United States to Mexico Border Crossing

I am usually nervous when crossing international borders, it is the unknown aspect. Like, are we going to be detained and will we be stripped searched? No reason for any of that to happen but I am the negative person always anticipating the worst.

Flying into Mexico has always been simple and fast but driving a vehicle into Mexico requires that you stop and fill out forms. You may drive into Mexico without an import permit if you do not intend to stay long or travel very far. Apparently there is a distance limit which is enforced by a check stop along the road about an hour inland.

So, first of all you have to pay the United States a toll (maybe it was $3.00) for crossing their bridge to Mexico. Next you are presented with overhead signs indicating the lane you should take: Nothing to Declare; Self Declaration; and Automobile Registration.

We took the Automobile Registration lane and drove around a corner where we were greeted by a traffic guide who pointed us in the right direction. We parked and he came over and pointed us to go inside. Inside there was another helper who pointed us to the Migration counter. First step is to gain personal entry to Mexico. This was simple, just fill out a document like the examples over on that desk and then come back. We did this quickly and returned to the counter. The immigration officer took our forms and only asked where we were headed and when was the last time we were in Mexico. He stamped our forms and sent us to the payment counter where we were to pay the entrance fee of 306 pesos each for visas.

Off to the payment counter where we also had to get and pay for the Temporary Import Permit for the car. This took awhile. We provided originals and copies of my driver's license, vehicle registration and passport.

The young man at the counter was very pleasant. When I said in my limited Spanish that my Spanish was so-so he replied that it was okay as he spoke English. As he took copies and filled out forms on his computer we chatted about our trip. At one point I asked Tanya if she would get me a coca-cola out of the machine. Of course it takes pesos and we didn't have any yet. But, not to worry, the officer offered me a 10 peso coin. I offered him a US$ but he declined saying that the coin was a gift. Now, how nice is that? Don't see that at border crossings.

We paid the fees: 306 pecos each for the visas and US$400 for the vehicle permit. The US$400 is refundable if we exit the country with the vehicle within the 180 days as is
our visas.  We take the receipt back to the immigration officer where we get our visas.

That's it. Simple as that. We put the vehicle permit sticker on the windshield and off we go.

It probably helped that it was 7:00 am on a Sunday morning and there was no one else in line.

Planning for the drive, the scary stuff

Some people believe in God, or some sort of divine being. Others believe in the Universe, others in fate, others in a mixture of things learnt throughout a lifetime of living with some sort of faith. Others  don't. This, what you live today, is "it". Ralph is the later. I fall into the "God" category, with some other stuff mixed in for good measure. So when I say things to him such as "God is sending us a message that we should not be traveling through Mexico on Saturday." I generally get a bit of a look.

Our plan for our Mexico leg of the trip was pretty simple. Drive the same route that we drove in 2009: Austin to Ciudad Victoria on day 1, Ciudad Victoria to Vega de Alatorre on day 2, and then through Veracruz to Oaxaca on Day 3, with a short stop to see family in Cordoba along the way.

Snag: The pet friendly hotel we stayed at in 2009 in Victoria was booked solid for over a week, no availability and no other available alternatives.

The other city that is within a daytime drive of Austin is Tampico. Let the research begin. Well, the research scared the pants off me. Gang run city, drive by, broad daylight shootings, no one lives in the city centre anymore except the poor, abandoned buildings... scary stuff.

I then looked at the US and Canadian government websites for travel warnings. More scary stuff, but the advice was consistent. Don't drive at night, and leave your pink diamond wedding rings and other associated bling, along with your Mercedes SUV at home. Got it.

We had a few options, but we decided to drive to Brownsville, Texas on Saturday and stay there overnight, then drive a long day on the Sunday so we could get deep into Veracruz (and relative safety at a hotel we knew and liked). This kept us driving entirely daylight hours through the north of Mexico.

I also put in place a security plan with my sister and the Canadian consulate network in Mexico. I had been through putting these together as part of my job for international workforces for many years, but having to put one in place for myself was really... Scary.

Here is what the security plan looked like:

From Sunday morning, once we cross the Mexican border (estimated time is between 7 and 8 a.m), we will text you approximately every 60 minutes. If you can respond to the texts to assure us that they are being received, we will continue to text. If you don't respond, we will call you after 30 minutes. If we miss 2 check in times, please try to call us at 416 407 4601 every 30 minutes for the next 90 minutes.

If we fail to respond, please contact the consulate in Monterey to advise them. They will need to liaise with local police according to their usual protocols.

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/mexico-mexique/offices-bureaux/index.aspx?lang=eng&menu_id=18

Vehicle is a blue grand caravan, 2010, Ontario plate BVRC 665. Our travel path is in a screen shot attached. Basically the 101 and the 180.

