty of contributing to the deaths of thousands of innocent people. The law calls his offense criminal negligence. Yet in light of all the deaths, the almost complete annihilation of the Mandans, and the terrible suffering the region endured, the label criminal negligence is benign, hardly befitting an action that had such horrendous consequences.” However, some sources attribute the 1836–40 epidemic to the deliberate communication of smallpox to Native Americans, with historian Ann F. Ramenofsky writing, “Variola Major can be transmitted through contaminated articles such as clothing or blankets. In the nineteenth century, the U. S. Army sent contaminated blankets to Native Americans, especially Plains groups, to control the Indian problem.” Well into the 20th century, deliberate infection attacks continued as Brazilian settlers and miners transported infections intentionally to the native groups whose lands they coveted.”

Vaccination
After Edward Jenner’s 1796 demonstration that the smallpox vaccination worked, the technique became better known and smallpox became less deadly in the United States and elsewhere. Many colonists and natives were vaccinated, although, in some cases, officials tried to vaccinate natives only to discover that the disease was too widespread to stop. At other times, trade demands led to broken quarantines. In other cases, natives refused vaccination because of suspicion of whites. The first international healthcare expedition in history was the Balmis expedition which had the aim of vaccinating indigenous peoples against smallpox all along the Spanish Empire in 1803. In 1831, government officials vaccinated the Yankton Sioux at Sioux Agency. The Santee Sioux refused vaccination, and many died.

While epidemic disease was a leading factor of the population decline of the American indigenous peoples after 1492, there were other contributing factors, all of them related to European contact and colonization. One of these factors was warfare. According to demographer Russell Thornton, although many lives were lost in wars over the centuries, and war sometimes contributed to the near extinction of certain tribes, warfare and death by other violent means was a comparatively minor cause of overall native population decline. From the U.S. Bureau of the Census in 1894: “The Indian wars under the government of the United States have been more than 40 in number. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, and the lives of about 30,000 Indians. The actual number of killed and wounded Indians must be very much higher than the given… Fifty percent additional would be a safe estimate…”

There is some disagreement among scholars about how widespread warfare was in pre-Columbian America, but there is general agreement that war became deadlier after the arrival of the Europeans and their firearms. The South or Central American infrastructure allowed for thousands of European conquistadors and tens of thousands of their Indian auxiliaries to attack the dominant indigenous civilization. Empires such as the Incas depended on a highly centralized administration for the distribution of resources. Disruption caused by the war and the colonization hampered the traditional economy, and possibly led to shortages of food and materials. The Arauco War, Chichimeca War, Red Cloud’s War, Seminole Wars, War of 1812, Pontiac’s Rebellion, Beaver Wars, French-Indian War, American Civil War, American Revolution, Modoc War, Oka Crisis, Battle of Cut Knife, all represented either pyrrhic victories by colonial forces, outright defeat, military stalemates, or further alliance-politics. Across the western hemisphere, war with various Native American civilizations constituted alliances based out of both necessity or economic prosperity and, resulted in mass-scale intertribal warfare. European colonization in the North American continent also contributed to a number of wars between Native Americans, who fought over which of them should have first access to new technology and weaponry—like in the Beaver Wars.

Exploitation
Some Spaniards objected to the encomienda system, notably Bartolomé de las Casas, who insisted that the Indians were humans with souls and rights. Due to many revolts and military encounters, Emperor Charles V helped relieve the strain on both the Indian laborers and the Spanish vanguards probing the Caribana for military and diplomatic purposes. Later on, New Laws were promulgated in Spain in 1542 to protect isolated natives, but the abuses in the Americas were never entirely or permanently abolished. The Spanish also employed the pre-Columbian draft system called the mita and treated their subjects as something between slaves and serfs. Serfs stayed to work the land; slaves were exported to the mines, where large numbers of them died. In other areas the Spaniards replaced the ruling Aztecs and Incas and divided the conquered lands among themselves ruling as the new feudal lords with often, but unsuccessful lobbying to the viceroys of the Spanish crown to pay Tlaxcalan war demnities. The infamous Bandeirantes from São Paulo, adventurers mostly of mixed Portuguese and native ancestry, penetrated steadily westward in their search for Indian slaves. Serfdom existed as such in parts of Latin America well into the 19th century, past independence.

Pre-Columbian Americas – Now this is really interesting!
Genetic diversity and population structure in the American land mass using DNA micro-satellite markers (genotype) sampled from North, Central, and South America have been analyzed against similar data available from other indigenous populations worldwide. The Amerindian populations show a lower genetic diversity than populations from other continental regions. Observed is both a decreasing genetic diversity as geographic distance from the Bering Strait occurs and a decreasing genetic similarity to Siberian populations from Alaska (genetic entry point). Also observed is evidence of a higher level of diversity and lower level of population structure in western South America compared to eastern South America. A relative lack of differentiation between Mesoamerican and Andean populations is a scenario that implies coastal routes were easier than inland routes for migrating peoples (Paleo-Indians) to traverse. The overall pattern that is emerging suggests that the Americas were recently colonized by a small number of individuals (effective size of about 70-250), and then they grew by a factor of 10 over 800 – 1000 years. The data also show that there have been genetic exchanges between Asia, the Arctic and Greenland since the initial peopling of the Americas 15,000 to 30,000 years ago. What ever the number was a new study in early 2018 suggests that the effective population size of the original founding population of Native Americans was about 250 people. And what’s also very interesting is it took them only a thousand years to after crossing the Bering Strait to arrive at the southern tip of South America. Turns out after a couple of DNA tests (Heritage.com & Ancestary.ca) I myself am 3% to 8% Native American.

