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Mexico. Si!
We watched the morning sky in Presidio from outside the motel and
commented on the colors. I used to see the same colors in paintings in the
Best Western Motels as a kid. They appeared to be cheesy cowboy art. Now I
know that the artists were just painting what they saw. The colors in the
morning sky were not real. |
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We cross the border and it's time to do paperwork. This
couldn't be easier. First we get the tourist visa since we'll be in longer
than 72 hours and past the border zone. This costs us 205 pesos which must
be paid at a bank rather than at the border. We'll do that when we
exchange money.
Next we get our vehicle permits which guarantees that we won't leave
the vehicle in Mexico. When you leave the country these permits must be
turned in. This permit must be paid with a credit card and the cost was
about $22.00 which included a $1.00 copying fee. Forrest almost doesn't
get his paperwork since the clerk neglects to give it to him. This is a
scary trend we will begin to notice. A lot of the people in this position
are not very competent and only know how to do one specific task. The
motorcycles confused this clerk. |
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We asked about leaving the country and were told that we
could show our vehicle papers at the border and we would be done. Remember
that. About 20 miles from the Ojinaga border crossing we showed our
vehicle permits at a checkpoint and we were official. |
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If you have the opportunity to drive the road
from Ojinaga to Chihuahua City you must do it. Viewing the mountain
valleys and sweeping vistas makes a man want to wax poetic or at least wax
something. One valley was no more than 1 mile wide with huge peaks
surrounding it. Religious statues and shrines were everywhere. Some of
them had recently lit candles inside. |
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We went through our first Federali checkpoint. Understanding
was at a premium. He didn't speak a word of English and my knowledge of
Spanish was modest at most. His big rifle did send a clear message. We
muddled through. These folks are very tolerant and polite. He asked me
about Forrest who was next in line. I meant to say he was Mi Amigo (my
friend). What came out was Mi Hombre (my man), at which the soldier's eyes
got huge and he broke out laughing. I immediately said, "No, no,
no." Forrest didn't know what was going on and had a confused smile
on his face. I've never seen a Federali laugh or even smile before.
Clearly this broke the ice and we were through the checkpoint. |
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Chihuahua City has about half a million
inhabitants and looks somewhat nice from the north. Driving through the
city reminds you of where you are. Every stop light is like the beginning
of a Gran Prix Race. Drive aggressively or die. We are sitting on one side
of the light in 4 lanes of traffic. Lane is a very loose term. On the
other side of the light are two lanes. We have the power to weight ratio,
but we don't have the timing.
We find a bank and exchange money. We also pay the 205 peso charge for
our tourist visa. Most banks we find have guarded parking. |
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Leaving town we are not impressed with tiny shop after shop
selling worthless trinkets. Every other shop seems to be a mini 7-11 with
a few sodas and snacks. Mopeds are everywhere. Dominos had a fleet of
them. Thirty minutes or less wouldn't be a concern the way these guys
drive. We even saw a BMW K1200LT go by and he blew his horn. As if
receiving a gift from above, a police officer offered to lead us out of
town. Cool. |
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We happen across the toll road to the west. In reality we
found it on the GPS with the world map CD loaded. The roads don't match up
perfectly with your actual position, but it sure helped having the GPS.
Things were going well, except for the wind straight out of Dante's
Inferno. I decide we need a "short cut" and head to San
Francisco de Borja. The map showed the road went through to Creel. Silly
map. Stupid gringo.
In San Fran the local constable couldn't take a couple of seconds away
from his Reader's Digest to be civil or, heaven forbid, helpful. That's
ok, in a couple of weeks I'll be sitting in Florida and he'll still be
here. Left on our own we still couldn't find the road, even with the GPS
and Forrest's nice set of maps. The road we were on appeared to be a
farmer's driveway and it's time to turn around, swallow my pride, and head
back up the same road we came down. On the positive side the road was a
great road. |
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With a small crimp in our schedule, whatever that is, we get
back on the toll road. The cost is about $13 US and takes us to Cuauhtemoc
for the night. Without thinking about it we were at 6,700 ft. No wonder it
is so cold and why there are so many apple trees in the Chihuahua desert. |
