Travel Journal

Live the adventures of Dan Walker's travels through reading his travel journal. The travel journals are listed below in descending order of date. To search the travel journals, use the keyword search at the bottom of the page.

Journal Entry:

Trips | Rolls Alaska To Argentina & Back 2011

Tuesday, August 09, 2011 06:55:03
Rolls Alaska to Argentina & back: 39 El Rosario, Mexico to Palm Desert, California Friday, August 5, 2011 About 2:30 AM Montezuma's Revenge struck Jacob, and he had both ends going for the rest of the night. In the morning the hotel people tried to get a doctor, but in this small town none were available - the suggestion was the local government hospital. We knew this would require a long hot wait among many other sick people, so the hotel had their van drive Marilynn and I to a good pharmacy. The pharmacist was very knowledgeable, and recommended pills and rehydrating liquid. As it would take time for the pills to work, we decided to use the day we gained yesterday and stay. Wifi was good, so new tires were ordered for the car, our appointment confirmed in Creswell, Oregon and other work done. Later I took the car for a wash in the town center - they did the best wash of the trip for $5. Saturday, August 6, 2011 Miles for the day: 379 ( 610km) Miles to date: 21,356 (34,369 km) At 2 AM Montezuma struck me, so not much sleep between toilet trips. I wanted to get going, so took some of Jacob's pills (we bought extra) and some Imodium and we were on the road by 6:45 AM. The roads were mostly good, and we made great time in spite of stops at agricultural checks, police checks and army checks. There were heavily armed military convoys on the road. At all but one checkpoint they asked about the car and waved us on. One guy glanced in the trunk before saying OK, and at another the police took turns taking each other's photos around the car while about 20 cars backed up behind us! In many instances Jacob was mistaken for the driver, causing a good laugh when the mistake was realized. Most had never seen a right hand drive vehicle. I was feeling pretty shaky, so we stopped at the modern, clean city of Navojoa a little after 3 PM. We stayed at the Fiesta Hotel, where we had a two bedroom suite with a king and two double beds. Dinner was at a local restaurant, where I managed one waffle. Sunday, August 7, 2011 Miles for the day: 405 ( 652km) Miles to date: 21,761 (35,021 km) After being advised by my friend Karen of the FBI that border crossings would be lightest on Sundays, we decided to make a run for the border at Nogales. Breakfast was at 7 AM, but when I asked where it was served I was informed it was only a little after 6 AM - we had missed a time change. As the distance was long and the roads unknown we decided to skip breakfast. It turned out the roads were pretty good, and we were able to average over 100 kph for most of the trip. Even construction delays and two gas stops didn't slow us too much.. At the first stop sandwiches, juice and cookies were breakfast. The second gas stop was a cash only station at Los Arrieros that I suggest to be avoided. They even charged 3 pesos to use the urinal! We arrive at the Mexican side of the border by 2:30 PM, where my $200 refund for the car deposit paid in Tapachula was refunded. There was no passport check. The downside was that a lens fell out of my prescription sunglasses and was run over by a passing vehicle. It was 4 km to the US border, then a 45 minute wait in a line of cars. The border guard had more questions about the car than us, gave our passports a cursory glance, and welcomed us to the US. In Tucson, Arizona we got a great deal on a room for the 3 of us at the Ramada Inn - $55 with breakfast. Monday, August 8, 2011 Miles for the day: 362 ( 583 km) Miles to date: 22,123 (35,604 km) Breakfast was good, but a sewer smell put Marilynn and Jacob off their feed -- not much affects me in that way! We tried a couple of shopping centers in Phoenix looking for a glasses store to replace my smashed glasses lens, but no luck. A horribly rude woman in a Wal-Mart vision centre said she would need 7 to 10 days to make a lens, but couldn't do it anyway because the prescription I had from Costa Rica wasn't current enough. We drove more shopping centers before I got fed up to head out on highway 10 using an old pair of glasses with a nose rest broken off. It caused pain, but I could see to drive. Driving conditions were good, but the heat was oppressive. By early afternoon the air blasting in the windows at just under 70 mph (113 kph) was like a blast furnace. We stopped for gas, case of water and some other supplies just before the California border. After a quick snack and cold drink we carried on to Indigo, CA to have another look for a glasses shop. We tried a glasses centre in the Target Store, where a very helpful clerk gave us a map to a Lens Crafter store in Palm Desert. When we found the store there was no problem getting a new pair of prescription sun glasses made in an hour using my Costa Rica prescription. They also recommended a hotel about a mile away, which turned out to be a great buy as well. It was a Best Western where we had a two room suite, huge pool and good wireless internet at a very reasonable rate. We suspect that because of the heat few tourists are here - the hotels last night and tonight have been all but deserted.

