super secret campground in Alamos

Alamos- Jan 20 

We left San Carlos eager to arrive at our new destination of Alamos. The highway leaving town was littered with seafood vendors selling  clams, scallops, white fish and the most enormous  shrimp either of us has ever seen! We could not fit two in the palm of our hand. We bought a kilo for $12 which was probably more than we needed to pay but the luxury of having them right there was too good to pass up especially if we won't see them again till we make our way back to the coast.

 Hollis has taken a keen liking to almost anything that comes out of the sea, especially shrimp and crab. 

  We had heard lots of great things from fellow travelers about Alamos being a quaint colonial town with grand buildings and plazas recently restored to their former polish . We soon discovered that it was not only a beautiful place with narrow cobbled streets begging to be explored but there was a 10 day  international music festival about to start on Thursday. Our two day visit has now morphed into at least a week. Ahhhh the joys of long term travel.

Our friends, Alison and Ches have stayed in Alamos before so advised us on the super secret campground located on the other side of town. Due to the very narrow streets and sharp turns needed to get here( not to mention the shallow river crossing required )  we figured our "rig" would be the largest in the campground. What a surprise it was to see one motorcoach ( those giant buses you see many full time RV'ers driving), and several 5th wheels parked here. I figured they must have helicoptered them in cause there was no way they took the same route that we did getting here.  Turns out they had help from the local police to close down the one way street at 5am  so they could take a more direct route here. There is some major construction going on in and around the river now so the big rigs might be stuck here for awhile! Nobody seems to mind that prospect though. Why leave during the festival?

FAOT ( Fiesta Alfonzo Ortiz Tirado) has taken over the town and the quiet plazas are filled with vendors of food, glass, leather, beaded things,  taco stands, hot dogs wrapped in bacon ,candy carts and homemade preserves and cajeta  (carmelized goat milk ) It's delicious!

 All the music is free and last night, opening night , we watched the opera being broadcast onto the street from inside the concert hall that was too full to take in any more people. We sat on the retaining wall and relished the ambiance of people, music,  men on horseback, full bellies and a warm night.  The main plaza featured a tight Cuban band that by the end of the night had everyone up dancing in the light sprinkling of rain.

Of course it all starts quite late as is the Mexican tradition so our ride back to our campsite on our bicycles was a tricky one in the dark. I took one wrong turn and startled a group of sleeping chihuahas . They chased me barking their little mouths off and I nearly had to kick one that seemed particularly vicious! The daily trek over the shallow river was easily handled by the boys who have become experts at managing their bikes and their bodies over the two 6 inch wide planks that allow pedestrians access to the other side. 

I would be remiss if I didn't write about the incredible generosity we have experienced from the Mexican people. We have been having trouble uploading photos onto our blog site so Hollis and I rode into town to try our luck at the internet cafe/ courtyard.  The owner, Ernesto, speaks pretty good English and we have been dropping in at least once a day. He suggested I mainline right to the internet via his ethernet cable which meant I took up his chair inside the cafe . He needed to go to the market for some supplies so left me in charge of the cafe AND gave Hollis his computer to use while he was gone. Thankfully it was a slow time and I didn't need to pull out my past barista experience while he was away.

Ground coffee and especially espresso grind are nearly impossible to find here, even my new friend Ernesto gets his delivered pre- ground. I was expressing my amazement to another shop keeper named Elaina about being able to buy Mexican coffee in Canada but I can't buy Mexican coffee in Mexico. She understood my dilemma and offered to lend me her coffee grinder if I wanted to come back the next day. I did come back but only to tell her I couldn't find any beans. I couldn't believe it but she had anticipated my difficulty and brought me some beans too! Only in Turkey have I ever experienced such kindness. She refused any money from me and was happy just knowing  that she had made another coffee lovers day.

Bowen has a birthday in 2 days so we are searching for a small pinata that we can fill with candy that he and Hollis can break open with Remy's billy club.  Camping here is easy as things one needs for comfort such as purified water, propane or even fresh jumbo shrimp are delivered right to the campsite by eager entrepreneurs. With any luck a pinata salesman will drop by too!

-Liz