Week 1 in Mexico 2012

Check out our photos at the end of the post.

We are on our first full week in to our Mexico experience. Although we spent more time driving than what we would have normally done, it was well worth being able to tag along our RV park hosts, Barbara and Sal Contreras. After hearing about our bad experience at the border last week, they were kind enough to contact us and allow us to follow them back to their park. Barb and Sal had been visiting relatives and had planned to return to Mexico the weekend that we were thinking of crossing. Lulu and I decided to take up their offer and tag along for the ride. The only problem was that they needed to get back in two days. Since we had done similar drives before, we decided to go for it.
Our original plans had called for stops and stay-overs along the way, breaking up our journey over two months. So, we would miss many places we planned to stay and explore, but as usual, our plans can, and most likely will change. We will either return to those missed locations or cross them off our itinerary. It is actually too early to make such a decision, so we will discuss it and decide on that later.

I must tell you that I am surprised and almost disappointed that I did not see some of the stereotyped Mexico that I had heard so much about. According to all the Mexican travel experts that I spoke to, I was told to look out for dismembered bodies strewn about the streets and highways and to be on high alert for banditos and drug cartel trucks hiding out in the thick jungle and forest, just waiting for us to drive by so they could force us to stop and highjack our truck and take all our money. I am also still looking for all those poor Mexicans that are running to the border and will be begging us to hide them in our truck when we return to the States. I can’t find them. And I am watching for those dishonest Mexican who wants to gyp us on our change when buying gas. Maybe, but they see me watching the pump.

Instead, I found modern, clean two and three lane highways that always had some kind of traffic passing through. We were never alone on these highways. So we always felt safe and compared the driving experience like any other in the U.S. And, depending on your idea of safe roads, you may or may not be thrilled about the idea of random traffic check points, but, many high-speed freeways are subject to random security checks by the Mexican Army and the Federal Police. We drove through maybe 2 and we saw a few more on the opposite side of the road.  We have also seen some on the country back roads and inner city bi-ways, where we were ignored or waved through. But, then, we were stopped by the Federal Police at an intersection on the way to immigrations in Chapala.

I think our big mistake was to have myself driving, Sal in the passenger seat and two beautiful ladies in the back seat. I didin’t realize that we could have been easily mistaken for the Mexican slave trade industry. However, the experience was not as frightening as some would expect. After checking my paperwork and verifying my VIN number, the officer was actually quite friendly and began a brief sociable conversation. Thanks to Sal, officer friendly just handed over all my “photo-copied” documents, (not one original) and eventually shook our hands and wished us a pleasant stay and encouraged our sight-seeing experience. He confirmed about how beautiful Mexico is and that we should not be too overly alarmed about the current ongoing violence.

Yes, the violence continues. We see on the local news stations that there are more assassinations of politicians and high-ranking police officials. One such incident took place in a town that we were driving through. Completely unaware of what the circumstances were, we came across a road-block in the tiny town of Vista Hermosa. We were forced to take a detour when a police officer sent us up a street that looked like it could barely fit a Fiat. I complained to him that I did not feel comfortable towing my 36 foot, 14,000 pound fifth wheel, up such a narrow street, but he was not concerned and just yelled for me to get going.  So, we did. With Sal up in front and Lulu behind, we managed to squeeze by the very tight turn. Then up a little farther, and with traffic behind us, I could go no more and had to back up. Some of the local neighbors came out of their homes and began ``to guide us through and recommended certain turns, which worked out. Eventually, we got through the nail biting experience and I found the people to be very patient and friendly. Little did we know that only a couple of blocks away were the bodies of assassinated police officials.

And that was our first near-happenstance with some of the actual violence that continues in this country. However, as we have been told by many Mexican expiates and nationals, that we need not be afraid, as the violence is not targeting ANY tourists. And just like in the United States, we need to be aware of our surroundings and be prepared to react accordingly, depending on the situation. The Colorado movie theatre incident could have occurred anywhere in the world, just as a drive by shooting can happen anywhere. We still feel safe here in Mexico. We remain vigilant, just as we have been for the last year as we drove through many of the United States neighborhoods.

So, back to our drive to Chapala. We found the scenery absolutely breath-taking. The weather was perfect and the traffic was almost non-existing.  At around 11:30am, we arrived at the American invaded and populated area of Chapala and found the local Mexican immigration office, right on the main road. We got the best parking spot for our over-sized dually diesel beast, right at the front door and in their parking lot. Inside were about 12 people and the sign-up sheet had only two names ahead of us. I was concerned that somehow, somewhere, something was going to be missing, incomplete or unauthorized and we had wasted over $300 and all the time and effort in our one-year Mexican visa. But, instead, with some new photographs, a couple of fingerprints, the stroke of a pen and the printing of some papers, our freshly laminated no-immigrante turista visa, formerly known as the FM3, were in our hands by 1pm and good until June of 2013. We were under the impression that this was not going to be a simple task, and that we would be returning to this office a few more timers before getting our cards.

