When we woke up this morning, there was a beautiful basket waiting on our doorstep with some delicious American breakfast (yoghurt, cheddar cheese, orange juice, bananas and muffins).
With our tummies fully stuffed we started our single goal of the day: getting across the Mexican border. All in all it took us about 2 hours to go from the USA to Mexico. We first had to pass customs, where we voluntarily declared our fruit & vegetables. Then we drove for 15 kilometers to the ‘Migracion’ office for our tourist permits. We filled in the document and had it checked by the officer. Then we had to go to the ‘Banjercito’ to pay for the permits. Once paid, the officer gave us a Mexican border stamp in our passport. Patrick then also had to go a second time to the ‘Banjercito’ to get a vehicle permit. This provides you a sticker which you need to attach next to the rear view mirror and then you are able to drive over the ‘topes’ – more about those in later posts undoubtedly. The people at the border crossing were all very friendly. We’re just not sure if you’re supposed to tip the helpers or not so I hope we didn’t offend the fellow when we gave him (only) 1USD for washing our car. (note that all the above was done in Spanish – some of it with a loud tv in the background…)
We didn’t see any US border control posts along the border crossings so Marijke still has the green paper left in her passport… Google says that if this happens, we need to mail the paper with some other documentation to an office in Kentucky. If we don’t do this, Marijke might get into trouble when she accesses the USA again. We also got to keep all our fruit and vegetables so no custom victims this time. 🙂
At the Mexican side all seemed to look already a lot greener. The driving in the city is crazy though. It feels like everyone does whatever they please but so far we managed to get through without any scratches. There were also a lot of road works going on. Maybe the government is trying to improve on the infrastructure to lure more tourists.
After a very long drive we arrived in our new campground, Totonaka RV Park. It’s not really accustomed to tent camping but at least it is safe here as it has a night guard and they lock the gates at night.
In order to stretch our legs, we went for a short walk across town and saw beautiful pelicans at the beach. Marijke also found some special shells. It was much too ‘caliente’ though to walk much further so we stepped into the first bar at the sea side and ordered some local beers, ice tea, tacos and a fresh sea breeze. We had a perfect view over the ocean watching the pelicans also enjoy their dinner. No need for windows in this area… 🙂
Coming back to the campground, we also seem to have discovered the animal which looked like the flying spider. They seem to like this ‘bean tree’ a lot as there are a lot of them sitting on its leaves. I just hope one doesn’t fly in our tent or the car during an unobserved moment. 🙂 (they are quite big…)
Tomorrow we will start exploring Mexico. All that remains to do tonight is cool down, which is a challenge at 35°C still at nightfall… We took a shower and came out sweating even more! We’ll see what the night brings.
South of the border, down Mexico way
That’s where I fell in love, where stars above came out play
And now as I wonder, my thoughts ever stray
South of the border, down Mexico way
Keep Calm and Drive South 