December 31, 2017 – Sitting here at the Baja Sunrise RV Park in Los Barriles, it still sinking in that we have no more tours to lead on Baja this season. Dave & Darlene, Larry & Janet and Lorne & Josie will be taking care of that for the remainder of the 2017/2018 Baja Season. Tonight, we are heading out to the Smoke House with Mike & Kelly, for some live music and good food to bring in the New Year, should be fun.

After a couple of days in Loreto we headed for La Paz and Campestre Maranatha. The weather was good, not to warm and little wind, great driving conditions for Baja. We had some errands in town and went out for dinner with Oscar & Barbara who dropped off from the fall 38 Day tour on December 4 with Guy & Glenda.

December 23rd, we departed for Cabo San Lucas for Christmas. Coming from La Paz we headed down Hwy 19 which was the quickest route for sure. Interesting drive as we have not traveled this direction to Los Cabos for a decade. Fortunately Peter had arranged for us to stay at the Vagabundos del Mar Trailer Park which had been hard hit by Tropical Storm Lydia on September 1st. Vags had been thru many Storms and Hurricanes in the past, however because of the new bypass road from the Los Cabos International Airport to Hwy 19 the existing arroyos were not properly rerouted. In turn when Lydia arrived dumping immense amounts of rain on Los Cabos instead of heading to the usual arroyos it was rediverted to an area behind a Golf Course and behind a large wall. Soon the wall, designed to divert water, became the Hoover Dam, which subsequently burst causing a tidal wave of water, sand, rocks and debris surging across the golf course, businesses, the Los Cabos Connector and thru the Vagabundos del Mar Trailer Park, Chev Dealership and Club Cabo has it headed to the Sea. We have seen some videos of the event and photos of what was left afterwards, simply devastating.

Since then the staff at Vags has been working diligently to do their best to get the park cleaned up. First with a loader to remove debris and sand, then with shovels and power washers, they have made the park accessible and somewhat operational. The pool has been emptied of sand, the restaurant has also had all the sand, debris and one car removed. The RVs spaces beside the pool and restaurant are now operational as well. The real challenge will be the park behind the restaurant, area where all the permanentes (year round rentals) where located. Peter lost his Park Model (and Razors) to the storm, gone, washed away and the building it was in, hence we were able to park on his space. Sounds like they will remove the remaining trailers and other assorted vehicles. Then what remains of all the structures that housed the RVs. Finally they will bring in a bulldozer to flatten the area and prepare the site to reopen as an RV Park once again. Not a bad plan given no one is likely to purchase the property soon.

The day we arrived we joined Kelly’s family for dinner at “Mi Casa”, they had booked into an “All Inclusive for Xmas”. After dinner we headed in downtown Cabo for a look around at the various Bars and Shops, ending up at the “Giggling Marlin” for a drink and some fun. It was great to meet Kelly’s family, which included her Mom, Sister Shannon and Brother, spouses and kids. We took a Taxi back to the park and turned in well after “Baja Midnight”.

Xmas eve day we headed over to Peter & Geraldine’s pad in “Cabo Bello”, a very nice gated community next to the RV Park we stayed at “Villa Serena”. I dropped over to Rick & Veronica’s house in Cabo Bello to see if they were home and say Merry Xams, they were They have been busy decorating their home with many unique items pickup with recent visits trips to mainland Mexico, wonderful. Later we headed over to the “Puerta Vieja” Restaurant for dinner; great food and view of the Arch. We spent Xmas day with Peter & Geraldine, some of their friends dropped bye (Mary & Kemp) and Jose, Cindy & Ross joined us for dinner. Peter’s Egg Nog was fabulous as was the BBQed Turkey. Our Xmas with good friends and good food in Cabo San Lucas will be memorable for years to come, thank you Geraldine & Peter. Boxing day we headed up to a condo development “Solaria” where Geraldine was hosting an open house, then headed to lunch. Unfortunately Peter could not join us as his back was really acting up (started on Xmas Day).

Dec 27th we were off to Los Barriles and the Baja Sunrise RV Park, we had called Jorge the day before and he was working on a space just for us. When we arrived it was almost finished, Jorge and his staff work hard to improve this Campground every day. We joined Guy & Glenda at “Open Mike” night at the “La Fugata” restaurant, this was interesting and included some real talent. The next day Mike & Kelly joined us to meet with Eliza at “Casa Rubano” in Buena Vista, this is the house rented for the kids in February, nice digs. On Friday we joined Mike & Kelly, Barry & Viv and Guy & Glenda at 3 Dog Corner for dinner which sets up Dylan’s Hot Dog & Hamburger Stand. Lots of fun and a decent hamburger, big turnout of Canadians and Americans. Yesterday we visited the local Saturday Vendors Market, and purchased a couple of turnovers that were awesome. Later we got together and shared some spirits.