It was almost too good to be true. But, it was. God is great. We are now legally official temporary Mexican residents and we can stay here legally for up to one year, instead of the routine 6-month tourist visa, where we would have had to leave the country by October. We wanted to be able to just take our time and not be under pressure to hurry up and get our journey done in less than 180 days. Barb and Sal also had a good day, since Barb needed to get some of her paperwork in order and was fortunate enough to get things started.

I also got to purchase my Tel-Cel internet card which allows me to get on the internet with my laptop. We also got to have an excellent lunch by the lake. We found out that this area is heavily populated by thousands of American and Canadian retirees. Hearing someone speak English here is common, and most of the Mexican residents speak English fluently. We saw some gorgeous sub-divisions that were gated off from the main road. I am told that this highly popular area has fallen victim to high demand and high real estate prices, so finding an affordable home in this area would be difficult, just as trying to find the actual authentic Mexican lifestyle.

We love our stay at the Hacienda Contreras RV Park in Valle de Juarez. Other than Sal and Barb, we are the only park residents, so we have this place all to ourselves. I cannot understand why more people do not take advantage of the gorgeous weather and the un-crowded living conditions during this time of year. It is true that there are no other people to socialize with, but we do not mind it at all. The warm sunshine during the day, and the cool nights, make a world of a difference from those blistering hot days that we were having in Texas. What a difference. And, my most favorite thing is that there are NO MOSQUITOES at night. What a relief. The Texas mosquitoes just loved my Portuguese blood. They would attack me in swarms as soon as I would walk out the door. We had a small fortune invested in mosquito sprays. So we are prepared for the next invasion.

We have gone in to the lovely town of Valle de Juarez, which is only about 2 miles from the RV park, and we walked around the central plaza, which has all of the important places to get everything we needed.  We had lunch on Lulu’s birthday on July 23 at a small restaurant that was actually the front of someone’s home. The kitchen not only served their clients, but was also the household kitchen. The set up, furniture and tablecloth remind me of my Portuguese grandmother’s house, and the food was almost as good. We ate TWO full meals of grilled chicken breast with salad, fries, rice, bread and two cokes for under $10, total.

For desert, we stopped at the ice cream shop and had some fresh vanilla ice cream. Then we walked over to the butcher who deboned a boneless chicken breast and sliced it thin. Along with a two-pound t-bone steak, we spent 90 pesos. Just about $7.00. On our way back, we made a stop at the larger grocery store in town and bought a few things, spending another 115 pesos, about $10, and then headed back to Hacienda Contreras where we got a beautiful show that God put on for us. The sunset was stunning, just as the sunrise was earlier that morning. Our RV faces the sunrise on one side and the sunset on the other. I would compare the scenery to our mountains in Virginia, but the Mexican climate is much better.

Now we wait for our internet and cel phone issues to be resolved. The park had a problem with their modem and they are working on the internet issue. As soon as that is settled, I can spend a little more time on getting our facebook up to date and do some banking. Although my Verizon cel phone works fine here in Mexico, our global rate is .99 cents a minute, which can run up a small fortune in no time at all, so we are waiting for a cel phone to arrive and it would run only 1 peso a minute for all calls, including U.S. calls. That is about .07 cents a minute.

So we are adjusting well. We feel safe and very comfortable in Mexico, and are glad we did not get persuaded by our unfortunate incident at the border the week earlier. It was one of those things. And we are also glad to have not been influenced by the many negative comments that were made by so many people that we met along the way. I know that most of them meant no harm, but were only repeating what they had heard. It just goes to show you how powerful the tongue really is.  We heard so many horror stories about how bad things were in Mexico, and it is all so far from the truth. The Mexicans themselves will tell you first hand that all though there is violence, it is no different from many parts of the world, including our own United States. All we have to do is look over our shoulder and see what is going on in our own back yard, and we can see how true that really is.

If only we could all just live in peace and treat everyone the way we would want our parents or children to be treated. Wouldn’t that make a world of a difference? And if we would stop being selfish and always thinking about ourselves, but instead, take some time to help out that elderly person with their groceries or stop and help the woman that is getting beat up by her man. Better yet, how about letting God back in to our lives, homes, work and schools? And not be afraid of the repercussions from the non-believers. We need to start praying together as families and as neighbors. Then, I think, things just might change, just a little, but enough.
Live, laugh and Love,
Lulu and AL

Lulu feeling right at home. (Reading shades of grey #2)

7-11's are not just for Americans.

Chapala shopping

Barb & Sal and us having lunch in Chapala.

Donkeys and horses are still used.

Valle De Juarez

Don't back into the border patrol's gate!

Journal Entry by LULU

I am sitting under an orange tree ion Pharr, Texas. The wind is picking up to near tornado strength and I can hear the thunder in the distance. It is my turn to pick up the pen and tell you about all the exciting events and how we ended up back in Texas.  It was on a Friday on the 6th of July that we left Donna Texas. The moment that we have been waiting for since we began our RV journey just over a year ago. So, with as much toilet paper, paper towels, peanut butter, bug spray and so many other products that we stocked up on because we were told it would be hard to get or expensive in Mexico. Little did we know that we would also be on that list.

