After receiving a concerned email from a dear friend, I decided to write this post to let everybody know I am still alive and kickin'!
I have been a terrible blogger and do apologize.
I have encountered a couple of obstacles to blogging. One, my home computer is dying on me. It is a fight to get my laptop booted up and am in the process of getting it replaced as I have had it for over 7 years and wouldn't mind seeing something new. However I have yet to take the plunge at getting a new one.
Also, I have been working 7 days a week. Crazy right? I know. I figure that I don't have kids or a husband at home that need tending to and so I should be able to manage the schedule. My last day of work is Sept. 30th and until then I will be working every day except for the Monday holiday in September.
I am on very good terms with my employers and we have a mutual care for one another. I am on a mission to complete a project at work before I leave plus I don't mind the extra cash. I will sometimes get online at work but most of the time my project takes me away from my office and thus away from my computer.
Don't give up on me as I should be getting a working laptop soon. Also, I have recently found out that a new "cyber" has opened up in Nayarit where I will be moving. So keeping the blog functioning shouldn't be too difficult even though I believe the connection is via satelite. We'll see how that goes as I hear they are not very reliable.
Tootlz for now, I will be checking in soon!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Credencial del Elector
On this last trip to Nayarit we made but one trip to Tepic and I convinced B that we should go get our "Credencial del Elector" which is one of the most important Mexican ID's in Mexico as it is the one used to vote. I have been itching to get some sort of identification in Mexico so that I could open my own bank account and do other things.
I had tried several other times to get this identification and was told I needed this and that to go here and there when all the time all I needed to get the Credencial del Elector is the following:
1. My Birth Ceriticate (the two originals issued by the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco)
2. 2 witnesses that know you with valid Credenciales del Elector (1 of the witnesses IDs had to be from the county of Tepic)
3. A proof of residence - ie an electricity bill
I have noticed that anytime you try to do most any kind of paperwork you are always asked for a "recibo de luz" or light bill. So now I am always armed with an electric bill when conducting business.
It turned out we had perfect timing for getting these IDs because as soon as B went into the bank they told him that he needed to get a new one because his was now expired. In Mexico I believe they use a series number noted on the ID. Once your series number is retired you have to get the ID renewed.
For item #2 I wasn't able to use B because he didn't have a valid ID so I only had my mother-in-law who could sign as a witness. On the street in front of a Bancomer Bank she asked an innocent bystander if they would sign as a witness for me even though they didn't know me. The first person she asked consented, all I remember about her is that her name was Rosario and she was from the San Blas area. After the agent took her information she was on her way and I heartily thanked her.
The agent filled out all of my paperwork and took my photo. At the very end of the process I was asked to sign my name and not thinking I signed my name as I normally would in the states. I forgot that the name I would be using in Mexico would be the name on my Mexican birth certificate not my husbands name that I had taken in the states. Hmmm I caught it after reviewing the paperwork and asked the agent to change it. His response was that it didn't matter if my signature didn't match the printed name on the ID but that I had to sign my name exactly as I had signed it on the ID.
I was like really? How weired is that going to be? He insisted that I need not worry about it, but I know this is going to really bother me everytime I take it out for something. I also wonder if I will have any problems. Well I guess only time will tell. The ID was ready for pick up on August 3rd and will remain at that office until I go in person to pick it up. They will hold it for 2 years and then it will be recycled if it is not picked up.
Even though my name is wrong on the ID I was happy I existed on paper in Mexico. I guess I felt like I was officially moving. Now all I need to work on is getting an address. I joke and call our house number 3 1/2, but that's another story for another time.
Tootlz for now.
I had tried several other times to get this identification and was told I needed this and that to go here and there when all the time all I needed to get the Credencial del Elector is the following:
1. My Birth Ceriticate (the two originals issued by the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco)
2. 2 witnesses that know you with valid Credenciales del Elector (1 of the witnesses IDs had to be from the county of Tepic)
3. A proof of residence - ie an electricity bill
I have noticed that anytime you try to do most any kind of paperwork you are always asked for a "recibo de luz" or light bill. So now I am always armed with an electric bill when conducting business.
It turned out we had perfect timing for getting these IDs because as soon as B went into the bank they told him that he needed to get a new one because his was now expired. In Mexico I believe they use a series number noted on the ID. Once your series number is retired you have to get the ID renewed.
For item #2 I wasn't able to use B because he didn't have a valid ID so I only had my mother-in-law who could sign as a witness. On the street in front of a Bancomer Bank she asked an innocent bystander if they would sign as a witness for me even though they didn't know me. The first person she asked consented, all I remember about her is that her name was Rosario and she was from the San Blas area. After the agent took her information she was on her way and I heartily thanked her.