Prospero Ano Neuvo

Did you know?
The Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez, Sea of Cortés or Vermilion Sea; locally known in the Spanish language as Mar de Cortés or Mar Bermejo or Golfo de California) is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. It is bordered by the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa with a coastline of approximately 4,000 km (2,500 mi). Rivers which flow into the Gulf of California include the Colorado, Fuerte, Mayo, Sinaloa, Sonora, and the Yaqui. The gulf’s surface area is about 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi).

The Gulf is thought to be one of the most diverse seas on the planet, and is home to more than 5,000 species of micro-invertebrates. Home to over a million people, Baja California is the second-longest peninsula in the world, after the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Parts of the Gulf of California are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Geography
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the southern limit of the Gulf of California as: “A line joining Piastla Point (23°38’N) in Mexico, and the southern extreme of Lower California”. The Gulf of California is 1,126 km (700 mi) long and 48–241 km (30–150 mi) wide, with an area of 177,000 km2 (68,000 sq mi), a mean depth of 818.08 m (2,684.0 ft), and a volume of 145,000 km3 (35,000 cu mi).

The Gulf of California includes three faunal regions:
• the Northern Gulf of California
• the Central Gulf of California
• the Southern Gulf of California

One recognized transition zone is termed the Southwestern Baja California Peninsula. Transition zones exist between faunal regions, and they usually vary for each individual species. (Faunal regions are distinguishable based on the specific types of animals found there).

Temperature
The temperature of the water in the Gulf of California generally experiences lows of 16 °C (61 °F) in winter and highs of 24 °C (75 °F) in summer. But temperatures can vary greatly in the gulf, and the water is almost always warmer by the coast than the open ocean. For example, the waters surrounding La Paz reach 30 °C (86 °F) in August, while the waters in neighboring city Cabo San Lucas, only reach 26 °C (79 °F). Occasionally, the northern Gulf of California will go through significantly cold winters. The water in the Northern Gulf can sometimes drop below 8 °C (46 °F), which can lead to a large die-off of marine organisms. The animals most susceptible to the large decrease in water temperature include macroscopic algae and plankton.

Geology
Geologic evidence is widely interpreted by geologists as indicating the Gulf of California came into being around 5.3 million years ago as tectonic forces rifted the Baja California Peninsula off the North American Plate. As part of this process, the East Pacific Rise propagated up the middle of the Gulf along the seabed. This extension of the East Pacific Rise is often referred to as the Gulf of California Rift Zone. The Gulf would extend as far as Indio, California, except for the tremendous delta created by the Colorado River. This delta blocks the sea from flooding the Mexicali and Imperial Valleys. Volcanism dominates the East Pacific Rise. The island of Isla Tortuga is one example of this ongoing volcanic activity. Furthermore, hydrothermal vents due to extension tectonic regime, related to the opening of the Gulf of California, are found in the Bahía de Concepción, Baja California Sur.

Weather
Even though the shores of the Gulf of California are generally sheltered from the continuous wave shock that is experienced by most other North American shores, storms known as a “chubasco” can cause significant damage to shorelines, despite their brevity.

Marine Life
The narrow sea is home to a unique and rich ecosystem. In addition to a wide range of endemic creatures, such as the critically endangered tiny vaquita (aka “desert porpoise”), it hosts many migratory species, such as the humpback whale, California gray whale, killer whale, manta ray, Humboldt squid and leatherback sea turtle, and the world’s largest animal, the blue whale. The unusual resident populations of fin whales and sperm whales do not migrate annually. The area near the delta of the Colorado river has a small remnant population of the totoaba fish. This region has historically been a magnet for world-class sport fishing activities, with a rich history of sporting world records.

The region also has a rich history as a commercial fishery. However, the data vary wildly according to the species being studied, and the Gulf’s ability to recuperate after years of overfishing remains uncertain. Moreover, changes in terrestrial ecology, such as the vast reduction in flow from the Colorado River into the Gulf, have negatively affected fisheries, particularly in the northern region. The Gulf of California sustains a large number of marine mammals, many of which are rare and endangered. Its more than 900 islands are important nesting sites for thousands of seabirds, and its waters are primary breeding, feeding, and nursing grounds for myriad migratory and resident fish species. For decades, the gulf has been a primary source of two of Mexico’s leading marine resources, sardines and anchovies. Water pollution is a problem in the Gulf of California, but the more immediate concerns are overfishing and bottom trawling, which destroys eelgrass beds and shellfish.

Efforts by the Mexican government to create conservation zones and nature reserves have been hampered by lack of enforcement resources, as well as a lack of a political consensus on this issue of conservation of the Gulf. This occurs even though significant areas are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The thousands of miles of coastline are remote and difficult to police, and the politically powerful commercial fishing industry has been slow to embrace even economically viable conservation measures, much less strict measures of conservation. Conservation of the Gulf’s fisheries and coastlines is also complicated by a long history of overcapitalization in the sector, and the direct, often negative, impacts that conservation measures have on the livelihoods of Mexico’s coastal inhabitants. At present, the Mexican government and business interests have promoted a macro-level, tourist development vision for the Gulf, the impacts of which on local ecology and society are uncertain.

