Donn’s son and daughter-in-law (Geovana) left for Australia on Sunday evening, leaving us to get ready for an early departure the next day. Goodbyes and hugs taken care of, off we went at about 7:00am. Donn had bought Mexican insurance the day before, so we had all the paper-work we would need to get into Mexico….barring an unforeseen episode at the border inspection.
Our 1st day route took us through Ventura, Fillmore, San Fernando on through the Inland Empire of LA. Temperature rising…….
The Coachella Valley is scattered with Windmills,
Golf Courses and Desert Cities stretched along Route 111. The number of the Route happened to match the temperature we experienced on our first day.
We stayed on the Arizona border in Blythe, CA. Having mostly junk food places…we decided to eat in our room….gourmet ham and turkey sandwiches with Fritos on the side. Yum.
Getting a super-early start Tuesday morning turned out to be the choice of the trip. The Arizona desert is very beautiful in this part of the state; filled with Suaharo, Cholla, Palo Verde, Ocotillo, Acacia and Mezquite.
We arrived in Nogales around 1:30pm, filled up with gas on the American side, took a deep breath and crossed into Mexico. Two young Mexican customs agents pulled us over and gave us the third degree: What’s that?, How much did that cost?, Do you have any guns?, How many computers do you have?, Do you have proof that the printer is used?, Let’s see the invoice!. After much talking and back and forething we were allowed to leave. 20 miles further up the road, we stopped at the Aduana to get the car and tourist permits for Donn and Amaryliss. By 2:50, we were on our way. Donn has had anxiety about this crossing for months….all went well. We made a short 75 mile run to Santa Ana and stayed the night.
Knowing we had to make a long run on Wednesday, we got an early start (5:45am). Bypassing Hermosillo and not finding any place to eat in Obregon, we headed to Sinaloa. At the first tollbooth in Sinaloa, we were approached by the seedy looking character who professed to be an authority of some kind. Donn asked him for his ID. But he only insisted we pull over. This was not enough for Donn and we bolted…not looking back. A couple of tollbooths further up the road and after paying the toll, another officer stopped our car and asked for our papers. Donn told him the papers were in the back of the car. Because it was starting to rain,
the officer told us to go ahead. That was it for any further problems with “the law.”
Our destination for the evening was Tepic, the capital of the State of Nayarit; all the way through Sinaloa. The road got better the closer we got to Mazatlan. But that didn’t stop a trucker from falling asleep at the wheel and crashing hs truck into the center divider. Traffic came to a halt for about and hour and half. We finally got though and arrived in Tepic around 4:20. Somewhere north of Mázatlan, Amaryliss turned 300,000. We had to show our respect….so we stopped immediately and christened her with a bottle of water.
This time of year the State of Nayarit is filled with tropical fruit orchards.
Leaving Tepic on Friday morning, we only had 6.5 hours to San Miguel. But we forgot a couple of things: traffic control and road construction do not go hand in hand AND, sometime one should do their homework and do what Mapquest suggests. At a point west of Guadalajara we decided not to take the southern bypass and go straight though the city. “Bad idea!!!!” Bottom line: it took us at least 2 hours to get though the city.
We made it home by about 3:00.
Estela was waiting for us with dinner and salad. Our wonderful friends Hilda and Lissa also came by to prepare for their soap sale the next morning. Thanks to Estela, it took us a couple of hours to empty the car. The only thing left in the car is the printer body. Today, we will try to get it up the stairs and put it where it will ultimately stay.
Donn’s apartment is coming together. We’ve found a place for everything. Now the fun begins. Priority #1 is making Nora comfortable in her home away from home until her house down the street becomes available in October. Priority #2 is placing all the equipment and getting ready to make the books we plan on giving to campo schools.
This goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway….This has been a special trip. Every day was a great, different, exciting and beautiful experience. It’s impossible to describe the beauty of the landscape and the human industry we see while we are driving. Mexico is, indeed a beautiful country.
The next post will show our progress with SMA Olé. No more travelogs. Now it’s Down to Business.
Cheers and love to you all.
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