Roca Azul, one of the larger RV campgrounds we’ve visited, sits on the western shore of Lake Chapala next to Jocotepec, a small, and very traditional Mexican village to the north.
Roca is an RV park for snowbirds, folks from north of the border who stay year-long in their big-ass class A coaches, and various other ramblers, wayfarers, and vagabonds. Roca is also a balneario resort for Guadalajaea weekenders and anyone else who enjoys frolicking in the wading pools and agua calientes (which, as a side note, aren’t actually hot at all).
Roca is also a balneario resort for Guadalajaea weekenders. We never saw the pools being used while we were there.
As a campground it is, sadly, rundown, not even coming close to descriptions we’ve read in the Church’s book or on-line. People tend to rave about this place, and certainly there is a lot to appreciate about the RV park, but it has its problems. Though we did see groundskeepers doing some maintenance, manicuring the enormous soccer field, and actually installing services to new sites they are adding to the existing campground areas.
Jackie and Louie among the Greek columnar ruins that guard the entrance to the Roca resort area.
But the actual camp areas are sorely neglected. The sites have unstable electrical hookups. In fact the day we arrived, while I was checking in with one of the señoras who worked there, a haggard looking young guy (a vagabond perhaps?) came up to the registration area and started complaining to the señora that the power was off “again.” He didn’t speak Spanish and the señora who was signing me in spoke no English, so she really didn’t know what to tell the guy. He was pretty frustrated. He had this kind of attitude that since he was paying for his site, there should be electricity all the time, non-stop, and why don’t you speak English so you can understand me!?
One of the cobblestone pathways. This one is in pretty good shape, though others are very rundown and in need of care.
The real problem was that this guy’s “north-of-the-border” tone was making him come off to be the “ugly American” (though he could have been Canadian), and my sympathies lay entirely with the señora and not him. The señora just shrugged and went back to registering me.
The guy heard me speaking my amateur Spanish and assumed I was fluent and asked me if I could interpret for him. That’s a switch. But, clearly, translation wasn’t necessary; the señora understood perfectly that this guy was just another Gringo asshole who had no manners or patience (my translation).
More than once I’ve had the very unpleasant experience of witnessing both Americans and Canadians getting unnecessarily rude and angry at Mexican workers. In fact, I plan to write about the most egregious examples whenever I come across them. As far as I’m concerned, if you come down here with Gringo expectativas, you’ll be in for a big surprise.
Okay, it’s reasonable to expect to get what you pay for, but if your expectations are not within the cultural boundries of the country you’re visiting, you will be disappointed. Things just don’t always work “normally” in Mexico. Seeing a Gringo get angry, ugly, and rude when things don’t work in Mexico the way they do north of the border, is embarrassing, and I only feel sympathy for the Mexicans. More than anything , such reactions come from an intolerance and lack of real empathy for other human beings.
From the very beginning of our arrival, we weren’t getting a good feeling about Roca Azul. And not just because of the rundown condition of the grounds; there was a lot to like about the place. The bad vibes were caused by the people who were living there. In every other place we stayed, there were always very friendly and helpful people there. They would come up to us and introduce themselves and offer help if you ever needed any. Sure, there were always a few crackpots who seemed to go out of their way to be grouchy, but in general they were the exception, not the rule.
Add to this the fact that the majority of the half-way decent sites were already taken by the full-timers and snowbirds. The one we finally found sat on grassy spot that wasn’t level, but faced a very large el campo de fútbol.
Camped on an uneven grassy spot between two empty sites. El campo de fútbol in back.
I knew the electricity was off, but when I measured it with my volt meter, it read 25 volts. The power, in fact, was not off at all. For whatever reason the voltage had dropped to a level that made it appear that the power was completely off. Without a surge protector between the camper and the outlet, low voltage can damage electric appliances like microwaves and refrigerators.
For the two days we were there, the power continued to fluctuate between 25 and 125 volts. Half the time we were using electricity and half the time we were using battery power.
Another view of Rocinante sitting between two very large bare spots. Large class A coaches were parked here at one time long enough to kill all the grass and leave behind dirt and rock.
The other issue we had with the park was that it was much too far from Mexican neighborhoods like Jocotepec with stores and restaurants. Too far to walk, and because we were only staying a couple of days, I did not want to unload the camper.
Roca did have a really good internet signal, as long as their was electricity. So we were able to research areas around Ajijic and Chapala, 20 miles to the east on the north shore of Lake Chapala, for campgrounds. We found one called Clavellinas RV Park in Ajijic. I called and spoke to the owner’s son Mauricio, who was just heading out the door to visit his ailing father. He told me (in flawless English) there was room for us and quoted $1400 pesos per week ($70.00/US or $10.00 a day!).
Part of Roca abuts the west side of Lake Chapala along a concrete pathway. In the center of the path is a tall lighthouse that is no longer functional. The walkway provides a perfect viewing area to watch all of the birds feed along the edge of the lake.
Jackie and Louie hamming it up in front of the Roca Azol lighthouse.
One of the many white pelicans populating the Lake Chapala shore line:
Egrets, unusually shy, making it very difficult to get in close enough to photograph them without a telephoto lens, feed in the dense shoreline vegetation of reeds, grasses, and water lilies.
We’re going to Ajijic next, camping at Clavellinas RV Park, where we will be in the midst of an energetic and culturally alive Mexican city.
Call and Response 