Lunes 10 – Miercoles 12 Sep 2012. Another night with restless sleep.
Monday morning we arose at 5:30am, as we want to be at the border
about 7am. We asked last night about how to find the border crossing
from here. Take bridge #2 we were told. And where might that be?
Just go straight down I-35 at the front of our hotel. It will end
and continue as a street leading right to the bridge and you cannot
miss it. We had gassed up the night before, so we were as ready as
could be. Dan is now more nervous about things since Carmen does not
speak Spanish yet, so it all now falls to him to interpret all the
signs and directions, plus maneuver the car defensively thru Nuevo
Laredo traffic. (He actually hasn't driven in Mexico since a one
day jaunt down to Ensenada in Baja California, part of a cross
country road trip with high school friends the summer after
graduation.) We had re-read all our info (printed from web forum
posts made by other ex-pats) the night before about where to go and
what to do once across. Hoping to follow it exactly so as not to be
shot at. Carmen checked with the motel desk clerk when she turned in
the keycard, and learned there was a US$3 toll to cross the bridge
(which will be our last use of US money for a while). Off we drive
to see what mexperiences await. *SoB – south of the
border
Sure enough, after
handing over our bridge toll, signage begins in Spanish – giant
signs across the road to tell us which lane to get into. We
immediately had to choose the proper lane to be in. Do we have
anything to declare? The car is full after all, but most of
it's just “stuff,” with nothing of any significant value. Maybe
we have to declare the cats? Decided to get in the “Nothing to
Declare” lane. At this point you can get a green light which
allows you to just continue on, or you can get the red light which
means you pull over into the open garage area and customs officials
have the option to ask you to remove everything out of the car for
inspection. Booya, we got the green light! Must admit that the
officials could have chosen to relieve us of some items, or levy a
small duty on us. Guess there were just too many others passing thru
with loaded pickups, vans or small trailers to bother with just a
sedan.
We followed the big
blue signs as told to do in our info from the web. A large sign
across the road said to make a U turn (retorno) to the left.
We knew that at some point we had to go back under the bridge that we
crossed over to get to the buildings where our passport & visa
would be inspected, and where we'd get our permit to bring the car
into the country. Turned out that after the U turn, we discovered
there were two roads paralleling each other, and we had taken the
closest, and wrong, one – it was not going under the bridge but
into the city. Consider that there are policemen with rifles all
over the place...now what? Shortly there was no traffic, no police
at the moment, and a possible U turn spot. Dan whipped around, going
over the previously traveled road expecting to hear sirens. Again we
were lucky. Got on to the correct road and in a minute or so we were
in front of the correct building. Pulled left into the parking lot
only to discover we were in the bus lot. Got back out and drove a
few paces to the correct lot. This was the one time that we had to
leave kitties in the car with rolled up windows. Was a bit after 7AM
and the sun had not heated things up yet. Oh thank you Lord.
We both walked up
the flight of steps into the long building. Papers in hand. Dan
asked the first person he saw in the first of close to 100 offices
along the one wall, just where to go. Everyone else at this spot was
filling out FMM visa forms. The man assured us that we did not need
one. We did not really believe him, but could find no forms to fill
out, so we went to the window he sent us to. No line here, where the
young lady looked at our documents to make sure that we had all the
correct items and the perquisite number of copies. Then next to
another window where there was a line. Waited quite awhile as no one
else seemed to have all their papers together like we thought we did.
Meanwhile shift change was happening. Over and over. There would
be at any time one to five clerks to wait on us. The clerks would
just take off and turn people over to another clerk, in the middle of
processing them. Now we noticed, of course, that everyone else had
those FMM visas we had seen earlier. We knew of course that on an
airplane even citizens of Mexico had to fill out this form for
re-entry. What could we do – just stand in line.
Finally our turn
came. New surge of nervousness. Dan hands the fellow our paperwork.
