Rescuing the Jeep 3 - La Migra

The next day we got up and had to return the rental car. We moved all the stuff from the Focus into the Cadi. Surprisingly the Cadi had a smaller trunk. So there would be very little space for the three of us in the car. But hey, it was only a 15 hour drive back to Tuxpan, how uncomfortable would it be?

We met back up with Tavo so we could finish legalizing the Cadi. We found a shop next to Tavo's office where the deal they offered was good enough, and left the car with them. The whole process would take a few hours, so we told Felipe we'd be back across the border in a few hours. We drove to the border again, and up to the US Immigration stop.

Last time we had gone across they asked if we were US citizens. We had produced my passport and Luis' green card, and were waved through. Luis told me that I didn't need to show my passport because I really was a citizen. Punishment for claiming to be a citizen when you weren't was pretty steep - a minimum of 2 or 3 years in jail - so not many people would try to get across the border by lying like that. I figured I would test this theory. We drove up to the checkpoint and showed Luis' green card. "What's your business in the US?" "We're returning this rental car." "Why do you have a rental car?" "Our other car broke down in Texas and we had to get our belongings which were in the car." "Do you have friends in the area?" I wasn't sure where this line of questioning was going, so I turned to Luis. He answered a few more questions and then we were waved into the search area.

We pulled into a parking space and an Immigration agent came up and asked us to get out of the car. We stood in the cold wind and answered some more questions. "What is your relationship?" "Boyfriend/girlfriend." "Why did you rent this car?" "We needed to rescue our belongings." "What are you doing in Mexico?" "Vacation." "Do you have any medications on you?" Huh? "Yeah, some acetominaphin and a few BC Powders." "Ok, you two will need to go inside."

Wow! They really think we've got something going on here. I guess I could understand that. Here we are, a US citizen and a US resident in a rental car, coming back across the border from Mexico with some story about giving away a car and living in Mexico for 6 months just because we can. Later, Tavo said he had heard that Mexican men traveling with American women were complaining because they were being stopped and questioned more frequently lately. So we go into the interrogation area and they call me in first. A polite female agent. She asks all the same questions we've already been asked. She asked how I met Luis. In a bar. She asked how I could afford to live in Mexico for 6 months. It's cheaper in Tuxpan than you think. She looked through my purse. She asked me who Jade was and why I had her number written on a scrap of paper. Jade is the girl who we gave the car to. A few more questions and she let me go. It was Luis' turn next.

I realized as I sat back down that she would probably ask Luis the same questions to see if we had our story straight. When I was talking to her I wasn't sure how much I should say, how much detail I should go into. And, in a very American way, I felt it was none of her friggin' business how I had met Luis and who the hell Jade was. So I had balanced my answers between telling her the answers to her questions and not telling her more than I was comfortable with. Now I realized that it wouldn't have mattered how much detail I had gone into, and in some ways it would have been better if I had. Luis came out after about 15 minutes and we were let go. It was an odd experience, to be questioned like that.

We pulled away from the immigration area and headed for the evil empire - WalMart. Like it or not, it was the only place to get a handful of things we needed. Christmas lights, burnable DVDs, etc. We returned the Focus and called Tavo to come pick us up. Felipe called us to say the Cadi had been legalized and was ready to go. Tavo showed up and said we had to go on a work task with him. He is a Mexican Customs agent dealing in Import/Export, which is why he can freely cross the border. We drove to a warehouse and he looked through boxes of computer parts to see if they matched the import list. They did so we loaded them into his car and headed for the border for the last time.

As we crossed the bridge into Mexico, Tavo pulled his car to the side and we got out with our purchases from WalMart. The car had to be left there for other Customs agents to inspect before it could be driven into the country. We had to walk the last 200 yards across the Rio Grande and into Mexico. What a picture. Me, Luis and Tavo, carrying WalMart bags, walking into Mexico. At one point Luis turned around and there was a semi about 10 feet behind us (remember this is a two lane bridge)! Unfortunately my hands were full or I would have taken a picture!

We met back up with Felipe, said goodbye to Tavo, crammed ourselves into the Cadi and took off. Fifteen hours later we drove back into Tuxpan, exhausted, but with all our stuff finally home.

con abrazos,
laura