A tour of the ages - well, for my summer... lol
Last week I was forced, due to the vehicle registration laws here in Mexico, to drive up to the border, turn in my expired vehicle sticker and apply for a new one. That was the plan, at least...
My friends put-in their purchase requests for the US trip, as I was driving the Land Rover so weight was not as big of an issue this time. Also, I hitting a Guitar Center while there, so my musician friends had much to include. My time in the USA was definitely dominated by shopping, which was actually quite fun since it was not for me - spending OPM! (other people's money). Something that is easy to do, especially up in the Estados Unidos.
The trip up to Neuvo Laredo was uneventful and I made very good time driving with some 'Chilangos' (folks from Mexico City) in their Audi's & BMW's on the tollways that are offered, called 'cuotas'. If you are ever down this way, I recommend them highly as they are quite reasonable and usually much better quality than the 'libre', which is the free roadways. I think that the entire trip cost me close to $30USD in tolls and probably saved me about 2-3 hours in travel time.
The requirements to operate your own vehicle while visiting deep into Mexico, which is anything beyond about 25 km, are that you must present your vehicle registration, identification and approved immigration form. Also, a credit card to use for a promissory bond that will guarantee that you will not sell the vehicle while living in Mexico, (as the flood of cheap vehicles from the US would cut into the 50 to 100% extra that is paid by Mexican citizens for the same cars, btw), and a $32 processing fee is charged to it.
The permit is only good for 6 months, and in order to renew it, one must turn in the old decal at a border crossing first, getting a receipt to prove that they did so and thus did not sell the car in Mexico; failure to do so automatically disqualifies them to never be allowed to bring another car into the country, so the receipt is a very important thing to keep for posterity, should he wish to drive through Mexico in the future. I have begun my collection which shall be stored with the vehicle registration for as long as I am able to keep track of them.
The Military Was Definitely in Charge of the Northern Sectors
(or how to avoid being machine-gunned at a checkpoint - kidding, jeez)
Getting back to N.Laredo was a cinch, as the roads were fine, the traffic was relatively light and I made it a point to travel only during the daylight hours to attempt to steer-clear of any of the 'problems' that everyone hears about on the border. Actually, the military had occasional checkpoints (2 total in each direction) and they seemed to have done a good job in keeping the likelihood of any such activities a very low risk. At one of them I was asked to vacate my vehicle while the officer on duty checked my the old Discovery for any "pistolas", of which I definitely had none and little else but some luggage so it was a quick one.
They were quite well-mannered and further, quite well-tempered as, while it had to be something of a dangerous job, they still are happy to converse with you as the inspection is being done. I was chatting with a trooper about his FN-FAL, which stands for Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) - Fusil Automatique Léger ("Light Automatic Rifle") and he proudly showed me the smoothness of the magazine loading and the breach action. It was Belgian made, which one of the best on the planet, and he was happy it had been issued to him. I was in agreement, it was a fine a work of craftsmanship.
Okay, I agree, enough geeking-out on ordinance - apologies, it's a weakness, but look at the lines on these....!Anyway, all the while, one must remember that there is a heavy weapon pointed in your general direction. While it protects you from 'bad guys' one also is cognizant that any sudden movements are ill-advised and keeping a minimum distance from the soldiers with hands held at one's sides is probably the best method of self-preservation. Talking with your hands gesturing - bad idea.
Believe it or not, it is not a feeling of fear, just overall caution along with tempering of behavior and tone, if that makes any sense. In a way it was much like being back in the service, where proper decorum is paramount on occasion; follow the rules and you'll be both protected and on your way soon. While it's not my preferred state of existence it certainly beats the snot out of the other local armed groups who do not have my best interests at heart.Thrown out of my host country, kinda...
So I get to the Mexican Immigration facility at N. Laredo and go through the line of vehicles to turn-in my old registration, which is set up nicely as a drive through service, and get my all-important receipt. Btw, the attendant does not remove it for you but rather he will simply ask for it. Removing it was my problem, which after six months in the sun could prove difficult 'by fingernail', etc. Luckily, (for some reason) I had an old razor blade in my center console, so removing it took me far less time than most of the other soon-to-be repatriated Americanos. A streak of luck that would be short-lived, unfortunately.
