The French Un-Connection

Catemacho
(posted Jan 30, Piste)

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When we arrived at the Tepetapan RV Park in Catemacho we learned that three RV’s in the park belonged to three French couples, two children, and an unknown number of dogs.  We were sandwiched between two of their three RV’s and the spaces were narrow.   Our motorhome being, so close to theirs and the fact that they never seemed to go inside their RV’s except to get another bottle of wine, we felt compelled to introduce ourselves so they would not consider us to be “ugly Americans”.  Their English was somewhat limited and our French somewhat nonexistent once we got by oui, si’l vous plait, and parle vous. 

The electricity in the park was outside the 120-volt +/- 5% margin allowed by our Electrical Management System (EMS) so we ran our diesel generator.  About 6 PM I was outside when one of our new French friends came up and asked if I would please turn off my “machine” as the "smoke" from it was making them sick.  Being the polite person that I am, I apologized and went inside, turned off the generator, and began sweating.  Without the generator we could not use our microwave oven, which meant we would have PB&J sandwiches for supper.  But that was alright because we did not wish to poison our neighbors with noxious gases.  All three of the couples, their children, their dogs and a dog they picked up in town to play with their dog were having a grand time communing with nature.  Now, tell me, what kind of people pick up some stray dog in the middle of town and take it to the RV park to play with their dog?  These were strange people who were eating, drinking (mostly drinking), and being very obnoxious (just as has been rumored that the French can be).  They were sitting around their outside table that was located right under our bedroom window, which was open because we could not run our air conditioner for fear of upsetting these same neighbors. 

We had to get up very early the next morning because we had a long distance to drive.  We got in bed about 9PM in order to get a good night’s sleep and be fresh for the long drive.  Our French friends didn’t begin eating until about the time we went to bed.  Their children were running around squealing like pigs, their dog and the stray were barking non-stop, and the adults were laughing and talking loudly.  Of course that is generally how anyone would talk and laugh after consuming god-only-knows how much French wine. 

They were not only bothering Carol Ann and me, but also other RV’ers in the park.  They were asked several times to please tone it down.  They would be quiet for a few minutes but then the alcohol would erase any memory of the requests and the volume would go back up.  I really wanted to, and really wish that I had, turn my generator back on and hope to drive them all inside.  However, that is not how my momma raised me.  When I finally managed to fall asleep, sometime a little after midnight, they were still going strong.

I hope we were able to get a little bit even with them when we cranked our generators before sunrise in order to make our coffee in preparation for our early departure.  I also hope they were all laying in bed with hangovers, especially when we cranked the diesel engines and let them fast-idle until warm, which took about three times as it normally did that morning.