OasisCloud is the home of Duane and Mary Ann Hanes. We live in the Lake Chapala area of Mexico "Lakeside", which is near Guadalajara, Jalisco.
We operated the OasisCloud Café in our large home from August 2011 through December 2013. Operating the café was a great two and a half years for us, and we were able to meet many wonderful people during that time. Tax laws changed in Mexico on January 1, 2014, which caused us to re-think our plans for the future, and we decided not to re-open the café.
We continued to live in our large home for the next two years, but it was way too big for us after the café and so we moved to an apartment in the “Penthouse”. The “Penthouse” is what they refer to as an “independent living community”. There are 15 to 20 singles and couples that live here in various apartments on the large property. There are two wonderful meals provided each day.
We flew to Chicago the evening of May 8 and then spent a few days there. On May 11 we picked up a "Factory Delivery" RV and began our travels. Our main destinations were Chicago, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Jackson, Salt Lake City and Reno where we dropped the RV off. We flew home May 31.
On our way home from Zihuatanejo we spent 2 nights and a day in Uruapan. We again had visited here in 2006 and the Barranca del Cupatitzio National Park is such a beautiful place we wanted to visit again. The park contains trees hundreds of years old, springs, streams, canals and walking paths.The park focuses on the conservation of the ravine which forms the headwaters of the Cupatitzio River, which is fed by various springs and streams starting with the “Rodilla del Diablo” (Devil's Knee) . There are many water displays that are all naturally fed by the streams with no mechanical pumps.
We spent five days in Zihuatanejo in a beautiful AirBnb condo overlooking the bay. Zihuatanejo (Spanish pronunciation: [siwataˈnexo]), or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It is on the Pacific Coast, about 240 km (150 miles) northwest of Acapulco and 411 km (260 miles) further south in latitude than Honolulu, Hawaii. Zihuatanejo belongs to a section of the Mexican Pacific Coast known as the Costa Grande. This town has been developed as a tourist attraction along with the modern tourist resort of Ixtapa, 5 km (3.1 mi) away. However, Zihuatanejo has kept its traditional town feel. The town is located on a well-protected bay which is popular with private boat owners during the winter months.
We spent one night in Pátzcuaro on our way to Zihuatanejo. Pátzcuaro is a beautiful "Pueblo Magico" town with much history. Danza de los Viejitos or Dance of the Little Old Men originated in this area. We were just there one evening, but enjoyed the beautiful plaza. We had visited Pátzcuaro for 3 days back in 2006, so we didn't feel that we needed to spend more time there on this trip.
We wanted to return to see the butterflies since our first trip had been early in the season. Lat February is a good time, so we scheduled another trip for Feb. 23 through 26.
The Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary is about a 30 minute drive up the mountain from Minera de Aguangueo. The climb was pretty tough for us, but we made it to the top. It is a little early in the year, so the monarchs are just starting to arrive, but we still got to see a lot of butterflies.
We found a really good Morelia walking tour map and guide on the Vagabond Buddha website here. There is a link to a Google Map and the page has concise details about each stop on the tour.
Morelia is the capital of the state of Michoacan and is one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico. It is a registered UNESCO World Heritage site featuring a consistent colonial-style. We visited Morelia for a week over the Day of the Dead celebration.
We had a beautiful July 4th weekend after a week or more of rain.
We flew to Chicago the evening of May 8 and then spent a few days there. On May 11 we picked up a "Factory Delivery" RV and began our travels. Our main destinations were Chicago, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Jackson, Salt Lake City and Reno where we dropped the RV off. We flew home May 31.
On our way home from Zihuatanejo we spent 2 nights and a day in Uruapan. We again had visited here in 2006 and the Barranca del Cupatitzio National Park is such a beautiful place we wanted to visit again. The park contains trees hundreds of years old, springs, streams, canals and walking paths.The park focuses on the conservation of the ravine which forms the headwaters of the Cupatitzio River, which is fed by various springs and streams starting with the “Rodilla del Diablo” (Devil's Knee) . There are many water displays that are all naturally fed by the streams with no mechanical pumps.
We spent five days in Zihuatanejo in a beautiful AirBnb condo overlooking the bay. Zihuatanejo (Spanish pronunciation: [siwataˈnexo]), or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It is on the Pacific Coast, about 240 km (150 miles) northwest of Acapulco and 411 km (260 miles) further south in latitude than Honolulu, Hawaii. Zihuatanejo belongs to a section of the Mexican Pacific Coast known as the Costa Grande. This town has been developed as a tourist attraction along with the modern tourist resort of Ixtapa, 5 km (3.1 mi) away. However, Zihuatanejo has kept its traditional town feel. The town is located on a well-protected bay which is popular with private boat owners during the winter months.
We spent one night in Pátzcuaro on our way to Zihuatanejo. Pátzcuaro is a beautiful "Pueblo Magico" town with much history. Danza de los Viejitos or Dance of the Little Old Men originated in this area. We were just there one evening, but enjoyed the beautiful plaza. We had visited Pátzcuaro for 3 days back in 2006, so we didn't feel that we needed to spend more time there on this trip.
We wanted to return to see the butterflies since our first trip had been early in the season. Lat February is a good time, so we scheduled another trip for Feb. 23 through 26.
The Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary is about a 30 minute drive up the mountain from Minera de Aguangueo. The climb was pretty tough for us, but we made it to the top. It is a little early in the year, so the monarchs are just starting to arrive, but we still got to see a lot of butterflies.
We found a really good Morelia walking tour map and guide on the Vagabond Buddha website here. There is a link to a Google Map and the page has concise details about each stop on the tour.
Morelia is the capital of the state of Michoacan and is one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico. It is a registered UNESCO World Heritage site featuring a consistent colonial-style. We visited Morelia for a week over the Day of the Dead celebration.
We had a beautiful July 4th weekend after a week or more of rain.