The agent filled out all of my paperwork and took my photo. At the very end of the process I was asked to sign my name and not thinking I signed my name as I normally would in the states. I forgot that the name I would be using in Mexico would be the name on my Mexican birth certificate not my husbands name that I had taken in the states. Hmmm I caught it after reviewing the paperwork and asked the agent to change it. His response was that it didn't matter if my signature didn't match the printed name on the ID but that I had to sign my name exactly as I had signed it on the ID.
I was like really? How weired is that going to be? He insisted that I need not worry about it, but I know this is going to really bother me everytime I take it out for something. I also wonder if I will have any problems. Well I guess only time will tell. The ID was ready for pick up on August 3rd and will remain at that office until I go in person to pick it up. They will hold it for 2 years and then it will be recycled if it is not picked up.
Even though my name is wrong on the ID I was happy I existed on paper in Mexico. I guess I felt like I was officially moving. Now all I need to work on is getting an address. I joke and call our house number 3 1/2, but that's another story for another time.
Tootlz for now.
Monday, August 8, 2011
My Dual Citizenship
An article came out in our local paper which mentioned resident parents wanting to get dual citizenship for their kids so that they could reap of one of the benefits of easy travel to and from Mexico. I must say that being able to go around the long line of tourists flying into Puerto Vallarta would be a definite plus for me.
When I was 17 years old, my father told me he wanted me to get dual citizenship so that later on when he was gone I could inherit his properties (without having to jump through hoops) in Zacatecas. Even though now I think this most likely will not happen (a whole other story), I am glad we took the time to get my dual citizenship.
Getting the dual citizenship proved to be somewhat cumbersome in that it took many phone calls to the Mexican consulate in San Francisco to get an appointment. If I remember correctly, we made one visit to the Consulate but trying to get that appointment took almost a year.
When my application was submitted I was 17 and by the time I got an appointment to process all the documentation, I was 18. The woman we spoke to on the phone said that I was passed the age to claim my right to dual citizenship.
Apparently the children of a Mexican citizen have to be under 18 years of age for their parents to claim the dual citizenship for their kids. We explained to the woman that the paperwork was submitted before I turned 18 and it was their fault we didn't get an appointment for so long.
Finally we were given an appointment where we had to bring copies of my parents and two witnesses' birth certificates and identification cards. Also I had to be accompanied to my appointment by my parents and the two witnesses. Trying to arrange for this was a little difficult in that everybody we knew worked and the appointment was during the day plus we had to travel to the city.
After the appointment the Mexican Consulate provided me with a temporary "Mexican birth certificate" until the originals arrived in the mail. I paid for two originals and sure enough within a matter of two weeks I had them in my hands.
I am happy we made the effort to get it done because now I am finally reaping the benefits. Mind you I never thought it would be because I would be living in Mexico.
After 10 long years of being tucked away in a filing cabinet, I will finally be putting those Mexican birth certificates to use.
When I was 17 years old, my father told me he wanted me to get dual citizenship so that later on when he was gone I could inherit his properties (without having to jump through hoops) in Zacatecas. Even though now I think this most likely will not happen (a whole other story), I am glad we took the time to get my dual citizenship.
Getting the dual citizenship proved to be somewhat cumbersome in that it took many phone calls to the Mexican consulate in San Francisco to get an appointment. If I remember correctly, we made one visit to the Consulate but trying to get that appointment took almost a year.
When my application was submitted I was 17 and by the time I got an appointment to process all the documentation, I was 18. The woman we spoke to on the phone said that I was passed the age to claim my right to dual citizenship.
Apparently the children of a Mexican citizen have to be under 18 years of age for their parents to claim the dual citizenship for their kids. We explained to the woman that the paperwork was submitted before I turned 18 and it was their fault we didn't get an appointment for so long.
Finally we were given an appointment where we had to bring copies of my parents and two witnesses' birth certificates and identification cards. Also I had to be accompanied to my appointment by my parents and the two witnesses. Trying to arrange for this was a little difficult in that everybody we knew worked and the appointment was during the day plus we had to travel to the city.
After the appointment the Mexican Consulate provided me with a temporary "Mexican birth certificate" until the originals arrived in the mail. I paid for two originals and sure enough within a matter of two weeks I had them in my hands.
I am happy we made the effort to get it done because now I am finally reaping the benefits. Mind you I never thought it would be because I would be living in Mexico.
After 10 long years of being tucked away in a filing cabinet, I will finally be putting those Mexican birth certificates to use.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Casita Update
B and I have decided that the first order of business once I move down to Nayarit is installing the electricity.
We would really like to paint the bedrooms and the walls that do not have exposed brick. However, we plan on changing all of the electricity outlets in the bedrooms and should really wait until we can seal all of the holes where the old outlets are now. The color in my bedroom reminds of Thousand Island dressing and does not complement the bobeda cielings at all! The picture below is from my February visit. You can see how we closed the exsisting doorways when we added on to the house and opened up new a doorway behind where I took this picture. Also, you can see the existing electrical wires that run up on top. I don't know why but for some reason in Mexico they run the wires right smack in the middle of the walls and have outlets really high up. My piano is now the new construction of the house as is the sofa and TV. On this last visit I took curtain rods and switched out the tree branches that were being used as curtain rods ha ha.