Coastal communities are highly reliant on both commercial and sport fishing, including San Felipe, San Carlos, Sonora, Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, Guaymas, Bahía Kino, Puerto Peñasco, Topolobampo and Mulegé. The well-developed shrimp and sardine fleets of Mazatlán, on the Mexican mainland’s Pacific coast, heavily exploit the commercial fisheries of the southern Gulf. Many marine organisms can only survive within a particular salinity range, which makes salinity a notable factor in determining the types of potentially commercial organisms found in the Gulf of California. The mean annual ranges of salinity of the Sea of Cortez are between 3.5 and 3.58% at the surface. Furthermore, the salinity of the water of the Northern Gulf of California is generally higher than the Central and Southern faunal regions due to the increased amount of evaporation that occurs in that region.

Shores and tides
The three general types of shores found in the Gulf of California include rocky shore, sandy beach, and tidal flat. Some of the rich biodiversity and high endemism that characterize the Gulf of California and make it such a hotspot for fishing can be attributed to seemingly insignificant factors, such as the types of rocks that make up a shore. Beaches with softer, more porous rocks (such as Coquina limestone, rhyolites, granite, or diorite) generally have a higher species richness than those with harder, smoother rocks (such as basalt or diabase). Porous rocks will naturally have more cracks and crevices in them, making them ideal living spaces for many animals. The rocks themselves, however, generally need to be stable on the shore for a habitat to be stable. Additionally, the color of the rocks can affect the organisms living on a shore. For example, darker rocks will be significantly warmer than lighter ones, and can deter animals that do not have a high tolerance for heat. The northern Gulf of California experiences tidal ranges of up to 5 m (16 ft). Mixed semidiurnal tides are the norm throughout most of the Gulf.

Estuaries
In the Gulf of California, there are a number of negative estuaries, that is, ones in which the evaporation of seawater is relatively greater than that of the fresh water input. The salinities of these inlets are higher than that of the ocean. The temperatures, poikilothermal, of these negative estuaries also are higher than the general temperature of the Gulf. It is possible that at one time these estuaries were positive, that is, ones in which the seawater component is diluted; therefore, the water is brackish, with salinity less than that of the ocean.

However, due to human modification of the land use around the Gulf of California and water diversion for municipal and agricultural use, there are no longer many rivers that freely empty into the Gulf of California. The upper Colorado River Delta is one example of a historically major estuary and wetlands ecosystem, that since the 20th century construction of upriver dams and diversion aqueducts on the Colorado River, is now a small ephemeral remnant estuary. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The remaining Gulf inlets still are important to several species of fishes, crustaceans, and shellfish that are commercially harvested.

Islands
The Gulf of California contains 37 major islands – the two largest being Isla Ángel de la Guarda and Tiburón Island. Most of the islands are found on the peninsular side of the gulf. In fact, many of the islands of the Sea of Cortez are the result of volcanic explosions that occurred during the early history of Baja California. The islands of Islas Marías, Islas San Francisco, and Isla Partida are thought to be the result of such explosions. The formations of the islands, however, are not dependent on each other. They were each formed as a result of an individual structural occurrence. Several islands, including Isla Coronados, are home to volcanoes.

The gulf has more than 900 islets and islands which together total about 420 hectares. All of them as a whole were enacted as “Area Reserve and Migratory Bird Refuge and Wildlife” on August 2, 1978. In June 2000, the islands were given a new category “Protection Area Wildlife”. In addition to this effort by the Mexican government, for its importance and recognition worldwide, all islands in the Gulf of California are also part of the international program “Man and Biosphere” (MAB) and are part of the World Reserve Network UNESCO Biosphere as Special Biosphere Reserve. Due to the vast expanse covered by this federal protected area conservation and management is carried out through a system of four regional directorates (one per bordering the Gulf of California state) by way of co-direction. There is a regional directorate in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora and Sinaloa. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the work of direct and indirect conservation is done in the islands is governed by a single Management Program, published in 2000, which is complemented by local and specific management programs (at individuals) archipelagos. The Directorate of Protection Area Wildlife California Gulf Islands (APFF-GCR) in Baja California is responsible for 56 islands located off the coast of the state. These are grouped into four archipelagos: San Luis Gonzaga or Enchanted, Guardian Angel, Bahia de Los Angeles and San Lorenzo.

December 19, 2017 – Hard to believe we said goodbye to our guests at the Tecate/US border lineup 3 days ago as we arrived in Loreto, BCS at lunch today.  Wow the last few days have flown past for sure.  It seems ages ago now that we said goodbye to Oscar & Barbara and Guy & Glenda at Campestre Maranatha following our stops in Pescadero and Todos Santos.  Time to head north to Puerto Escondido and the conclusion of the fall 38 Day tour with John & Ursula and Robin & Cicely in tow.

