The first night after we cross the border, we only aim to make it to Saltillo. If you are in car or care to push it harder you could make it to Matehuala (where there is a campground) or even San Luis Potosi. With the border being stressful and the time there an unknown factor, plus the shorter fall daylight hours, we just drive to Saltillo.
Once there we stay at the Hotel La Fuente. The website make it looks much nicer than it actually is, but for one night, it is fine. If you are staying here with an RV there are a couple of tricks you should know. First the gate is always locked. When we arrive I run in and pay for the night, $200 pesos, while Rob waits in the truck on the very busy road in front. Do not try to go through the archway, it is too low. There is a large gate at the end of the hotel’s lot that, if you ask, they will open for you.
The next thing to know is that if you drive straight in, to the end of the hotel, there is a water spout on the last post of the hotel. You can fill up here before you park your unit in place. There is power on the lamp post opposite the water. Once you are done filling up, you can drive your unit into place next the the light pole and have power for the evening. When we visited here in the fall the restaurant at the hotel was out of business. There is a pizza place, pharmacy, OXXO and Bodega Aurrera within short walking distance. Also the hotel no longer offers Wi-Fi. In the morning you will have to ask them once again to open the big gates to let you out.
Also, there is a pool that you can use at this hotel. It is not heated and could be the coldest water I have ever encountered. It’s too cold swim in but you could skate on it! Here is more information on Saltillo from our trip north in the spring.
This is the route we take from Laredo, Texas to Puerto Morelos, Mexico. Pulling a 25′ travel trailer it takes us about 40 hours behind the wheel. Our average speed is about 70km/hour or 44 miles/hour. In the USA we easily roll 100km/hour. The difference between driving in Mexico and the USA is the road quality and those unexpected delays that you are bound to come across.
We recently crossed from the USA into Mexico at the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge. This crossing is a bit out of the way, but Bridge 2 in downtown Laredo is a bit tight for RV’s and the permit process is easier at Colombia. The Colombia crossing is 26 miles to the west of downtown, off of a toll road (if you are coming from the north). There are no toll booths on this road. We have used it twice and happily waited for the state of Texas to charge us. They never have.
This year we stayed at Vaquero Village & RV Park, just off of the I-35 and Highway 285 the night before we crossed. We had never heard of this place, but it worked our very well as a jumping off point for crossing at Colombia. The owner is a very nice Mexican who couldn’t understand why we would want to cross the border. This place has good Wi-Fi if you park at the back of the campground near the office. One tip make sure you get gas before you leave the I-35.
There is a toll to cross the Solidarity International Bridge, it can be paid in pesos or dollars. Once you cross the bridge you are at the Mexican border. Keep to your left and go through the gates where you will get a red light or a green light. We suspect this is done on weight as we are heavy and usually get a red light. It doesn’t seem to matter, which colour we get, they always stop us. This year to our surprise, after getting a red light, they sent us to the x-ray machine. This crossing now has a new vehicle x-ray, large enough to fit our truck and trailer into easily. Once you drive into the x-ray you are asked to to remove any pets and yourselves from the vehicle and stand behind a cement wall under a shade cover while they scan the vehicle. This takes about 5 minutes.
Once you are cleared to go, you can move on to getting your visa and car permit. The entire adventure took us about 40 minutes. The 25km check point that was always a big hassle seems to have been made redundant for Aduana. They only checked our immigration papers and waved us on. Then it was off to Saltillo.
This is our Lady of Guadalupe who guards the front door to our home.
December 12th is the Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe. Derived from the catholic religion, Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Virgin of Guadalupe is seen everywhere in Mexico from candles in people’s windows to statues on cabbies dashboards to full alters in front of homes. Some believe her to be a darker skinned version of the Madonna or the Virgin Mary, who was first introduced to the culture by Cortez. While other believe that she was a vision seen by a Catholic clergymen in the 16th century.
Leading up to December 12th the “Guadalupeans” show their devotions to the virgin by praying, biking, running, walking and illuminating their home alters. In central Mexico those that worship Our Lady of Guadalupe make a pilgrimage to the Basílica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. People in the Yucatan that do not have resources or time to do this so they show their devotion through long, grueling journeys.
On our most recent trip to Valladolid we saw dozens of groups of young men and a few girls biking through the city.
We then returned to Puerto Morelos to find a parade leading to our own church right past the square. On December 12th devotees will flock to churches and homes throughout the country for masses. The mass will be followed by a celebration and as always in Mexico, a large meal. The tale of Guadalupe runs deep within the Mexican culture and there have been many books written about it for children and adults alike. For the quickie version of the tale, check out Wikipedia or Smart History. They tell very two different stories.
Communication and entertainment are essential when traveling through Mexico, especially in an RV. Here are a few hints and tips to know while on the go.
Entertainment: Unless you are carrying a satellite dish (which we do not) you can pretty much forget about TV in Mexico. Your over the air signal will only pick up a few poor Spanish language signals.
We do carry a portable Sirius/XM satellite radio with us. It has been invaluable in many cases. The year that Hurricane Wilma hit we would have driven right into the eye of the storm if we had not had our radio. We also have an iPod touch which we download pod casts to help entertain us on the long drive. Plus we carry a hard drive of movies to watch in the evenings on our computer or through our TV.
Communication: Mexican cell phones are cheap and easy to get. You can buy a basic Telcel phone with $100mxp credit on it at any OXXO convenience store for about $300-$400mxp, this will allow you to talk and text.
Or you can pick up a Telcel chip for about $150mxp and put it into your unlocked North American phone. A couple of things to keep in mind when buying a phone. Your area code will be wherever you buy the phone and you eventually will need to go into a Telcel office to registrar your phone/chip with your passport to get rid of that annoying recording that you get every time you make a call.