B bought this paint at a really cheap price and thought he made out like a bandit, until he painted the walls with the paint. The paint was so cheap that you could still see the cement underneath and after a while the paint began to peel off. He was so mad!
After many reminders to B that I wanted to hang up all the stuff I had brought down to Mexico, we got to work on figuring out where we wanted everything as I didn't want them to get ruined on the floor while I was away. It took so much work to get those things up on the walls because the walls aren't like those here in the states, they are made out of solid concete, brick and block. Making a hole meant pulling out the drill (special for making holes in concrete), then using a dowel, and finally inserting the screw. After all was said and done I had little piles of dust everywhere. No wonder why B wasn't looking forward to the task.
I havn't told B yet but I think we erred on how high to hang everything. Looking at it now, they seem a little too high. I also thought that maybe they look high because we don't have that much furniture in the house. I don't know but I don't think I like where they are hmmm.
And last but not least. Do you remember my Garage Sale Find? Yep, I ended up painting the mirror a silver color, I wanted to do more with the color but didn't have time. The cabinet I bought online was cheap and darling but the we were unable to screw it to the wall because the back of the cabinet is a cheap particle board. I guess you get what you pay for. I also think the cabinet ended up really high too but no chance I'm changing it now, I think I'm going to opt for a basket to put all my toilet paper in on top of the toilet. Maybe that will make the gap look less ugly, not to mention hide those braces. Oh well, I guess it doesn't look all bad. I'm really liking the glass shelf I picked up at Ross, it comes in handy for the toothpaste.
After going through my photos I realized that I didn't even take pictures of the sidewalk and patio B poured for the side and back of the house. Right now he is working on covering the patio so we can sit outside when it rains.
All in all it's coming along little by little.
We would really like to paint the bedrooms and the walls that do not have exposed brick. However, we plan on changing all of the electricity outlets in the bedrooms and should really wait until we can seal all of the holes where the old outlets are now. The color in my bedroom reminds of Thousand Island dressing and does not complement the bobeda cielings at all! The picture below is from my February visit. You can see how we closed the exsisting doorways when we added on to the house and opened up new a doorway behind where I took this picture. Also, you can see the existing electrical wires that run up on top. I don't know why but for some reason in Mexico they run the wires right smack in the middle of the walls and have outlets really high up. My piano is now the new construction of the house as is the sofa and TV. On this last visit I took curtain rods and switched out the tree branches that were being used as curtain rods ha ha.
B bought this paint at a really cheap price and thought he made out like a bandit, until he painted the walls with the paint. The paint was so cheap that you could still see the cement underneath and after a while the paint began to peel off. He was so mad!
 |
| You see that gap under the door? |
After many reminders to B that I wanted to hang up all the stuff I had brought down to Mexico, we got to work on figuring out where we wanted everything as I didn't want them to get ruined on the floor while I was away. It took so much work to get those things up on the walls because the walls aren't like those here in the states, they are made out of solid concete, brick and block. Making a hole meant pulling out the drill (special for making holes in concrete), then using a dowel, and finally inserting the screw. After all was said and done I had little piles of dust everywhere. No wonder why B wasn't looking forward to the task.
I havn't told B yet but I think we erred on how high to hang everything. Looking at it now, they seem a little too high. I also thought that maybe they look high because we don't have that much furniture in the house. I don't know but I don't think I like where they are hmmm.
 |
| The black frame on the wall is actually for several pictures the cardboard inside just needs to be turned over; a task I will tackle when I go down for good. |
 |
| This is where the dining table is going to be... I know the bathroom is not in the greatest place but we did what we could |
 |
| The bathroom - still not quite finished but getting there |
After going through my photos I realized that I didn't even take pictures of the sidewalk and patio B poured for the side and back of the house. Right now he is working on covering the patio so we can sit outside when it rains.
All in all it's coming along little by little.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Rats v. Iguanas
During my last stay in Nayarit, I had several unwanted visitors in my home.
Everyday I would sweep the house. As many of you already know, when you live in the country the floor gets full of dirt and dust very quickly. About every other day I would find what looked to me like droppings, but I could not figure out what animal the droppings were from.
I ended up picking one up to start analyzing it and honestly it just looked like a doo doo about half an inch in size. So I mosied on over to my mother-in-law's which is a jump and a skip away to see if she could tell me what it was.
"Es de Rana" was here response. What? De Rana?
