December 30th - Spanish lessons and a longish RV discussion

Spanish lessons again today; our homework had been to write a dialogue, asking for and giving directions to the shop of our choice in town.  Our maestro is very patient, and spends a lot of time dealing with our flawed, chunky Spanish. e.g. Because of gender, you must say the article EVERY time.  You can only ask someone to come to a location if you are physically there, otherwise you tell them to go to it, etc.  Knowing the rationale for why something is said the way it is, makes it more likely that you will generate it correctly next time.  I wish I had my 25 year old brain when it comes to retaining new information; it is very true - the older I get, the better I was.

In the later afternoon, after siesta (in which, even Nancy is occasionally indulging),  we went over to our new neighbours to play that never-ending game "What is the best RV"?  They are seasoned RV'ers, as are a lot of people in the park, and have a 28 ft. 5th wheel on their site here, and a Class C at home.  Our Bigfoot Class C is the ideal vehicle for wandering about - all the amenities and a good bed in a relatively agile platform.  However, when you are spudded into one location for a couple or 5 months, the living area of the Class A's and 5th wheels starts to look pretty good, as well as the ability to host visiting offspring.  In our present site, we are limited in both width and length, but the million dollar view makes it all worthwhile.  So, the question is, how to best take advantage of this site?

We like the self-containment of the Class A's, especially when travelling, and the large living area, but the layout means the bed is at the back, and the windows are to the side; in the relatively tight confines of our site, the side windows are usually curtained for privacy, meaning you cannot take advantage of the views.  As well, the largest Class A that would fit would be a 30 foot, which is short in the Class A world, less stable to drive, hard to find, and even harder to sell when it's time to move on.  As well, the narrow confines of our site mean that the Class A could only have slides on one side, at that, the slide cannot be more than 36 inches wide.

5th wheels, on the other hand, often have rear facing living areas (as does our neighbour's), the rear facing glass means that you can appreciate the site's scenic vistas, even while inside, and they have apartment sized living areas.  The slide on one side issue remains, but unlike the Class A's, there are plenty of 28 - 30 foot 5th wheels.  The fly in the ointment with 5th wheels has been the size and expense of the truck you need to tow it.  It means driving a large, expensive, thirsty (not that I'm cheap), and stiff vehicle all year round, for the relatively small portion of time you are actually towing.  After whizzing about in the CRV, the thought of piloting a 3/4 or 1 ton truck through tight Mexican streets gives me the willies.  The other flaw when travelling is that you are separate from your living area, in the wind, rain, and cold, you must exit the truck, run back to the trailer, and turn the furnace/air on to get it to living temperatures.

The light at the end of the 5th wheel tunnel is local storage, i.e.. leave it here.  There are a couple of places offering covered storage, for about $100/month.  Services to tow it forth and back are available.  We have been polling neighbours that store their trailers here; there are mixed results.  Summer temperatures and humidity are extreme, meaning mould is an issue, as are various insect and vermin problems.  Sufficient preparation seems to be able to minimize the difficulties, but it seems it can take a day or three of cleaning after arrival, before habitation is possible.  Storage also means that you can fly back and forth, probably saving $1500 and a couple or three weeks in each direction.  Flying , although, means no meandering along, exploring and discovering along the way south and back again.  It also mean that you have no vehicle at this end; with my lack of walking ability, this is a concern. Further, driving down in a car means hoteling it, no self-containment on the voyage, no bed for impromptu naps, refrigerator/stove for meals, no bathroom.  Hoteling it also means pre-planning and booking hotels, or risk sleeping in the car; travelling with Kirk means finding pet-friendly hotels.   The neighbours are resolving this issue by looking for a Mexican vehicle, to leave here.

As is usual in life, there is no perfect answer.  When travelling, you want the smallest RV possible, when staying in one location, the largest.  I appreciate you, the reader, wading through this verbiage, likely I needed to write it out to ossify my thoughts on the matter.  No conclusions yet.