One of the requirements to have one's registration authorized, obviously, was to have a valid & approved immigration document. Meandering to their window I presented my prior documents from when I first arrived six months prior, along with my most recent one granted in Mexico City. He questioned my comings and goings and quickly decided that I had been in Mexico far too much to be a tourist and that I needed to spend at least a week back in my own country.
A bit taken aback, I asked what I had done wrong and he insisted that I get an FM3 authorization, which is for long-term visitors who are either employed and working in Mexico, or retired and living there. I know that this is a costly and somewhat complicated process, so it was not good news to me, however I nodded and agreed to look into it at the Mexican Consulate in San Antonio. Waving his hand, he instructed me to go and get one and I was out of there before they could decide I needed something else on top of what I considered to be an already difficult task!
I was happy to spend the next few days in San Antonio, as it was the home of a good friend of mine from back in my Pensacola days and it would give me time to recharge and let my knee heal up from the long drive. Btw, my cruise control was completely inoperative, so I had to stay on the gas pedal for the duration of that leg; not fun on my old joints and it left me walking like a little old man for much of the time up there. Of course, that proved to be the biggest priority during my visit there, which the local Land Rover dealership obliged and corrected in just a couple of hours, (once the part arrived from UK on the following Monday - yikes!). What a professional crew that was; I would hope to at least just stop in and say hello to them some time.
Shopping like it's friggin' Christmas
With list in-hand from my good friends down south, that weekend I commenced to hit Wal Mart, Macy's, Dillard's, Guitar Center, and every great BBQ joint I could find. My favorite was a TX chain called Randy's - we ordered a sampling that included every thing on the menu, which the cooks were quite happy to accommodate, as they absolutely couldn't imagine living for several months without not having a good BBQ! lol Also, there were several great movie houses in town, which I was able to not only see the ones that I had missed down in Qro, but they even had them in IMAX 3D, which was completely worth the wait and I highly recommend it if you haven't experienced it yet. I definitely was living the Texas life that weekend, which was like everything else in Texas - BIG. It was a nice mini vacation that actually included some work, as the Starbucks were plentiful and the WiFi was too.
After the 'Disco' was repaired, I pointed it SE on the 37 and was in Corpus Christi in just a couple of hours. It's a nice town with a scenic shorefront along Corpus Christi Bay that basically starts from downtown and, looking at the map, could be driven all of the way to the Naval Air Station. After over 30 mins south along with stopping at one of the many parks, as the sun began to set, I eventually chickened-out and headed back west to catch the 77 south to Brownsville. Along the way, however, I got lucky and stumbled onto the main drag through the south end of town, the 358, and found a nice coffeeshop (inside a B&N Bookstore) to do some final checks on the route, flirt with some ladies in English for a change, and also get a good map of Mexico, which I had been in serious need of. Charging out of there an hour later, I headed to Brownsville and rolled into a hotel at 1 am that evening, about a three hour drive.
The following morning I was running behind schedule, as usual, so I had to forgo a quick trip out the the coast to San Padre Island. According to those whom I had spoken with knowledgeable of the area, I had missed a chance to see a beautiful little resort town on the sea. If you are in this part of the state, be sure to not make the same mistake; based on what was to come, surprisingly, it was my last chance to experience a great part of the Gulf of Mexico for a very long distance while heading southward.
A Great Many Surprises Awaited Me
At the border crossing from Brownsville, at Heroica Matamoros, I had no idea what to expect but was certainly prepared for the worst. Armed with a 'last meal' from the Wendy's about 1/2 mile north of the crossing (I've never found a Wendy's in Mexico, unfortunately), I proceeded across the bridge and was directed to the immigration facility immediately afterward. Finishing-up my Barq's root beer (again, not found in Mexico, unfortunately) I steeled myself for the expected onslaught to come and walked into the office.
What I was greeted with, however, was a huge, genuine smile and a wonderfully helpful Immigration agent who made the experience not only easy, but also a pleasure. 30 Minutes later, after I had completed everything needed, including getting my new vehicle registration, I found myself in a terrific mood and strolled to the waiting LR, which unlike the facility at N.Laredo, is parked in a covered area so it was easy to adhere the new decal.
I was good-to-go and headed south big time, but I had a very long distance to get to Tampico, which was my next stop.
