The waterpark is closed?

Chimulco Waterpark and RV Resort

Villa Corona, Jalisco

May 10 - 12, 2009

Chimulco is one of several thermal waterparks that line the road in this particular part of Mexico. There is a natural hot spring that heats the water to the perfect bathing temperature ( maybe even a tad bit too  warm.) The pools are completely drained  and refilled each night which made it sound appealing to the grown ups as well!

We had been hearing about this place from fellow travelers  since the very beginning of our trip. "your kids will LOVE it" they would all tell us. It wasn't in the cards for us on the way into Mexico as we were eager to stay and explore the beaches but we found it made perfect sense to see it on our way back to the coast from being inland for so long.

We arrived at Chimulco all hot and sweaty after a very long day of travel. All day we had talked about how great it was going to be to do that first slide into the cool water.

Imagine our disappointment then to find that the park was closed for "sanitization" after the swine flu outbreak and wouldn't be open for business again for another week or so. BIG BIG BUMMER. The good news was that at least the

 campground was open and we were given a deal because of the lack of swimming options. Wifi was free and we wouldn't have to worry about line ups for table space either. The employee felt so bad he offered to let us use the laundry for free as well.

The boys were sooooo disappointed that they suggested we get right back into the van and drive to the nearest Pemex gas station for the night. I guess it was their way of punishing the waterpark employee. The idea of a clean pillow case that night after the free laundering didn't seem to make them any happier either. It thrilled us!

After about an hour of  their constant wining about how much this "sucks' they came around and discovered the sprinklers were on and they could play in those instead.

That was the weirdest thing! The water coming out of the sprinklers was quite warm too! Liz had the idea of having a family water fight. That proved pointless however because instead of everyone running from whomever had the water we were drawn to that person in an attempt to get warm again. We opted instead to have an outdoor shower right there in the middle of the field, what a wonderfully strange sensation that was. Family bonding at its best.

Liz was walking around the grounds one morning peeking in the windows of the rentable bungalows also on the property. A  small  dog had been sleeping on the porch of one of the bungalows but there didn't appear to be anyone around actually looking after her. She didn't have the usual mangy look of Mexican street dogs and was actually quite cute.. Liz gave her some of the kibble we had purchased for just such an encounter and she quickly adopted us as her own, we even made the mistake of giving her a name- Lupita.

Lupita followed Liz everywhere wagging her tail and doing all the usual adorable things dogs do. We allowed her to sleep outside the van for the night despite several of her attempts to get inside. Although we were quite taken with her cuteness we still had other potentially nasty doggie issues to think about.

Lupita quickly won her way into our hearts and before you know it Remy and Liz are seriously talking about taking her back home to Canada with them. We have talked many times about if we were ever to adopt a dog it would be a street dog from Mexico. There are thousands  of them here but  most are so ugly it's enough to put you off your lunch or, they have been abused so badly and some are disfigured from having hot oil thrown at them.

We weigh the options and think about a vet visit, food, shots, spaying, recovery etc and finally decide that a pet just doesn't fit into our long term goal of more family travels. Lupita would have to stay where she is but how could we get away without her following?

A plan was hatched for the next morning and there she was resting on our bbq bag when we woke- how cute is that?!

We spend the morning packing up again ( which we have become quite proficient at) and enjoy being a family with a dog so much we reconsider our decision to leave Lupita in Mexico. UGH.

Back and forth we go on the issue and of course whispering about it so the boys don't hear. We wouldn't want them to get all excited and attached and break their hearts too in the end.

-We can't take her- FINAL DECISION

 We hope to have her so busy eating breakfast that she won't even notice us driving away. WRONG! She runs after the boys as they try to make a dash for the running van- HOW CUTE IS THAT?!  Liz finally finds some sandwich meat in the cooler that we hope will distract her long enough for the great escape. It works! Hollis has run ahead to take down the rope we need to cross and Remy and Bowen are in the running van. Liz gives the ham to Lupita and runs to the waiting van. They're off.

Somehow we are supposed to feel good about getting away successfully but we just feel awful.

Liz can only imagine her looking all over the campground for us. How cute is that?!

-Liz