At Telcel offices in Mexico you can also buy a USB modem (Módems USB) that holds a chip and allows you to buy data packages so that you can surf on the 3G network via your laptop. This works great if you happen to be camping in an area where there is good cell service. We have found this extremely handy and have even watched football games over our stick. We carry a smart phone that takes the same chip, so we just switch the chip between our smartphone and the USB stick as needed.
Coming up next…
Crossing the Border
There are quite a few big differences between Mexican campgrounds and your standard North American campgrounds. Camping in Mexico offers challenges you wouldn’t think of north of the border. Here are a few hints and tips that we have found helpful in our 13 years.
Water Pressure: There usually is very little water pressure in Mexican campgrounds, certainly not enough for a good shower. Our work around is to fill our tank up with water and use our own pump. Simple, but it works. This water is not potable, so be sure to stock up on bottled water.
No Air Conditioning: You know that nice big air conditioner you have on the top of your unit, get used to just looking at it in lust on those hot nights because that is all it is good for. If you were to run it at most places you may take out the power to the whole town. You may be plugged into 120 volts, but most places do not have the amperage to run your unit. We always carry two fans, one 120 volt and another 12 volt that plugs into our battery power for those inevitable nights we end up parking at a Pemex.
Electricity: Electricity is dodgy at best in most campgrounds. There are three things that we recommend carrying with you. One is an electrical meter that you can plugin inside your unit. This will show you how many volts you are at and let you know if you have enough power to run your microwave. You may find it entertaining to watch as your voltage meter drops from 120v to 106v when you hit start on your oven. Don’t even think about using your toaster at the same time as microwave, you will pop a breaker for sure!
The other thing that we have frequently run into is reverse polarity. In the past we have plugged in our trailer to find that the metal frame becomes a huge conductor giving you a shock every time you get into your trailer. A work around for this is to use your jumper cables to ground your unit by hooking them to the back bumper and a ground pole. We usually carry an electricity tester that tells us when to expect this.
The third thing we bring along is a surge protector. You can plug your entire unit into this to protect you from those inevitable spikes and brown outs in the not so stable power you can expect.
Have you ever seen road signs like this?
We’ll get used to them. You will see them often when driving in Mexico. There are a few more things to take note of, the first is to make sure you have good maps. And I do say maps. One will not do. We recommend that you make sure Mexico maps are loaded on your GPS. Most GPS’s (we use Garmin) say they contain maps of North America, but for some reason Mexico is no longer in North America.
You will find that your GPS will not always pick the best route. It will usually take you right through the middle of most Mexican cities instead of taking you via the much, much easier bypasses that are usually available.
This is where “The Mexican Guide to Camping” comes in. Although a few years old, this book it still worth it’s weight in gold. Not just for the campgrounds, but for the information on crossing borders, city by-passes and general rules of the road.
If you want a good physical road map, we recommend Guia Roji. We have found it to be the most accurate and detailed featuring highway maps, city maps and toll road information.
Another thing you need to know is Mexican road sign and signals. Did you know that a left turn signal has more than one meaning? If someone in front of you puts on their left turn signal they may be turning left or they may be letting you know that it is clear to pass or…. there are a few other things. To familiarize yourself with all the quirks of the road along with a ton of in sites into the culture, we recommend reading “The People’s Guide to Mexico”.
Once equipped with these things you will have a better chance of having a relaxed and happy journey.
My next few posts are going to be about what to you do before you get behind the wheel to drive through Mexico.
The first thing you need is Mexican Auto Insurance. You will find that most insurance companies will not cover you south of the border. We use a company called Lewis and Lewis Auto Insurance out of California. They work with a Mexican insurance company, Qualitas. They have rates from 10 days to 1 year, plus you can configure your insurance on their website before you commit to them.
If you are in an accident, you call the number they give you, an agent shows up at the scene of the accident where they asses the claim, deal with the police and if there are other parties involved they work with them on your behalf. In the 13 years we have lived in Mexico we have made two claims. The service has been good in both cases, but extremely slow taking 4-5 months to settle claims. However, we were happy with the results in both cases.
When we drive through Mexico we also usually purchase a road side assistance package. With either buy Good Sam or AAA. We do this because they cover towing. They do not have their own operators in Mexico, but they will reimburse you should you have to be towed a long distance. Fortunately we have never had this happen to us. There are other programs available, you can check them out here, but make sure they include Mexico.
Do you know who these guys?
You should. This is a “Green Angel” or “Angeles Verdes”. The Green Angels are a roadside assistance program operated by the Mexican government. You will see the white and green trucks parked by the side of the road or driving down highways. If you should run into vehicle trouble, flag one of these guys down, they provide free service and information (gasoline and parts much be paid for). You can also reaching them by dialing 078 on a Mexican cell.
The truck and trailer are packed. We are on the road in the US, soon to cross into Mexico. We will be posting our trip whenever possible. You can look forward to seeing our trip adventures here along with details on our route. We will include gas, tolls and camping costs for you adventurers out there who want to visit Mexico by vehicle.
Check back here for our updates!
Happy Monday from Puerto Morelos!
We are currently in Canada missing our little fishing village. If you are dreaming of your favourite beach side town and planning a trip for this winter, be sure to check out our websites that we are sure you will find helpful: Alma Libre Bookstore, In Puerto Morelos & Casa De Los Viajeros. And of course there is lots of great information about Mexico right here at Salsa and Sun.
If you are thinking about driving, you can see our trip from Puerto Morelos to the USA border here. It works in reverse too.
Until the cold hits and you head back to Puerto Morelos, you can follow us on FaceBook.
Have a great Monday!
To all our Canadian friends, we hope you enjoy your day off tomorrow. You may choose to spend it like our friend here in San Miguel de Allende.
