Out of campground early… check.
Refueled, repeso’d, and back at the border before 11:00… check.
The US side is primarily concerned about what comes in, and to that end there’s a fence… without a gate of course… that stretches to the horizons. And Mexican side… doesn’t seem to care at all about what comes in… so we crossed in less than fifteen minutes. While we were in line we watched some hawks circling a rising thermal… in and out of Mexico they went… at least a dozen times… unmolested. They ultimately flew off into Arizona. Hope they didn’t have any contraband.
Paperwork previously completed we were now free to roam the country.
If you’re interested here’s the breakdown on bringing a car… or two, and a kid… or three into Mexico. On the right hand side at kilometer 21 is a large parking lot. You’ll need to have the title to your vehicles (original – no copies)… or a letter from your bank that states it’s ok for you to bring the car into Mexico, and your registration. You’ll also need Mexican Auto Insurance… although no one has yet to even so much as ask us if we do. We do. In the first building you’ll fill out your tourist permit. Then you’ll be sent to make copies of everything and the beating begins. You’ll pay roughly two bucks a head for the copies and then you’ll be sent to the Banjercito to get your temporary import permit for your vehicle. You’ll have to pay a refundable deposit of up to US $400 for your car (depends on the year), and if you plan to pay by credit card the name on the card HAS TO MATCH the name on the title. If it doesn’t you’ll need to put up the deposit in US cash… lesson learned the hard way. Then you’ll need to pay the temporary import permit fee of US $55 each, and when that’s complete you’ll need to pay for your tourist permits… which are roughly US $20 each. Then you’ll return to the first building with your proof of payment where your tourist permits will be finalized, your passport stamped, and you’ll be given a rather nifty little sticker – that has a chip in it – to place on your windshield. Total cost for us… excluding insurance… roughly US $1,100. We purchased liability only insurance from Lewis and Lewis for roughly US $180 per vehicle for six-months. Which makes the grand total of our two day crossing about US $1500 ($800 of which will supposedly be returned to us when we leave the country).
The main road out of Nogales is a toll road… costs vary depending upon the size of your vehicle, but you’ll spend at least 350 pesos (roughly US $20, but they ONLY take pesos) to get to Guaymas. The roads in good shape and easy to drive, but don’t expect to get anywhere quickly because construction frequently chokes the highway to one lane each way. It took us well over six-hours to cover the nearly 300 miles that separate Nogales from Guaymas.
As the sun was setting we pulled into the sort of Mexican, but mostly Gringo village of San Marcos. A place that I reckoned would be a good spot to acclimate one of our very timid travelers who’d become convinced that we’d all be dead… or at the very least missing key organs by now. Within fifteen minutes we were feet crossed on the beach, watching the sky go red, enjoying a VERY cold beer. WITH all of our organs intact I might add.
One more thing… gas isn’t cheap in Mexico. I’d been enjoying paying less than $1.50 a gallon for both gas and diesel in Arizona. That abruptly ended here… it’s more than $3.00 a gallon. But on the flip side beer is half as much. Note to self: Drive less… drink more.