We were happy to see some major changes in Puerto Escondido, the fancy expensive Restaurant was gone, replaced by an affordable outside Bar & Grill, Pepergina’s, next door to the restaurant.  Below the restaurant, El Pescador from Loreto opened a well stocked Mini-Mart with lots of cold beer, large picnic tables outside on the patio and great WiFi. They are also renovating the bathrooms and showers, and adding many more brand new docks to the facility, we are confident  our guests will enjoy their experience at Puerto Escondido.

The first northerner on the Sea of Cortez was up so we decided to skip the 3 days scheduled on the beach and return to Loreto and the Rivera del Mar Trailer Park for 2 days and an extra day in Mulege at the Hotel Serenidad. We all enjoyed the extra time with all the services and the group picked up a tour of local pictographs in the Mulege Valley with Salvador.  Fortunately we landed in Mulege on a Saturday so we all had Rib Dinner at the Hotel, tasty as always.  Don Johnson, the owner, is still going strong at 92?, we all spent some time listening to him talk about the past and his lovely wife Nancy who sadly passed away in 2016, they were married for over 50 years.  We learned for the 1st time that John Denver had flown into the Hotel Serenidad in the mid-90s and put on an impromptu show.  Always something to learn from Don, a true Baja legend.

When we headed off to Guerrero Negro everyone thought the heat was over.  Not so fast, we arrived it was warm, a pleasant 26C or 78F.  Our drive was easy, no incidents other than seeing the Tractor Trailer that went off the cliff on the Infierno heading down to Santa Rosalia, not sure what happened, either lost his brakes or load shifted, it looked bad and the Mexicans looked a bit puzzled on how to retrieve everything, including the load of Re-Bar.  Shortly after arriving at Mario’s folks were over to the Shell pile to retrieve future treasures. Some ate inside, we did not and instead watched the final episodes of  West World, an intriguing HBO series Mike & Kelly picked up for us.

The next day we headed off under sunny skies and little wind to Bahia de Los Angeles and Daggett’s campground.  First I had to pump up a tire that was low.  I replaced this tire at the LA Bay junction when I sorted out it had a bolt in the sidewall.  The Garage at the Wrecker Yard had two eager lads ready to help out.  Re & Re’d the new tire I had purchased and kept in the front rack in less than 20 minutes for $20 USD, success all-around I would say.

We landed in Bahia and they were dry of diesel, lucky the Gal’s Mercedes was efficient and they made El Rosario with fuel still in the tank.  We dropped over to Campo Archelon and caught up with Betty and the Resendiz family goings on. Lots of beach time for folks and the tour of town of course.  The road was from Guerrero Negro to LA Bay, was Good, mostly Bad, and some very Ugly.  We took our time and had now problems, speed is the key to avoid damage.  Other wise you will have flat tires, bent axels and broken springs.

Catavina was next after a couple of days in Bahia, more bad and ugly road on Hwy 1.  This was a one night stand then off to Vicente Guerrero and Posado Don Diego’s Restaurant and RV Park.  The road was bad for an additional 50 KM out of Catavina to KM 133 before we got a break. This road is not helping efforts by many to promote RVing on Baja.  The next morning we headed off to Sordo Mudo in the Valle de Guadalupe, traffic was quiet except for a few crazy drivers with mostly California plates, many should have left the day before.  On arrival at Sordo Mudo, John and Ursula said their goodbyes and headed off to Tecate.  We learned later it only took them 30 minutes to get across. The remaining 4 of us headed off to LA Cetto for a tour and tasting.  Lisa and I did not do the tour, the Gals did and enjoyed.  Wine tasting over we headed back to Campground and 28C or 82F, but it did cool off quickly with a low of 6C.  Up early as expected and on the road by 7:08 Am, said our goodbyes at the border lineup at 8:10 AM.  It was a long line that went past the turnoff, the Gals told us it took 2 hrs.  Our tour duties complete we returned to Sordo Mudo for the trailer and headed back to Ensenada.  We stayed overnight in Punta Banada and had dinner with our good friends Adolfo & Belem Villarino.

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Neuvo

Did you know?

BAJA RUSSIANS

In early 1881, a Czar Nicholas II decree demanded military service nationwide, the Molokans, resisted due to their belief in peace and harmony and pacifism values. In a sense Molokans are Protestants for rejecting Orthodoxy, and like Presbyterians in that they have a council of dominant elders. Although Molokans are somewhat similar to the European Quakers and Mennonites — for their pacifism, communal organization, spiritual meetings, they are ethnically much closer to Doukhobors because they evolved from the same Russian Spiritual Christian movement. The government responded with exile, imprisonment, torture, and forceful induction into the armed forces. During this period of extreme suffering the Molokans decided to try to migrate to the United States. At the beginning of 1900 the Molokans wrote a petition to Tsar Nicholas Alexandrovich asking for permission to leave Russia. The Tsar denied the request, but Leo Tolstoy, who greatly admired the Molokans, helped them get the necessary permission and many moved to California, most settling around Los Angeles.

