Navojoa, Sonora
May 18 - 20, 2009
If we NEVER , EVER have another travel day like this one it will be too soon.
We started out the day very early and were packed, fed, and on the road by 7:59am.
It was going to be a long, hot day but our destination - Huatabampito ??? was described in our guide book as a resort on the beach with a pool and a restaurant with wifi. The plan was to park here for a few days , relax and get the last of our beach ya yas out.
After about 7 hours of driving in 40 degree heat we pull into the larger center of Huatabompo( not to be confused with Huatabampito.) We will need a few supplies for the next few days so this was the most logical stop. Oh my God, what a dump!
Garbage was blowing in the streets which, contrary to popular belief, is quite uncommon in Mexico- along the highways , yes, but not in the towns. The one supermarket sported empty shelves but many, many employees just standing around and the second grocery store we found was very small and super packed with people. Of course we were an unusual sight in this cramped store and found ourselves being stared at from every which way.
We picked up a few things we needed then headed off for Huatabompito- another 15 KM away. We arrived to the RV park all hot and very sweaty only to find it completely empty ( not unusual at this time of year) and the fine sand from the surrounding dunes was blowing sideways. The moment we stepped out of the van we were covered in the stuff from head to toe. GREAT, just what we needed-ugh. We bumbled around with where to set up camp. Would it be better to set up next to the delapitated building for a tiny bit of shade and protection from the blowing sand or on the ocean for the breeze and the view? It was obvious that neither scenerio was a good one and the boys were complaining about everything. It was when 2 little BLACK bugs found their way into Liz's skin and had a good chomp that we decided we'd rather stay in a Pemex gas station than at this dump.
We checked out the bathrooms- disgusting; the ocean- full of jelly fish and weird white stringy stuff. Gross. We quickly negotiated a full refund with the owners and told them we had never had such an experience in all of Mexico. We hope they work on some improvements before next season to prevent more travelers from wasting their time as we had just done.Remy came up with the brilliant idea that we could just get back in the van and drive to Navojoa as it was only 50KM away and there was a campground there in a mangrove beside the river! Sounded great. Let's go!
We arrived at the Alameda campground about 90 minutes later and pulled ourselves into a spot. Of the 80 spaces about 60 of them were filled with heavy machinery, gigantic plastic tubes, rotted out cars, and greasy, smelly autoparts of every description. We were so tired and hot and now hungry we just weren't thinking straight. Bowen and Remy immediately went off to have a shower and it wasn't until Hollis returned for a paper towel that I began to see the light. "What do you need a damp paper towel for?" I ask. "So Dad can wipe off the towel hook," he replied.
WHAAAT? HE HAS TO CLEAN OFF THE TOWEL HOOK? ....YUK." I answered.
Hollis and I marched over to the shower to let Remy know we were going next door to the nice Best Western Hotel to see about getting a room. We caught him with a beard full of shaving cream and a deer caught in the headlights expression on his face. He was probably thinking... I know she's right but I can't believe we are moving again . UGH . Five minutes later we were negotiating a refund from a campground for the second time that day ( and in broken Spanish no less.)
We landed in an air conditioned room across from the pool that was surrounded by fragrant blooms of every description. It was so great we ended up staying two days and did nothing but play at the pool and watch several episodes of Oprah!!
-Liz
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