Crossing the Border

The border crossing at Nogales’ Mariposa Gate seems too easy to be true—you just drive past a sign that says “Entering Mexico”—then drive through a few miles of steep earth walls with barbed wire. But of course it’s not that easy--there’s much more processing to be done 13 kilometers south at the immigration offices. Here is where we knew without at doubt that we had crossed into Mexico.

Nogales is the busiest border crossing in the Western part of the continent. In addition to all the trucks carrying produce, and the regular traffic back and forth, it handles the annual influx of thousands of snowbirds traveling in RVs from Canada and the USA. You might think there would be a smooth system for these people, most of who don’t speak more than a few words of Spanish. But no—it’s a very confusing place with many people standing around with clipboards, some with guns, and a few with uniforms. There are several different buildings to go through, two or three different officials to talk to, copies of documents to be made and at least two different payments to be made to get the permit for taking a vehicle into Mexico. But there are no signs or maps to explain the process—and the only person there who speaks fluent English is the copy man.

We parked our car and made our way to the nearest office along with a number of others. This is the immigration office where you apply for your visitors permit. Three uniformed men stood behind the counter speaking very fast Spanish to people ahead of us. Harry and I lined up and when it was our turn presented our passports to one fellow. Without a word he gave us each a form to fill out for the tourist card. It took only a few minutes and a few simple questions for us to get the documents. We asked where we were to pay and were waved towards another door. So with our tourist cards in hand went through the door into a big courtyard with buildings on all four sides.

Right ahead of us in the middle of the courtyard was a tall booth with a huge sign saying COPIES – NO TIPS. We knew from last year that we would need copies of some of our documents so we went up to the wicket where the very helpful fellow explained in perfect and colloquial English exactly what we needed, what the process was and where we should take the papers. He made the copies for us and put them in order and directed us to the correct building. We asked how much for the copies and he said, “You pay me what you want to.” The sign says No tips—but you can pay what you want to the only person there who can explain the process. This guy must make a fortune!

The next step was to get our temporary importation permit for the van. This is the complicated part. Only one person can import one vehicle and the name on the registration, license and credit card must match. It wasn’t too difficult for us as we’re driving the van, but for those towing a trailer or a 5th wheel or another car (which many snowbirds do) it is a very complex business involving much discussion between officials, additional copies of papers, and a great deal of confusion as to what the costs were and what the rules were. None of the officials spoke much English and not one of them was able to answer a question about how much the peso amount was in US dollars. Even for us with just the van it took close to an hour and three different credit card transactions in pesos.

As an introduction to Mexico it’s just about perfect. Everyone is polite, there are officials everywhere, the process is complex and inefficient, and the one who controls it all is the copy man, who takes no tips but asks you to pay whatever you wish. This is just so Mexican!

Nogales to San Carlos

We spent last night in Nogales getting ready to cross the border. This involved buying a few last minute things that may not be available in Mexico--like camping chairs, cottage cheese, window shades for the car, and other odds and ends. This morning we left early and got to the border around 8:00 a.m. It took about and hour and half to get all the paperwork in place for our tourist cards and the car permit. Then over we went and into Mexico. It's surprising how suddenly things feel very different. Mexico is so much more relaxed than the USA. Even the saguaro cactuses look healthier.

Forty kilometers north of Guymas we passed the spot where Mohita broke down last year and had to be towed. This time we just sailed right past in Wanda. What a relief! The van is just so much easier to drive and things are a lot easier with a smaller, more nimble (not to mention trustworthy) vehicle.

Tonight we're staying in the Totonaka RV park in San Carlos where we camped last year. They rent cute little apartments at the back and we're here for one night. Maggie even seems to recognize the place. She's happy to have a space to play frizbee after a couple of days on the road.

It seems strange to be here without Mohita and Geordie, and without our camping friends Lorne and Anne. But we made the best of it with a lovely early dinner at Ruby's wine bar in San Carlos where we wandered around the sailboats and watched the sun go down. It's good to be back in Sonora. As you can see the photos, the skies are intensely blue and we think (hope) that it will be like this for the duration.

