Mostly rested, and ready to hit the road again…this time, crossing into Mexico!!

Thankfully, Cathy & Richard took really good care of me.  I needed not just the sleep, but the time to take a step back from everything and just really enjoy the company of friends.  I’d been on autopilot for weeks, it seemed, and this was some much needed down-time.  The cats were also really enjoying a break from the road.  With a beautiful yard, safely fenced to keep cats in and other critters out, I think they were quite happy there.  I did feel a shred of guilt taking them away from this kitty-cat utopia, but they had accepted their fate days before and continued to travel well.

My hosts were not only absolutely amazing whilst I was in their home, but they also packed me a little care package for the drive…..homemade muffins, some dates, and a nice big apple!  Screw you, Wendy’s!!  I don’t need your stupid salads anymore!!!

I quickly returned to autopilot mode as I sped past fields of saguaros, heading for the Mexican border!

What to expect at the border: Contrary to bringing pets into the USA, Mexico requires the animal be vaccinated against rabies a minimum of 30 days prior to crossing, and a vet-issued Certificate Of Health which is valid for 10 days before crossing.  I was well prepared and ready to show ‘em my pair of kitties!

Through internet research and forums, I was well aware that it was often recommended to cross at Nogales using the Mariposa truck crossing.  Seemed a bit odd to cross at a truck crossing in a small SUV, but I know better than to argue with the internet. HA!

The truck crossing is nowhere NEAR the regular crossing….like a few kilometres away so it felt totally wrong, but I followed the signs and finally, another car.

There are a bunch of lanes with transport trucks all lined up, waiting for the green light so they can inch ahead through the border.  I followed the other car through the far left lane where the booth was closed, so I just breezed right on through.

“That was weird” I said to no-one.

Next up was a stop sign and a big sign stating that “all vehicle are to stop here and wait for an officer”.  I stopped.  There was no one there, but I’m in a foreign country, so Imma gonna go ahead and obey the rules.

A couple of cars blow past me giving me side-eye.

Huh…..maybe there is just no one here.  So off I go.

So….That was it?  I passed?  No one wanted to look at my cats or take away the apple I had in my lunch?  I was a bit disappointed that I had everything in order, but didn’t see a single border guard or customs officer or anyone!

A giddy feeling swept over me as I saw the speed limits change from miles to kilometres and the little shacks lining the highway, fresh laundry on lines from house to house…

HOLY SHIT!  I JUST DROVE TO MEXICO!

A few kms up, there is a fenced-in area with people re-packing their cars.  I get funnelled into a single lane behind some other cars.  There is a detector of some sort that you drive through and wouldn’t you know it, I get the red light of doom!  Complete with screaming alarms!

AWESOME!

But I’m SUPER PREPARED! So I proudly get my papers all ready and pull up to the officer waiting for me.  She asks if she can open the rear door.  I said “Yes, but everything might fall out”  She gives me permission to get out and assist.  She starts with the rear passenger door.  The litter box is in the back seat and the cats are sleeping on the floor, but she doesn’t seem to notice.

She opens the rear door and 6 tins of cat food tumble out and start rolling away.  We both go racing after them.  She helps me gather them but STILL doesn’t ask to see my cats.  WTF?  BUT THEY’RE SO CUTE!  And this paperwork cost me a lot!  Oh well, her loss.

After a brief lesson about the cosmetic uses of coconut oil, I am back on the road.  Next stop is KM 21 where I have to stop to get my tourist visa and Temporary Import Permit for my car.  She assured me I couldn’t miss it.  It’s at km 21 down the road.  Duh!  OK!

Barely even out of first gear and I’m funnelled again through a booth.  It’s a toll booth!!  Right there!  Jeepers! And the only papers they wanted to see were pesos!

OK….NOW I’m on the road.

So I check my odometer and am ready for KM 21.  Can’t miss it, right?  Even the road has a small sign for each KM as you go.  This is idiot proof!

Sooooo……. I totally missed KM 21!

SHIT!

I wasn’t really sure what it was I had passed…it only had a sign indicating a parking lot for getting vehicle permits.  No lanes, or anything.  Very informal looking!

I didn’t want to appear clueless to anyone who might have been watching, so I calmly pulled into the OXXO and got out, hoping to get a better look at what the parking lot was all about. I wet into the OXXO, there was no one really in there….clerk seemed busy stocking so I had a quick look around and left.

2 u-turns later, I was in the right spot!  Really strange that you have to park and go INTO a building to do official crossing-the-border stuff.  No lineups (thankfully!) so a quick stop at the immigration desk and then to the Copias booth for..well….copies of car registration, driver’s licence and passport, the then to the Banjercito for payments and permits and more permits and more payments.

