Buenos noches mis amigos. Hola from Culiacán Mexico, in the state of Sinaloa. I am about 2 hours north of Mazatlan.
Currently 715pm here.
The day?
Brief synopsis…up at 520am, on the road at 605am, cleared US Customs at 615am, got into Mexican Customs, Inmigracion and truck registry at 645am and was on the road again by 745am.
I pulled into Culiacán at around 535pm after driving around 10 hours and 897 kilometers…mas o menos!! Not bad as I am only 2 hours from Maz and the website Trip Calculator says it should take 15 hours from Nogales to Mazatlan!!
I am up 3 hours and that includes driving through some towns where the highway goes through vs around…and one construction site where I swear we were driving through peoples front AND backyards!!
I am staying in the swanky Motel Paradise de Culiacán, right off the highway…all fro $400 pesos!! Nicer then any Motel 6 I stayed in on this current adventure.
And where did I eat la cena? Hello BK and the Whopper!! Only 10 minutes down the road…but muy caro…very expensive. Not sure how the average Jose could afford it.
Internet in the room sucks…but I took the lap top out to the parking lot, sat on a concrete post and managed to have a FT with Bexico and Fussy Pants as well as touch base with Melon via email…more on that later.
So…I have some 100 plus points on the voice recorder…let me whittle them down, type up the update and then go out to the parking lot to post the update.
Stand by….
Fan clutch update…it acts up when I start from a standing stop…like EVERY tope and toll booth. But I rev the engine, push in the clutch and it seems to be ok.
Definitely something wrong though. Good news? It did not affect the gas mileage as I solved it asap. A good ½ tank of gas is 200 plus km and that is what I was getting.
Stay tuned over the next two days as I will be doing a lot of driving in mountains and smaller towns…hola to tope!!
615am and the US Customs checking to see if I was carrying $10,000 into Mexico.
Just over the border….and already a toll booth…caseta de cobra…47 pesos or around $4 Cdn
Bizzare…you drive through one Customs booth with a lane that says “nothing to declare” and there is no one manning the fort.
Saw a sign that said pull over for a vehicle permit so I did and I end up in a parking lot with a bunch of tents. Looked like a circus…but I was told to keep driving to Kilometer 20 where I will hit customs etc.
I think that place was for Nationals only.
Same buildings as our drive down…20 cars in the lot…could be busy…at 645am?
I went into Inmigracion and this is where I was nervioso. Did the Federale from my trip up (with the bribe I did NOT pay) enter my info into a computer and have me flagged for an offence I did not do?
I was slightly worried about this…thus I had Melon prepared with all my info and a copy of the story in both English y Español…just in case. If I did not get across the border, he was supposed to bust my ass out of whatever Mexican jail I was thrown into!!
Did Bex know about this? Nope…not need to worry the familia and I was only slightly worried.
So…what happened? He looks at my FM3, stamps my passport and tells me I am done. Huh? Phew!! Meanwhile the Mexican-American who has driven 36 hours straight from Washington State, is denied entry into Mexico because he did not have a passport. Doph…someone did not check the requirements.
Ok..after Inmigracion, off to get the camioneta registered. I know you need originals and photocopies of everything and I was all prepared except for the truck registration. So for 10 pesos I get that copied and off to stand in line.
There are 10 peeps in front of me and only 3 peeps working behind the bulletproof glass. It costs $300 or $400 US dollars to get this permit…hello money grab.
It also takes about 15-20 minutes to get all the paperwork in order and have your permit issued. Do the math…10 peeps, 3 tellers…
And if you forget something…no one minds if you run and get it taken care of and then go to the front of the line!! So polite at 645am…but sooooo cold as well. Nogales is known for being frigging freezing and guess who was the only person wearing shorts? Ja ja ja
I did VERY well with mi español and only twice did I need help from some amigos in line. I could not understand a number and when my cc was declined (more on that in a minute) and I had to run to get my other card, I did not understand that I was to be given back ALL my paperwork and then could go to the front of the line. Too many verbos said too fast!!
Side bar…I have had four 1-800 phone calls that I did not answer. It turns out it was TD Bank that wants to know about some charges on my US dollar cc. I guess they have put a hold on it…thus it did not work.