Too many people, too many cars

Our visit to Corinne and her two dogs, Havoc and Duncan, in Beaumont, California was short but sweet. We had enough time to get in some play time in the park with the dogs, drive up into the hills, go out to dinner, and sweep through Sam's Club for some bargains (wine and a new GPS to replace the old one that was stolen in Victoria).

The weather on Saturday was spectacular--warm and sunny enough that we needed air conditioning in the car. We drove up to Oak Grove where there is an apple orchard theme park, very charming and complete with Early American style building and costumes. Many families from the area were visiting with their kids--obviously a Thanksgiving tradition. Lots of fun for us as well. Corinne and I bought matching red sandals there.

We were lucky to have been able to skirt most of the Los Angeles basin traffic. We left the jammed I-5 shortly after Castaic and breezed into Beaumont on a new highway I-210. Beaumont is 70 miles from LA but still part of the frantic Southern California lifestyle. Some people who live there actually commute daily to Los Angeles for work--a trip of over two hours each way (if the traffic is good). Freeway driving is just part of every day and trips are measured in hours rather than miles. It seems that Southern California is the victim of its lovely climate--there are just too many people and too many cars, and so the sunny, summery lifestyle is marred by constant worries about traffic jams and freeway pile-ups.

This morning, the last day of the four-day Thanksgiving weekend we left Beaumont and headed east towards Phoenix. The east-bound traffic was light but it looked like it was going to be hours of bumper to bumper traffic for people heading back to the coast. Corinne tells us that many people go to a desert dunes area for recreation and it was obvious that that was the activity of choice this weekend. Many RVs, big trucks, and trailers were on the road complete with the ATVs and dune buggies, with over a hundred miles of traffic jam to get through. What a dreary end that would be to a long weekend!

Tonight we're in Buckeye, Arizona. We saw the same kind of freeway backup heading into Phoenix this afternoon so we stopped off here in order to head south to Tucson on a bypass route tomorrow.

The photo of Corinne's dogs shows Havoc on the left and Duncan on the right. Havoc is a great flyball dog, a mix of Border Collie, Jack Russell, Whippet and maybe something else. He is already running under four seconds at the beginning of his career; he's also an absolute love-sponge. Duncan is a Cairn Terrier who did flyball for a while but is now retired. Maggie enjoyed being with both of these guys today, running after tennis balls and playing in the back yard. I think she's missing Geordie as she actually initiated some play with Havoc this morning--and that's unusual for her.

Over the hills and into Southern California

There’s a little road that winds through the most idyllic area of rolling hills to the east of Napa. We started our day yesterday driving through vineyards and small ranches in the mist with the sun breaking through here and there as we climbed or descended past fat, happy horses, little farm buildings, stone fences and grassy hills. Forty miles later we arrived at Winters, California, a little agricultural town where walnuts and citrus fruits are grown. From there we hit the freeway and roared through the Great Central Valley. This is the agricultural heart of California; it’s criss-crossed by irrigation canals, and seems to go on forever, especially since we were under a heavy bank of clouds. After many hours of freeway driving the eight-lane road ascended to the 4,000 foot Tehan pass. Traffic was bumper to bumper and disabled cars cluttered the shoulder through the summit area. As soon as we were over the pass the sun came out. Suddenly we’re in Southern California. We pulled off at a truck-stop town called Castaic where we found a place to stay and ate in a 24-hour diner. This morning the sky is blue, the sun is warm and the flowers are blooming.

Foggy Napa Valley

We've just spent a lovely day touring the Napa Valley. It's such an amazingly beautiful spot, even in the rain and the fog. We arrived yesterday in the pouring rain and walked around downtown Napa, then headed up the valley to Yountville, where we had lunch in a bistro. I had the best tomato soup I've ever tasted and the nastiest exchange with a tourist information representative. We were looking for dog-friendly accommodation and went into the information centre to ask if they had a telephone where we could phone a few places. The expensively dressed, sour-faced woman told me that there were no pay phones in Yountville. Her withering look suggested that nobody without a cell phone should be there.