RV Park in Pharr, TX Orange trees in all sites.

HEATED pool in 100 degree weather.

No oranges in our tree.

We had a great stay at the Magnolia RV Park in Donna, Texas the week before. We spent the 4th of July with about 20 other summer residents and were able to entertain them for their cookout.  Like all the other parks we have visited, we met some great people and made some new friends. We made our heartbreaking good-byes and headed to the border.

Lulu finds a victim. Fred!!

Small group but fun. Last dance with LULU.

Tony was the 4th of July cook.

These guys were in the trees.

Magnolia RV Park

Sign posted on US side at Falcon Lake.

Surprise!! This is in the U.S.A., not Mexico.
The floor of Falcon Lake, Zapata, TX.
About 20 feet below level.

Al has spent countless days and nights on the internet doing research and communicating with people already in Mexico. He has compiled a list of  all the best methods, roads, tolls and towns to drive through and which places to avoid. So we headed to the Anzalduas International Bridge crossing in Reynosa, Mexico. We were privileged to be one of the first people to cross through this brand spanking new facility. The place was still shiny and clean and still smelled like fresh paint. Hardly anyone was there, because it did not even look like it was open to traffic.  Construction on the U.S. side in McAllen, Texas made it almost impossible to locate and barely accessible to enter. Therefore, it was an exciting and historical moment to see the sign “Entering Mexico”.   But have you ever noticed that the U.S. sign says “Welcome to the United States”? There are no welcome signs in Mexico.

So began our 9-hour ordeal. From 11;30am until 9:30pm, we paced and walked and followed two stone faced Mexican customs (ADUANA) agents back and forth from building to buildings and office to office. Our first escort was from our original crossing at Anzalduas to another crossing, about 20 minutes away at the Amanecer crossing near Pharr, Texas. One of the bridges that we were told to avoid because of traffic and because of the difficulty we would have had in getting on the freeway to our Mexican destination. It looked like the only Mexican ancient ruins were going to see on this day were the slums of Reynosa.

Brand new gate.

Not a scratch on it.

That is until AL got to it.

All of  this attention was not because we had the wrong paperwork or because AL forgot to leave behind one of his many firearms but because the Free Spirit got hung up on a “tope” (speed bump), just past the security gate on the Mexico side. Apparently the truck and RV began to rock and roll back and forth, just enough to bend the security gate arm back about 6 inches. We were not told this until a couple of hours later. We thought we were waiting to be inspected, since we got the “RED LIGHT”, and Al was inside another building taking care of some paperwork. While parked at the first bridge, we were told that we were waiting for the boss man from the other bridge to come and investigate. However, after no one showed up for a couple of house, we ended up following the lit up police car to the other bridge. So we got the full escort, with a cruiser in front, and an agent in the front seat. Once at the Amanacer crossing, we got in to the police car and taken to HQ. I had never been in a police car before, never mind the back seat. At least Molly was with us.

Our Mexican auto insurance adjuster arrived and we are told we are all set, but a minute later, we told nope. Mais uno minuto. (One more minute). Actually, it was many more minutos because no one knew what they were doing. Hours later, after Molly and I started eating the tuna salad I had packed up for the trip, before it went bad, and without any other food or water, it looks like we may be able to leave. Nope. So sorry. Mais uno minuto.

We were in a two story building with hundreds of people, most of them women. And when I ask to use a bathroom, they say, so sorry, no public bathrooms. More waiting. More tears and Al starts to get impatient. Now the insurance person tells us that they offered to pay for the damage, but the “Aduana” will not accept his word. Instead, they want cash or they will have to impound our vehicle until it is paid, maybe by Monday? It is now 8pm on Friday night.

Finally, someone comes up with paperwork. Now they hit us with a $23,000 peso bill, about $1,500, CASH!! So much for our emergency money that we had put away.  However, it is now getting dark, and we are no longer interested in driving in to Mexico. We pay our bill and back to Texas we go. I have written lyrics to a new song, and it goes..”I am proud to be an American, where at least I now I’m free, But, don’t go in to Mexico, if you ever have to pee….” It was a very stressful, discouraging moment and had us thinking twice about what we were doing.

But now after a few days of re-grouping and looking back, and after many encouraging and positive posts from our Mexican RV friends, I can look back and see that this was not the normal routine. It was an unfortunate accident that my driver was to blame for, whether we like it or not, and, the delay was not done on purpose, but was because they had two young agents that were not familiar with their procedures. Throughout the day, we could see the frustration in their faces, as they were given the runaround by their superiors.


At the start of my journey I wrote that I will not fret over tangled Christmas lights or lost luggage. So, for now, my heart sinks back in to place and AL is back on the internet re-routing our journey. New plans are underway and we hope to re-enter Mexico without any problems very, very soon. We still have our health and happiness and we will pray for that other world that we wait for where we all live in peace as one. Stay with us… Go West…. Or South??  Or is that East? Thank you GPS? No, but rather, ....thank you GOD!!!

We were told that diesel was cheaper in Mexico.

Lulu

The chapel at RV Park in Pharr, TX