La Choza El Fuerte

... in the<br>air and came down with a BANG. No way could at least one of them not be<br>hurt after that.<br><br><br><br>Stopped the trailer and ran back to check, both up and no injuries<br>but both of them were riding braced out on all four and were looking at<br>me like WTF are you<br>DOING??? Dipshit.<br>

... Therefore had a wander around markets am, hoping to catch sight of locals in traditional dress - were a few guys with baggy white shirts & bloomers tucked into their ankle boots but no women in embroidered capes - did pick up some vanilla, the best in mexico apparently. El Tajin had a nice jungle setting and a few impressive buildings - the famous Building of Niches with a unique style with, of course, niches ...

... sur les pyramides memorable. Tout cela agremente d'un temascal traditionnel, il s agit d un hammam indien qui est sense purifier le corps et l ame, mais a notre surprise nous nous sommes fait fouetter tout nus avec des branches par une mama indienne une fois rentre dans le tipi.... experience originale... Enfin avant de reprendre la route nous avons eu un cours de yoga, qui nous a bien fait comprendre que la souplesse ca se travaille !!!

... but these two rooms are rough around the edges. The refurbished rooms have much better beds and cost between 250, 300, 350 Peso for 1, 2 or 3 persons. <br><br>El Fuerte offered some excellent mid-range accommodation, even if a little overpriced for such a small town. <br><br>Hotel Franco, Calle Alvaro Obregon No. 403, Tel: 01 (698) 8930564, Web: www.francohotel.com . This pleasant family run hotel ...

... detailing famous Fortelenses who had fought with Pancho Villa, Zapata et al. As it was also incredibly hot we decided to take shelter in a shadowed courtyard for a beer before heading back to los Mochis. Margot was in town for an interview and displayed a impressive lack of directional awareness and conformed to every female stereotype regarding women drivers and inability to locate north. It took us 3 hours to get back (40 mins to get here ...

... Vista. After waiting 30 minutes for someone to show up we then rang the tour company that had organized our Copper Canyon trip. It appeared that they were waiting for payment (would have been nice for them to ask us for this prior). After 2½ hours at the airport we managed to sort it out and we were on our way to El Fuerte. On arrival at the Rio Vista we were welcomed with a beer and a margarita for Alanna and enjoyed finally having made it to the ...

... nice colonial building (murals with the history of the area and somewhat more inspiring than your average UK council office) , the Posada del Hidalgo hotel (where I encountered the Americans) , the Plaza / Church and various other buildings of interest. I took a walk down by the Rio Fuerte where it was great to see some horses had come to swim and cool down in the river ... this is the first taste of weather to ...

... of the alters for the annual ceremony of the Day of the Dead. Over here they celebrate death itself. The singing was a monotonous chant and the dancing was mainly stamping their feet. The costumes they wore ranged from a priest, Santa clause, a cowboy, an Indian, a couple of nurses and the devil to name a few. All of the people also wore masks and bandanas covering their face and hair. It was all a bit weird but interesting. Then back to the camp for the ...

... wasn't going to be home for her party and I was going to send some photos of our party and I wanted them to arrive on time. As it was the post was so expensive and unreliable I emailed the photos ...

We spent a lovely day here wandering around the cobbled streets of this pretty town. As seems to be the tradition in all Mexican towns the 'Governors Palace' had a mural showing the history of the place...involves lots of men on horses with belts of bullets strapped across their chests.