Pax Gaea Human Rights World Post

Brownsville, Texas to Tampico, Mexico

Greetings from the beach in Mexico! Weve finally crossed the border and are now once again on the Gulf of Mexico. I must confess I have been dreading crossing day just about more than anything. Its not because I havent looked forward to being here. I was dreading the nightmare scenario I had played out in my head dozens of times when I reached the border and customs made me unpack my way too top heavy load. We woke by 5:00 and were on the road by 6:50. We stopped long enough to tank up the Rover, load up on bottled water until we acclimatize ourselves to the local H2O and stock up on toilet paper as all savvy Mexico travelers say that toilet paper and bath towels are in short supply in rest stops and hotels.

We crossed the bridge spanning the Rio Grande at 7:45 and began the customs process. I pulled out extra clothes to change into after the inspection ordeal to come or so I thought. We parked at the immigration center and I entered to begin what I thought would be a lengthy visa process. The stern clerk was very kind to me in spite of my minimal Spanish. She gave me four short forms to fill out, one for each passport, signed and stamped our visas and sent me to the Paisano Veiculos department across the room. There, the lady perused my insurance, sent me for copies of my passport and title, took the money for the Visas and sent me on my way. I inquired about Rommels veterinary certification but they had absolutely no interest in it. So, I walked back to the car with my visas and vehicle registration information, climbed behind the wheel and drove to the next station where the vehicle inspection was to take place. The inspector asked what we were carrying, bid us a good day and waved us on. In less than a half-hour, we were done. We didnt anticipate such a smooth process and, as the banks didnt open for almost two more hours, we decided to head to Ciudad Victoria, about 200 miles inland, to get clear of the border and hunt down a bank to exchange our dollars for pesos.

Our first real challenge was getting through Matamoros. Like so many large cities, the roads wind to and fro and, unless youre a local, its easy to get lost, which I did about four times, taking road turns attempting to get to Mexico Carretera 101. Rain began to fall, making the roads wet, muddy and slippery but, in time, we emerged onto a grand boulevard lined with all the big box retailers, a clear indication we had emerged from the centro and arrived in the suburbs, to the road that would carry us south from Matamoros. The drive to Ciudad Victoria was breathtaking, carrying us first across flat farmland, then into rolling hills covered with chaparral and cactus. Horses, cattle and burros fed from the high grass that lined the sides of the road. As we began to climb, new valleys would open before us, reminding me much of Wyoming and Montana. The Sierra Madre Mountains began to spread before our eyes, stretching the entire length of the country and our destination tomorrow.

Driving in Mexico, I've discovered, is about taking speed limits as suggestions and always staying far to the right to allow cars to pass you. Much of the drive to Ciudad Victoria was on two lane highways with a small lane to the right dotted with a broken line that you are supposed to cross and ride to allow faster traffic to pass. The two-lane 101 was surprisingly smooth and well maintained better than the roads in Texas, I must confess. Now, getting around Ciudad Victoria was a bit of a challenge as we arrived during what appeared to be a noon rush hour.

Ciudad Victoria sprawls across a foothill valley for miles but life is concentrated in the downtown. After circling about 20 square blocks we broke down and parked in a paid lot and walked four blocks to a bank to exchange our currency. Pen and Abi stayed outside on the sidewalk with Rommel while Elea and I wended our way through the long line of customers. Thank Gaea people tolerate mischievous children and stupid Americans, because it is only through the kindness of the people we encountered that got us pointed in the right direction. We got back to the parking lot and paid our 8 pesos (about 80 cents) and hunted for a way to get to Tampico. I stopped into a Pemex gas station, the sole, state owned gas retailer, and decided to tank up for the drive to Tampico. More dumb gringo stuff as I discovered that Visa and American Express arent accepted for most gas purchases, so we dipped into our minimal cash resources and spent 500 pesos for 60 liters of gas. The attendant at the Pemex station seemed to enjoy walking me through the process, including the currency so I paid him the right amount. He pointed me in the right direction and we were off to Tampico.

Another peculiarity of driving in Mexico are these bone jarring speed bumps, some made of huge metal cannon ball type material, some just so big you cant help but scrape your underside. It does accomplish the goal though. Once you hit it hard, you never forget and approach each new speed bump very gingerly. We stopped off at an Oxxo, a convenience store chain that you find at many of the Pemex gas station, paid our 2 pesos each to use the bathroom, bought some hotdogs and chicken and wove our way through a myriad of small towns to Tampico. Signs along the side of the road boast the fact that 3500 kilometros of road is undergoing modernization, meaning roadwork is ever underway. We twisted and turned through a succession of foothills and hair-raising curves, through mountain valleys and finally to the urban sprawl that makes up Tampico.

Tampico is a resort town with gorgeous playas, or beaches. But getting to them and finding hotels was not as easy as one would imagine. After about an hour of wrong turns and long one ways streets and evening rush hour traffic, we finally made our way to Playa Miramar and began hunting for a hotel around 6 p.m. While we could find hotels, none, it would seem none welcome our charming perro, Rommel, so we searched and finally almost settled for a cheap, dirty bungalow with no air conditioning when a sign caught my eye. I made a right turn down a dirt road to a little neighborhood called Moreno where, secured behind a huge, locked gate, was the Hotel Miramar Inn. Having been flatly refused too many times, I reduced myself to groveling about our sweet, good-natured dog that will be virtually invisible if they would only please, please, please allow him in. Unlike most of Mexico, these folks also took plastic, which would save me a trip to the ATM to pull out a few thousand more pesos for one day.

The attendant who mans the gate directed me to a parking spot, appeared with a luggage cart, insisted on loading and carrying my oversized baggage van to the room, showed me how to work everything and actually demurred and initially refused my tip. He chattered on in Spanish at a rate way beyond my comprehension and I stroke my beard and replied si when it seemed appropriate. The girls were able to get in a swim in the pool complete with waterslide as I walked Rommel and tried to unwind with a Spanish soap opera on Televisa. We ordered room service with enchiladas, frijoles, quesadillas, pink strawberry and chocolate shakes and an armful of bottled waters with plans for a walk and a dip in the multi-hued green, bathtub warm Gulf of Mexico a block away before we get back on the road tomorrow after which we, hopefully, will locate an ATM and an internet café (both of which we saw in abundance during our rush-hour hotel search) so I can upload this and last night's post. Oh, and in contradiction to all those warnings about toilet papers and bath towels, this hotel had plenty of both.

We head into the mountains tomorrow with our destination of San Luis Potosi, the state capitol of the State by the same name. Im off to the showers before they cut the water off at midnight. Conservation, you know. Until tomorrow...ciao!

posted by Dave Carroll @ 8/10/2006 01:53:00 AM