Getting to Mexico 5 - La Frontera

As we got closer to the border (la frontera en Español), we saw more and more Border Patrol cars. I had been listening to AM radio the previous day or two when Bush had made his speech about protecting our border and creating a "guest worker" program, and thought about how stupid he was. Here we were, driving through southern Texas scrub land, it's pitch black, and there are long stretches of nothing surrounding the road we were on - how the hell does he think he's going to stop people from coming across? And what was he smoking when he thought illegal aliens would voluntarily turn themselves in to be put into a database only to be forced out of the country after three years? But this is too big an issue to discuss here.

We passed a check point for people traveling in the opposite direction. Luis told me that it is the Customs check at the edge of the "free zone". There is a zone on each side of the border, maybe 50 miles or so, where you are free to travel and bring items to and fro without paying customs tax (assuming you've been cleared at the actual border that is). But at this point, you will be pulled over and asked to declare what you are carrying with you, and possibly pay a tax. There was a corresponding one in Mexico, but it was to check for illegal items being brought into the country. On the US side they check for both material goods as well as for illegal people. People go one way, electronics, tools, and the like go the other way, and both sides try to stop that flow. A few miles after the check point we saw a car parked on the side of the road. Luis suspected that it was a lookout car. It would watch for the Border Patrol and then radio out to hidden cars and people when the BP was out of the region so they could move north and into the US for work or whatever.

As we got closer to la frontera, I got a bit freaked out. Here I was leaving my home country, the only country I ever lived in, to go to live in a small town where no one spoke my language, and the habits, traditions, expectations were all different from what I have been familiar with for the past 38 years. So many of my friends have told me how excited they are for me, what a great adventure this is going to be for me. But at that moment, I was nervous. Would I fit in, would I learn the language, would I be able to adjust to all the differences and lack of familiar items and activities? What do I have in the States that I might not have in Mexico and will I be able to adjust to that? I'm a pretty low-maintenance person to start with, so it's not like I have a great deal of specialized needs, but this time in Mexico would probably point out those that I did have.

We drove ever closer and I saw a line of lights. I guessed that they were along the border. They winked and blinked and looked like they wanted to burst forth and come across to where we were. We found a Wal-Mart (again with the Evil Empire, but when you're on a mission to get somewhere, it's "any port in a storm") and bought last minute items - toothpaste, soap, socks, shampoo. We stopped to fill the tank as well. As expensive as we American's think gas is in the states, it's much more expensive in Mexico. There is only one gasoline company - Pemex - and they set the prices. They don't even bother to list them on their signs like American companies do. You simply drive up to a pump and tell the attendant which gas you want (roja o verde) and how much you want to pay. Then we drove on to the border.

As we crossed the bridge into Mexico, Luis explained to me the insane process of legalizing a car into Mexico. If you have items packed in the car, you pull it over into the right lane on the bridge (it's a four lane bridge, so there isn't much space to start with), and empty out your car. The border agent comes out to inspect your car and then they take it into Mexico to do the paperwork. When they are finished, they bring the car back, you load it back up, and go into Mexico, where you then go through immigration. What happens if they won't let the car in? Do you stay with your belongings, or do you go with the car? What if it is only you traveling, do you trust strangers with your stuff? I have no idea as I didn't have time to ask more about all this.

We drove into the customs stop and Luis got out to talk to one of the agents. He casually waved us over to a parking space and we went in to get my visa. While we were taking care of that, Luis' friend Tavo showed up. Tavo works as a border agent, although I'm not sure what part he actually plays in all of this. But he is a good guy to know when you're going through the paperwork as he is friendly and talked to all the people who were processing us. A little grease for the wheel. My visa cost $21 plus a $5 tip for the guy because he made photocopies for us. This may seem a bit outrageous to many of you, but making copies isn't part of his job and he could have left us hanging, running around trying to get photocopies so we could go on to the next part of the process. So it's like a waiter giving you excellent service, you tip them for the extra service.

The next step was getting a permit for the Murano. We walked across the way and presented all the paperwork to a woman in another office. She was very friendly and was training someone in the process, so it was a lot of explaining things to her coworker, then turning to me & Luis to ask a question or two. The permit for the car was $30. So for $56 I and my car were legally in Mexico.

We drove out of Immigration and into Ciudad Acuña. It was like stepping into a Hollywood set. Everything instantly looked like Mexico. I thought that a city on la frontera would have a more American feeling to it, and apparently some do, but this one didn't. The buildings were built with the same materials as other buildings in Mexico - some adobe brick, some concrete brick with plaster over it. The wiring in the buildings was the same as that I had seen in Tuxpan - bare bulbs and to my American eyes some questionable wiring practices. Even the air smelled different. It was an odd sensation to step so quickly out of one culture and into another.

That night we spent in a hotel. Tavo offered to let us stay at his house, but we were leaving early in the morning as usual, and Luis didn't want to wake Tavo's kids. It was probably the best night of sleep I had had on the whole trip. I don't think I moved once during the whole night. All four hours of it.

As usual, the next morning, bright and early we took off again. Luis said he didn't want me driving in Mexico just yet, so he drove the whole 15 hours to Tuxpan. Nothing had changed since I had been there the year before, and I recognized a lot of places. Now I would be expected to remember people as well as places, but I have a whole year ahead of me to accomplish that.

More later... about the bar, the town, the people....

con abrazos,
laura