I also registered on the Registrar of Canadians Abroad (ROCA) database and emailed the consulate in Oaxaca with our travel itinerary.

As you all know we arrived safely in Oaxaca, I am presuming you have two questions: was it scary, and did my sister have a nervous breakdown?

From the border all the way through to Tampico, the road conditions were excellent and there is a lot of military and federal police presence. By a lot, I mean you see military convoys (2 to 3 jeeps with 5 to 7 heavily armed troops) about once every hour, and you also see federal police stops at almost every gas station, and then about every hour as well. We were waived through the roadblocks in all cases. In each instance the officials were friendly and courteous.

We had cell service almost the entire way, so the hourly check ins went well. When we were going through a particular mountain pass (by Xoxotitla) and our hourly text message was not going through, we knew my sister would not activate any consulate assistance for several hours of failed attempts, and we were confident we would be back into a cell zone within that time frame., and we were.

Our lovely GPS guided us right through the centre of Tampico (ugh) but it was fine overall. I am very glad we did not stay there, there is a roughness to the town I have not experienced anywhere else in Mexico, but driving through in the middle of the day on a Sunday meant lots of people were around and it felt reasonable to be there.

Road conditions deteriorated quickly after Tampico, but safety obviously increased, as military and police presence dwindled at about the same rate the potholes got deeper and wider.

Would I do the drive again - yes, and following all the same steps we did this time. I felt secure in my plan. I would stop, though, at one of the many hotels along the Costa Esmeralda, as it was just about getting dark when we driving through there, but I did not want to waste time going from place to place to see if they accepted cats.

Before we left, our friends frequently asked us if Mexico was safe, and I always used to answer that Oaxaca is incredibly safe, which is still true. However, now I would add that they should please fly to come and see us, and not drive through the north of Mexico if not necessary.

United States Border Crossings

I thought that our border crossing into the United States deserved special attention. We are often asked how difficult it is to cross these borders in a vehicle and with a cat. Generally it is very straight forward.

The first border crossing was on a Wednesday morning in October at Philipsburg, Quebec south of Montreal. Traffic was extremely light. We stopped at the Duty Free to buy cigars. Sixty-five cigars to be exact. Then off to the border crossing.

Two lanes were open and only one car in front of us. Perfect, we should be on our way within 90 seconds. But no. We ended up with a chatty officer. He asked where we would end our day and I said Albany, N.Y. He asked where our final destination would be and I said Oaxaca, Mx. This did not seems to raise his interest. Tanya also said that we had a cat with us and if he wanted to see our Record of Good Health documents. No that was fine he said.

Next he asked if we had any fruit or food which we indicated, no. Then he asked if we had any alcohol or tobacco. I said that we had just bought cigars at the Duty Free. I did not say anything about the 12 bottles of wine and port we had with us. Well, the cigars perked his interest. He got out of his shack and walked around to the passenger side of the van. He opened the side door and peered in. I pointed out the bag with the cigars and he looked inside and asked if any were Cuban. No, they were Nicaraguan and Dominican.

Then he leaned over right into the van to look at Diego our cat who was sitting in the litter box at that time. "Oh, there's the cat." he said and then returned to his shack.

He still held on to our passports and started telling us about his three cats. He had two cats and then another turned up, "You know how it is." he said. He described his cats and from time to time he glanced at his computer. Was he delaying us while he was waiting for some report on his computer? Maybe.

Finally, he handed back our passports and wished us a safe stay in Mexico. All of this probably did not take longer that 5 minutes but when we are used to a cursory glance and few questions it seemed very long. And surprisingly, he never commented on the super loaded van or what was in there. He didn't follow up on the alcohol either. I don't expect that our personal bottles would have been an issue anyway. Then off we drove.

Visitng... friends, Elvis and travel plan changes

Well, we spent 5 hours at Graceland, home of The King. It was quite an interesting tour on many levels. It is way more shrine like, rather than museum like. They had an ipad to guide you around and provide you with good detailed information and offered as much or as little as you wanted to know. Ralph and I decided that Graceland was not an employer of choice. All the staff seemed to be at a general level of miserable. From the shuttle drivers to the picture takers to the restaurant and gift store staff, no one was specifically unfriendly, but none of the staff seemed overly excited to be there. We would highly recommend it as a tour stop, though, very impressive overall. Be prepared to buy something in the gift shop. They even had Elvis sheet sets.

