tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:15:41 +0000travelcouchsurfingDealshttps://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)Blogger6542125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-5519514770762407063Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:56:00 +00002026-04-23T11:15:41.119-04:00We left our Walmart parking spot in Xalapa at almost 11:00am and headed out on the main highway towards Veracruz City. It wasn&#39;t very far until our first stop at the Hacienda del Lencero.<div><br></div><div>The house at the hacienda dates back to 1525. It was one of the original Spanish haciendas located along a trade route where some Spanish were granted lands to establish inns, making the town of Xalapa and the surrounding region a mandatory passage area.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/made-it-to-beach.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/made-it-to-beach.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-1150825756014635176Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:44:00 +00002026-04-22T11:44:18.838-04:00Xalapa is a big city. It&#39;s probably one of the last big cities in Mexico that we have never visited. The other is the coastal port city of Veracruz, and we are going there next.<div><br></div><div>Xalapa is the capital of the state of Veracruz. Population is about 550,000 people.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/we-finally-made-it-into-central-xalapa.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/we-finally-made-it-into-central-xalapa.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-7829509227769268523Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:09:00 +00002026-04-22T11:14:33.696-04:00Some overland travelers in Mexico use Pemex gas stations to park overnight. Walmart is popular in Canada, and especially in the U.S., but for us those two options have always been for emergency use or as a last resort. It usually doesn&#39;t take much effort to find something <i>much </i>better.<div><br></div><div>But here in the city of Xalapa, parking is at a premium, even for regular sized cars. It&#39;s a fairly congested city, and there are no RV parks or campgrounds that are suitably close.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/well-this-is-better-than-most-walmart.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/well-this-is-better-than-most-walmart.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-5255364595191838801Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:14:00 +00002026-04-20T10:14:03.288-04:00We haven&#39;t been having the greatest weather... mostly overcast ever since we arrived here on Thursday. So it&#39;s nice to wake up to some sunshine and blue sky this morning!<div><br></div><div>Yesterday turned out to be the &quot;relax&quot; day that we had needed. They were calling for rain, and we did get a few showers throughout the day.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/moving-on-today.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/moving-on-today.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-3035928492065663050Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:24:00 +00002026-04-19T12:13:43.768-04:00But it wasn&#39;t. We ended up going for an uphill walk that turned into a lunchtime destination, and a bit of a mystery tour on the way back down.<div><br></div><div>We often just take off on a backroad walking just to see what there is to see. And of course to get some exercise.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/well-it-was-supposed-to-be-relaxing-day.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/well-it-was-supposed-to-be-relaxing-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-8696115228213964Sat, 18 Apr 2026 15:18:00 +00002026-04-18T12:53:25.023-04:00As regular readers know, we are heading to Kyrgyzstan in May where we have a one month campervan rental booked. We&#39;re flying Mexico City to Madrid, and then Madrid to Bishkek.<div><br></div><div>Or at least that&#39;s what we had booked. Until the other day when I received notification that our flights from Madrid to Bishkek have been cancelled.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/looks-like-were-making-unplanned-trip.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/looks-like-were-making-unplanned-trip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-926292422427712943Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:03:00 +00002026-04-17T13:05:40.373-04:00We got going around 9:30am. Said goodbye and thanks again to the mechanics, then headed out on a half hour drive! Igor ran perfectly. So happy to get that over with.<div><br></div><div>We were headed to an &quot;adventure park&quot;... it&#39;s kind of a farm that has some activities and a camping area. It gets great reviews on iOverlander and looked to be exactly what we needed.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/this-is-far-better-than-mechanics.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/this-is-far-better-than-mechanics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-6730749724598987335Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:53:00 +00002026-04-16T10:17:39.148-04:00Igor is running and fixed... but not fixed properly. Mexicans mechanics are really good at making things work, but the two mechanics we were dealing with needed some guidance from me.<div><br></div><div>We&#39;re not convinced they would have ever found the problem. It was me who did that. Well, me and ChatGPT!</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/igor-is-fixed-and-we-are-ready-to-get.