December 2nd – 8th

border crossing

We crossed into Mexico at the Columbia Bridge, asking around, it was the recommended point for being safe and efficient. Arriving just after it opening, at 8:15 a.m. we were met by a friendly officer who directed us to park, then requested to climb aboard to inspect the camper, checking every cupboard. Once satisfied we weren’t smuggling contraband, we proceeded to immigration. The process was simple: fill in the form, pay the visa fee and get a six-month visa stamped in our passports.

Back at the truck, another officer requested our vehicle import papers, the TIP ( temporary import permit), in Mexico it’s the Banjercito. Fortunately, we already had a TIP, we were issued a 10-year from a previous trip, valid until 2029. While the windshield sticker sufficed, he also asked for the official certificate. That’s when I realized… I’d accidentally left it at home — along with the truck manual. Oops.

Hoping to avoid future complications, I visited the office to request a copy. Despite my limited Spanish, the staff kindly said that all they could offer was a printed record proving we had a valid TIP. The original embossed document wasn’t available, but the copy would suffice. Tim wasn’t thrilled about the oversight, will spare you those details. The original certificate was a one off, on fancy paper, with holograms and embossed stamps. Fingers crossed shipping agents will accept this.

We took the new highway south toward Monterrey—a smooth, four-lane road with light traffic, aside from heavily armed military patrols. Progress was easy across the flat terrain, and we reached Matehuala just before dark. It was a long day covering just over 600 km! Opting to camp at Las Palmas RV Camp for what we thought was a pricey 381pesos ($26 CAD) for the night. Parking around back, away from the road noise we pulled in level, perfect after the long drive not having to get out and level out the truck. Bathrooms were typical of Mexico, cold water showers with flushing toilets, have to remember not to put paper down the bowl.

We were greeted almost instantly by other travellers, introduced and invited to dinner. Aaron and Olwyn, a retired couple from Halifax, were touring in their Navion motorhome. Philipp, Manuela a Swiss-German family with their two young daughters—were exploring in a very cool, camperized Land Rover. Dinner was delicious, and not having to cook was even better. Lacking pesos, we paid by Visa, our new friends paid with cash giving us some pesos till we got to a bank.

Tamasopo

Ahead of schedule, we decided to join Philipp & Manuela for a few days down in Tamasopo. A four hour drive over the mountains to a tropical stretch of land known for extensive sugar cane plantations and beautiful rivers. Our previous visit there was rainy and humid, but this time, the climate was very comfortable, still with humidity, but not the dripping level.

The campground was on a large, flat, treeless lawn beside a cascading river surrounded by lush tropical forest. Birds like grackles, parrots, and others we couldn’t identify filled the air. Nacho, the cheerful manager, charged 70 pesos per person per night—about $60 CAD total for three nights. Showers were an outdoor block with individual stalls, the water was cold & came out spraying in every direction. Toilets were clean and small, when seated the door touched my knees. I wonder if the mens were the same?

There were other travellers there: Boris and Tanja in a Mercedes truck similar to ours, a Swiss couple in a smaller Mercedes camper, and a group from Quebec driving motorhomes that pull along a car. Boris & Tim chatted about Bruce’s air leak, suspecting the rear brake canister assembly is in need of replacing. Its better done here before venturing any further South…

Time to chillax, no driving for three days, just what we needed. We explored the area and swam in the river. Tim & Jax kicked the ball, Charley spent a couple of hours on the piano, working out a new song. Yes, we have a full size, weighted key, foldable keyboard onboard. An amount of school work was completed, though, not nearly enough.

It’s humid here, but thankfully not stinking hot, just the perfect shorts & t-shirt weather.  We still haven’t been to a bank and are very light on food.  So tonight we are going to eat out at a local restaurant.  Walking into town there wasn’t much open, our choices are limited.  The place we did eat at had very nice food, with a cross border price tag.  All said and done dinner was $115 CAD!  Cleaning us out of remaining pesos, the owner was kind enough to drive us all back to the campground.  He explained that, like in Canada, the cost of living had increased significantly.  That tourism is now half of what it was before Covid and that many people are struggling financially.  

Relaxing as it was, practical concerns weighed on our minds, after much discussion we have decided to cancel our scheduled shipping out of Veracruz and instead head to San Miguel de Allende and sort out the truck. A German mechanic, Matthias, lives there and specializes in HD Mercedes vehicles. We’d met him four years ago when he did some work for us on Bruce. Kids are bummed our plans have changed, they were excited to be spending Christmas with another family from Whistler who are down in Panama. The next ship to Colombia isn’t till the end of January, this means we will now drive down through Central America and ship from Panama. The only down side is that we will have less time in South America.

the drive

It was a late start, by the time we said our farewells and found an ATM machine in the village it was noon. With a full day drive ahead, we started the climb up into the clouds, leaving the lush green valley in our rearview mirrors. Long and slow, we took a toll road for the first section, then back on the free roads. Driving the toll roads, the lanes are a couple of inches wider in places where possible there is a shoulder. Traffic is heavier, many trucks with trailers. Everyone ignores the centre yellow line, passing on every corner and hill. It’s white knuckle driving. Inevitably, we passed a serious accident involving multiple vehicles, resulting in a truck that had gone off the road, down a steep embankment. The driver may have survived, with serious injuries IF they were wearing a seatbelt.

The free roads aren’t much worse, no shoulder, fewer trucks, but more corners and a little less pressure, kind of. Forced to brake our rule of not driving after dark, we did. It’s just not safe to drive at night, the possibility of hitting an animal is high and vehicles don’t always have lights.  The last hour was in the dark, but it was a highway.   We made it to an iOverlander recommended gas station.  Nothing nice about it, dusty, noisy, un-level and busy.  But once inside, our tiny home is all we need.  Tortillas with chicken, tomatoes, cheese & avocado for dinner, Sanders salted caramel chocolate for dessert.  Ear plugs for sleep that worked well till 3:30am when I woke till 5am.  We were both up at six, left the kids sleeping in the back as we drove the first hour.

Having made our decision to fix the truck, we now need food, water and a place to camp.  There is a Costco in Queretaro with a large supermarket right next door.  In 3 hours we had spent $380 CAD. Enough food to last us a couple of weeks. Prices comparable to home.

water

In Mexico we get water from Purificadors. Most often, they are just self serve, coin operated machine where you fill your own container.  These are for the locals and are great, but then we have to transfer the water to the truck which is a heavy and time consuming process.  iOverlander directed us to a location where we could back the truck into the treatment plant and hook up the truck directly, with controlled pressure.  Fantastic, these locations aren’t found often.  Juan Carlos the owner, speaks English and welcomed us in.  We negotiated 2 pesos p/L down from his asking price of 3p p/L. He proudly gave us a tour, explaining the 12 step filteration process, including 5 step reverse osmosis.  He sells his bottled water, gave us each a small bottle to drink, delicious.  In return I gave him a good review on iOverlander, which he was most grateful for.  

We have noticed a big improvement in Mexico’s attitude to cleaning up the country. Frequently we see workers collecting bags of garbage, likely tossed from the car window, it’s nice to see towns are also taking pride.

With food, water and diesel on board we set off to San Ramon RV park locate just North of town….