So I will drag the MJ out to the parking lot, along with the hotel phone, and then call TD back. Doph.
So…I grabbed the other cc and it worked and I was on my way to Customs. If they search the truck, it will be a bonanza of computers, satellite dishes and niño
How do they decide to search or not? The only skin-neutral way….you drive through and if your vehicle triggers a green light, you drive on and if it triggers the red, a loud bell rings and the Aduana (Customs) peeps will pull you out of line.
Guess who had the green light? Hello!!
When I left the car permit area, there must have been 30 peeps in line…do THAT math!! Yikes.
10 minutes later…my first tope of the day. Only hit around 30 of them today…not a bad day!!
Pit stop for some suds…2 days left…2 Widmer left!! No bottle opener in this hotel…I look forward to teaching Max how to open a bottle without an opener…and WITHOUT a lighter!!! I feel confident our lil’hombre will not be a smoker.
I am driving through 300 km of the “hassle free zone”. There are signs that state such. Wonder what happens after that zone is over?
Words to look up:
ganada
orilla…I think this one means “lane”
poblado…I think this is a small community
cuerpo
manje
consida cambio de luces…something about changing lights
cazar
cohetes
thomas no manjes
capufe
niebla
But due to my classes (gracias maestra), I now know that "no conduzca consada" means don’t drive while tired!!
Back in Mexico…great to see peeps selling EVERYTHING at tope and at the toll booths. I have seen hand made chairs, birds in cages, mapa, food, cds, copper bowls etc.
How do you make the cd selling guy laugh? Tell him “no comprende palabra de su musica”!!! I don’t understand the word to your music. It did make the hombre laugh.
First 40 km or so the quality of the roads was baaaad. But they are doing a ton of road work past that and it was smooth sailing.
Welcome to Mexico…lots of roadside crosses and pictures of the Virgin de Guadalupe.
A Mexicoism…I am headed sur (south) on 15 and I come to an intersection where you can go either straight, right or left…and they are all highway 15.
Another Mexicoism…you see signs on the major highway, warning about kids crossing and asking you to slow to 60 km/hr. There are no stop lights…I guess niños can out run the 60 km/hr vehicles?
Total tolls for the day? Eleven for $523 pesos. I cannot imagine what the libre (free) roads are like!!
During the day I drove through 3 or 4 roadblocks. Some were Federales and others were from a new group I did not recognize. No issues…I was waved through while once I had to answer “donde vas?”…where are you going.
Lots of seat belt reminder signs…oh I remember from last time!!
Just saw the biggest roadside memorial. It was 20x20 feet, had a roof etc. Wow.
Through Hermosillo…just like last time where you hang a left in the city center and then make your way through several neighborhoods to get back on the freeway. I recall this from our drive down and it was confusing then…less so today.
Niños playing futbol…ahhh Mexico!!
Big prison in Hermosillo…glad I am not in it!! Ja ja ja
I took a wrong turn leaving Hermosillo on the way to Guaymas…but got back on track with only a 2 minute delay.
1000 peeps out for a walk. All down the side of the highway and even some cowboys y caballos (horses?). Where are they headed? To visit a huge Virgen de Guadalupe mural that is on a mountain side.
It must have been a very dry summer…quite a few cattle that did not make it back to the watering hole!!
Peeee-ewwww…following a big truck loaded with cerdo...hogs.
Just passed a HUGE motor home headed the other directon…with BC plates.
My first gas fill at Pemex was about 88 cents Cdn/litro. Ok…so it is a mix of gas y agua…ja ja ja But…for only 3 pesos you get to use the baño at Pemex…papel included!!
Why do I love the portable cooler that I plug into the truck? Cold water? Yes. Cold beer? Yes. Put the mayo and mustard in it after making my turkey sandwich? Hello!!!
Lots of peeps in the meridian (between the two highways) cutting and bagging the grass? Maybe it is hay and they are getting free feed for their animales?
On a major highway and a guy on a bicycle is coming towards me. Did I tell you there is no shoulder on this highway?
1215pm…sun is up high…it is warm!!! Hello to the a/c!!
Driving through the smaller cities really slows you down…lights, topes and of course a roadblock at the end of it all!!!
The basura on the sides of the road is SO disappointing. Max will know right from wrong.