She said it was frog poop. Hmm until now I never thought frogs had excrement that big. I thought it was from a rat. I always complain to B that the doors are way too high and that little critters can easily get under the door but he swears that once we put the tile down in the house the gap will get significantly smaller. Until then however, I have big gaps under my doors.
It's rainy season in Nayarit and when it rains it pours. It always seems so dramatic when it rains because it comes down so hard, not to mention the lightening and thunder sounds like it hits right beside you. I think the rain is what brings the animals out of their homes.
This is not the case for the family dog Muñeca. She is terrified of any big noises and scampers into the house to hide under a bed. She doesn't like to be anywhere else other than under a bed. The only thing is she is not allowed in the house and so we always have to take her outside. There are several other rooms she can go into but I think she just likes that the bed is right on top of her head so it feels safer.
She is a very good girl in that she can be inside the house for a whole night and morning and she will not use the bathroom. We often don't know when Muñeca is under the bed because she is so quiet so she ends up spending the night with us. One time she scared the heck out of me as I woke up to the bed moving up and down with nobody in the room other than me. I finally got the guts to look under the bed, it was Muñeca wagging her tail like crazy which was making the bed move like crazy.
One day not long after a storm hit, I saw my sister-in-law with a broom looking on at our dog Muñeca. I walked over to see what was going on only to see she had a present. An iguana. Apparently La Muñeca was in the house and my neice told her mom that she had gotten inside but that it was ok because she was trying to get an iguana. Funny as it may seem my in-laws are scared of the things and La Muñeca knows this, so she went in the house to take care of the situation.
Muñeca was so proud of her kill that she woulnd't let me take it from her right away. Finally I was able to get the iguana to dispose of it. My in-laws looked at me in horror as I picked it up by the tail. It's funny how iguanas, snakes, mice and frogs don't bother me much but put a cockaroach in front of me and I am gone.
So what's the conclusion to this story. I will take iguanas over mice anyday, even though they both stink. Why? Because I know La Muñeca will take 'em out should one just happen to get in the house!
Everyday I would sweep the house. As many of you already know, when you live in the country the floor gets full of dirt and dust very quickly. About every other day I would find what looked to me like droppings, but I could not figure out what animal the droppings were from.
I ended up picking one up to start analyzing it and honestly it just looked like a doo doo about half an inch in size. So I mosied on over to my mother-in-law's which is a jump and a skip away to see if she could tell me what it was.
"Es de Rana" was here response. What? De Rana?
She said it was frog poop. Hmm until now I never thought frogs had excrement that big. I thought it was from a rat. I always complain to B that the doors are way too high and that little critters can easily get under the door but he swears that once we put the tile down in the house the gap will get significantly smaller. Until then however, I have big gaps under my doors.
It's rainy season in Nayarit and when it rains it pours. It always seems so dramatic when it rains because it comes down so hard, not to mention the lightening and thunder sounds like it hits right beside you. I think the rain is what brings the animals out of their homes.
This is not the case for the family dog Muñeca. She is terrified of any big noises and scampers into the house to hide under a bed. She doesn't like to be anywhere else other than under a bed. The only thing is she is not allowed in the house and so we always have to take her outside. There are several other rooms she can go into but I think she just likes that the bed is right on top of her head so it feels safer.
She is a very good girl in that she can be inside the house for a whole night and morning and she will not use the bathroom. We often don't know when Muñeca is under the bed because she is so quiet so she ends up spending the night with us. One time she scared the heck out of me as I woke up to the bed moving up and down with nobody in the room other than me. I finally got the guts to look under the bed, it was Muñeca wagging her tail like crazy which was making the bed move like crazy.
One day not long after a storm hit, I saw my sister-in-law with a broom looking on at our dog Muñeca. I walked over to see what was going on only to see she had a present. An iguana. Apparently La Muñeca was in the house and my neice told her mom that she had gotten inside but that it was ok because she was trying to get an iguana. Funny as it may seem my in-laws are scared of the things and La Muñeca knows this, so she went in the house to take care of the situation.
Muñeca was so proud of her kill that she woulnd't let me take it from her right away. Finally I was able to get the iguana to dispose of it. My in-laws looked at me in horror as I picked it up by the tail. It's funny how iguanas, snakes, mice and frogs don't bother me much but put a cockaroach in front of me and I am gone.
So what's the conclusion to this story. I will take iguanas over mice anyday, even though they both stink. Why? Because I know La Muñeca will take 'em out should one just happen to get in the house!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Getting to Our Final Destination
For some reason neither B nor I slept well through the early morning. Perhaps it was because we both new we had a somewhat long journey ahead of us.
I had spent $200, half of what I thought it would cost me to reach the border from my house. Lil 'Emma did very well with her highway mileage considering she is a big 5.0 8 cylinder engine from 1995. I had no complaints from her and out of sheer nervousness never turned on the A/C. To be honest there was really no need considering I did most of the travelling at night and so a quick roll down of the window was all that was needed.