We indeed had everything we needed. It took about 45 minutes to
process us here. The temporary vehicle importation permit, with an
official decal which is adhered to the front windshield, is tied to
our No Inmigrante visa, which expires next July. The visa
gets renewed yearly, in Córdoba, for the next five years, at which
point we can apply for Inmigrante status or start another five
year No Inmigrante series. All this means is that we have
only a one year permit for the car. We assume there must also be a
way to renew the car permit each July, hopefully not involving a trip
back to a border station. Since then Frank has told us that there is
a law where vehicle renewal is not necessary as long as we have the
long term visas, provided we have a copy of the appropriate law with
the papers in the vehicle to prove this fact to an adamant traffic
cop. Dan was handed all the papers, and paid the US$300 fee for a
2006 vehicle, charged to our Mastercard. Discovered his name was
spelled wrong, so all the papers had to be done again. Thank heavens
we checked everything before leaving the window. Availed ourselves
of the free restrooms there, then back to our car. Very happy with
our decal to stick on our windshield. Found kitties in good shape.
The car interior had not gotten hot. And no, we never needed the FMM
document, our plastic visa card showing that we were residents was
enough.
Now, two hours have
passed since we crossed bridge #2, and its time to leave this parking
lot and continue on to the animal/plant inspection point, and then
the later interior check point south of the city. Dan told Carmen to
look at our printed directions. Oh no, I don't need to she says.
You go to the further end of this parking lot and turn left.
Positive. Good. So off we go and we are getting more and more
puzzled, since we both remembered that there was supposed to be very
little traffic on a bypass route, yet here we are on city streets in
rush hour Hmm. OK, Carmen read the papers another time. Oops! We
should have turned right out of the last buildings instead of left.
We certainly did not want to backtrack, and we both felt that we were
going the right direction – so on we went. About half an hour out
of town we saw a plant-animal inspection station sign. However, we
couldn't see a building to go with the sign, so the cats got into the
country without anyone seeing their paperwork. On we drove, now
about twenty minutes south of the city, where sure enough – here
was the interior check point. We of course stopped at the barrier
where many security guards stood about, and again choose the nothing
to declare line. Remember the red/green light? We got a green light
again – so on Dan drove. Now he has only driven maybe 45 minutes
of his 2.5 hours since we left the US, so far. He did however have
to talk to everyone for us. Carmen told him to pull over at the
soonest possible place, which happened as we got onto the toll road
(cuota) a bit past the inspection station. She would consider
all his talking & dealing with the officials as part of his
driving shift time. Now wasn't that nice of Carmen?
We had read that
this part of the drive south of the border, between Nuevo Laredo and
San Luis Potosí was the most trying of our journey – hills and
curves. No sooner did Carmen mention the nice straight road when
boom! Talk about high steep climbs and sharp curves. The road was a
divided toll road and in excellent shape – but WOW it was
difficult. Very glad to have that part of the trip over with.
Getting gas was no problem, as Pemex stations (prices just a bit less
than currently in the US) are spotted frequently along the route.
Thereafter we came into beautiful green covered landscapes.
Pleasant drive and we just ate what we had of our car food. Late
that afternoon we made our planned stopping point, Matehuala. Dan
noted that this town's name is a sort of syllable reversal/change of
how Guatemala may be pronounced. (“Matewala”--”Watemala”)
We exited the cuota
highway and drove in on the business route, so we could check out the
town. Carmen watched for topes, speed bumps that are an
effective obstacle keeping local traffic to low speeds. Dan had a
list of motels here, and a map of town printed from Google Earth.
Saw the inexpensive Capri north of the town center that some have
recommended—it looked a little seedy. Then we passed the spacious
Midway Inn Las Palmas, the place many ex-pats stay. We ended up
staying at a lovely motel, the Parador Don Juan just south of the
gateway arch in Matehuala, where the manager, who had worked in the
US at one time, said of course we could take our cats inside with us.