I think there is a Kenworth truck factory here as I have seen several new Kenworth trucks pulling 3 other new Kenworths.
Driving past the Walmart in Ciudad Obregon…famous for their pillows as this is where we stopped to pick one up after I forgot Bex’s on our trip down in 2010.
Another trek with no less then 3000 peeps and this one was for 25-30 km from Ciudad to a huge Virgen de Guadalupe carved into the side of a mountain!!
Due to the work I had done at Nissan in Huatulco, I know the sign I just passed “zona de obra” means area/zone of work and “mano de obra” is the hourly labour
Navojoa looked great. They had finished paving the main strip since our last trip there and they had hung lots of Christmas type of signs and lights across the street.
On our first trip, we made it to Navojoa around 5pm, this time I drove by at 2pm.
Stopped to pick up some pesos…gas is paid in cash only and is about $600 pesos per tanque. Did I tell you about the Pemex scam? I read about it in the Gringo book mis padres gave me, but had never experienced it before today.
The amount owed was $615 pesos so I gave the gas jockey a $500 note and then reached into my pocket to pull out the rest of my money and when I looked up, he had a $50 in his hand and was trying to see if I would recall giving him $500 or $50. Scam!! So I asked him in español where the $500 was and he pulled it out and I gave him another $115 and told him he had fast hands!!
Bexico would LOVE the cross walk signs in Navojoa. Why? When it is safe for pedestrians, a green men runs!!
Not this year but in the future…Santa Claus piñata!!
I finally got to use Moonie!! I was at a stop light and a hombre was trying to sell Christmas trinkets. He walked up to the passenger window and looked at Moonie. I flashed the hombre, he laughed and then came to the driver’s window to ask me where I bought it and for how much. Super friendly amigo!!
Ten year old niños and their horse drawn carts, down the meridian, picking up firewood. Felt bad.
I am on the Autobahn…a BMW passed me at 180 km/hr
Left the state of Sonora…hello Sinaloa!!
Saw some squash that was at least 3 feet tall. Loco!!
Just saw a guy who was pulled over by the police…missing his left rear wheel.
Mi español is still rusty. I went through a toll booth that had no price listed. I asked how much and the attendant replied and I asked again and he said it again. I could not understand him so I gave him a bill large enough to cover the toll no matter what. He gave me my change back and said with a smile…nineteen!! Ja ja ja I forgot diecinueve is nineteen…ten nine…hello!!
120 km out of Culiacán and I am driving through beautiful farmland. It is 430pm and I am an hour out and am racing the sunset. I do not want to drive at night and finding a hotel at night is less fun!!
I am pretty sure this is the area where Bexico and I stopped the camioneta in 2010 so that could escort a turtle across the highway!!
Tons of orange trees and lots of peeps on the side of the carretera (highway) selling large bags of them.
Just passed 8 Federale trucks and 20 officers…someones car is on the grua…towtruck!!
And that mis amigos, was the drive!!!
834pm…almost bedtime.
Mañana I am up early and hope to be on the road for 6am. Gas up, do a u-turn and find 15 cuota (pay) to Mazatlan.
I will drive past Maz to Tepic where I will actually head towards the center of Mexico. I do this because the coastal route is the VERY slow one with over 500 tope!!
I will head east from Tepic on 15 and then go through Guadalajara…a very large city. From there I am looking for 15D…no city name attached…will have to keep my eyes open!!
Then onto 110 east to 57 south which is where my next stop is, in the city of Querétaro. This is where I spent my first night on the trip back to Canada…worrying about my Bex and why she had not yet checking into the airport Hilton!!
I somewhat know the route through the city and know where the hotels are, so when I run into darkness, it will be less of an issue.
I figure it is 2 hours to Maz and then 10 to Querétaro, so If I leave at 6am, I am there at 6pm.
And then on Tuesday it is a 12-13 hour drive from there to Huatulco, just retracing the drive I took on my day one of the trip to Canada. Easy peasy…as long as I don’t get lost getting off the Arco Norte!!
Hope all is well with everyone!!
Feliz Cumpleaños to Bubba Brent and a big gracias to mis padres for coming over from Victoria to keep an eye on Bex y Max!! And one more shout out to Kent “ the Bounty Hunter” for having my back!!
Hasta mañana!!
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