Greetings from Puerto Vallarta,
Jon and I are thrilled to be home from our extended motorhome trip to the United States! After four months on the road, we confirmed that our hearts belong to Puerto Vallarta and La Peรฑita de Jaltemba, Nayarit. Now that we've lived full-time in Mexico for over nine years and have seen the changes north of the border, we are convinced we will remain here.
TURNED BACK TO THE U.S. AT THE NOGALES BORDER CROSSING❗❗ Here's What We Did
In Case You Missed My Last Blog Article, You Can See It Here
Moving to Mexico may seem like a drastic decision, but there
are many resources to ease the transition. One of the most popular books is The Move to Mexico Bible by Sonia Diaz and Beverley Wood. I finally took the plunge
and purchased the Kindle Edition to better answer questions about life here. I
find it to be very informative and well-written. Sonia Diaz is a relocation
consultant who helps facilitate the transition to life in Mexico. She has
offices in San Miguel de Allende, Puerto Vallarta, and Riviera Nayarit.
Please continue reading HERE.
What a frustrating and embarrassing experience trying to cross
into Mexico at the Nogales Mariposa truck route! We’ve crossed in Nogales
countless times without a problem, but not this time.
Day 1, October 24, 2024: First Attempt to Cross the Border into Mexico
We paid a toll to enter Mexico, and I thought all was well until a uniformed man soon waved us to the curb to wait. I was driving, so when the first Mexican border agent asked for my ID, I presented my Mexican driver’s license. He asked for the Tarjeta de Circulation card that shows my name and CURP number, Minnie Winnie’s VIN, and that the Casa Rodante (motorhome) had been legalized in Mexico. He studied them and walked away with both cards.
Over the next thirty or forty minutes, four Mexican
border agents came to the window separately, waving the cards and firmly stating that this
kind of vehicle was not legal to license in Mexico. We stood our ground, repeating that we
are Mexican permanent residents and that the motorhome had been legalized with
Mexican license plates for over a year before we drove it out of Mexico. We had
followed all the rules and had all the required legal documents. I repeated to each agent that it was legal for us to return to Mexico with it.
There was much head-shaking and refusal to let us continue. The main
guy used multiple excuses, including that the new Mexican president’s
administration had changed the rules. He insisted that we had to return to the
United States! The agents did not ask for or hint at wanting money, either as a
fine or a bribe. However, the principal agent still held my identification
cards as he told us decisively that we must return to the United States.
I shook my head and asked for my cards back. He held them in
the air and said he would give them to me after I turned the motorhome around
and was on my way to the U.S. To add insult to injury, we had to pay a second,
more expensive toll to enter the U.S. after we’d just paid the first toll to
enter Mexico.
Our goal was to get to our home in La Penita de Jaltemba,
Nayarit, MX, before the U.S. election and any chaos that might arise. Now, we
had to scramble to figure out how and where to cross into Mexico. How far east
were we willing to drive to try another border crossing?
This was a blessing in disguise. This forced us to avoid Highway 15D through Sonora and into the state of Sinaloa. Our new route would bypass
Culiacan, the city plagued with violence.
We drove 87 miles east to Bisbee, Arizona, a town we had
always enjoyed. The Queen Mine RV Park had one site available when we called on our way there, so we reserved
it. We planned to cross at Naco, AZ, after a nice dinner in
town and a good night’s sleep. But by morning, memories of a previous crossing in Naco with a long, frustrating inspection caused us to change our plan again.
Many people recommended crossing at Santa Teresa, NM. But we didn’t want to drive another 235 miles in the United States and then have to cross into Ciudad Juarez. We have never been to Ciudad Juarez and don’t intend to—that city has violence problems, too.
Day 2, October 25: Second Attempt to Cross into
Mexico
We wanted to get to Mexico as soon as possible. So, on October 25, we drove twenty-five miles to Douglas, AZ, and crossed into Agua Prieta, Sonora. The agents were very polite at the Agua Prieta crossing. One agent checked my Permanent Residency Visa and Tarjeta de Circulation card, then waved us forward for an inspection.
