We've been able to move much quicker on the mainland thanks to the toll road. We probably spent $50 on tolls the first day, but saved 2-3 hours by doing so. Much faster and better condition than Baja, but I would have opted for the free route if we weren't in a hurry. Not because it's faster, but because the toll roads skip everything, like an interstate in the US.

We found a street named Alaska. Had to take a picture.












While Stopped to take a picture of a streetsign, we noticed a taco stand and got lunch. While eating lunch, I noticed a key making stand. I needed a spare key so I tried to talk to the kid working it. Neither one of us could understand each other and we eventually decided he didn't have a blank that would match the Donkey. While failing to get a key made, I noticed a cool little sculpture and took another picture.









Our first day on the mainland we left Mazatlan, passed thru a couple Policia and Militaria checkpoints and made our way to Tequila! They have a town called Tequila! How cool is that? We actually stayed in a town called Etzatlan, a little south of Tequila. They were having some sort of festival, with lots of fireworks. It was pretty neat, we wandered around and watched some dancers, and also got to see lots of street vendors. To dark for decent pictures but I did get a one of the church.


It's sunday morning now, and we're within striking distance of Guanauato.

Leap and the net will appear...

A quote from a fellow traveler, the Dangerz. http://www.thedangerz.com  I felt it particular fitting for the past two days. As I mentioned in my last entry, we were faced with being in Mexico Illegally based upon what migracion and some semi-permanant residents (fellow americans) said. The US embassy wasn't helpful at all, and Migracion simply laughed at us. Faced with an impending deadline we tried to book tickets back to Tijuana to repair our mistake, halfway through the process online it timed out and the tickets dissapeared. Eddie called to attempt making reservations over the phone and was told he couldn't make reservations less than 6 hours prior to the flight. Huh. Theres less than an hour before the next flight (only tw o per day, unless you want to route through Mexico city, adding 14 hours to your travel time and an additional $400 each) so we ask the campground own er if we can leave our vehicles with her for a day. Sure. A fellow american wintering down here gives us a ride to the airport, we're winging it!

Whoops!

It seems that tourists permits are no longer available in La Paz. The border checkpoint at Guerro Negro told us they no longer issue them, and we needed to go back to the international border or on to La Paz to get one. Migracion (INM) in La Paz said we have to return to Tijuana to get them. What? Thats ridiculous. We're here trying to do the right thing and you won't let us? We better get out of Migracion before they arrest and deport us!

Sigh.  I'm writting this on my phone, onboard a flight to Tijuana. In the morning we plan on somehow getting valid papers and jumping on a return flight to La Paz.

On a brighter note,

 We left Rancho Santga Inez early and stopped at the first restaurant we saw. Abierto (open) 24 hours was apparently the name as that was the only markings I noticed out side, aside from the mandatory Tecate sign which indicates the presence of beer, and presumably food. We all had a good breakfast of huevos and chorizo with beans and tortillas.

No Caption Necessary.

No Caption Necessary.










We broke camp early and were on the road about the same time the sun was peeking over the mountains to our East. Just north of Ensenada we encountered our first Militaria Checkpoint. From everything I've read this should be uneventful, but we were nervous nonetheless. I stopped at a Mexican with a M16 and said 'Hola'. He replied 'Buenas Dias blah babbledy bla bla'. I gave my standard reply, 'no habla espanol'. He copied my reply back to me, nodded and walked to the back of the van. He returned momentarily and said 'adios'. We smiled, threw out a 'Gracias' and pulled out. Easy.

12-1-12, twenty days until the end.

Crossed into Mexico today at Tijuana, was extremely uneventful. The Mexican Border Guard wanted to see the Donkey's engine (to confirm it wasn't powered by enslaved mexicans, I assume) so I unpacked the cargo area and showed her. She was surprised that it was in the back, and a little confused until I showed her. We still have quite a bit of stuff living back there so it was a bit of a chore. After checking a few other areas for enslaved mexicans (our fridge and a footlocker in the back) she seemed satisfied and let us go. We happily motored out of the border area and were instantly deposited into TJ. It was so effortless, in fact, that we failed to get our tourist visas. Apparently we were standing right next to where we needed to get them, but couldn't figure it out due to our Norte Americanoism. I made that up. We're currently working on the assumption that playing dumb might keep us out of trouble until we can get the correct paperwork.

more miles

We had some things we wanted to get done before mexico so we put the hammer down and got to our timeshare in San Diego. Eddies Rover was dropped off at National Spring to have the springs beefed up. We bought some bits to get CB's running in both our rigs and some other odds and ends. I'm getting some Mud Terrain tires put on today, should give the Donkey a little attitude!

I'm having some trouble activating my Telcel sim card, hopefully I can sort that out before crossing into Mexico, otherwise I'll be stuck with just wifi hotspots for comunication.