Soon this rural group, however, found a big city environment a little difficult for raising crops and had to look elsewhere. Their prayers were answered in 1905 as Mexican President Porfirio Diaz agreed to sell the sect 13,000 acres of fertile land in Baja California’s Guadalupe Valley. Hence initially 50 families of Molokans, who had originally settled in Los Angeles after emigrating from Russia, relocated to Mexico. Theirs would become the most successful Molokan colony in North America. Eventually 105 families of Russian settlers (about 500 total) laid out their town the way they had at home, equal partitioned lots along a broad treecovered avenue. Their whitewashed adobe and wood Russian style homes with steep-pitched wooden (some thatched) roofs had front doors that faced away from the street. The farms flourished and the former arid and unproductive land was now converted into a very productive oasis of plenty. Wild horses, descendants of Spanish horses, were tamed and trained as draft horses making the Molokans the first ones in Mexico to use horses instead of oxen to work their farming equipment.

They grew a variety of cash crops including wheat, alfalfa, grapes, olives and tomatoes, raised gaggles of geese and bees for honey. Homes had basements to store their jams, preserves and honey. They baked an excellent Russian bread and drank tea or “chai” made in the samovar. Their main dish was Borscht, which they cooked with wooden spoons. The Molokans worked hard and prayed hard. They dressed simply with women covering their heads with homemade “kosinkas” or shawls, and the bearded men wore high-collared shirts called “rubajas” which had drawstrings around the waist.

They became splendid citizens of Mexico and while they spoke Russian in church and at home, were ever loyal to their adopted country. It is said that Russian-born Mary Rogoff, while she had only a third-grade education, delivered over 1,000 babies to the women of the valley. The farming colony grew quickly with over 800 Russians in the valley by 1928 many became Mexican citizens by naturalization or by birth. In 1938 the popular Mexican President Cardenas designated lands for the peasants of Mexico. Guadalupe was engulfed by 3,000 Mexicans and the town was renamed Francisco Zarco. The farming colony continued to grow until about 1940 when many began to move back into California to join others near the town of Bakersfield. By 1947 there were 49 families remaining in Guadalupe Valley. Their village was originally quite isolated, reflecting their desire to withdraw from society, but in 1958, road construction in the area resulted in an influx of Mexican and other settlers; some Molokans again chose to flee encroaching urbanisation, and returned to the United States, others stayed and over time have assimilated into the culture. In 1959 squatters began to invade the valley and took over many Molokan farms forcing the Russians to abandon almost all property and investments by 1965. By the 1990s, only one Molokan family remained in the area.

It was the Molokans who first introduced grapes into the valley on a large scale. The missionaries had planted some small vineyards near the mission prior to 1907, but never really developed the full potential that the valley could offer. Some members of the Russian community had gained experience growing grapes in Europe and put their skills and knowledge to work in creating one of the most important grape producing regions in the world. Several important varieties of table and other grapes were grown such as: Emperor, Ribbier, Thompson (seedless), Flame, Tokay, and White Muscatel. Today a few descendants of the original Molokans families continue to grow grapes and make wine. David and Abel Bibayoff Dalgoff own and cultivate about 80 acres of table and wine grapes in a region of Guadalupe Valley called Rancho Toros Pintos. Alexie M. Dalgoff obtained a permit to make wine in the 1930’s and the family continues the wine growing and winemaking tradition with a nice selection of wines and quality table grapes from their beautiful vineyard.

November 28, 2017 – We arrived in Los Barriles yesterday after a short drive from Rancho Verde. It is apparent that the gang will enjoy their 4 days at Baja Sunrise, truly the only seaside campground in the region.  The RV Park is well laid out and always improving, Jorge the owner is keen to make improvements, next season he will have a pool.  Guy & Glenda and Oscar & Barbara have already made arrangements to stay here after they drop off.

Hard to believe it was only 2 weeks ago that we were in Guerrero Negro and the gang took the Salt Tour, but time flies when you are on an adventure.  San Ignacio was busy as expected when we arrived, a few Baja race teams there preparing for Baja Mil.  Getting everyone parked was made even more challenging when a 40′ A Class motorhome took a short cut from Highway 1 to beat the Caravan to the lower parking area as we were just getting parked and an impatient RVer came in around the back of the group at the same time to park in his spot. Fun for all, glad it was really hot out as well, I just used my enduring charm.  We took a short trip into town, I had some Ice Cream and later we had dinner and the entire group had a Margarita (except Lisa and I).

Next day off to the beach and the Bay of Conception for 3 days on Playa Santispac.  Our friends, Wagon Masters & Tail Gunners, Mike & Kelly were already there set up.  We found a spot where we could all park, the weather was perfect, warm, hot, sunny with no wind.  The SUP and Kayak came off the roof of the Van, Oscar & Barbara also took their equipment off and everyone tried something out including floating chairs which take little effort and lots of fun.

We had dinner at Armando’s a couple of times including Friday night when Fast Eddy and the Slow Learners showed up to entertain. On our beach tour excursion we dropped by Gord & Gwen’s.  Folks were very impressed with their set up and Gwen’s Studio.  Gord was very gracious and offered the gang a cold beer, Mi Casa Su Casa for sure. Lots of fun and memories made on Playa Santispac.

Our next stop is Loreto and the Rivera del Mar RV Park.  Parking can be challenging, not this time, with only 5 RVs and lots of room it went fast. Headed to the Super Ley for some supplies and ATM later in the afternoon. The next day Mike & Kelly joined us in Loreto and the entire group went to the Happy Hour at the Mision Hotel on the Malecon.  Lots of fun and inexpensive refreshments, great intel when you know it is there, thank you Luis & Cindy.