Big room, lots of hot water, air-conditioner, and very clean, for
MX$400 per night (about US$30), one quarter of the price we would
have paid at Las Palmas (and, would they have allowed the cats?).
There was a fried chicken restaurant a few doors down and the food
was scrumptious. Note that we could have made the travel thru Mexico
in two days, but the days would have been a bit long and it would
have taken us thru the last mountain range, with the dramatic drop
into western Veracruz, after dark. Did not want that. We were happy
with the shorter days of driving, and no urgency about being off the
roads before dark, or wondering if we could find a room in the late
evening.
Started this
Tuesday morning out fresh as could be. Snacked along the way with
car food. Saw lots of goats being herded, and also cattle tied or
guarded along the road and in median strip. No land being wasted.
Several more signs for plant-animal inspection stations, but no
visible stations themselves. We realized by now these were for
transporters of farm products going across the state borders—surely
they wouldn't be interested in the two felines. After leaving
Matehuala we headed south, noting the roads off to Dolores Hidalgo
and San Miguel de Allende, and past Querétaro and San Juan del Rio,
and shortly thereafter we picked up the Arco Norte (the new
bypass route that skirts to the north of Mexico City). Here we got
the second rain of the trip, quick deluges, intermittent for a little
more than an hour. We had a bit of sporadic rain in the States, and
we had used that time to listen to a recorded book on a set of four
CDs. We had discovered that it was not possible to hear the book
well enough when we had the windows opened, which was most of the
trip. So the book was relegated to rainy stretches and the few times
we had the air conditioner on. We finished the book on today's run.
Today we planned to be on the bypass for just a short time, as Tula
would be our stopping point in the evening. By the time we got near
there however, it just seemed too early to stop.
We took another
look at the road atlas and decided to complete the Arco and drive on
a bit farther to Cholula.. We had spent a night there with Judy,
Tammy & Jason, when we visited the pyramid there. One of the
largest in Mexico, and only a wee bit has been excavated. Cholula is
a smaller town just west of Puebla, a large colonial city where we
knew there would be a problem finding reasonably priced lodgings, to
say nothing of having the cats with us. We drove into the west side
of town and of course did not know the town at all. Dan had not been
prepared to visit here, and did not have maps printed or scoped out
the hotel scene—we just hope we'd get into the area where we had
stayed once before. Wandered about a bit on narrow cobbled streets,
and finally saw the pyramid off to our right, towering above town.
Drove a bit farther east til we almost passed a possibility, which
proved to be the “SuperMotel,” a quick right turn thru the portal
and we were in, obviously, a “no tell motel.”
How interesting—the
price list on the wall had a MX$150 special for five hours, and a 12
hour rate for MX$200. You pay for your room which includes a garage
which you drive into and then the garage door is locked behind you.
From there you go into your room. In some of these facilities, they
are rented by the hour--the five hour limit told us we were dealing
with, perhaps, one small step above the hourly type. Dan spoke to
the attendant and asked where the office was. We assume that usually
the attendant would be the only one you'd see, paying her cash, no
registration, no names, etc. Dan explained to the man in the office
that we wouldn't leave until the following morning, and he offered us
a rate of MX$280 (US$21) for 24 hours use of the facilities. Drove
around again until the attendant waved us towards one of the rooms,
collected our pesos, then pressed her remote to slide the door closed
behind the car. They didn't notice the cat kennels, and of course
once we were shut in, who could tell? It was quite an experience for
us. Kitties loved all the different levels in the room, which was
equipped with marble accoutrements, a bedside toilet paper dispenser,
rubber liners under the clean sheets and pillow cases, huge bath
towels, a bidet in the bathroom and free porn on five channels of the
TV. We wondered why there was no mirror on the ceiling. Would have
been almost elegant if the carpet had been in better shape. Once you
leave this place you do not get back in, so we ate cold pork &
beans with crackers for supper. I guess we could have ordered
take-out off the printed menu in the room (replete with the back
illustrating sex toys one could buy),delivered right to the room.