The border dog checked our rig inside and out (for money, guns, and ammunition, not drugs, as Sally Schnurr kindly pointed out to me). An X-ray truck scanned all sides of the motorhome. One agent checked our passports. We offered her a Coke, but she said she was not allowed to accept anything. She politely sent us on our way. We happily headed for Highway 2 east in Mexico.
Mexican Highway 2 follows the United States border parallel to the wall. Ever wonder what the wall between countries looks like from the Mexican side? It’s that ugly brown scar crawling through and over the hills. It is such a sad symbol of the division between people.
We weren't stopped at any checkpoints as we drove Highway 2 east to Highway 10. But most of Hwy 2 is in terrible shape with countless potholes and steep, curvy, narrow sections where the asphalt falls away to the valley below. We had to share the road with many semis and saw no RVs for a good reason—that dangerous road requires good driving skills and a rig with excellent tires and brakes! We wouldn’t take that road again. Of course, we don’t plan to drive back to the U.S. again. Ever.
We only made it 165 miles from Bisbee, AZ, to Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, on Hwy. 10 that day. Exhausted yet relieved to be in Mexico, we found a nice hotel, Hotel Trรฉbol Inn, with a walled back parking area, well before sunset. Jon rented a room, explaining to the young, puzzled desk clerk that we wanted to park in the back lot for the night but sleep in our motorhome. We paid 950 pesos ($47US) and did not get a room key—the security and quiet, away from highway noise, was worth it.
Day 4, 10-27-24: Ciudad
Camargo, Chihuahua to Palacio Gomez, Durango (Near Torreรณn, Coahuila)
We allowed ourselves a late start after showers, so we only drove 190 miles on Toll Highway 45D on Day 4. Once, in the state of Chihuahua, some unidentified black-shirted men motioned us to a stop. They had a white pickup with flashing red and
blue lights and generic markings on the doors. I only slowed the rig while Jon
raised his phone to video. The man covered his face with one hand and waved us
on with the other.
There was one official stop by police just before we crossed
from Chihuahua State into Durango State. As the officer approached the window, I stopped
the RV and rolled my window down a few inches. The officer asked for my driver’s
license. Jon questioned the kind of official he was, and the officer showed us
his ID badge. I presented my Mexican driver’s license, which he studied thoroughly.
Then he returned it to me and waved us on.
Not everything is glamorous while RV traveling in Mexico. That evening, we had trouble finding a hotel that didn't have a low archway over the driveway. We were grateful to pull into the Hotel La Hacienda parking lot in Palacio Gomez, Durango (near Torreรณn, Coahuila). We paid the hotel manager 200 pesos ($10US) to park with the trucks in their parking lot. It was walled, easy on and off to Hwy 40D in Durango, and quiet at night after the road noise settled. There was even a shade tree to set up our chairs and Sophie’s blanket for a glass of wine before eating leftovers for dinner.
Day 5, 10-28-24: The Durango Highway to Mazatlรกn
What a drive on the Durango highway to
Mazatlรกn! So challenging! It has been about ten years since we last drove it, soon after it was completed. We’d forgotten how beautiful those mountains
are. And what a masterpiece the highway it is, with so many tunnels and
bridges!
We are thankful for Minnie Winnie—for an onboard potty, a fridge/freezer that stocks enough leftovers for four to five days of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, and because she made that tough drive without a problem! Her new tires and brakes worked flawlessly.
We were tired after that difficult drive, stuck behind a truck for many miles and unable to safely pass. It was wonderful to arrive in Mazatlรกn before sunset. I’m grateful that Trailer Park Las Jaibas is still open and has a refreshing pool. We stayed for four nights to rest before driving home. It was a long but safe bypass around Culiacรกn, Sinoloa.
Day 6, 11-1-24: Mazatlรกn, Sinaloa
to La Peรฑita de Jaltemba, Nayarit
It’s worth noting that we take a longer but safer route from Mazatlรกn to La Peรฑita. We prefer to bypass the small town of Xalisco, Nayarit (near Tepic) and the old Highway 200. So we force Google Maps to go toward Jala to stay on the toll highways, 15D and the new 70D. The tolls seem expensive, but the cuota roads are much safer and faster, in our opinions. We drive slower than most people, taking it easy with our motorhome, but we made the 285-mile drive in about eight hours and arrived well before sunset. Happy and healthy.