Everyone was up to the drive to San Javier, road was in great shape and all the repairs had been made.  Clearly San Javier has become popular destination, including the 350 year old Olive Tree planted by the Jesuits, they are building an entrance and will be asking for donations.  Our last evening was spent for dinner at the Giggling Dolphin, Ubaldo was a great host a always and the boys played every tune we asked them for.  Their rendition of a popular Santana song has improved immensely since Dave & Darlene 1st requested it years ago.

8am departure on Day 14 as our destination was La Paz.  The drive was uneventful and we encountered no road construction, 1st time since started Baja Amigos in 2009 WOW!  Shortly after arrival we learned Cindy & Jose had moved to Texas in August with no known return date, apparently medical issues.  This was quite a shock to Lisa & I as we have become friends with them over the last 9 years and always look forward to seeing them each season on our return.  The next day we took the group into town, a stop a Ibarra’s Pottery and drop off at the Mercado.  Lisa and I went to the Allende Book Store to pick up our map books for the 45 Day tour and get some intel on Carnaval, apparently it may not be on the Malecon, we will see. 

We had lunch at a roadside taco stand and headed to Home Depot in search of new blind for the kitchen table window, the current one expired.  The entire group went for dinner at Los Magueyes, the food was good, Ricardo entertaining and lots of fun.  The next day we were off to Tecolote.  We had a new grocery stop at Soriano, this worked out well.  Parking was fairly straight forward and the selection was good, a nice change from Walmart. 

Tecolote was calm with a few RVs on the beach.  Sunny warm with little wind.  Not the most common feature of this beach.  Lots of swimming, some hiking, floating and beach walking, rest and relaxation. Our 3rd day we headed out to see Isla Ispiritu Santos and swim with Sea Lions.  I had never done his and looked forward to the experience.  I was not disappointed.  Although I did not choose to swim with the Sea Lions watching other was fun and I enjoyed the whole tour immensely.   

Leaving Tecolote we headed back onto the Truck Bypass on our way to Rancho Verde. As we turned onto the bridge Guy & Glenda picked up a local policeman who wanted more than their autograph.  We confirmed the light was flashing green, not red. With Oscar engaging the cop in Spanish and me speaking in both Spanish and English we made it clear, no wrong doing and no funds forthcoming.  Guy was given a warning and sent on his way.  many other RVers left on there own have coughed up $100 USD in the same circumstances, which is why the local police continue to prey on tourists.

We made our 10am reservations at the Café El Triunfo.  Good thing we arrived when we did, a piano concert was underway at 11am so lots of tourists had showed up for that as well.  Brunch was great, Lisa and I had our usual and rest had a good selection of menu items.  After a walkabout we headed for Rancho Verde, very hot when we got there, not so much when the sun went down.  We had fun Happy Hour and Oscar and Barb had a small fire, which helped keep us warm.  The gang really enjoyed Rancho Verde and what it had to offer, not always the case with our groups.

Day 2 in Los Barriles, Lisa and I are going to check out the house we rented for the kids later today.

Did you know?
The Cardon Catctus of Baja California is dominant on he peninsula.  “Cardo” means “thistle” in Spanish. It is said that when Hernando Cortés attempted to establish a settlement in Baja in 1535, the many spiny cacti earned it the name “Isla de Cardón”, because at the time, they believed the peninsula was an island. In Latin, “pachy” means thick and “cereus” means waxy. One has only to see the thick arms of this pale gray-green, waxy skinned cactus to understand what the traveling American botanist, Cyrus Pringle, meant when he named the species.

There are about 1200 species of cactus, all of them native to the Americas. Many first-time visitors to Baja mistake this giant cactus for the ecologically similar Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea), another inhabitant of the Sonoran Desert. However, the saguaro does not live in Baja and while there are a few stands of Cardón found across the Gulf of California on the Mexican mainland, they seldom occur near the saguaro.

The giant Cardon cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) is the emblem of the Baja California peninsula. It is a majestic plant, widely distributed over the entire peninsula and often occurring in dense stands. It is difficult to visit Baja California without being exposed to scenic views framed by this tree-shaped cactus. Because the peninsula is sparsely populated and many of its areas are remote and difficult to access, most populations of Cardon have remained intact through five centuries of European settlement. The first description (1768) of Cardon was by the founder of Mission San Javier, the Jesuit priest Miguel del Barco, near the town of Loreto.

The Cardon is one of the most massive of all cacti. An average mature Cardon may reach a height of ten meters, but individuals as tall as eighteen meters are known. It is a slow growing plant with a life span measured in hundreds of years, but growth can be significantly enhanced in its initial stages by inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria such as Azospirillum.

Most adult Cardon have several side branches that may be as massive as the trunk and the resulting tree may attain a weight of 25 tons. Adult Cardon is well adapted to the harsh climate of Baja California, characterized by drought and high temperatures, but as a seedling and juvenile it depends for survival on nurse plants, such as mesquite (Prosopis articulata). In alluvial soils in southern Baja California, the Cardons, and other cacti, occupy an extensive area.

