12NOV08 Re-entry......
After a nice meal of shish-ka-bob on rice and frijoles, I retired to my room to listen to Spanish TV and the sound of 18-wheelers roaring northbound. One small veniette I forgot at the beginning of this trip:
The morning clerk at La Hacienda, as I was checking out, told me to be careful in Mexico. Having been repeatedly warned of the dangers of kidnapping, drug cartels, police on the take, etc, I launched into my "going across the border as quickly as I can, heading away from danger.." yadda yadda speech.
She said, "no, I mean watch out for the truckers. It's dangerous on a moto"
All she was trying to to was to tell a motorcyclist to be careful of big trucks. Again, this just put the trip back into perspective - first things first: drive carefully!
As promised, I waited only until dawn was blushing to the east and I could see hazards on the road before heading to my buddies who were, at that moment, sleeping in a Nissan pick-up in a parking lot in Laredo. I was further south than I had thought, so it was almost an hour before another 30$usd in toll and then the city traffic of Nuevo Laredo towards the vehicle immigration depot.
I had notice on the way in that the departure or cancellation booth stood alone in the parking lot, and did not require lining up for paperwork (or questions). A quick swing through the lot allowed the scanner (!!! pretty high tech stuff) to check my tag, the operator to check vin and pull said tag (most of it, anyway. Seems some always stays on the windshield as a badge of honor) and viacondios I was on my way to the bridge.
This morning I was IN traffic over the bridge between countries, and it was rush hour. Fortunately I noticed that bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles all seemed to take free advantage of their size to filter through sidewalks, blocked lanes, etc (even to the point of passing between the Federales and their armored car and the barricade) to rejoin the line when a slow accelerating car provided room. No one seemed to mind, so I did like the Romans. Not the Greeks.
Citizenship? US!
Whatcha doing in Mexico? Trying to get out!
PASS! Welcome Home!
and another 3$usd.
Sure enough, there were James and Jeff, all set to load the bike in the back and be off. I'd say they looked no worse for wear, but then, they always have a worn look about them.
After a short demonstration of spontaneous engineering (no ramp) we strapped the bike down and headed north for 7 hours.
Thanks again, guys.
The morning clerk at La Hacienda, as I was checking out, told me to be careful in Mexico. Having been repeatedly warned of the dangers of kidnapping, drug cartels, police on the take, etc, I launched into my "going across the border as quickly as I can, heading away from danger.." yadda yadda speech.
She said, "no, I mean watch out for the truckers. It's dangerous on a moto"
All she was trying to to was to tell a motorcyclist to be careful of big trucks. Again, this just put the trip back into perspective - first things first: drive carefully!
As promised, I waited only until dawn was blushing to the east and I could see hazards on the road before heading to my buddies who were, at that moment, sleeping in a Nissan pick-up in a parking lot in Laredo. I was further south than I had thought, so it was almost an hour before another 30$usd in toll and then the city traffic of Nuevo Laredo towards the vehicle immigration depot.
I had notice on the way in that the departure or cancellation booth stood alone in the parking lot, and did not require lining up for paperwork (or questions). A quick swing through the lot allowed the scanner (!!! pretty high tech stuff) to check my tag, the operator to check vin and pull said tag (most of it, anyway. Seems some always stays on the windshield as a badge of honor) and viacondios I was on my way to the bridge.
This morning I was IN traffic over the bridge between countries, and it was rush hour. Fortunately I noticed that bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles all seemed to take free advantage of their size to filter through sidewalks, blocked lanes, etc (even to the point of passing between the Federales and their armored car and the barricade) to rejoin the line when a slow accelerating car provided room. No one seemed to mind, so I did like the Romans. Not the Greeks.
Citizenship? US!
Whatcha doing in Mexico? Trying to get out!
PASS! Welcome Home!
and another 3$usd.
Sure enough, there were James and Jeff, all set to load the bike in the back and be off. I'd say they looked no worse for wear, but then, they always have a worn look about them.
After a short demonstration of spontaneous engineering (no ramp) we strapped the bike down and headed north for 7 hours.
Thanks again, guys.
posted by Randy Masters at 5:37 AM
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