We left Memphis early and drove onwards to Austin, and we've been spending our days visiting friends we have here, and prepping for our crossing over into Mexico. As many of you know, the northern part of Mexico is the least safe part. We were quite dismayed to learn that the great hotel we stayed at in Ciudad Victoria was fully booked for almost a week. We had to decide on a change, consider our different options: stay in the USA close to the border crossing, stay on longer in Austin, drive through Monterey, stop in Tampico... Lots of choices, but not many of them very safe. After a lot of discussion, research and prayer (more on this in a future post) we elected to stay close to the border crossing in Brownsville on the US side on Saturday, dead head very early in the morning right down to Veracruz on Sunday, and then inland to Oaxaca on Monday. But for tonight, we have a restful day enjoying friends, warm weather and Indian food for dinner at home this evening!

Road Trip with Cat - Rules of Engagement

Diego, our 4.5 year old Siamese cat, is joining us on our Mexico move. Although Diego has experienced a lot of change in the past 2 years, no matter how much coaching I had done with him beforehand, nothing quite prepares one for a 27 day road trip.

Diego has learnt a few things in the past few days that he wanted me to share here, for prosperity:

1. Cat beds rock.



2. Hotels that accept pets always charge an extra fee, and these fees are worth it in all cases. Some of these hotels include Quality Inn, all of the Marriott chain, and Staybridge Suites.
3. Park in the shade in all cases.
4. Extra canned, soft cat food is required for traveling.
5. Bring all toys and blankets that have ever been enjoyed/draped with cat fur. They will make settling into a new hotel room more agreeable for you as well as me.
6. When leaving me alone in the van at a gas station, bring your keys with you. The automatic door locks on the inside door panels are super fun to play with.
7. Locking you out of the car was super fun, too. Thanks for parking in the shade.

Human notes: CAA has a partnership with AAA. Just call the 1-800 number to be redirected to the local dispatch, and having a local who can spell the town you are actually in is also mighty helpful.

Three more sleeps 'till Elvis

After spending 10 days visiting family in Bath, Ontario, organizing the build of our cottage in Chertsey, Quebec and celebrating my grandfather's 93rd birthday and Canadian Thanksgiving in St. Lazare, it was time to hit the road for our drive to Oaxaca. In total, it will be about 4500km to drive to Oaxaca, and if we drove straight down, we'd drive for 6 days, about 10 hours per day. We drove in 2009 and crossed at Brownsville, Texas, and then drove down the coast through Ciudad Victoria, Tampico, Veracruz and from there cut inland on the Toll highway to Puebla and then south to Oaxaca. We'll take roughly the same route this time. It's three days of hard driving from the US border to Oaxaca. It's lovely, but long. We're going to consider a dashboard camera to capture the Mexico drive, so we'll put that video (sped up, of course!) here if we decide to do that. Any brand suggestions from anyone out there?

Today we are in New York. Albany was home last night, and the drive through the Adirondack National Park was spectacular, the fall colours were brilliant. Of course the iPad and camera were in the back of the Caravan, so no original pictures for the blog today. I will do better tomorrow! We head to New York City for a night to visit good friends, and then we're off to Somewhere in Tennessee overnight and then... Memphis! I am just about to go online to purchase our VIP tour tickets to Graceland!  Three more sleeps 'till Elvis people! The King's palace awaits us. I am all shook up...

Insurance

One would think that getting auto and home insurance should be simple. Well not if you do not have a permanent address. Our mail is being forwarded to a Toronto friend. The only property that we maintain is the cottage north of Montreal in Chertsey, P.Q. We do not get mail here because we will not be here on a regular basis. In the Spring we will have the cottage rebuilt. That is why we will be back in the Spring for a short time.

Because we will only be in Quebec for 15 days it does not make sense to transfer registration to Quebec. Fair enough. We will maintain Ontario insurance until we cross the border into Mexico at which time our Ontario policy will be cancelled. We then need Mexico auto insurance. This makes sense also. Now the tricky part. When we return to Canada in April we need to continue Mexico insurance to get us back to Quebec. Then we can get Quebec plates and Quebec insurance.

More tricky stuff. We will only be staying in Quebec for a few months and then moving permanently to Mexico. Will an Insurer provide us insurance for such a short time? We will wait and see.

Housing insurance is worse. Because we do not have a permanent address our Insurance Company will not insure the Cottage nor our belongings which we have stored in a locker in Montreal. Crazy. Out intent is to move the remainder of our stuff to Mexico when we return next Summer. Let us hope that there is no fire at the Storage Company before we return. Maybe we will use a Moving Company to move our stuff to Mexico and they can insure during the transfer.

Keep watching for more Insurance posts as this story will surely evolve.

Lessons learned: When leaving the country, go once, forget a transition.