It’s wonderful to have wireless in the desert! We have been visiting with my (Linda’s) parents in Holtville, California, for the past few days, and here is an update and pictures since we left El fuerte.

San Carlos – (Jan 28)

We drove from El fuerte to San Carlos. During this drive we had a fruita inspection, military inspection and a police inspection. We opted for the cuota road as opposed to the libre (cost: 58, 58, 59 and 25 pesos). San Carlos is a beautiful place – the scenery is amazing. We stayed two nights at the El Mirador RV Park (250 pesos). We had beautiful sunny days dampened with a cold nasty wind therefore we had a r&r, internet and laundry day with a visit to the marina and the beach. (See attached photos.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/PlanteTardif/SanCarlos

Border Crossing – (Jan 30)

13 hour day! San Carlos, Mexico to Holtville, California, USA

Two cuotas today (cost: 59 and 55 pesos) and an interesting military inspection. We both had to get out of the van. One soldier shook hands with Paul as we are Canadians, two friendly soldiers are chatting with us, asking about French and English in Canada, the Garmin GPS, where we have been, etc., and two other serious soldiers are checking the van, hitting it with a stick/screwdriver(!), looking inside and finally Paul raised the roof for them. And then – it’s Adios Amigos!!

We opted to cross in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, MEXICO / San Luis, Arizona USA and therefore we had to return our vehicle permit and tourist cards at the Migracion and Banjercito offices at San Emeterio (17 miles east of Sonoyta /Lukeville USA, on Mex 2). Everything went smooth, once we found the entrance. The drive from Sonoyta to San Luis was very beautiful with all its mountains. We followed a high border patrol fence to prevent the Mexicans from entering the USA illegally. We even witnessed a couple on the side of the road, hugging and we presumed that it could have been the beginning of a long journey/walk through the moutains for one of them … It’s sure not easy for our Mexican friends to enter the USA. After a 45-minute line-up we crossed the border with no problems. We drove to Yuma, Arizona and then on to Holtville, California (approx. 100 km) and found my parents at the Holtville Hot Spring BLM. (See attached photos.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/PlanteTardif/BorderCrossingAdiosMexico

Adios Mexico!!!

We were very sad to return our Mexican vehicle permit and tourist cards as this signified the end our Mexican journey. We have most enjoyed every aspect of our time in Mexico and we hope to return again some day soon. Fortunately we still have one more month of vacation, so stay tuned …

Linda & Paul

Posted on February 6th, 2008 by platar
Filed under: Linda Plante & Paul Tardif