Almost 3pm and Google Maps figures I should arrive around 5:30pm.  Later than I planned, yes, but not by much.

The highway is under construction so speed limit is 60km/h.  Not wanting to break any rules, I set the cruise control and puttered my way through wearing a big stupid grin,  eating a nice juicy apple, while everyone else zipped by.

Highway construction here makes no sense.  A couple hundred KM’s is under construction and is all dug up, but no one working on it because there are only so many workers….and a couple hundred KMS is a LONG stretch.  So the speed limit the entire way is 60 kms/h….except the spots that go to 40km/h for no apparent reason….and a few spots it’s 80km/h for about half a KM and then it’s 60 again.  Speed limits here are exhausting!

Flaggers have actual flags instead of signs.  Some of them aren’t even flags, it’s a plastic bag or some other random orange/pink/red thing on a stick.  I have NO idea what they mean!!!  I’m gently rolling through these areas and am being frantically flagged at….I have no clue what I’m supposed to do, but no one yelled at me, so I guess I did ok?  Haha!

The first city I drove through was Santa Ana.  My first real experience of driving normally while everyone around me just did whatever.  I felt like a bad driver for being a good driver.  My paranoia of being pulled over prevailed and I politely puttered on.

The highway really opens up after Santa Ana.  A few of the legendary “where the hell did THAT come from” potholes and then smooooooooth sailing to Hermosillo.

There. Is. NOTHING out there in the Mexican desert.  I had to wonder what happens if you have car trouble or run out of gas out there.  I heard there are “Green Angels” on the toll roads, which is a free service to help you in such cases, but how do you get them to come out and get you?  Naturally, this is the time when one begins to wonder “what is that sound?  Has my car AWAYS made that sound?  THAT IS NOT A GOOD SOUND!!!!”

The military and Federali’s had a MASSIVE roadblock set up in the opposite direction, in the middle of nowhere.  It looked like they were doing some thorough searches.  Not sure if that’s more, or less comforting.  Don’t stare….keep driving!

Around 5pm, the sun is getting ready to retire to it’s place below the horizon and I still have a loooooong way to go.  I should be in Hermosillo by 6:20pm and it can’t be completely dark by then….right?  Well….yes.  Yes it can be!  So here I am about to break the #1 Golden Rule of driving in Mexico: Do NOT drive after dark!!  Well….shit!  Having been aware of the reasons for this rule for years (potholes, cows, topes, banditos), this seemed it should be a lot more terrifying than it was.

It was almost dark when I arrived at the toll booth just outside of the city.  There was a steady flow of traffic being processed through and the lady taking my payment also had a cat with her.  Juice had made an appearance to see what was happening and the lady was SO excited to see another kitty.  She picked up her cat and was waving it at me as if to introduce it to Juice. She totally made my day! Haha!

The toll booth is about 15 minutes from the city and was a very busy area, so I decided that it counted as having arrived at my destination……before it was [completely] dark.  Not everyone (*cough*my parents*cough*)agrees with this, but I felt safe.

I had Google Maps guide me along the outskirts of the city to where the recommended hotels are.  The IBIS comes highly recommended as a pet-friendly accommodation but it is NOT wallet friendly! It was $850 for me and $500 for the cats……AND THEY DON’T EVEN GET THEIR OWN ROOM FOR THAT!  Back to the old drawing board.  I ended up at the Hotel Suites Kino which did NOT come recommended but their website claimed no fee for pets. SOLD!

It is a very old classic Mexican hotel. I can see why it is low on the list for many travellers because it is OLD!  No, it has not been updated. No, it is not a Best Western or anything more “modern”.  It has only one access through a small door at the front and the parking is across the street so you have to Frogger your stuff in (no crosswalks here!) All part of the adventure!!  WHEE!

The price was about $650 and had everything I needed.

Upon bringing the cats up in their crate, I let them out to check out the room.  Bubba tends to go straight to checking out the underside of the bed.  Not this time.  The bedspread goes all the way to the floor, covering the wooden block the bed sits on.  *BONK*

I felt bad for laughing, but his face was priceless.  Good thing it’s already a bit flat! Hehe!

So that’s how I got Hermosillo (*cough*beforedark*cough*) safely.

Apparently, I need a lozenge.

The rest of the trip to Guayabitos was fairly uneventful, so I will skip most of it, except the part about the Twinkies…..you will want to read about the Twinkies. Haha!

Sorry there aren’t many pics….solo driving and in a hurry = no pics.