Day 10 & 11 - Headed to Los Mochis then a change of plans

Beautiful and fragrant Plumeria flower

On Thursday Oct 24 we woke up after a surprisingly peaceful overnight rest at the Pemex station just outside of Hermosillo.  The original goal for the day was to head to Los Mochis which was just over a 400 km drive.  But, as we began our journey at 8:00 a.m. with temps already at 17ºC, we quickly remembered the conversation we had the night before.  Specifically the one about how we were going to take more breaks along the way “next time”, driving for 2 days and stopping for 2 nights.  So within an hour of driving we approached the turn off toward San Carols and made the decision to head there for a couple days of rest.

Our destination in San Carlos was Totanaka RV park where we had stayed last year for a few weeks.  Of course we didn’t have a reservation due to our last minute decision but we were hopeful that because it was still early in the season we’d have no problems staying for a couple of nights.  

Thankfully, they found us a spot.  They said it was the last one available for the two nights we wanted, but while we were there the park was only about 1/4 full (odd).  We arrived at 10:00 a.m. so we had two full days and two nights (Thursday Oct 27 and Friday Oct 28 leaving on Saturday Oct 29) the perfect amount of time for a rest.

Our spot right up at the front of the park

We used the time to relax, do some laundry, hit an ATM, grab some fresh fruit & veggies and of course visit the beach and take in one of the gorgeous sunsets that grace San Carlos every evening.

View from Los Arbolitos seafood restaurant right beside the park

Dan ordered three different tacos (shrimp, octopus and beef) and I had the ‘Camarones a la diabla’ 🌶 Yumm!

HoseHey was very grateful for the stop!  Although he didn’t want to venture out into his tent, he enjoyed relaxing and sunning himself in the front window where he could keep an eye on all the birds and activity in the park.

HoseHey showing his appreciation for the stop in San Carlos 💕 

View of HoseHey’s lounging spot from outside through the bug splattered windshield 🥰 

Heffay coming to see what HoseHey is up to

And of course, both Heffay and HeyZeus got lots of walks around the park and to the beach. Somehow     I didn’t get any pictures of HeyZues out walking but rest assured, he got at least 2 walks each day…little bugger demands it of us.  He’s got quite the song voice and a unique little warble cry I’ll have to try to record one of these days ha ha!

Big goofy boy!

Heffay started to show his protective side when we were in San Carlos.  On two different occasion’s when I was walking him he barked, lunged and growled at a Mexican.  Both times it was a single Mexican man who approached us but was holding something in his hand. It startled the crap out of me, but I assumed as a dog he likely judged them to be a threat and he was protecting me.  Boy, does he protect!  Let’s just say those men’s eyes were wide open after that encounter 👀 

All in all, we had a great two day rest in San Carlos.  Totanaka is a very nice, well manicured and clean park with very friendly staff who are always busy working to keep the park looking as great as it does.  And, there are a few staff in the office plus the owner who speak fluent English.  

There are some downfalls which include power issues (but we have an auto-former box that helps to offset those issues along with our surge protector), poor water pressure - you have to fill your tank and run off your own water pump if you want decent pressure (but they do advise you to do that) and many people think it is too expensive ($572 pesos/night for a 30 amp site or approx $39 Cdn with the current exchange rate).

The biggest downfall for us is that there are many dance bars very very close to the park.  I swear there is one on each corner, although the back of the park is definitely quieter.   We had asked for a spot at the back but were told the one we got was all they had (again odd as the park was only 1/4 full the two nights we were there).  One of the bars is located right at the front western most corner of the park.  The spot we were in this time was within three sites of that dance bar.  Although Thursday night was quiet, on Friday night the music started around 6 p.m. and went strong and thumping until 2 a.m. I seriously thought my ears were going to bleed it was SO LOUD!  And the bass boomed so strong we could feel it in our chest.  We ended up turning the bedroom A/C on, even though we didn’t need it just for some white noise to help block it.  Additionally Dan put ear plugs in while he gave me his noise cancelling headphones. That was fun trying to sleep in those.  Who am I kidding, I didn’t get to sleep until after it stopped at 2 a.m.  I honestly don’t know how people can stay in that park for the whole winter season as every weekend Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday this happens.  We’ve made a note for next time to make sure we only stay there mid week and not over or close to any weekends.  We also learned through FaceBook groups of another place some RV’s stay.  It’s called Hotel Playa de Cortez near Guaymas.  It’s a hotel with some RV spots and it is on the beach and apparently very quiet.  We may just check it out either next time or on the way home.

Obligatory shot of a gorgeous sunset behind the extinct Tetakawi volcano. 
Fun fact:  I just learned that the pointy volcanic mountain is apparently known by the locals as “teta de cabra” meaning goats tits 😂 

On Saturday morning we’d head out in the direction of Los Mochis where we’d be only a couple more nights away from our final destination of Lo de Marcos.

Hermosillo, Sonora to San Carlos, Sonora

Start Time - 8:00 a.m.

Temp at start - 17ºC (63ºF)
End Time - 10:00 a.m. 

Total # tolls = 0

Temp at end - 29ºC (84ºF) 

Total driven - 78 miles

Accommodation cost (2 nights) - $1144 ($78 Cdn)

Fuel - no fill needed