Mexico

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Border Crossings

After spending a few days in San Diego trying to plan for this border crossing, it was still pretty much an unknown.

The Tijuana border is a red light, green light crossing. We got a green light but had no idea where to go to get our tourist card and get the import form for the van. We pulled over into the inspection area, almost turning ourselves in for an inspection and asked the customs officers where we needed to go. This turned out to be a blessing as the offices for the van were hidden behind a parade of shops and a McDonalds. After some confusion we ended up jumping a massive queue of cars and got our way into the vehicle import car park. We parked up and were advised to get our tourist cards. We went into a concrete room with a desk, 4 chairs and some official guy watching video clips on his laptop. We completed the forms then had to walk about 50 meters to the bank to pay the fee, then back to official guy to get out tourist stamp.

Next we had to import the van as we were driving all the way through the country. To get the vehicle imported we had to go to the bank. We had heard stories about this bank; a couple of guys we met in the Grand Canyon had their card used for fraudulent transactions from someone who worked at the bank. From our research we had read that you have to pay a bond on your vehicle, which you get back when you leave Mexico. This is to ensure you don’t sell your vehicle in Mexico. For some unknown reason we didn’t have to pay this bond and we definitely weren’t going to ask why! We completed more forms; paid a $30 fee for the permit and a couple of photocopies later we were done! We both felt it all went too easily but neither of us was complaining.

Heading South

We stayed our first night in Mexico in Ensenada. The campsite we found was right near the beach, just perfect for our introduction into Mexico. We were hoping to press on for the first few days. We had been given some good advice about getting away from the border towns, and that the best of Baja is about half way down and beyond.

Our second night was spent at an ‘RV’ Park in Catavina, or at least it was once! The drive around Catavina was great. It was stereotypical desert with hardly anyone else around and tons of cacti. We saw a dilapidated sign and drove onto the empty park which looked like the desert we had been driving through with a couple of battered building scattered around. After parking up we had a look around and saw that the toilets and showers had been smashed in. We walked over to what appeared to have once been an office and thought that someone may be in there so knocked and made some noise but no one came out. The place was ghostly but we only wanted a place to park up and cook dinner so it worked for us. Later that night when we were eating dinner in the pitch black a lady appeared out of nowhere and started speaking in Spanish. We had no idea what she was saying but assumed she wanted the fee for camping. The following morning we paid the fee and headed south again.
On our route South we stopped to get the $135 fuel pipe replaced that we had bought in San Diego. Rich had tried replacing it in San Diego but didn’t have the tools so figured we would try and get it done cheaply in Mexico. We stopped at a random place beside the road. Driving down a lot of the Baja peninsula was like driving through the desert but with roads. We spotted one place that could loosely be called a garage but was essentially a shack with an inspection pit and a load of grease-monkeys hanging around. We managed to convey what the problem was and off the guy went to work. Shortly afterwards it started to become clear that this guy didn’t have the right tools either but it wasn’t going to stop him.
After breaking a spanner and battering some of his own spanners to make it fit the guy spent ages taking the pipe off which was just two clamps. About an hour later he got the pipe of, replaced it fairly quickly took our $20. We were back on the road for about half an hour when we stopped at the next petrol station. The attendant started to fill the tank when petrol started pouring all over the floor from the fuel pipe. We drove back to the ‘garage’ that had replaced it, and when we got there the guy who had fixed it was no where to be seen. He’d probably made his money for the day and turned in. So another guy took over who spoke a little more English. This time we walked to a nearby car parts shop, bought some fuel over the counter and checked out this guy’s attempt. It was fine but we paid another $10 for the pleasure. Still, it was a fraction of the price it would have cost us in the US and all being well we hit the road again.

We reached Mulege a couple of days later, after spending a night in a restaurant car park in Guerrero Negro. Mulege is a lovely little town in Baja. We had intended to camp up on the beach but we were in dire need of some clean clothes and a hot shower so we opted for the soulless RV Park with laundry and shower facilities. Unfortunately, we got no hot shower or clean laundry! We had put quarters into the washing machine and it swallowed our money. The owner said she had no idea how they worked and that we would have to go across the street and speak to her son. No offer of our money back and not even an attempt at a sorry. The next morning we did what we should have done the previous day and headed to Bahia Conception which is essentially a collection of bays in the desert. We found a bay with hardly anyone else around and set ourselves up. It was perfect. The beach was white-sand and was in stark contrast to the desert surroundings. There was no fresh water around so we only had the 5 gallons that we had brought in. We had a great few days there chilling out and swimming when we got too hot until we ran out of food and water and it was time to move on.