B and I woke up bright and early and headed toward an address provided to us by the man that was to help get our truck legalized. We arrived at a business address and inquired inside for the man, a woman sitting inside a nice air-conditioned office said he would arrive shortly. Sure enough within 15 minutes he pulled up in a white Ford pick-up. He quickly got out of the truck all smiles and greeted us with "buenos dias." After some small talk this man, Carlos, said that we would need to unload all of our belongings for the legalization appointment. We knew this beforehand which was part of our reason for doing business with him as we knew we could unload our stuff at the business office while we waited for the truck to be legalized. We had no reason to distrust Carlos because a family member had already legalized a truck with him and recommended him to us.
After unloading Emma we decided to take care of some business in downtown San Luis and Carlos offered to drive us to el centro as he too was headed in that direction. After we took care of business we sat in the town's plaza under the shade of a tree and talked a bit. We decided that we wanted to have a nice cold beer, or in my case cocktail. We asked one of the locals where we could go but didn't have any luck and in fact were looked at like we were crazy. I guess it may have been too early, that or nobody goes for a cocktail around there. We ended up walking around looking for a place which turned out to be not so good of an idea as the day was starting to really heat up. All of the places we found were ugly little bars that didn't look very inviting for a lady.
Finally we decided to just go in a Chinese restaurant to get anything cold to drink because we were exausted. The restaurant sold beer! So we ordered two and we ended up having a good time as we talked with an old woman who was our waitress. We had a very interesting talk with her and then went on our way back to Carlos' office. We must have waited another 3 hours sitting on the floor because the office wasn't for clients but truck drivers that picked up and dropped off cargo. Finally we saw Carlos pulling up in the truck and when he got out he had all the paperwork in hand. We were so happy, after 7 long hours we were able to get on our way.
We left San Luis at about 4pm and travelled through out the Sonoron desert all the while with the A/C on. Even though she is 16 years old, 'lil Emma blew out ice cold air. Were able to make it to Hermosillo by 10pm. Here we stayed at a hotel where we showered and went to bed. We were both out as soon as we hit the pillow. The night before we didn't get any sleep because were were worried about getting the truck legalized.
We woke up again bright and early to get on the road again. As we passed Guaymas, I thought of a fellow blogger Brenda, and silently said a hello to her. By the time we reached Los Mochis Sinaloa, we were hungry and so we stopped to eat at a little restaurant which served seafood. I ordered a shrimp cocktail and B ordered a shirmp salad. We ended up switching because I absolutely loved the shrimp salad! I regret not pulling out my camera more often on this trip. They had made it look so elegant on the plate.
Once in Sinaloa we knew that we were not far from home and we began relaxing. We had already been through 2 checkpoints of which we simply told the officers we had not paid any fees previously because we were told that we did not have to declare anything. They waved us on each time. Again we reached another city, Mazatlan, where I knew another fellow blogger, Nancy, I said another silent hello.
I was rather excited passing Mazatlan because I knew we only had two more hours to go! By the time we came to Nayarit we went through all of the pesos we pulled out in San Luis. The casetas or toll's that we paid for using the autopistas (nice freeways) really added up. We thought it was funny that the most expensive autopistas were in Nayarit!
My husband likes to joke around and when we made it to the second toll booth in Nayarit he asked the woman a question. "We are coming all the way from Sonora, why is it that Nayarit's toll's are the most expensive?" She gave him a coy look and you could tell she didn't know what to say. She just smiled and said "It's because Nayarit is one of the more beautiful states!" We all laughed and he said "I'm just kidding Miss, I am from here, near San Blas."
We knew we were home.
Once we reached El Crucero de San Blas, we both sighed, relieved that we had made it. We looked at each other and I told him "no more...we are too old for this."
I had spent $200, half of what I thought it would cost me to reach the border from my house. Lil 'Emma did very well with her highway mileage considering she is a big 5.0 8 cylinder engine from 1995. I had no complaints from her and out of sheer nervousness never turned on the A/C. To be honest there was really no need considering I did most of the travelling at night and so a quick roll down of the window was all that was needed.
B and I woke up bright and early and headed toward an address provided to us by the man that was to help get our truck legalized. We arrived at a business address and inquired inside for the man, a woman sitting inside a nice air-conditioned office said he would arrive shortly. Sure enough within 15 minutes he pulled up in a white Ford pick-up. He quickly got out of the truck all smiles and greeted us with "buenos dias." After some small talk this man, Carlos, said that we would need to unload all of our belongings for the legalization appointment. We knew this beforehand which was part of our reason for doing business with him as we knew we could unload our stuff at the business office while we waited for the truck to be legalized. We had no reason to distrust Carlos because a family member had already legalized a truck with him and recommended him to us.