Thank you for reading my blog article. I look forward to your
comments below. In my Healthy Living in Mexico books, I share our other travel
experiences and life as expats here. View my Amazon Author Page to see all eight of my books. I hope you enjoy them.
This is our first RV trip back to the United States since we
drove our Regency Class C motorhome to Arizona to sell it in early 2020. (You can read about that
trip at OUR LAST RV TRIP IN MรXICO AND WHY! New Travel Plans) Minnie Winnie is
making her first road trip from La Peรฑita de Jaltemba, Mexico to Oregon. As
with all adventures, some unexpected events in the U.S. slowed us down.
I was uneasy about crossing the border as Americans with Mexican Permanent Resident Visas driving an RV with Michoacan, MX plates. To make matters worse, we missed the Mariposa crossing exit and drove through the center of Nogales, MX, where RVs are forbidden. Fortunately, a trinket vendor told us to get in a dirt lane along the railroad tracks because RVs and buses won’t fit through the Nogales centro entries. We received a gentle scolding from the U.S. immigration officer for not crossing at the Mariposa truck crossing, but he was kind as he checked our passports and wished us better luck following Google Maps next time.๐
Our border crossing went smoothly, and we entered Arizona! A whole new kind of heat awaited us--blistering hot and bone dry.
We outran the Arizona heat and plowed through a dust storm near Buckeye, AZ—we didn’t stop in Arizona except to change drivers and grab a snack from the fridge.
It was my turn to drive through San Bernadino, California when the heat caused a massive front tire blowout. Jon said I handled the rig well, braking smoothly and pulling safely to the shoulder. We sat there only thirty minutes after calling for help when a roadside assistance guy arrived. Jon enjoyed helping the serviceman remove the wrecked tire and put on our spare, even in that scorching hot weather!
It was time to buy a complete set of new tires. We drove slowly to the closest Les Schwab Tire Center in Fontana, CA, and got five new tires (darn, they didn't have all 6). The guys were great, working until 8:00 to get us back on the road. They warned us that our brakes were in dangerously poor condition and needed to be replaced.
So, we drove slowly and carefully for hours after sunset to reach our reserved Santa Barbara campsite. It was good practice to downshift and use the Tow Haul rather than our brakes to slow our speed. We were glad to have missed rush-hour traffic.
I feel a special connection to Santa Barbara because it is Puerto Vallarta’s sister city. The palm trees, the Pacific Ocean, delicious fresh seafood, sunny weather, and beautiful beaches make us feel at home. The Sunrise RV Park was an excellent central jumping-off place for walks and Uber pickups.
How We Choose Our Camping Sites in July and August:
1. We wanted to be near the California and Oregon Coasts to avoid the heat and wildfire smoke typical in late summer. Our RV air conditioner can't keep the rig cool in temperatures over 82 degrees, so we're hugging the coast. (We'll be solving that later.)
2. Within walking distance of restaurants so we can get exercise and tour the area on the way to lunch or dinner. Or, we want access to bus, Uber, or taxi services to get around since we don't have a car.
3. I search for areas with views of blue water, such as the ocean, bay, lake, or river. This gives us a dose of Blue Mind (or Blue Water Effect, as I like to call it), a calming effect that improves mental health.
4. After our dash north through Mexico, I wanted campgrounds or RV parks that allowed us to stay for three to four days so our travel would be relaxing and unhurried.
Then, it was time to find the next Les Schwab to purchase our sixth tire and new brakes for all four wheels. Minnie Winnie will be ready for many more Mexican miles after replacing all four brakes and six tires at Les Schwab.
We were so glad to be able to have this work done while in the U.S., where they could obtain these parts. It was a big job, but they did it in one ten-hour day! Jon says we're rebuilding her from the ground up. ๐
Time to Get Back to the Coast of California!