South Baja

From Bahia Conception we headed for La Paz. We needed to find out for certain when and how much the Ferry to Los Mochis would be. We spent the majority of an afternoon hunting for the ferry office and eventually booked ourselves onto the ferry leaving 3pm on the 8th November.
We had a couple of days before we needed to catch the ferry so we headed for Cabo San Lucas. We spent the majority of our time in Walmart on the hunt for snorkelling gear. From Cabo San Lucas we headed for Cabo Pulmo where we heard that the snorkelling was good. It was a rough, dirt road to get to Cabo Pulmo and we arrived in the town, which is pretty much a collection of restaurants late on in the evening. We had nowhere to stay and one of the owners of the restaurant said we could stay on the beach. He directed us down there but then said that the fisherman would be there first thing in the morning and would probably wake us up. He then suggested a placed a little further down the road called Arbolito’s where would be able to camp. We struggled to find the place but after a while found the little beach by the sea and slept for the evening. It was perfect again, a great little beach and no facilities around and hardly any people apart from the occasional day visitors. Even better was that we didn’t pay a penny. The next day we went snorkelling from the beach but it was a little choppy so the visibility was pretty poor though the water was nice and warm.

The Mystery of The Bread & Cheese

One mystery still unsolved from that beach was the one of our missing bread and cheese. We had managed to buy a really nice fresh baguette and some great cheese the previous day. We had very little for dinner the night before and were both excited about it for lunch. Jess had put the bread and cheese along with some ham and butter on the chair. Whilst preparing for lunch we both got distracted whilst on the hunt for a missing snorkel. During this time Jess noticed that the bread and cheese were gone! There were only 2 possible explanations. One is that one of the few people that were there had stolen it or that it was the local stray dog who had befriended us. If the dog did eat it, it ate ¾ of a baguette and a huge block of cheese it left NO trace. Nothing - not even a scrap of paper or plastic! We even searched around its tree where it seemed to hang out and there was nothing. Jess was particularly distraught about the lunch that never was. After another couple of great days camped up we headed back to La Paz.

Red to Green

From La Paz we took the ferry over to Los Mochis. The ferry left at 3pm and we had to check in 2 hours prior. We arrived on time, we got stopped by officials to make sure all our documents were in order. We were given the all OK, but before we could drive on, one of us (which turned out to be Jess) had to get out of the van and follow the guy to a red light at about head height. Jess then pressed a button and the red light turned to a green light with the word ‘pass’ illuminated. We have no idea why we had to do this as the button was on a different lane and didn’t lift a barrier. Anyway, we were now free go and made our way closer to the ferry. However, only the drivers we allowed on with the vehicles and Jess got thrown out and dumped into a large queue where she met another couple travelling through Central America and Mexico. Rich meanwhile went to another car park where he was told where to park and wait further instructions. When it was his time was summoned by the officials who were paying no attention to drive up the large ramp to the upper car deck, overtaking lorries that were reversing up the same ramp and manoeuvring all around the place.

We spent the six hour crossing with Laurent and Sarah, the couple who were travelling, until it was time for Rich to go to the van. There was some confusion with the guys letting people onto the decks as they first told Richard he couldn’t go down but when they realised the van was in with the lorries said he was late and told him to hurry up and get in the van. He got onto the lorry deck where all the drivers were already in their cabs and the ferry staff were out of sight but could be heard undoing the heavy-duty clamps and chains that were holding the lorries down. All of a sudden, from nowhere, the crack of one of the chains being released was heard followed by a bang and the sound of metal sliding on metal. Then another loud bang. One of the huge clamps had burst off from somewhere, slid along the floor and missed Richard’s foot by about a metre. God knows what it would have done if it had actually hit him.
By the time we hit the mainland it was about 10:30pm and we dropped Laurent and Sarah off in the hostel which looked at best seedy and at worst dangerous. We then headed to a trailer park we had heard of and after much trouble found it to be closed. With little options left we headed over to a Walmart, which was in a pretty unpleasant neighbourhood and spent the night in the car park. When we woke up we could hear the staff in the car park perplexed at how this van had got there and asking how long it had been there. They looked pretty surprised when Rich finally emerged from the side and got into the driver seat and greeted the guys with a good morning. After the initial shock they did their usual job of sticking a whistle in their mouth and blowing it while giving us hand signals to reverse out of the parking space.

Keys & Coke Cola

The following day we drove to Mazatlan. We stayed in a really nice RV park, which had incredible hot showers which we needed after our night in a Walmart car park. After feeling super clean we headed into Mazatlan for dinner. We ate at a local taco place where Rich managed to devour 5 huge tacos. The food in Mexico is amazing. Once back at the van we realised we had locked the keys in the van! We could even see one set was on the dashboard. Luckily we had got chatting to the guy on duty and he helped us. He called his son who lives next door to a lock smith and he also phoned lots of different companies for us. He went out of his way to help us and he asked for nothing in return, except a can of coke. After a while and several seemingly unsuccessful phone calls a guy pulls up on a scooter out of the blue and offers to get us in the van for 200 pesos, which is about £10. Within about 2 minutes he was in! We vowed never to let it happen again. The guy that helped us was so friendly and if you ever hear that people in Mexico are unfriendly and just want your money - don’t listen to it. We found so many people to be incredibly friendly and helpful.