After unloading Emma we decided to take care of some business in downtown San Luis and Carlos offered to drive us to el centro as he too was headed in that direction. After we took care of business we sat in the town's plaza under the shade of a tree and talked a bit. We decided that we wanted to have a nice cold beer, or in my case cocktail. We asked one of the locals where we could go but didn't have any luck and in fact were looked at like we were crazy. I guess it may have been too early, that or nobody goes for a cocktail around there. We ended up walking around looking for a place which turned out to be not so good of an idea as the day was starting to really heat up. All of the places we found were ugly little bars that didn't look very inviting for a lady.
Finally we decided to just go in a Chinese restaurant to get anything cold to drink because we were exausted. The restaurant sold beer! So we ordered two and we ended up having a good time as we talked with an old woman who was our waitress. We had a very interesting talk with her and then went on our way back to Carlos' office. We must have waited another 3 hours sitting on the floor because the office wasn't for clients but truck drivers that picked up and dropped off cargo. Finally we saw Carlos pulling up in the truck and when he got out he had all the paperwork in hand. We were so happy, after 7 long hours we were able to get on our way.
We left San Luis at about 4pm and travelled through out the Sonoron desert all the while with the A/C on. Even though she is 16 years old, 'lil Emma blew out ice cold air. Were able to make it to Hermosillo by 10pm. Here we stayed at a hotel where we showered and went to bed. We were both out as soon as we hit the pillow. The night before we didn't get any sleep because were were worried about getting the truck legalized.
We woke up again bright and early to get on the road again. As we passed Guaymas, I thought of a fellow blogger Brenda, and silently said a hello to her. By the time we reached Los Mochis Sinaloa, we were hungry and so we stopped to eat at a little restaurant which served seafood. I ordered a shrimp cocktail and B ordered a shirmp salad. We ended up switching because I absolutely loved the shrimp salad! I regret not pulling out my camera more often on this trip. They had made it look so elegant on the plate.
Once in Sinaloa we knew that we were not far from home and we began relaxing. We had already been through 2 checkpoints of which we simply told the officers we had not paid any fees previously because we were told that we did not have to declare anything. They waved us on each time. Again we reached another city, Mazatlan, where I knew another fellow blogger, Nancy, I said another silent hello.
I was rather excited passing Mazatlan because I knew we only had two more hours to go! By the time we came to Nayarit we went through all of the pesos we pulled out in San Luis. The casetas or toll's that we paid for using the autopistas (nice freeways) really added up. We thought it was funny that the most expensive autopistas were in Nayarit!
My husband likes to joke around and when we made it to the second toll booth in Nayarit he asked the woman a question. "We are coming all the way from Sonora, why is it that Nayarit's toll's are the most expensive?" She gave him a coy look and you could tell she didn't know what to say. She just smiled and said "It's because Nayarit is one of the more beautiful states!" We all laughed and he said "I'm just kidding Miss, I am from here, near San Blas."
We knew we were home.
Once we reached El Crucero de San Blas, we both sighed, relieved that we had made it. We looked at each other and I told him "no more...we are too old for this."
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Getting to San Luis, AZ
So much energy, time, and thought went into this last trip down to Nayarit that I think I may be mentally exhausted from it all. The day before I embarked on my journey down South, I planned to load the truck and cover it with a tarp so that the next day after arriving home from work I simply had to take a shower and get behind the wheel.
Packing the truck was a 3 hour event. Getting everything up on the truck wasn't difficult but arranging it all so as to minimize breaking things was cumbersome. Also, I had things brought to me at the last minute that I literarally threw on top of the pile which kind of annoyed me as I was already stressed out with the loading and packing.
After everything was loaded I began to cover the truck and start tying it down. I had some help, but I could tell the help didn't really know what he was doing. It took him about an hour to get the tarp tied down. The truck was visually weighed down and looked like I was going to be hauling a heavy load. I didn't take many pictures and now regret not having any visuals.
The next day I got home and ate a quick meal, jumped in the shower, and gathered last of my stuff. I kissed my tearful mom goodbye and assured her that I would be ok and jumped in the truck. My first stop was to get a full tank of gas as I forgot to do that the day before. After filling the tank I merged onto the freeway where I was met with minimal traffic as it was about 4:30pm.
All was going smoothly until I got a 1/4 tank into my drive, in the shadow of the truck I could see that the tarp was flapping in the wind a bit. About 5 minutes later I saw that a large portion of the tarp was flapping in the wind and I thought darn it! I knew that it was going to come undone because the person that tied it for me didn't seem like he knew what he was doing.
