This is what road trips are all about. Photo courtesy of Two Feet and Classy
So, after a quick tourist pit stop in New Orleans, Thursday, we hunkered down for another cold and rainy night at a primitive campsite in the middle of nowhere, Louisiana. And on day four we headed to Texas, our last state before crossing into Mexico. Whoohoo! We were just within reach, and a few more days of travel. The excitement was beginning to build! Since we were already a day behind schedule, and with rumors of a possible surf opportunity, we decided to land at Surfside Beach, Texas. But, the surf had a mind of its own and we pushed on to Padre Island instead. We found a great campground on Malaquite Beach and spent Friday night enjoying the sound of the waves as background music.
This is certainly an important part of travel. Photo courtesy of Two Feet and Classy
We woke to the excitement of Saturday, our last day in the states. We spent the morning cleaning and reorganizing our vans so when it was time, we’d be ready to relocate the boards inside during our trek across Mexico (rather than on top on the surf racks). We had a few errands to run and some last minute preparations, and then we were headed to Laredo for the night. We’d unanimously selected pizza as our last gringo meal. We checked out of the camp site and headed into Corpus Christi to wrap things up before pushing west. And then came the news. The papers we needed for our canine travel companion had not arrived. The weather on the east coast had stopped us in our tracks. Our border crossing originally planned for Saturday, that had turned into Sunday during our first few days would now have to wait until Tuesday. TUESDAY?! Tuesday was when we thought we’d be arriving at our destination! Tuesday? I wanted to surf on Tuesday!
Saturday’s mail mishap meant hanging out until Monday for another chance at delivery. So, we moped around town, did laundry, got an oil change and picked up supplies before returning to our previous paradise on Padre Island. A good campsite dinner, a mean game of Uno, and some serious s’more action had us all in better spirits by the night’s end.
Sunday funday turned out to be just what we all needed. A day to relax and rejuvenate in the warm sun the day offered. Seventy one degrees, white sandy beaches, a hammock, a trip into town to watch the Broncos win, and now the only thing we were missing was surfable waves.
On Monday we were thrilled to pick up the papers and head to Laredo. And as previously planned we stuffed our faces with great pizza! We camped that night at Casablanca Campground on the lake and set our alarms for 5am.
It’s always a good idea to get prepped before you cross the border. Photo courtesy of Two Feet and Classy
Early to rise, pack up and put the boards in the car, we filled up and headed for the border, where they waved Chris and Cat through, probably because they got one look at Roxy (have I mentioned she’s a pitbull?). Patrick and I were chosen to stop so they could have a closer look. It was pretty uneventful seeing as the van was jam packed from front to back and top to bottom! They opened the doors, glimpsed what they could with a flashlight and sent us on our way as quickly as they had stopped us.
Now we needed to find the immigration office. Only its location was not really apparent. And neither is the fact that you are required to stop by the office to complete the entry process. Having traveled internationally by plane, where the entry process is pretty straight forward and clear to visitors, we found driving across this international border a bit mysterious. The process seemed to be a well kept secret. No one at the border gave us instructions on what to do next. No one even asked for our passports. They just shined a light in our car for a moment and that was that. Thank goodness we’d done our homework and knew that we had to make our way to immigration.
By the time we discovered where it was, we were 10 miles outside of crazy town. Should we just keep going? Do we have to turn around? Will there be another one? When an opportunity presented itself we decided to pull over and ask someone who looked official. This was our first opportunity to practice our Spanglish and, wow, I was glad the man’s English was better than my Spanish! He directed us back to immigration and told us if we kept pushing ahead they would turn us around at the first check point and send us back.
So, we turned ourselves around and found the immigration office, got our passports stamped, and paid for our tourist visa’s. Now it was official, we can stay in Mexico for up to 180 days! Here’s to hoping we can stretch our money that far and extend our trip.
With the border quickly disappearing in the rear-view mirror we headed for Matehuala. The drive was beautiful, filled with Joshua Trees and mountains. During one of our stops for gas, we made our way to a food stand. A couple of tortes and some amazing tacos had us already in love with Mexico. We made it to our first stop at Las Palmas Midway Inn in Matehuala with an hour of daylight to spare. A dip in the pool, and a hot shower was the perfect way to end a fantastic start to our journey across Mexico.
We are exactly one week into our trip and a day and half from our destination. Here’s what we’ve learned so far:
1. Major road trips and travel excursions require flexibility and patience. And a sense of humor is absolutely a requirement.
2. A day of rest is not a bad thing! Take it slow.
3. Warm sun in good for the soul.
4. Mexico is a different country! Federales ride around in the beds of trucks to police the streets carrying M-16’s. Embrace the madness: people run across highways; people in wheelchairs roll out in front of your car to get your attention (and a handout).
5. The rules of the road are different here… There are no rules! And sometimes there are no lanes, it’s just a matter of how many cars can fit, or who has got the bigger cajones.
6. Paying the extra money to drive on the Cuota’s (toll roads) is worth it.
See you in Playa la Saladita! Hopefully with a video to share and some great waves.
If you missed the first chapters of the Two Feet and Classy story, get caught up here!
