Isla Aguada, Campeche

We have escaped the viny clutches of the jungle, and from where I sit now, I can see the blue Gulf of Mexico. As we drove along the shore, we noticed that the water looked very green - emerald green was the closest we could come to describing it - but that must be a function of the time of day. It's certainly blue now. Robin has been swimming already, but I'm holding off, not quite ready to brave salt and sand again. I'm spoiled now by the swimming pools at Zihuatanejo and Palenque. I tried to have one last swim before we left Palenque, but somebody was vacuuming the pool, so I had to do without.

Our drive today was almost, but not quite, uneventful. Unfortunately, there's an inspection station at the entrance to the Yucatan Peninsula, where we were stopped and required to give up our bacon and ham and eggs and smoked pork chops. The inspectors didn't care about anything but pork and chicken products, so my fruit bowl full of mangoes and papaya, tomatoes and oranges survived the search, as did the last of the smoked salmon. As we drove away, we imagined the border guards sitting down to a lovely breakfast of bacon and eggs.

Speaking of chickens, I posted a blog entry about chickens over at the Red Room just a few minutes ago. It's a memoir called The Story of the Lone Rooster.http://www.redroom.com/member-blog/sandara.bc

When we arrived at this park - Freedom Shores, it's called - we found Marcia and Ray here. They were our neighbours in Catemaco. I still find it strange to arrive in a completely strange place and see familiar faces. Strange - but nice. This RV park is unique in Mexico, I believe, in that it is designed to be wheelchair-accessible. One of the owners uses a wheelchair, and he wanted to make this a holiday destination for people with mobility problems. Next year, he's planning to put in a 50 foot dock and start running day trips out to see the dolphins. The boat will be wheelchair-friendly.

We hoped to find some fish for sale on the beach, but we arrived too late in the day for that, so we ate dinner at the park's restaurant, instead. I ordered garlicky fish filets again. Robin had a whole mystery fish, and we both had salad. I love it when somebody else makes salad for me. I like eating it, but I can't stand making it. Now I'm looking forward to my dessert - the slice of flan I bought at Wal-Mart the other day. I almost forgot it was in the fridge, which would have been a shame. I love flan. Flan, and a comforting cup of decaf.

We will be here for a couple of nights, resting from too much driving, planning the last of the southward push.