After 18 years full-timing, we figured it was time we gave RVing in Mexico a try. But we didn’t want to do it with our trailer, just the Project M.
Conveniently, an offshoot of the Xscapers club was holding a gathering in a snowbird watering hole, Puerto Penasco. It was their sixth meetup there, and although we didn’t know any of them, we have friends who do and convinced us it would be fun.
Located just over five hours away from FOY, it’s only about 1.5 hours from the border. So we signed up for the two week excursion a few months ago and hoped everything would go according to plan. It did, and it didn’t.
We did all of the usual bureaucratic RV travel paperwork for Mexico:
- We made sure our passports are current
- Got Nellie’s dog permit from the CDC
- Bought overpriced Mexican auto insurance
- And went online to sign up for our FMM Tourist card
This trip wasn’t a total vacation, we had to bring work with us as usual. But since we have AT&T cellular, we confirmed voice and data service would be fine there, so nothing to do on the internet side of things.
The plan was to meet up with others in the party at Organ Pipe National Monument. Then we would pay for our FMM card at the Lukeville / Sonoyta crossing and caravan over the next day.
But about a week before the trip, that’s when things started to unravel.
Jim wasn’t feeling great during the days leading up, with a cold or allergies. Nellie had a bad wound on her paw that needed constant TLC. And then the night before we were schedule to leave, I took a bad fall when Nellie dragged me down the street to chase some dogs.
In all fairness, it was totally my fault: her leash wasn’t attached to its usual spot, and I didn’t have the kind of leverage I usually have when walking her.
So between Jim’s meh health situation and my new “Oh my god I think my ribs are cracked!” injury, we just weren’t feelin’ the love of a Mexico road trip.
But the next day we went anyhow, knowing we could turn around and return if things really sucked.
We’re glad we went, but won’t do a Puerto Penasco RV party again. Here’s why.
Let’s get one thing straight: the people we joined were a fun-loving bunch who were great company. We would absolutely camp with them again. But we won’t do it in that part of Mexico.
I should have known Penasco wasn’t our scene when we were advised to bring earplugs if we wanted to block nighttime noise.
Nobody told us that Penasco is Phoenix and Tucson’s party spot. It’s a poor man’s Cancun, with bars, beach, and bands. And lots and lots of noise almost all day long.
As for the cost, camping was cheap at $12 a night for boondocking. But the exchange rate sucks, and things cost almost as much as in the States.
The campground was a big dusty parking lot. Everyone was parked side-by-side and only snowbirds who had been there for months got to park on the beach. We felt lucky to have gotten a second row spot, and we were.
Our camping friends were pretty respectful of the noise level after hours, they weren’t the problem.
It was just the din of the city, traffic noise, and ATVs buzzing around that stole our sleep. Urban camping just isn’t our thing unless we’re in Vegas and totally psyched for it.
Not having an on-board bathroom wasn’t a huge problem, this campground had great restrooms for Mexico. But it was still a pain to have to walk to them multiple times daily.
But this wasn’t that, and we tried hard to cope. Maybe too hard. We just weren’t having fun by the second night of severe sleep deprivation coupled with mild hangovers from the fun rig crawl.
Penasco might’ve been more fun if we had taken the trailer. Even thin RV walls make it easier to block city noise, and neighboring generator noise. You just can’t do that when you sleep in the M, which is essentially a tent.
The group had tons of fun activities planned for the two weeks, and we enjoyed the pajama party rig crawl, and a tamale night.
But on the third morning of waking up grumpy, fighting off allergies, worrying about Nellie catching screw worm from flies, and coping with the aftermath of my spectacular fall, the final straw broke.
Our lithium battery in the camper wasn’t charging.
No power? Not fun. That did it.
On the fourth day we packed up, said our goodbyes to our new party pals, and headed back to FOY. Returning home to our comfy trailer and soaking in the hot tubs was like checking into the Ritz. Aaaaah.
Next time we’ll head for the quieter side of Mexico
Now we know what to do if we ever want to go back to Mexico. The paperwork isn’t as big of a deal as it might seem.
And I overcame my fear of being arrested by the Department of Homeland Security because I believe in #nokings.
Also, Nellie didn’t catch screw worm. Seriously, it’s now a thing. If you take your dog to Mexico, be warned.
And we were so glad we left before the Puerto Vallarta blow up scared the beejeezus out of snowbirds in the country for a few weeks.
If we return to Mexico anytime soon, it sure won’t look anything like the Puerto Penasco RV party pit!