Yucatan

From Mazatlan we headed for Mexico City as Jess’ friend Roanna was flying into Mexico City on the 12th November. We spent pretty much three days driving solidly so we could get to Mexico City in time for the flight. During our 3 day drive we passed into a new time zone, spent a fortune in toll roads and had our exhaust fixed again. Getting the exhaust fixed was another example of Mexican friendliness. When we pulled up we explained we just wanted a bracket welding and the guy understood and fixed it up in a few minutes. When we asked what we needed to pay he said just pay what we wanted. We gave him $10 which he rejected because it was too much but when we insisted he accepted and we were on our way with everyone happy.

After making it just in time to collect Roanna from the airport we headed over to Puebla for a couple of nights. Once again from here we had a lot of driving to do as we were headed for the Yucatan peninsula and Chichen Itza.

When we got to the small town of Piste near Chichen Itza we stayed at what once was a campsite but is now an overgrown, derelict patch of land beside a hotel. The next day we headed to Chichen Itza in the afternoon to try and avoid the crowds and had a great time. It’s a large Mayan site with impressive temples and is just a great place to wander around for a few hours. From Chichen Itza we headed towards the Caribbean coast stopping at the cenotes X’Keken and Samula near Valladolid. Cenotes are sinkholes with rocky edges containing ground water and are often in underground caves. Both these cenotes were in underground caves and at the Samula cenote there was a hole in the ceiling where tree roots had grown down to feed from the water down below. With the sunlight coming through the hole and striking the crystal clear water below it was a very impressive site.

From the cenotes we made our way over to the Caribbean coast. The whole time we had driven through Mexico we had heard several stories of people having to bribe the police. Given the amount of time and distance we had travelled in Mexico we were surprised that we hadn’t had any experiences. That soon changed. Driving from the cenotes to the coast Rich was speeding though we don’t think we were going as fast as the car in front. However, all of a sudden in the distance we spot a guy pointing the speed gun at us but it was too late. Obviously pleased with himself he jumps into the middle of the road to wave us down. We pull over and the slimey officer comes over and starts talking in Spanish to Richard who acts surprised when he showed us the speed still registered on the radar gun. Having been briefed by our Mexican friend Jerry in Cambodia Rich knew that when it came to bribes you had to dance around the subject a little. The officer said that we were looking at a fine of 1200 pesos (£80) and would have to go to the station to complete all the necessary paperwork. After asking if there was any other way the cretin said we could settle the fine in the spot for 800 pesos which was still about £50. We knew this was way too much and had heard that these bribes were negotiable but didn’t want to push our luck too far. Jess was in the back with the money and we had enough cash to cover the fine and a lot more at that time but we then pleaded saying we don’t have 800 pesos. At this point our oily friend’s face changes and say ‘hay problema’. Jess gets 400 pesos from the back of the van and we implore him saying it’s all we have. Without much hesitation he happily excepts it and gives us his best for our travels. Tosser.

We arrived at a resort called Paa Mul on the Caribbean coast south of Playa Del Carmen where we camped for a couple of nights. Afterwards, we headed a little further south to the beach at Xpu Ha where we found a great little place we camped up right on the beach for four nights. It was a really basic campsite but just what we needed after having done so much driving since getting the ferry from the Baja peninsula. After our mini-holiday on the beach we headed over to another Mayan site called Tulum. This site has ancient Mayan temples like Chichen Itza and is made even more attractive by its location right on the beach.

While staying at Xpu-Ha Rich got chatting to an Italian guy who mentioned that some of the nearby cenotes were great for snorkelling. After staying another night on the beach near Tulum we headed off to the cenote ‘Dos Ojos’, meaning ‘Two Eyes’. We pulled up in the van where there were a few guides hanging around and we arranged for one. With a powerful waterproof torch and our snorkel gear we drove the remaining distance up the dirt road with our guide in the car in front. Snorkelling in the cenote was a true highlight. The water was perfectly clear and at first we got into a large open area where we swam towards a small cave opening. The stalactites from the ceiling came down to just a few inches above the water. We passed through and it’s definitely not for the claustrophobic. It then opened up into another cave where there were stalactites up high and snorkelling with the torch you could see the stalagmites coming up from the ground and all the rock formations. When we turned the torches off it was pitch black. It was incredible. From there we went to another cenote with the guide that was good but no way near as impressive as the first. Afterwards we had a spot of lunch from one of the local stalls at the cenotes before heading on to our final destination in Mexico of the Yax-Ha campground near Chetumal.

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Photos

Liverpool
This is a department store in Mexico