We left San Felipe after being euchred by the lack of butterflies and headed to San Miguel, a one day causal drive on mostly two lane mountainous roads and thru several small cities. The view was great but we unfortunately got slowed by a Semi pulling a Pup so it was impossible to pass on the mountain roads. The upside is that we ( mostly I ) got to see the scenery because this area is mainly a variety of agriculture from hay fields to garden type veggies. Amazing thought, the MX diet contains a large consumption of Roma tomatoes and surprising we don’t seem to see may fields of them. However, there are large areas under screen like tarps so these may be tomatoes. This area grows a zillion acres of strawberries and these are under screens, probably to protect them from the birds. The strawberries are sold along the Toll roads and there are stands every few hundred yards. The berries are sold in “weaved “ basket about the size of an ice pail for 100 P (about 8.50 cdn ) and of course Carroll made me stop to buy the strawberries but I think it was the basket she wanted. ha ha. We had to drive thru the main street of this one particular town and it first appeared like it was going to be problematic as we had to navigate around the town square. However, a policeman seen us coming (very slow and carefully) I might add ,so he stopped the traffic and waved us thru. Several people stopped to stare in amazement at us and the Rig as I doubt that they see very many 5th wheels or Motor Homes. The police and the people in the small towns are very helpful in direct us as getting lost seems to be our strong suite.
We finally arrived in San Miguel and since we had been here a few years ago we where sure we knew exactly how to get to the campsite. However, what we did not realize was that we where entering San Miguel from a different direction, either that or someone turned the country of MX 90 degrees without telling us. Anyhow we traveled about 500 M when we realized the KFC was on our left and it was suppose to be on the right. Oh Oh, we where heading into the city and this was a no no. Now was the time to do another U-turn even thought the sign suggested otherwise and hopefully the police where busy elsewhere. We got to the camp site which is located behind a hotel and the English speaking receptions said to park anywhere and pay me later. We chose to park in the shade beside a 45 ft motor home to have more shade. After we set up and I tried my computer I then realized the motor home was blocking out the wifi signal. Oh well, he was leaving in 2 days and i was staying for a week so I would make sure nobody parked there once he left.
The next day, folks from Nova Scotia, that we had met 3 weeks earlier in Villa Corona and traveled with them to Patzcuro happen to drive in. That last we heard they where going to MX City and then to some Pyramids, so this was a surprise to see them. Anyhow we toured San Miguel at night as this is a very old colonial city and the town square is where all the action is at night. The church is the centre piece of the cities architecture as can be seen by the pictures. Also a lady we met from NFLD told Carroll that she must have a pair of “San Miguel” shoes. So we had to search and find the “San Miguel” shoe store and Carroll is now the proud owner of a pair of “overpriced” San Miguel shoes
The pics of this huge church in San Miguel
Supper with our new friends from Nova Scotia
The next day the four of us headed for Dolores Hidalgo which is known for its’ Pottery. We spent several hours checking out the different styles of pottery and of course we purchased some more pottery; as if we need another pot from MX. These are huge pots and, are now “seat belted” in the back seat and they each take a hold seat.
The following day we travelled to Guanajuato . This city was built on an old silver mine, which of course has been “mined Out” and they now use the mine shafts as underground streets. Our friend have a small car so he drove thru these underground streets before we toured the city. We called it touring but the truth be known we where lost at times but we finally found a parking mall to park the car. Besides walking or better to say “wandering” around the city we took a Trolley tour of the city. Needless to say, this city has a zillion jewellery store that sell mainly silver products which attracted Carroll and Jane but bored the hell out of me.
We took an Incline ride to the top of this mountain and this is the view of the city
Our Trolley tour was in Spanish so I did not get the significants of this statue but every city in MX has many statues.
We had planned to leave San Miguel and head for Arizona, which would be a 3 day trip by our self. This trip would have taken us thru Chihuahua, which was not all the endearing as we did hear there was trouble in the area. Our Nova Scotia friends where heading for southern TX, a place they had never been too but we have expert knowledge of the area as we have been there at 6 times. Since we both where travelling alone , we decided over Happy Hour to lead our friends to TX which would take about 1 1/2 days. That way, if we had any problems with our vehicles we could assist each other and of course safety in numbers. The first day was uneventful and roads where excellent , especially since there was only one toll. That evening we stopped at a 24 hour PEMEX truck stop. This was a fairly new PEMEX and well lite. We ask the attendant if we could stay and he yes so we tipped him 2 buck each. I’m sure if we had tipped him 5 bucks he would have thrown in his “first born”. We decide to have our last Happy Hour in MX and during the ritual we noted that we each had a 1/2 gal of wine that was not worth taking to TX so we gave that to the attendant. He was last seen stashing it in his car before anyone else seen it and he had a grin from ear to ear.
The next day we had about a 4 hour drive to the US border , mainly on a 4 lane hwy. it was clear sailing for the 1st 2 hours and then the traffic STOPPED. We assumed an accident while we inched our way forward, until seen a sign which said “Army Inspection” 500 Metres. As we got closer we could see that they where inspecting every vehicle and going thru every piece of luggage. People had to remove their luggage from the roof rack for inspection. Tanker trucks with Gasoline, milk and other products where checked closely. After 55 minutes we made it to the front of the line and my mine was racing just thinking of the mess we would have after they unloaded our trailer. Finally we where wave forward and unbelievable as it may seem we where waved thru, no conversation; just an Army guard with a Red flag waving us on our way. I even stopped to ensure that he was not just moving me to another location. After we got thru I radio our Nova Scotia friends who were behind us and in another line about the good news. They reached the front of the line 20 min after us and they too where waved thru. I don’t know why we where waved thru, maybe because we are Cdn but whatever the reason; it works for me.
The next hurdle is at the border where we have to turn in our visitors Visa and the vehicle stickers. This is required so they know that we have left MX with the vehicles that we brought in. They do want us to sell our vehicles in MX. However, this year, apparently they need to take a picture of each VIN Plate for all vehicles. Our trailer is an 2001 and the VIN plate is not metal as most are but it is a plastic material and it has faded badly. The VIN is visible, to the naked eye ,although barely, it is not apparently “Photogenic” to the MX camera eye. Therefore it took 3 managers , two cameras and 1 hour of my time before they finally got a picture that met their standards, whatever that is.
Then we moved on to the US border. I know from experience that Texas collects a $1.25 for each litre of booze brought in to TX so I had 6 or 7 litres. We also had a Mango and a slice of ham which we knew was not allowed. We normally give them something to take as I think they feel good and besides they usually want to look inside your trailer. Although they were polite they ran the drug dog into our trailer and looked into the storage compartments but did not move a thing. After about 15 mins they said to go so i never paid the Booze Tax. We then went to the Southern Comfort camp site which is the winter home of several friends. After 3 1/2 month it was nice to be in the USA.
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