I stopped at the next rest stop and hopped down from the truck, circled around to the back where the tarp was flapping and sure enough the rope had come undone and was lying in a heap next to the back tire. Ooohh what to do, what to do? Well I was going to give it my best shot at tying that sucker down, that was all I could do. As I was tying it down all I kept thinking of was the long drive ahead and how I needed to be sure the tarp wasn't going to come untied again. Also, I was trying hard to scan my surroundings as there were many semi-trucks parked and people parked to use the bathrooms. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a trucker watching me as I was tying down the tarp, and I tried to determine if he was threat. I looked rather like a crazy lady, wind blowing through my hair, on my knees and floundering to make ties in the rope so I wondered if he was contemplating coming over to help me or something else. I think I was just paranoid.
After about 20 minutes of tying ropes and checking other knots, I was ready to be on my way. I had to use the bathroom but decided I should just get going and that I would go when I stopped to get gas. I merged back on the freeway and looked over in the shadow of the truck to see if the tarp was going to hold. It looked ok but from this point forward I was never confident that the tarp would hold. I was so concious of it that I stopped again shortly after stopping at the rest area to check on it because I thought it may have loosened. I regretted pulling off the road as I pulled off on an exit that is seldom used and I immediately felt my heart pounding as I jumped out of the truck to check the ropes. My surroundings included an old farmhouse and what looked like miles of fields. I remember thinking why the heck did I use this exit? Again I was just paranoid I guess, or very cautious. Once again I plopped back in the driver's seat and merged back onto the freeway.
It was smooth sailing to my first stop for gas. I had planned on stopping further on my route but made a last minute decision to stop before the sun went down to check on the tarp. After pumping gas I made a quick restroom visit and got back behind the wheel. I have to say travelling by yourself is no picnic, I think I watch too much Forensic Files because everytime I stopped I felt like someone was out to get me.
After my stop I got back on the road and sailed through Los Angeles and made it close to Indio before having to stop for gas again. It was close to midnight when I reached the gas station, I don't recall the name of the town but I just remember there being several Indian Casinos. Again I hadn't picked an ideal place to fill up. When I pulled into the gas station it was off the freeway a ways and a train was passing by ever so slowly off to the side. All I kept thinking of was that somebody would jump off one of the freight trains and walk on over to the gas station. Everytime I stopped I phoned my mom to tell her where I was stopping for gas. This particular time I stood on the phone with her until I got back on the freeway because nobody was at this gas station but me.
I was nearing the end of my journey and knew I had about 3 hours left to go. I wasn't too tired at this point just more nervous as I was getting closer to the border. About an hour after I left the gas station I started going through the Arizona desert and it was very dark. It seemed like I was the only one on the road that night and I started to feel my eyes getting droopy.
Fatigue started to set in and I wasn't sure if I had missed an exit onto another freeway so I stopped at a gas station to ask for directions. It was 1 o'clock in the morning. As I got out of the truck I saw a man approching the vehicle next to mine which had a 4 wheel motorcycle in the back, you know like the one's that are used to patrol the borders, and I immediatly thought this guy to be one of those minute-man. Shrugging it off I began asking him for directions only to be met with a hand to my face and a response of "No." I felt crushed. Some stranger waved me off and I felt like I wanted to cry. I felt helpless.
I gathered myself and walked into the store and approached a woman, not wanting to approach another man, and asked her for directions. She shook her head and said she was sorry but did not know. Feeling helpless I looked around the store and saw some maps over in the corner. I headed over to the maps and started looking to see where I was. I was able to determine that I was on track and that I should be ok to reach I-95 which was the last stretch of highway before reaching my destination of San Luis, AZ.
As I got back into the truck I remembered being dismissed by the man and thought to myself "what did I get myself into?" I eventually made my way down to the border and spoke with B minutes before I arrived at the border. He assured me everything was going to be ok and that he was already staying at the same hotel we had stayed at previously.
I reached the infamous red light green light button, pushed it and waited. It turned red, which meant I had to pull over for inspection. As I pulled over to the inspection area I saw B waiting there and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. I knew I didn't have to handle the Aduana check and that he would do all the "negotiating." Eventually we were able to leave but not before handing over $100. We asked for a receipt showing that we had "declared" our items but said that one was not needed. They pocketed the money and sent us on our way.
We didn't know what was to come in the following days but we were just so happy to be safe and reunited. We drove into the hotel parked and got some much needed z's.
Packing the truck was a 3 hour event. Getting everything up on the truck wasn't difficult but arranging it all so as to minimize breaking things was cumbersome. Also, I had things brought to me at the last minute that I literarally threw on top of the pile which kind of annoyed me as I was already stressed out with the loading and packing.
After everything was loaded I began to cover the truck and start tying it down. I had some help, but I could tell the help didn't really know what he was doing. It took him about an hour to get the tarp tied down. The truck was visually weighed down and looked like I was going to be hauling a heavy load. I didn't take many pictures and now regret not having any visuals.
The next day I got home and ate a quick meal, jumped in the shower, and gathered last of my stuff. I kissed my tearful mom goodbye and assured her that I would be ok and jumped in the truck. My first stop was to get a full tank of gas as I forgot to do that the day before. After filling the tank I merged onto the freeway where I was met with minimal traffic as it was about 4:30pm.
