First off, I want to make it clear that I understand that playing by the rules is for chumps and people with no imagination. But, I like to try to do things the right way. At least at first.
Before I started my move to Mexico, I had to apply for my FM-3, sort of a residency visa. That way I can get on the Mexican health care program, import my car and some other things I forget what they are. That went pretty smooth, trouble started when I made the actual move. Since I had the FM-3, I was supposed to make a list of all my household goods and submit them to immigration at the border. Turns out, this requirement is for people with a whole truckload of stuff. All I had was what I could cram in my Ford Explorer but since I submitted the list I was stuck. Here's a picture of the Mexican consulate in Laredo, Texas:
Submitting the list cost me $127 US dollars and that was OK, but then I found out that since I had submitted the list I had to use a customs broker to get my stuff across the border. For another $400. Plus it took three hours because they had to completely unpack the Explorer and check everything against the list.
If I ever do this again I will heed the advice of someone I met later who said, "Just drive to the 'Nothing to Declare' lane at the border and just sit there". Chances are they will see that you are just a dumb Gringo and wave you through. Worse case, they will check through your stuff and they might charge you duty or customs or whatever they call it. Probably wouldn't be as much as I paid to do things the right way.
I didn't take any pictures at the border since I'm not so sure they like people taking pictures of them doing all these official duties. It was pretty dull anyway. Figured I'd be taking pictures along the way.
So, at 11AM instead of 8AM like I had hoped, I'm finally rolling down the Mexican highway. After about 20 miles I come to a military checkpoint. All these soldiers with assault rifles. And guess what? They see a Gringo with a packed Explorer and think they better check. I showed them all the paperwork I got at the border, but it didn't help. Two of them rooted through my stuff, only took 20 minutes or so this time.
Finally I'm free. After I made the turn south between Monterrey and Saltillo I find my self between two mountain ranges and it is just beautiful. Like driving through the Rockies, except everything was green. I had packed my camera so I could get to it easily for just this, but after the two rounds of unpacking and packing back up it was buried in there somewhere and since I was way behind on time I didn't want to stop and unpack again.
My original plan was to make it to Guadalaraja the first day and spend the night there, but I was three hours behind. I knew of a hotel in San Luis Potosi but I couldn't find it. Hotels in Mexico are hard to find except in tourist areas like coastal towns where they are everywhere. So I figured I would just take the turnoff to Guadalajara and find a hotel on that side of San Luis Potosi.
The map showed the highway to be a regular two-lane road, but it turned out to be a goat trail. Plus it was raining and getting dark. They say don't drive in Mexico after dark, but it's not because of bandidos. Mexico doesn't have fleets of big John Deere lawnmowers to keep the weeds down by the highways. They have horses and cattle, which they let graze by the side of the road and in the center medians. I saw plenty of these big critters during the day, also a couple of dead horses, legs sticking up and the whole deal. That's why you don't drive at night. The horses and cattle are probably still out there.
About 8:30 I stopped at a little restaurant in some little town and had sort-of-like fajitas served by a nice old lady who was just happy someone had dropped by. Fajitas and a coke for five bucks and I'm refreshed and on the road, figuring I'm going to wind up driving all night.
An hour or so later, in the middle of nowhere, a "HOTEL" sign popped up out of the gloom. It was still raining. I rang the bell for a few minutes and finally some guy came out. Brand new little hotel the guy had built next to his house 50 miles from any city. Anyhow, he showed me the room, nice and clean and new but no heater. Did I mention I was in the high country? It had been in the 70's all day and now it was getting chilly. No heater.
So I laid out the towels and a couple of T-shirts over the blankets and snuggled in. It was getting colder but it felt better than driving down a two-lane combination road and cattle grazing area in the rain and the dark. Plus the room had a TV that got one channel. And it was playing a 1970's vintage Kung-Fu movie dubbed into English with Spanish sub-titles. Good thing I was really tired.
The next morning I dug out the camera. Here's a shot of the little hotel:
Down the road I go. Here's a pic of a typical Mexican toll road:
I made it to Guadalajara safe and sound. My map made it look like my highway would come to a junction with the highway to Colima and then to Manzanillo, but it pretty much dumped me into the middle of the city. I was able to spot a sign that said "Colima" but missed the turn-off. I took the next turn and tried to double back but that didn't work. So I pretty much made a right turn on the next major intersection and kept the car pointed south-west and found the right highway by pure dumb luck.
So, at last I find myself in Manzanillo and on the main drag on the way to my little home. Here's a typical shot of the road that parallels the beach:
Those trees in the center median are coconut trees. Those things are everywhere. When the coconuts are getting ripe you probably don't want to be driving in the inside lane.
Here's the little guard house just before the big hill going on to the peninsula. There's always someone in there, but I don't really know what they do. Plus more coconut trees:
Just before the turnoff toward the condos. You can see the road dead-ends into the ocean. On the right is one of the Mexican buses that go from one town to the other.
And the driveway of the condos:
And the tiny living room of the condo, starting to fill it with boxes:
I took a second to shoot a panoramic shot from the balcony:
Home, finally. I'll take more pictures as I go.