Out for a hike near Bluff, Utah.
Where are Kevin and Ruth right now? Blanding, Utah.

Where are they going next? North towards Wyoming.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Sometimes our life can be a little complicated...

Trying to figure out the best way to get to places and be where we want (or need) to be is pretty difficult sometimes. Different flight options and prices, what to do with the motorhome and the little blue car, and other "stuff" that we own, and then the variety of unknowns thrown into the mix.

Yesterday, another piece of the puzzle fit nicely into place...

We decided we needed a day of rest, so we just hung out at our friend Carmen's place for most of the day. We did go out and do some grocery shopping though, and we'll get to that story towards the end of this post.

So, the biggest option we were trying to figure out was how to get back to Canada next month. We start our new job at Cabri Regional Park  in Saskatchewan on May 1st, only a month and a half away. And, we need to have a vehicle of some kind while we're there. Our motorhome is here in Mexico, and our little blue car is in storage in Ottawa.

I've been checking prices and flight schedules from Mexico to Ottawa for the past two months. We could fly from pretty much anywhere in Mexico, and just drive the motorhome to that airport. The other problem then of course becomes where to store the motorhome. Or, we could have driven the motorhome back to somewhere in the U.S. and flown back to Ottawa. Still would need to store it though. Or, we could have driven the motorhome all the way back to Ottawa.

But then you have to consider the prices. Fuel would cost minimum $1,000 to drive the motorhome back.

Air prices for a decent flight were not cheap. And even the cheap flights weren't really cheap. Until yesterday.

I've been checking this one United flight every day for a month waiting for it to drop. Yesterday was the day!

I booked Puerto Vallarto to Ottawa for C$205 (US$184) each. One way flight, with all taxes and fees included.

Not bad, right?

Yeah, not a bad price, but a messy flight schedule.

Puerto Vallarta to Houston on April 16th.
Connecting in Houston to Chicago O'Hare, arriving at 10:30pm.
O'Hare to Ottawa departing on April 17th at 6:30am.

Good thing we know about the website www.sleepinginairports.net !!

Anyhow, it's now booked. The plan is to spend a week in Ottawa visiting friends and family, and then get the little blue car out of storage and drive it to Saskatchewan.

What to do with the motorhome? A couple of years ago we had stayed at a nice little RV park about 30 kms inland from Puerto Vallarta. We contacted the owners and asked about storing our motorhome there for five months. No problem! So we'll get there a week ahead of time and spend some time there before flying out.

So, now that's done. Providing the snow all melts in Ottawa by April 24th, we'll be able to get the car out of storage! If not...we're not sure what will happen!

Okay, on to our grocery shopping yesterday.

We walked to a large shopping mall about 15 minutes away from the house. Wandered around a bit, then headed into the huge Chedraui grocery store. We found one aisle where they had specialty items, included some "organic" and gluten free items.

And then just about fell over in shock at the prices!

Ruth, checking out the gluten free products.

Gluten free bread mix. Enough for one loaf, and you still have to make it yourself. Only 115 pesos ($9.75). See the cookies on the shelf in the background? Between $6 and $7 a package.

Good thing we like corn tortillas.

Here's another good one. 

In the same area, we found a jug of real Canadian maple syrup. We normally pay around $8 for a half liter in Canada. This jug was 281 pesos ($24.17)!!! Boy, you gotta be loving your maple syrup to want it that badly.

Overall, prices are higher in Cancun than we have seen in most other parts of Mexico. This makes sense of course, it's the most popular tourist area in the country.

While we were in the grocery store, it poured with rain. We could hear it beating down on the roof. Fortunately, by the time we were done so was the rain. The rest of the day was a mixed bag, but it's raining again this morning. 


  1. You have to be on top of all airlines prices, storage prices, gas prices, etc. to make the deals you do. I'm in awe! As for food, I guess any prepared / packaged food is going to be high - even in parts of the US. That maple syrup is expensive enough to put a real crimp in the month's grocery shopping. But, I remember those gluten-free pancakes with real maple syrup in Valle de Juarez! Yum!

    1. Yep, Kevin now knows what sites to go to for the best prices and especially with airplane prices sometimes he checks them 3 or 4 times a day if he has the chance because sometimes they just pop up and there is a small window of opportunity to book it in.

      We have our limits for high prices for certain products and unless it is absolutely necessary we will do without, as in the case of the maple syrup. We will just have to wait until we gt back to Sherman (if there is some maple syrup left there) or until we are back in Canada.

  2. Looks like you have the vehicle issues all figured out, and like you we hope the snow goes away soon too.

    1. We hope that we have it figured out, it will all depend on if the snow has melted and we can get the car out.

  3. Hope all those air connections work out. Bit of a juggling act, but you've had lots of experience. Surely to Gawd the snow will be gone by mid April.

    1. As long as the weather holds out all the connections should work. It had better be gone by then or there will be a whole nation going nuts because your winter has been brutal this year!

  4. Looks like a whole post disappeared... and reappeared...redone?

    1. Never touched a thing! The internet is playing tricks on you...

  5. You two are so plucky! Though I may not get to your level in my lifetime, I enjoy the little window into your lives, and there is always a takeaway - like learning there is a site for sleeping well in airports. Who knew! Could have used some of those tips a time or two recently .

    1. It is amazing at what sites you can find on the internet now. I even found sites the other day for eating with locals in their homes, sharing car rides, finding local people to act as tour guides in a city or area plus all the ones we already know about. We will see how the sleeping at Chicago airport goes!