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/igor-is-fixed-and-we-are-ready-to-get.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-5917404576481750451Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:21:00 +00002026-04-15T11:04:37.033-04:00When we left you yesterday, we were pulled off on a farmers track by the side of the road. We were about 2.5 kms (a mile) or so downhill from the small town of Tuzamapan in the state of Veracruz.<div><br></div><div>The nearest larger town is Coatepec (pop 55,000), about 14 kms away. And we are about 24 kms from the city of Xalapa (pop 450,000).</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/igor-is-still-not-fixed.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/igor-is-still-not-fixed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-5895161483314428304Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:18:00 +00002026-04-14T10:37:55.850-04:00The mechanic shop didn&#39;t open until 9:00am, but when I walked over there to talk to them he said his mechanic wouldn&#39;t be in for another hour and a half or so.<div><br></div><div>So we walked up to the big Monday market to have some breakfast and pick up a few things.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/bit-by-dog-and-then-knock-knock-knock.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/bit-by-dog-and-then-knock-knock-knock.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-4861726276896509730Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:06:00 +00002026-04-13T10:06:50.019-04:00We planned a 10:00am start because we knew we weren&#39;t going very far. First planned stop was a town about 50 minutes north towards Xalapa.<div><br></div><div>We were going to have a look around and then decide if we would stay for the traditional Monday market. It&#39;s supposed to be quite the local event. But we didn&#39;t have to decide, because Igor decided for us!</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/time-to-move-on-but-we-didnt-get-very.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/time-to-move-on-but-we-didnt-get-very.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-2633884523484543584Sun, 12 Apr 2026 14:44:00 +00002026-04-12T10:44:29.379-04:00We wanted to do one more trip into the beautiful city of Orizaba. Still can&#39;t believe that more western tourists don&#39;t visit this area. <div><br></div><div>We went to all of the &quot;touristy&quot; highlights yesterday, and didn&#39;t see any other gringos.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/busy-day-lots-of-photos-and-surprise.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/busy-day-lots-of-photos-and-surprise.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-4952135716155060553Sat, 11 Apr 2026 15:33:00 +00002026-04-11T11:33:57.834-04:00Well, we&#39;ve pretty much got our return to Canada figured out and booked. We fly from Mexico City to Toronto on August 20th, which is our daughter&#39;s 40th birthday! Yikes!<div><br></div><div>We wanted to be there for the big day, and she will be at our son&#39;s place near Gravenhurst visiting him at the time, so it will be a fun family reunion on her birthday.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/our-planned-return-to-canada.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/our-planned-return-to-canada.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-7194354252025151626Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:18:00 +00002026-04-10T15:37:39.922-04:00When we arrived back from our adventure on Wednesday, a couple more rigs had arrived. One of them was one of those big German Unimog style offroad RV&#39;s... with license plates from Luxembourg!<div><br></div><div>And the other was a Canadian couple from Quebec.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/more-visitors-and-trip-back-into.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/more-visitors-and-trip-back-into.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-968250866724678776Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:12:00 +00002026-04-09T12:16:37.051-04:00Tuesday was a relax day... we just did some chores around Igor and I got the taxes pretty much completed.<div><br></div><div>We needed a break after our hike on Monday... plus, we were about to have another busy day on Wednesday!</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/exhausted.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/exhausted.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-1128794727331732222Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:48:00 +00002026-04-08T21:52:35.575-04:00In Canada especially, it&#39;s common to be able to do an all inclusive vacation to the Caribbean during the winter.  It&#39;s such a convenient vacation. Your flights, meals, accommodation, and transportation all included in one package price.<div><br></div><div>So when we came across this European all inclusive trip, we wanted to tell you about it.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/check-out-this-all-inclusive-12-day.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/check-out-this-all-inclusive-12-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-356310399862871919Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:37:00 +00002026-04-09T09:12:29.654-04:00We have some more visitors here at the campground. A British guy with two girls from Czechia. All of them currently live in Canada, and driving a car with British Columbia plates.<div><br></div><div>We were all invited by our hosts to join them on a hike up the mountain where the cable car takes you in Orizaba.