There was even a little “air lock” type cabinet on the front
wall, so that anything one ordered could be paid for and passed thru
without any faces being revealed.
Wednesday morning
has arrived, our last day of driving. Now you understand, we have
never been in one of these hotels before. Should be easy to get out.
However it took us some time to figure out how to operate the garage
door opener. It proved to be a button on the wall near the entrance
that we had taken for the doorbell. We had been worried that we
might not be able to take the cats into lodgings here south of the
border, as few Mexicans travel with pets, and few hotels will
accommodate them. But we lucked out, and in a pinch in the future
will not be reticent to drive into one of those interesting motels
surrounded by high walls and equipped with individual garages. As
we left, a red pickup entered. The women in the passenger seat was
scrunched down, bent over and had her hands covering most of her
face. Wonder what she thought of the folks driving out not trying to
hide their identities at all?
A note here on the
toll roads. The entire trip in Mexico cost about US$85 in tolls, a quarter of which was on the new Arco Norte. The cost was well worth it to
us, as these highways are very safe, good roads, equipped with
passing lanes, where we could maintain a better than 60mph rate for
the most part. (Except for that tropical downpour Tuesday that cut
visibility to almost zero and the speed to match, for a short time.)
Every several kilometers there are pull-offs for repairs, a supply of
radiator water, and occasionally an emergency telephone. On the Arco
Norte we were given a plastic card to carry with us and to pay when
we got off. All the other cuota routes had periodic toll
booths that varied in cost. We could have made most of the trip on
libre roads, free to travel on, but they would have been thru
all the pueblitos, towns and cities, and the trip would have
taken much longer due to local traffic, pedestrians on the road,
topes, etc.
Again Dan studied
the map and discovered there was a bypass around the south side of
Puebla. We have been on buses thru Puebla and the traffic is
horrendous. We needed gas right away, since we are still not letting
our tank get below half. We were unsure how to get onto the
peripheral bypass (periferico), since the signing was strange
to us. We inquired at the gas station, and the only periferico
the young attendant knew of was the one around the north of the city.
We did not believe his directions, taking us back north and west, so
on we drove in the direction we had headed, found the entrance ramp
to the correct highway and proceeded easily most of the way around
the city. Then Molly, the voice of our GPS, told us to make a turn.
[Dan just realized that in Spanish, this name would be pronounced as
“Moh-ye-yee” so he will hereinafter spell it as “Mali” which
is pronounced the same in both languages.] She could be very
insistent. When we were obviously in a new construction area, as
this was, we were usually right to ignore her and follow the road
signs. But, we are suspicious that here on the SE side of Puebla we
should of listened to her. We ended up on narrow busy streets for
awhile, with lots of unmarked topes. A cautious look to the
cars up the road going over the bumps usually gave us enough warning.
We were heavily loaded, and only a couple times did we hit on the
frame between the sets of wheels. Did finally get back on the toll
road which runs between Puebla and the port city Veracruz on the Gulf
coast. Dan drove til we got near the mountain pass dropping from La
Esperanza into western Veracruz state. Then Carmen took over because
Dan wanted to take pictures. We happily cruised along, stopping for
special views of the overwhelmingly green, mountainous landscape and
the snow-covered Pico de Orizaba (18,000 + ft high) north of the
highway. When we were most of the way down on the east side of the
pass, traffic came to a standstill in both lanes. The cause was road
resurfacing, and we spent an extra hour here inching forward. On the
valley floor traffic opened up and we cruised past Rio Blanco and
Orizaba without a hitch.
We took the cuota
right to the edge of Fortín, and paid the final MX$10 toll on the
exit ramp down into our new hometown. Stopped by the Super Ahorros
grocery store for some produce and bakery goods. Drove on to our
blue house, Casa Azuledos. Was so very good to be at the end of the
journey. We could not have asked for a better trip. Guess it was
simply meant to be.