So on we went to St. Helena, where we found a very nice dog friendly motel called El Bonita, with a very pleasant room, swimming pool, hot tub and sauna, plus a lovely garden. St. Helena is a lovely town. It looks as though every single thing in it were designed by Martha Stewart. Even the high school and the hardware store are beautiful. The vegetation is lush with roses and flowers and grape vines everywhere you look. It didn't matter that the day was misty and foggy--everything looked fantastic even so. Maggie had a great time as there were lots of open green areas where we could play with the ball.

Not many wineries were open today as it was Thanksgiving, but we found a few where we could taste and buy a couple of special bottles. One place we went to is called Castello de Amoroso. It's a replica of an ancient Italian castle and is quite amazing. Tomorrow we head south towards LA and then will turn east towards Beaumont.

American Thanksgiving

It appears that American Thanksgiving is a much bigger deal than our October celebration in Canada. Harry and I were planning to visit a few people on our way through California this week but it turns out that they are all on the road over the several-day-long Thanksgiving holiday. We're seeing a lot of families at rest stops today and we guess that they're on the way home for the holiday on Thursday. It seems that everyone who can manage it makes a trip to have a big Thanksgiving dinner with family that day. My cousin Dean and his partner are driving from Long Beach California to Portland; our friends Helen and Sam are driving to Anacortes to have dinner with their son-in-law's parents. And Corinne, our friend in Beaumont is driving to Nevada to choose a new puppy. So it looks like we'll be making our own plans for Thanksgiving.

Today we drove through Northern California with a little stop for coffee at Yreka. It's an old mining town with a lovely historic main street (see photos). Tonight we're in Vacaville, at the southern end of the Napa Valley. We've decide to spend our American Thanksgiving here exploring the wine country, and then we'll here head over to Beaumont on Saturday to connect with Corinne. We'll check in with our other friends and relatives on our way back.

Traversing Washington and Oregon

Two short days driving has placed us in Medford, just 25 miles north of the California border. We’re settling into a routine with Maggie. We drive about 300 miles, take a couple of breaks, and stop by 4:00 to find a dog-friendly motel that’s within our budget. That’s not too difficult in November—both days we’ve found good, clean motels at around $50 a night.

One thing we noticed in Washington State—there’s no need to travel too far to find authentic Mexican experiences. Last night we had a delicious Mexican meal at a cute restaurant in (are you ready?) Kelso, Washington. The Hispanic influence in Washington state is notable. The fellow who owns the motel we stayed at is Mexican, from Jalisco. In the Safeway in Longview there’s an entire aisle dedicated to “Hispanic foods” and there are a number of Spanish speaking radio and TV stations as well. And all this is just 200 miles south of the Canada/US border.

We drove the I-5 through the broad Willamette Valley today, mostly in misty fog with occasional sunny breaks. It’s a very different scene than last year when we were snowed in there. Today in the fog we spotted six or seven hawks sitting on fenceposts, highway signs, and one raggedy looking fellow hunched on the shoulder of the road. We thought perhaps they had been grounded by the fog.

And who is on the road at the end of November? Not that many RVs or holidayers, but lots of big trucks and the usual sedans and vans (mostly with just one passenger)—as well as a few high end cars. At the other end there is the shabbily dressed guy walking on the shoulder carrying a big plastic garbage bag with his belongings, and the old Buick at a rest stop with a couple in the front and two babies in car seats in the back, and a sign on the front window “Homeless, Lost our house. Anything will help.” We gave them $2 and hoped that it would help a tiny bit.

This photo is taken from inside the car as we drove through the beautiful countryside around Roseburg in Southern Oregon. Tomorrow, we’ll go over the Siskyou pass into California.