Traveling to Mexico Again in 2008
RVing in Mexico with our 40' Motorhome - Huatabampito and Yavaros
For pictures of Huatabampito click here
After leaving Huatabampo one afternoon we drove into Yavaros a small fishing town south of here. Very, very interesting. This is where the big fishing boats we’ve been watching take their catches. If you follow the road through town to the end there is a large, busy fish packing plant there. And lots of fishing boats. They are so interesting. Some are in really good shape, their colorful nets hung on the lines and some look like they shouldn’t even leave the docks they are so rusty. What fascinates me is the amounts of lines/ropes are on each boat. They seem to be going every which way. Just keeping them all repaired and in good shape must be a full time job. A lot of them had men working on them. Then we found an area where the really rusted boats were sitting on the mud. A couple didn’t make it to the mud; they were sunk and sinking just off shore.
From there we drove back through the little town. Only the main street is paved, the rest are dirt. And as always the buildings were very colorful. We did see a couple of soldiers here; guess ‘cause of the easy access to the Gulf.
We discovered another street that led to the where the pangas, small two or four man fishing boats, were tethered. Most of them had so many pelicans sitting on them I don’t know how they managed to stay afloat. On one side of the road were the boats and on the other side were the homes. A lot of the homes were built of brick but I noticed that several did not have glass in the windows or doors in the doorways. Most had laundry drying some hanging on lines others laying on bushes or the fence. There were children riding their bicycles or just playing in the dirt. At some of the homes there were groups of men talking and cleaning the fish they had caught that day. The fishermen that had been out in the boats still wearing their calf high black or white rubber boots. We saw one stooped older man who had on one white and one black boot. As we left the town behind us we spied a small cemetery out in the middle of the desert. Lots of large white monuments and lots of colorful plastic flowers decorated the graves. It certainly was a peaceful place.
We managed to keep pretty busy in a relaxing way while in Huatabampito. Took a couple of drives in the jeep on the beach to collect lots of shells. All different kinds. Don’t know what I’ll do with them when I get them home, but they are pretty and fun to collect. Watched the beautiful sunsets and a couple of really spectacular sunrises. One sunrise also had a big rainbow in the western sky. Didn’t get a good picture of it though.
Once when in Huatabampo we stopped and went into the central market. Not too much in there. A couple of clothing stores and a shoe shine stand. Also a couple of produce stands and the inevitable meat markets with the meat hanging on hooks on the wall, no refrigeration. The counters where they cut the meat were slabs of white granite. Signs at both meat sellers stated, “It is the law. We clean this area with soap, bleach and brushes every morning at 5 a.m.” That’s nice to know. And the rest of the day? Walked around the town a little too. Lots of little stores selling gowns for weddings and 15th birthday parties. And many, many, many shoe stores. Don’t know how they all can stay in business there were so many. Found the post office and mailed some post cards. Boy was that a surprise. $1 apiece to mail. For that price they should get in the US the next day. Probably will take a couple of months though.
The two weeks we were there the weather was great. A couple of days there were some sprinkles, but nothing to keep you inside. Cool at night and just warm enough during the day. Only used the air conditioner for a couple of hours two days.
The day before we left we drove back into Navojoa to go to the big supermarkets there to get stuff we knew we wouldn’t find where we were going - Cottage cheese, sour cream and guacamole. After shopping we stopped and ate lunch. Had tacos al pastor. First time for me, they were pretty good. The meat is layered then cooked on an upright spit. As it cooks it is sliced off from the outside in towards the spit to make the tacos. Great flavor. Also checked on the RV park we stayed in two years ago. It was pretty much in shambles then and doesn’t seem to be much better now. But it is still open and can be used in a pinch.
For pictures of the little town of Yavaros click here
We drove through Navojoa on the main street, did not take the truck route and didn’t encounter any problems from the police. It’s my understanding the truck route one block to the left is a pretty tore up road. We passed one sign saying “Huatabampo” knew enough not to take it. Just south of town after passing the big Soriana Supermarket I saw another sign pointing to Huatabampo and told Bill to turn. After he made the turn I rechecked the directions and realized this was not the turn we were supposed to make - it was another 36 kilometers down the road past the toll booth. Oh Oh! Well we were committed and headed in the right direction. As it turned out it was the better way for us to go. The first mile was kind of rough and lots of traffic. Soon we came to a traffic signal and another sign for Huatabampo pointing to the left. After that turn the road was great. Pretty smooth and shoulders most of the way. Had to go through a couple of small towns and over some topes but they were well marked. Continued on through Huatabampo just following the signs to the beach town of Huatabampito where the El Mirador RV Park is. The park is right on the beach, has 30amp service, Wi-fi and water and sewer. We have phone service and can even pick up some channels from Direct TV. There is a restaurant and bathrooms with hot showers. Daily they are working on the campground repairing damage from last years storms. Right now there are only five of us here. There is a nice supermarket in Huatabampo. The road between the beach and the main road out of town to the beach has been washed out in a couple of places but you can see the damage and have time to slow way down before going over it. It is worth it, beautiful here. Sunsets are magnificent. Lots of sea shells to pick up, fishing boats and dolphins to watch.
We took Willie out on the beach and drove quite a ways south picking up shells along the way. There are a lot of houses built on the beach south of the RV Park. A lot of them seem to be abandoned and storm damaged. There is another seafood restaurant there too.
We’ve made several trips into Huatabampo usually to the big Ley market there. But we’ve driven around the city too. Just about anything you would need you can get there. Lots of pawn shops, shoe stores and bicycle repair places which might be right next door to a meat market. One street seemed to be just bars - eight or nine of them. Also found a couple of Chinese restaurants and one place that sold stuff for 4 x 4s. As you walk down the street you pass furniture stores, clothing stores and shops that sell gowns for brides and Quinceañera, a kind of coming out party for a 15 year old girl. And even more pawn shops. There were lots of vendors set up on the corners mostly selling produce. It smells so good as you pass it. Saw a couple of Cyber and Internet Cafes didn’t go in any so don’t know what they offer. We went into the Mercado Municipa, a central market of sorts. Found lots of clothing, some sections selling produce and a couple of meat markets. Of course the meat was not refrigerated and was hanging on hooks above the white granite counter tops. A sign next to the meat said “It is the law. We clean this area with soap, bleach and a brush every morning at 5 a.m.” Still we didn’t buy any meat.
We took Willie out on the beach and drove quite a ways south picking up shells along the way. There are a lot of houses built on the beach south of the RV Park. A lot of them seem to be abandoned and storm damaged. There is another seafood restaurant there too.
We’ve made several trips into Huatabampo usually to the big Ley market there. But we’ve driven around the city too. Just about anything you would need you can get there. Lots of pawn shops, shoe stores and bicycle repair places which might be right next door to a meat market. One street seemed to be just bars - eight or nine of them. Also found a couple of Chinese restaurants and one place that sold stuff for 4 x 4s. As you walk down the street you pass furniture stores, clothing stores and shops that sell gowns for brides and Quinceañera, a kind of coming out party for a 15 year old girl. And even more pawn shops. There were lots of vendors set up on the corners mostly selling produce. It smells so good as you pass it. Saw a couple of Cyber and Internet Cafes didn’t go in any so don’t know what they offer. We went into the Mercado Municipa, a central market of sorts. Found lots of clothing, some sections selling produce and a couple of meat markets. Of course the meat was not refrigerated and was hanging on hooks above the white granite counter tops. A sign next to the meat said “It is the law. We clean this area with soap, bleach and a brush every morning at 5 a.m.” Still we didn’t buy any meat.
