Hell’s Half Acre

So we left the beach. It was excruciatingly difficult to leave on the first of very many (according to internet weather sites) days of sunshine; day after day of gorgeous blue skies, swaying palm trees and luscious pool boys (well, the weather report may have omitted the pool boy)… It would be very easy to spend the entire winter at Quinta Alicia. The price was lovely (1000 pesos/week for six; 800 for two and I’m sure it would have been cheaper for a monthly rate), full hookups with Most Excellent electricity (which is rare in Mexico), fresh seafood steps away, incredible fresh milk and cheese in San Rafael and coffee. Lovely fresh local coffee. Laura says that it is said that in Veracruz it is impossible to die of hunger. You can fish from the sea, pick bananas that have been discarded by the exporters (which are absolutely perfect), mandarins also discarded and drink from the many cows. It is so true. Unfortunately the weather just killed us. Almost every day was cloudy; either all day or part of the day, but this winter has been weird all over Mexico (and the US, I expect) so we can’t fault them for their weather. We really fell in love with the area and would go back in a flash. The boys LOVED the waves and surf and honestly, I can’t think of anything we were lacking. I miss it already.

We really wanted to visit Xalapa and Xico and Coatepec and Pike was very reluctant to stay in a hotel. For some reason, this winter he is anti-hotel. It has never been a problem before, so we’re simply trying to work it out with him. I had hoped to leave the trailer at the beach and stay in a hotel in Xalapa, but Pike wasn’t having any of it, so we tried to find a place for the trailer. I found a balneario, El Carrizal, that looked like it might take large rigs. There is no setup for RV camping here, but over cobblestones and a short cobblestone hill, around the volleyball court and over dirt, we made it. I’m still a bit frightened to leave. The one town we had to cross to make it to the balneario was mercifully empty (due to Carnival, I expect) and I am crossing all my digits it will be the same when we leave. Which may be tomorrow. The price here is astronomical as all the kids are charged double the balneario rate for camping and we have arrived at our most expensive stay anywhere ever. Six hundred sixty pesos PER night. Around $64US. But, considering that we most likely would have continued to pay the daily rate at the beach PLUS hotel in Xalapa, this probably evens out. And the boys report that this is the BEST balneario they’ve ever been in anywhere in Mexico. And we’ve been to a LOT of balnearios. So I’m not sure how long we’ll be here; we have no electricity or ability to dump, but the water is warm (thermal waters) and after spending all afternoon at the top pools, I found yesterday evening that we missed a huge pool complex below - all riverside. If absolutely nothing else, some good pictures to come. But I’m still dreading traversing town and getting up the cobblestone hill.

Last night was heavenly. Quiet and serene; only the sounds of the rushing waters. If you’ve spent ANY time in Mexico, you know that a quiet night, punctuated only by birds, the swish of coconut leaves and rushing water is something to be cherished.

I can’t complain much; we’re warm (though scratching jejene bites) and the sun is shining, the banana trees amazingly green against a brilliant blue sky out one window and perfectly gorgeous emerald green and tan coconut trees out the other, we have thermal waters at our footsteps and COFFEE in the hills. Now to convince the kids to leave the balneario for the coffee…