Flying into Villahermosa we knew there was going to be some rain in our forecast but we had no idea exactly how much. Flying from Mexico City, we started to see small patches of grey clouds which eventually turned into a blanket of grey with no end in sight. As we landed the tarmac was soaked and it was sprinkling. As we got through security, we went outside to re-assess the situation but it was raining too hard to load our gear onto the bike without soaking everything. We took our cases in the airport, sat off to the side of the hallway, and repacked everything in the middle of the airport. This was a nice show for passer byers and also a pleasant experience since our normal routine can be quite sweaty in the heat. By the time we were done packing and changing into our motorcycle gear, about 45 minutes later, we walked outside and were pleasantly surprised to see that the rain had stopped. Hallelujah! We decided to see how far we could go before the rain started again and planned to stay at any hotel on the side of the road.
Thankfully, we were able to make it all the way to our destination without any rain at all. Since we got in around 3pm, we only had a few hours of day late left and decided to stay in a small town called Isla Aguada at a campground on the water. The winds were becoming stronger as the drive went on, and we were beginning to rethink our camping decision. This would be our first time camping after all, and I wanted everything to run as smoothly as possible. After getting gas and some refreshments, we arrived to Freedom Shores where we read was supposed to be a pretty place to camp for a few nights. In a town with only two main streets, the campground was pretty easy to find. We pulled through the gate that was closed when we arrived to find the campground dead with no other travelers in sight. A lady named Thelma came down to greet us, informed us that the campground was open for business (because it was hard to tell), and showed us around the park. She was the owner of the park/hotel, and kindly showed us a few places we could put our tent that wouldn't be effected by the wind and the dropping branches from the trees. She gave us a price of 23 USD for the camp spot (which I thought was kind of expensive because in Mexico you can get rooms for 30) and told us the price included showers and wifi. We went to her office to pay, and promised she would give us the wifi password at some point during the night after our second time asking. I also asked her for some towels since she ran a hotel, and she looked at me shocked and asked “how do you live without towels?” but never gave them to us. After that, we never saw Thelma again, and as we figured she never gave us the wifi password.
Feeling a bit on edge after Thelma's ever so welcoming hospitality, I was reluctant to put the tent up at all. Being a lover of camping, I was surprised to find how much I did not want to be camping at all at this point. Camping itself is a lot of work; you need to have the energy to set up a spot, the tent, blow up air mattresses, etc. All of this in which I normally find fun but today found irritating. After a long plane ride, a 2 ½ hour bike ride, a rough ½ an hour through harsh winds, and an unwelcoming host I was NOT in the mind for camping. Though, the excitement on Eric's face was enough for me to try and hold back my reluctance as much as I could. After we set up, Eric took me out and fed me which made me feel infinitely better. Arriving back to the campground the wind had slowed down so it was much easier to be outside. We had put our tent under a large palapa meant for large gatherings, and there were tables and chairs around that we utilized for the rest of the night. This, to me, made the night much more better than the evening. This, and that I had a few tequila and frescas to help ease into my first night in the tent ;)
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