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/good-thing-were-not-on-schedule.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/good-thing-were-not-on-schedule.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-5608091851694897487Mon, 06 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +00002026-04-06T11:10:51.964-04:00They were calling for rain in the afternoon, so I made a plan to just hang around Igor and get started on our income taxes that are due on April 30th. We have to pay every year, but we don&#39;t mind giving it to them because they spend it so wisely!<div><br></div><div>And I could watch the baseball game while doing the taxes! Ruth took off with our host family here at the campground to a local municipal park.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/well-this-is-going-to-be-fun-adventure.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/well-this-is-going-to-be-fun-adventure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-2816344928020162956Sun, 05 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +00002026-04-07T13:03:33.611-04:00We walked over to the nearby Soriana and picked up a few things there before walking back to Igor where he was parked at the Walmart in Orizaba. Then we did the 20 minute drive to Dos Tierras Campground.<div><br></div><div>We often use the iOverlander app to find suitable overnight spots for Igor. And many European overland rigs arrive at the port in Veracruz, so this is an easy stop for some of them. </div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/igor-may-never-return-to-valle-de-bravo.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/igor-may-never-return-to-valle-de-bravo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-612437898611428634Sat, 04 Apr 2026 15:25:00 +00002026-04-04T11:25:31.103-04:00Orizaba, Veracruz is a small city of about 125,000 people located in a valley at an altitude of about 1,250 meters (4,100&#39;). But despite the relatively low altitude, it&#39;s within sight of the highest point in Mexico... Pico de Orizaba.<div><br></div><div>Pico de Orizaba is a dormant (but not extinct) volcano, and also the third highest mountain in North America.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/i-cant-believe-weve-never-been-to.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/i-cant-believe-weve-never-been-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-1711034081990453085Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:31:00 +00002026-04-03T11:31:38.319-04:00<p>We had a very peaceful night sleeping in the village of Palo Verde. Surprisingly, not even any dogs barking or roosters crowing!</p><div style="text-align: left;">And we woke up to a beautiful clear blue sky, although they were calling for showers in the afternoon. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/hiking-in-mountains-near-orizaba.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/hiking-in-mountains-near-orizaba.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-3577545182323531812Thu, 02 Apr 2026 14:21:00 +00002026-04-02T10:21:23.080-04:00Our goal is always to arrive at our overnight spot by 2:00pm because that allows lots of daylight hours to fix any problem that might come up. So when we only have a two and a half hour drive ahead of us, we don&#39;t need to rush out in the morning!<div><br></div><div>And so we didn&#39;t hit the road until about 11:00am.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/we-ended-up-at-beautiful-overnight-spot.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/we-ended-up-at-beautiful-overnight-spot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-9085568858167053004Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:24:00 +00002026-04-01T10:33:07.477-04:00As I said yesterday, we&#39;ve been to the Cholula Trailer Park in the outskirts of Puebla many times, but the last time was six years ago... so we still wanted to go wander around Cholula one more time.<div><br></div><div>Cholula is where the largest pyramid in the world is located. The pyramid is also the largest man made monument in the world.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/views-around-cholula.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/04/views-around-cholula.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-1730639849793248332Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:49:00 +00002026-03-31T12:11:45.920-04:00We were a bit lazy getting going yesterday morning, but we knew it was only a two and a half hour drive so we would still be close to our goal of arriving at our destination by 2:00pm. <div><br></div><div>We hit the road at 10:45am to do the 140 km (87 mile) drive.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/03/nice-drive-to-big-city-of-puebla.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/03/nice-drive-to-big-city-of-puebla.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171307653508307040.post-8070767719521996419Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:44:00 +00002026-03-30T11:44:19.860-04:00We figured it would be busy on a Sunday, so we set of before 9:00am to do the climb up to the Tepozteco Pyramid.<div><br></div><div>A series of rocky steps lead you up a steep path. It gains about 352 meters (1,150&#39;) in about one km (0.62 miles)... so it really is steep.</div><div><br></div><span></span><a href="https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/03/well-that-didnt-go-according-to-plan.html#more">Click here to read more...</a>https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2026/03/well-that-didnt-go-according-to-plan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kevin Read)0