newmaya

Heavy clouds linger over Tepic and we are finally on our way! Guadelajara a next!

Some fishing going on out there. It’s so lush and beautiful and you can tell by the salt air that the Pacific is close.

Something about taking dip early in the morning.

We just had the best ceviche and Brad got a data point.

We’ve hit the Pacific.

Yep this is where your Priuses are made in Mexico.

First big town in our 11 hour trip to Mazatlan.

“I’ve spent more time in a McDonald’s drive-thru than at the Mexican border,” Brad said minutes after we crossed the Nogales border today around noon. It took about five minutes to get past the speed bumps in the bat mobile.

This experience has not been the case earlier in my life when I crossed the border through Juarez and Tijuana, so this time I decided that no matter what I would document it until someone told me to shut the cameras off. That’s exactly what I did and no one said a thing. So here’s what the Nogales border crossing can be like. I imagine if you packed your truck 20′ high with wooden crates it might be different- but for us, it was a breeze. You want fries with that?

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“He pasado más tiempo en el drive-thru de McDonald’s que en la frontera con México,” dijo Brad minutos después de que cruzó la frontera de Nogales a día de hoy alrededor del mediodía. Tomó cerca de cinco minutos para pasar.

Esta experiencia no ha sido mi caso con las veces que he cruzado a través de Juárez y Tijuana, sólo que esta vez decide que era importante documentar la pasada hasta que alguien me regañara por usar mi cámara. Así que eso es exactamente lo que hice y nadie dijo nada.

Para cualquier persona interesada, esto es lo que la frontera de Nogales cruce puede ser. Imagino que si complica cuando su camión esta cargado con cajas de madera aproximadamente 20 pies de alto, puede ser diferente, pero para nosotros, fue una brisa.

You’re looking at the car permit “office” located near the border in Nogales, MX. We basically walked back and forth between this concession stand looking area and another office that looked like it was built inside of a construction site trailer, for a good 1.5 hours. We had to speak at length to no less than 4 different state employed drones just to buy a little windshield sticker that says “we paid $40 to drive thru Mexico.” Anyway, Kara said this was all good training for future Latin American bureaucratic experiences. What a great attitude!

We got the CB radio rolling and started talking to our trucker friends from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, all headed East on highway 10. We got some great road tips, including the best place to eat in Blythe. Casa Maria got big props and so we stopped and had some not so fresh fish tacos and a potato soup with cheese (hmm, Mexican?).

All the truckers unanimously agreed we should drive to Brownsville, Texas – drive through all of Texas, no thank you – and cross at that border. From their perspective it makes sense: free US roads, a straight shot across the desert, good rest stops and all their friends on the freeway, hell, why not. It’s tempting, but we’re headed West towards the water and then back in. We have a little time and some toll roads to help us with the extra leg of distance. I imagine those toll roads will easily cost us $200 USD. Pero lo bueno, bonito y barato no todo el tiempo es bueno y barato. Next stop: Tucson!

On the way to Tucson and saw this Big Mama along the side of the road. That and the ostrich farm.

Our friends’ showed off their new flag given to them by their neighbors.

Brad passed out after a long day of driving.

Drove into the ever growing mass of Phoenix. Now we’re sitting here looking at these cacti across from our friend’s house.

Kara graciously poses at the rest stop, about 100 miles outside of Phoenix. It’s really hot in the desert- quick lets get back to the AC in the car!

We are surrounded on both sides by these right now as we head into Phoenix.