June 15, 2009 - The Border

Blog 2 Monday the border,

We went through America customs and had no problems. We were actually complimented on our paper work and were even told our Mexican paper work was excellent. For those of you thinking of trying this, don’t without knowing the full extent of paper work needed. Thanks to the work from Jose our paper work was very solid. We were able to get down to the very last check point before the Mexican form of our IRS taxed two of our vehicles and wanted $6000 for both. It was due to the age of the vehicles or something. Even the customs people and others did not agree but the Mexican IRS was rude about it. So what do we do, pay the fee. This was not fun because we had cleared it and done all the proper paperwork before we left. To add more suffering to the pain it was going to take until the next day until the paperwork would be done for one vehicle.  Jose and a town official had to spend the night.

We got as far south as Hermosillo and spent the night. This was the same town that those 47 kids died in a daycare fire. We didn’t have time to do much with that (as if there is anything we could have) but it would be nice to know if it was a lack of equipment or resources.

The next morning we were up and moving south at a good pace. We ended up on the water at a town called San Carlos where we had lunch. This is the first time we have seen the water and a nicer part of Mexico since we left.  This area is beautiful and looks like it should have a lot of money. Shortly after we arrived and parked  on the side of the road, numerous police officer, fire fighters and even the local media showed up to do a story.  Shortly later we met the president of the fire department. The department is all volunteer and we quickly learned they don’t have a fire engine or to be specific a tender to carry water. They had one but the government took it away. Very complicated how that works down here but we have figured out how to get around that with our donations. Most everything we give away goes to local municipalities or non profits with contracts and agreements that stay in place. So needless to say they are going to stay in touch with us. After we departe, refreshed with a good lunch on the ocean, it was time for another long drive.

We got up the next day and headed south.  Driving all day and part of the night we ended up staying at a hotel just outside of an industrial town that there is no way I can or ever will remember, I don’t think anyone else will either. The good news is that Jose and the other town official caught up with us just before us so we were all together. We went to bed knowing we were only about 4-5 hours away from our first stop in Mazatlan.

Javier and Omar and the infamous mechanic who left
the wrench in the engine.


The group at San Carlos enjoying a well deserved break!

Posted by The Mission To Mexico at 6/15/2009 3:49 PM
Categories: uncategorized
 

What did you think of this article?




Trackbacks
Trackback specific URL for this post
  • No trackbacks exist for this post.
Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

Leave a comment

 Enter the above security code (required)

 Name

 Email (will not be published)

 Website

Your comment is 0 characters limited to 3000 characters.