03.-09.3.2008: Santa Maria Del Oro We drove south, went over the mountains near Tepic and headed inland to the laguna Santa Maria del Oro which we have heard about from a lot of other people but never got the chance to spend time here ourselves. The laguna in the crater is quite beautiful but we didn't arrive until after sunset and ended up trying to find a spot in the campground in the dark. Shortly after we arrived, three Mexican men returned to a rather dilapidated trailer we had parked next to and there was some kind of fight!! Raised voices, beer bottles being smashed and it sounded as though they were destroying the trailer! We had quite a welcome!! Fortunately, we weren't the only ones staying at the campground but it was too late and too dark to drive anywhere else for the night. The next day, Kirsten was in a bad mood because one of the numerous birds in the area got a direct hit in her hair. It was also far hotter than we had been used to on the beach which didn't help the mood! She wanted to go back to the beach but then decided we were going to find a shadier spot which wasn't possible seeing as they all had some sun during the day. One of the reasons this place is so popular is because of the bird life. There are indigenous birds here called "Chakalakas" that are large and brown with a long green tail. (A very expert description!!) They make a lot of noise in the early morning though!! On Tuesday, the computer went "peng" and we thought that was the end of it!! Fortunately, it was because it had overheated and there doesn't seem to be any lasting problem with it. We didn't lose any of the data at any rate. Later on Eckhart and Herta arrived who we had met in Teacapan and told about the crater. So they had decided to meet us down here. We went for a 5 mile walk around the lake but, of course, we chose the hottest part of the day to do it. We had set off earlier looking for a route and ended up chatting to Bill and Maria, a couple in their 80s who have been spending 6 months a year here for the last 20 years. They told us the best way to go to get around the lake, but by the time we set off it was already after 11 am. The first part of the walk was in the shade and took us past huge fig trees. The rest of the walk was in the full heat of the sun but there were a large variety of beautiful flowers on display for us to see. As we came around to all the restaurants on the lake at the end of our walk, we stopped at one for a well earned ice cream. Kirsten misjudged an overhead, horizontal beam on the way out and walked straight into it! Ouch!! She really wasn't having the best time here!! On Thursday, the shadiest spot on the campground became available when one of the other RVs left, so we moved into it. Our new neighbours went off to a museum for the day and asked us to keep an eye on Sophie their dog. Kirsten took her for two walks during the day and we made sure she had enough water. Consequently we became friends for life!! Then Helmut and Agnes arrived and we sat around chatting in the evening with them and Eckhart and Herta and Mike and Katie who had left Sophie in their trailer. On Friday Helen took Helmut and Agnes on the walk around the lake as they were only planning on staying one more night before heading back north to the States. We sat around the campfire with them and toasted marshmallows later on. Helmut and Agnes left the next morning. We washed Winnie on the outside and got ready to leave ourselves. We went up to say goodbye to Bill and Maria who gave us an ice cream each as a farewell gift! We drove up the windy road to the mirador where we stopped for photos. It had been too dark on the way here to do that. Then we found a Pemex for the night before heading back to Teacapan where we changed locations and stayed at the full hook-up campground where Don and Yvonne are.