Day 94 – The Journey’s End

We departed on this journey in mid-May with the intent of seeing much of Mexico. To add to the previous trips and to get an idea for areas we would like to settle. In this respect, this journey did not disappoint.

Now that we have been on the road for 14 weeks, we are now headed back north and then west. We are caught going through the desert and the southwestern US in August, the trip will be hot – triple digits all the way, and fast – to avoid the heat, we (I) will be driving 8-12 hours per day for a week. It will be brutal.

Camping at El Chico National Park

Things Learned

One of the things that we learned, or re-learned, is that it’s no fun traveling on the coast and desert in the middle of the summer. The first three weeks of the trip we experienced 100º+ on a daily basis. There was a time where my inverter had problems and the air conditioning didn’t work – brutal. Then when we got to our destination, we stayed inside where it was cool, only to venture out at dusk. What we learned was that to travel and enjoy the coast and the desert, one must travel during the winter months. We knew this already, but due to schedules, etc. we were forced to live through it again – and reinforce what we already knew.

Another thing that we knew – and this is subjective, is that the RV parks are, for the most part, just fine to stay in. Sure there are issues, but after being on the road for 14 weeks, that should be expected. We had power, water, and sewer hookups most everywhere we went, and when we didn’t, it wasn’t a big deal, we found solutions.

Police corruption is a thing! However, between the two of us, only one bribe was paid (within 100m after crossing the border, Gary paid out). One big caveat, we are now headed north to Texas, and I would expect 2-3 stops and possible searches on a daily basis. This is not corruption, this is the Mexican Government and Cartels (for where there are no police for reasons unstated) making sure people are not smuggling things north. I expect there to be x-ray machines, manual searches, and canine searches. I do not expect corruption.

As for corruption, in order of degree, EDOMX – the State of Mexico – are the most corrupt. There they told me they were going to impound the bus for “smoking” – all the while we were passed by cars with blown engines, trucks billowing smoke, etc.

Next would be the State of Hidalgo – here is where Gary’s truck and trailer were: too big, too long, too heavy. He agreed to everything they asked for: to pay a fee, to have license confiscated, to have to pick up the license on Tuesday, then Wednesday, etc. The only thing he asked for was a receipt. That frustrated them to all get out. The police officer got tired of standing in the rain trying to get an edge, but Gary didn’t give him one.

Finally, the state of Sonora. It’s supposed to be a “no hassle” zone for foreign plated vehicles, but they got Gary with a “radar” gun that was probably never calibrated and decades old. They got him at the border, he was following me, but they liked how he tasted more than me. As we were just entering the country, Gary chose to pay out. Now he would do it differently.

The Good…

There are so many things that were good about this trip and that are good about Mexico. They are too numerous to mention here, but visit the rest of the blog and you can read about them there. However, I do want to say that after everything, I WILL BE BACK. The people, culture, art, food, history, geography, etc. are amazing. I love cultures from Latin America, and Mexico is near the top. I cannot say enough good things about Mexico and the things we have seen and done here. Some of my posts may seem negative, and sure, we find things that are less than desirable, but they are far fewer and far less important than the good things we have experienced.

Relocation

One of the reasons for this and previous trips has been to scout out regions where we feel we would like to relocate in a few years. Our goldilocks zone is the altiplano or highlands, between 1500 and 2500 meters in the mountains. Luckily for us, this is the majority of the country – from Durango in the north, all the way to the Guatemalan border to the south – on the interior of the country.

Our other key points of concern are:

• A mid-size city – 150K-1mln people
• An international airport within one hour
• decent infrastructure
• culture

We previously identified five areas where we would like to visit. They included Morelia, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla, and Guanajuato. Of the five, my personal top two would be Cholula in Puebla and San Cristobal de las Casa in Chiapas. I can see at least two more trips to validate them.

Closing

I don’t think I will be posting any more on this blog unless something exciting happens between here and home. I would like to thank all of you readers who followed along as your involvement helped me document this trip for revisiting in the future.