Day Four ... made it through the border. I had Rocky in tow, cage and all, he went through the whole process with me because it was too hot to leave him in the car and the ordeal went on for over an hour.
Despite my best efforts, we didn't get out of the hotel nearly early enough and it was still another hour to the border from the hotel so it was pushing noon by the time we parked at the place where I had to get my Temporary Import Permit for the car and the 30 day Visa to allow me time to activate my Residente Temporal Visa when I arrive in Chapala. There was a line coming out the door and only one dude helping people at the counter. No one was happy but I overheard a tall Gringo guy say that we all either wait our turn or go back home. Since he had a valid point, everyone settled right down to be patient.
After observing the situation, I ended up losing my place in line when I went back to the car to get Rocky. His cage sat on the floor next to my legs and I just scooted him along as the line moved. Little kids would squat down and talk to him and when I checked on him, he seemed interested, not worried. What a trooper. After getting the Visa for me, I had to get into another line outside and around the corner to get the TIP for the car. After waiting for 20 minutes, I got up to the window and found that I don't have the vehicle registration with me, I had to go back to the car and retrieve it from the glove box! Rocky and his cage stayed there where people watched him for me and then I had to get back in line and wait some more. But in the end, I got my sticker and instructions on where to place it on my windshield and after loading up again and taking a deep breath, off we went to try to find the town where our first hotel was booked and already paid for. Hotel Ibis in Hermosillo, here we come!
After that, we buzzed along and I couldn't believe I was driving in Mexico! The scenery changed dramatically as we headed south and it was obvious that we were driving through an extreme poverty zone. The dwellings lining the hillsides stacked next to and on top of each other were so bleak and pathetic, it hurt to think of humans living there. I had a twinge of guilt for leaving my perfectly fine home in my clean city of Boise, ID where there is no bad part of town, where I had an acceptable life and good friends. That was the only moment where I questioned what I was doing but it passed without a trace and the thought never returned. Those first few hours of driving in Mexico felt weird and foreign but mile after mile, I got more comfortable and I just kept on going. That must be the biggest secret of Life with a capital L .... Just keep on going and you find that you can get used to anything.
I stopped at an Oxxo store (Mexican Mini-mart) about 2:30 and bought a sandwich and chips, then sat in the car in the shade and ate. I let Rocky out of his cage for a few minutes and he looked around, crawled all over looking out the windows and then came back to get into his cage, almost as if he said, thanks for letting me look. A few minutes after hitting the road again, suddenly I was too tired to keep my eyes open! This was a serious bad thing and I ended up pulling off the highway into a shady spot to rest my eyes for a few minutes. Then I had to back up quite a ways to find a level place where I thought my car could get back up onto the road. Another car pulled off and suddenly I had the thought that I was vulnerable sitting there on a nearly deserted road with sparse traffic and I berated myself for not thinking of that. But the other car was a family switching drivers and watching them get back onto the road showed me how to do it so I ended up feeling grateful. That was the one and only time I felt vulnerable.
I made it through and later stopped for gas at half a tank, as instructed. Except no one speaks English. I thought people might speak some, especially on the main highway leading into Mexico from the US, but no, not a bit! I'm learning a lot just stumbling around and being sorry (lo siento). Then I got totally lost in Hermosillo trying to find my hotel, stopped for help at an Oxxo and even though I didn't know how to ask, a nice man drew me a map. I was still lost after that but somehow found my way. Turns out that if you keep on going and keep your eyes open, you can eventually get to where you need to be, despite the strangeness of everything. Rocky and I are on the top floor of the Ibis Hotel in a tiny room with only huge bath towels in the bathroom, no wash cloths or hand towels. But we have each other, the car is parked safely and the bed is clean and comfy.
Tomorrow we head for Navajoa and a Best Western and I like to think I'll be able to find it easily. I added an extra night to this part of the trip to allow for confusion and lostedness and I'm so glad I did! Rocky is all stretched out on the bed and the room is finally cooling off a bit ... it was over 30° when we arrived an hour ago --- that's 86° in this tiny room! It's down to 23° now and dropping. I have to begin studying the metric system right away, don't know why that never occurred to me before. Between liters and kilometers and celsius on top of no Spanish, I'm getting my ass whipped left and right so far.
But hey! I'm in Mexico! The sun just set out our 7th floor window and Rocky likes the view. Finally, something about this trip is interesting to him.
BTW, no updates on the road. The cell phone went dark at the border and I have no access to wifi as I drive. So the next update will be tomorrow night. I don't have time to stop and update while driving anyway.