November 14, 2017

Day 1 was a much calmer start. Our eager group headed out from Potrero under sunny skies and warmer temperatures. We crossed the border at Tecate with little fanfare and were on our way on Hwy 3 to Ensenada before you could say “enchilada y papas fritos por favor”. It was surprising to see a new ARCO and VIPS gas station in Tecate, then several new BPs in Ensenada , PEMEX is no longer the only dog in town. Our stop at COSTCO and Soriano was productive and we arrived at Villarino’s Campground earlier then normal. We headed up to La Bufadora to see the action, lots of vendors, not too many tourists as the ship traffic had mostly left. I was able to purchase the vanilla Lisa was looking for.

Day 2 we headed into Ensenada for a look about. The Art Gallery and Cultural Centre were the 1st stop, the historic downtown and fish market. Very quiet streets, no cruise ships were in and some shops were closed, it really warmed up in the afternoon. We returned about 2:30 pm to the campground to relax before our next stop Fidel’s past San Quintin. On our way south we were delayed by an accident involving a semi and other vehicles. It took about an hour for the road to open, so far on this tour we have seen 3 big rigs upside down off the edge of Hwy 1. As we say in or orientation “keeping the tires on the pavement at all times is the priority!”

The next 2 days we spent on the beach at Fidel’s, windy when we arrived but as usual it did calm down as the sun set. The next day stated out cloudy but soon the sun arrived, and it warmed up. Folks walked on the beach, read a book, worked on their tans, took showers and generally kicked back. No takers with the boogie board in the surf. Before the Hot Dog roast early in the afternoon Oscar & Barbara showed up with their newly repaired RV. Everyone was very pleased to see them and this made the Weiner roast and fire complete for sure. It was great to have them back after missing them for Day 1.

Day 5 we were headed off to Catavina. No incidents, just lots of Baja racers and lousy road. Within 2 hours of leaving the beach we hit 30C (84F), it warmed up fast. Nice to see some new pavement after El Rosario, unfortunately the bad road was still bad, we just took it slow and easy. After arriving in Santa Innes and lunch those wanting a hike boarded the bus and off we went to see cave paintings. Shortly after returning Mike & Kelly showed up, they had left Sordo Mudo in the morning. Everyone went for dinner at the Cantina, including Mike & Kelly. We also had a couple of visit with Ralph who continues to defy the aging process. We underway the next day destination Malarrimo’s in Guerrero Negro. Good to see some new pavement north of the Bahia de Los Angeles junction, we understand when complete this add 16 KM (10 miles) of new road, fabuloso!

We had a great dinner last night, as always. Chris &Jeannie also arrived at Malarrimo’s and it was good to catch up with them. We will see them on Santispac in a couple of days or on our return in Mulege. This morning the gang is taking a tour of the Salt Works and we head to Rice & Beans in San Ignacio after lunch.

Did you know?
The “BAJA 1000” (BAJA MIL) is an off-road race that takes place on Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula in the fall of every 2nd year. The event includes various types of vehicle classes such as small and large bore motorcycles, stock VW, production vehicles, buggies, trucks, and custom fabricated race vehicles. The course has remained relatively the same over the years with the majority of events being either a point to point race from Ensenada to La Paz (1600 KM), or a loop race starting and finishing in Ensenada (1340 KM). The name of the event is misleading as the mileage varies.

The first official race started in Tijuana, Baja California, on October 31, 1967, and was named the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally. The course length that year was 849 miles (1,366 km) and ended in La Paz, Baja California Sur, with the overall winning time of 27 hours 38 minutes (27:38) set by Vic Wilson and Ted Mangels while driving a Meyers Manx buggy. From 1967 to 1972, the race was organized by the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA). In 1973, the Baja California governor turned over the event to a non-profit Mexican corporation called Baja Sports Committee (BSC). BSC renamed the event to Baja Mil (Baja 1000) and scheduled the race to run on the original dates chosen by NORRA.

Unaware of the challenges, BSC found promoting Baja races more difficult than anticipated. Instead of giving up the race, the Mexican government requested help from Short Course Off-Road Enterprises (SCORE) in hosting and promoting future Baja races. Through negotiations with Mickey Thompson and his SCORE organization, the Government agreed to give exclusive rights to SCORE to hold Baja races and also reluctantly allowed SCORE to cancel the event for 1974. SCORE hired Sal Fish as president and took control of the Baja 1000 from that year on with the Baja 1000 race resuming under new control in 1975.

Although motorcyclists participate and are often the overall winners, many competitors drive modified or stock 4-wheel vehicles such as cars, trucks, ATVs and dune buggies. Race teams consist of factory supported groups that build custom fabricated vehicles and provide chase vehicles via helicopter, to the much smaller and less glamorized sportsman teams competing in an all-stock vehicle with no chase vehicle support at all. Stock Volkswagen Type One Beetles are modified for use in off road terrain, known as Baja Bugs, have been a common sight throughout the event duration, but the factory-supported all-spaceframe Trophy Truck entries are the most visible.

50th TECATE SCORE BAJA 1000 runs November 14th-18th, 2017