Tuesday, August 09, 2011 06:55:03

Rolls Alaska to Argentina & back: 39 El Rosario, Mexico to Palm Desert, California

Friday, August 5, 2011

About 2:30 AM Montezuma's Revenge struck Jacob, and he had both ends going for the rest of the night. In the morning the hotel people tried to get a doctor, but in this small town none were available - the suggestion was the local government hospital. We knew this would require a long hot wait among many other sick people, so the hotel had their van drive Marilynn and I to a good pharmacy. The pharmacist was very knowledgeable, and recommended pills and rehydrating liquid.

As it would take time for the pills to work, we decided to use the day we gained yesterday and stay. Wifi was good, so new tires were ordered for the car, our appointment confirmed in Creswell, Oregon and other work done. Later I took the car for a wash in the town center - they did the best wash of the trip for $5.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

*Miles for the day: 379 ( 610km) Miles to date: 21,356 (34,369 km)*

At 2 AM Montezuma struck me, so not much sleep between toilet trips. I wanted to get going, so took some of Jacob's pills (we bought extra) and some Imodium and we were on the road by 6:45 AM.

The roads were mostly good, and we made great time in spite of stops at agricultural checks, police checks and army checks. There were heavily armed military convoys on the road. At all but one checkpoint they asked about the car and waved us on. One guy glanced in the trunk before saying OK, and at another the police took turns taking each other's photos around the car while about 20 cars backed up behind us! In many instances Jacob was mistaken for the driver, causing a good laugh when the mistake was realized. Most had never seen a right hand drive vehicle.

I was feeling pretty shaky, so we stopped at the modern, clean city of Navojoa a little after 3 PM. We stayed at the Fiesta Hotel, where we had a two bedroom suite with a king and two double beds. Dinner was at a local restaurant, where I managed one waffle.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

*Miles for the day: 405 ( 652km) Miles to date: 21,761 (35,021 km)*

After being advised by my friend Karen of the FBI that border crossings would be lightest on Sundays, we decided to make a run for the border at Nogales. Breakfast was at 7 AM, but when I asked where it was served I was informed it was only a little after 6 AM - we had missed a time change. As the distance was long and the roads unknown we decided to skip breakfast. It turned out the roads were pretty good, and we were able to average over 100 kph for most of the trip. Even construction delays and two gas stops didn't slow us too much.. At the first stop sandwiches, juice and cookies were breakfast. The second gas stop was a cash only station at Los Arrieros that I suggest to be avoided. They even charged 3 pesos to use the urinal!

We arrive at the Mexican side of the border by 2:30 PM, where my $200 refund for the car deposit paid in Tapachula was refunded. There was no passport check. The downside was that a lens fell out of my prescription sunglasses and was run over by a passing vehicle.

It was 4 km to the US border, then a 45 minute wait in a line of cars. The border guard had more questions about the car than us, gave our passports a cursory glance, and welcomed us to the US.

In Tucson, Arizona we got a great deal on a room for the 3 of us at the Ramada Inn - $55 with breakfast.

Monday, August 8, 2011

*Miles for the day: 362 ( 583 km) Miles to date: 22,123 (35,604 km)*

Breakfast was good, but a sewer smell put Marilynn and Jacob off their feed -- not much affects me in that way! We tried a couple of shopping centers in Phoenix looking for a glasses store to replace my smashed glasses lens, but no luck. A horribly rude woman in a Wal-Mart vision centre said she would need 7 to 10 days to make a lens, but couldn't do it anyway because the prescription I had from Costa Rica wasn't current enough. We drove more shopping centers before I got fed up to head out on highway 10 using an old pair of glasses with a nose rest broken off. It caused pain, but I could see to drive.

Driving conditions were good, but the heat was oppressive. By early afternoon the air blasting in the windows at just under 70 mph (113 kph) was like a blast furnace. We stopped for gas, case of water and some other supplies just before the California border. After a quick snack and cold drink we carried on to Indigo, CA to have another look for a glasses shop. We tried a glasses centre in the Target Store, where a very helpful clerk gave us a map to a Lens Crafter store in Palm Desert.

When we found the store there was no problem getting a new pair of prescription sun glasses made in an hour using my Costa Rica prescription. They also recommended a hotel about a mile away, which turned out to be a great buy as well. It was a Best Western where we had a two room suite, huge pool and good wireless internet at a very reasonable rate. We suspect that because of the heat few tourists are here - the hotels last night and tonight have been all but deserted.