All was going smoothly until I got a 1/4 tank into my drive, in the shadow of the truck I could see that the tarp was flapping in the wind a bit. About 5 minutes later I saw that a large portion of the tarp was flapping in the wind and I thought darn it! I knew that it was going to come undone because the person that tied it for me didn't seem like he knew what he was doing.
I stopped at the next rest stop and hopped down from the truck, circled around to the back where the tarp was flapping and sure enough the rope had come undone and was lying in a heap next to the back tire. Ooohh what to do, what to do? Well I was going to give it my best shot at tying that sucker down, that was all I could do. As I was tying it down all I kept thinking of was the long drive ahead and how I needed to be sure the tarp wasn't going to come untied again. Also, I was trying hard to scan my surroundings as there were many semi-trucks parked and people parked to use the bathrooms. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a trucker watching me as I was tying down the tarp, and I tried to determine if he was threat. I looked rather like a crazy lady, wind blowing through my hair, on my knees and floundering to make ties in the rope so I wondered if he was contemplating coming over to help me or something else. I think I was just paranoid.
After about 20 minutes of tying ropes and checking other knots, I was ready to be on my way. I had to use the bathroom but decided I should just get going and that I would go when I stopped to get gas. I merged back on the freeway and looked over in the shadow of the truck to see if the tarp was going to hold. It looked ok but from this point forward I was never confident that the tarp would hold. I was so concious of it that I stopped again shortly after stopping at the rest area to check on it because I thought it may have loosened. I regretted pulling off the road as I pulled off on an exit that is seldom used and I immediately felt my heart pounding as I jumped out of the truck to check the ropes. My surroundings included an old farmhouse and what looked like miles of fields. I remember thinking why the heck did I use this exit? Again I was just paranoid I guess, or very cautious. Once again I plopped back in the driver's seat and merged back onto the freeway.
It was smooth sailing to my first stop for gas. I had planned on stopping further on my route but made a last minute decision to stop before the sun went down to check on the tarp. After pumping gas I made a quick restroom visit and got back behind the wheel. I have to say travelling by yourself is no picnic, I think I watch too much Forensic Files because everytime I stopped I felt like someone was out to get me.
After my stop I got back on the road and sailed through Los Angeles and made it close to Indio before having to stop for gas again. It was close to midnight when I reached the gas station, I don't recall the name of the town but I just remember there being several Indian Casinos. Again I hadn't picked an ideal place to fill up. When I pulled into the gas station it was off the freeway a ways and a train was passing by ever so slowly off to the side. All I kept thinking of was that somebody would jump off one of the freight trains and walk on over to the gas station. Everytime I stopped I phoned my mom to tell her where I was stopping for gas. This particular time I stood on the phone with her until I got back on the freeway because nobody was at this gas station but me.
I was nearing the end of my journey and knew I had about 3 hours left to go. I wasn't too tired at this point just more nervous as I was getting closer to the border. About an hour after I left the gas station I started going through the Arizona desert and it was very dark. It seemed like I was the only one on the road that night and I started to feel my eyes getting droopy.
Fatigue started to set in and I wasn't sure if I had missed an exit onto another freeway so I stopped at a gas station to ask for directions. It was 1 o'clock in the morning. As I got out of the truck I saw a man approching the vehicle next to mine which had a 4 wheel motorcycle in the back, you know like the one's that are used to patrol the borders, and I immediatly thought this guy to be one of those minute-man. Shrugging it off I began asking him for directions only to be met with a hand to my face and a response of "No." I felt crushed. Some stranger waved me off and I felt like I wanted to cry. I felt helpless.
I gathered myself and walked into the store and approached a woman, not wanting to approach another man, and asked her for directions. She shook her head and said she was sorry but did not know. Feeling helpless I looked around the store and saw some maps over in the corner. I headed over to the maps and started looking to see where I was. I was able to determine that I was on track and that I should be ok to reach I-95 which was the last stretch of highway before reaching my destination of San Luis, AZ.
As I got back into the truck I remembered being dismissed by the man and thought to myself "what did I get myself into?" I eventually made my way down to the border and spoke with B minutes before I arrived at the border. He assured me everything was going to be ok and that he was already staying at the same hotel we had stayed at previously.
I reached the infamous red light green light button, pushed it and waited. It turned red, which meant I had to pull over for inspection. As I pulled over to the inspection area I saw B waiting there and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. I knew I didn't have to handle the Aduana check and that he would do all the "negotiating." Eventually we were able to leave but not before handing over $100. We asked for a receipt showing that we had "declared" our items but said that one was not needed. They pocketed the money and sent us on our way.
We didn't know what was to come in the following days but we were just so happy to be safe and reunited. We drove into the hotel parked and got some much needed z's.
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