JTOG Day 19: Crossing the Border into Mexico!

The plan for the first day in Mexico was simple. Get up early, get across the border, get Torch and myself registered (her as a vehicle, me with a personal visa) and make it as far as reasonable to Mexico City which according to Google Maps was 703 miles away and a drive of 10-1/2 hours. So much for plans as I ended up making it 323 miles, driving pretty much all day, to Ciudad Victoria and staying there my first night. Victoria City is kind of on the way to Mexico City but not exactly!

The border crossing was uneventful to the extent I didn’t even realize I was in already in Mexico. I don’t really remember any tough questions, it seemed more like an Upstate toll plaza on the New York State Thruway. In fact I had to pull over and ask someone fro sure if I had crossed the border and what do I need to do next. They were nice, offered to join me (which i declined), and pointed me in the right direction—toward the BIG flag of Mexico and the Control De Internacion Temporal De Vehiculos or the Control Temporary Importation Of Vehicles. Both Torch and I would be imported to Mexico on a temporary basis!

CLICK here for a Video of my stop at the Control De Internacion Temporal De Vehiculos.

My bet to myself was that it would take two hours for us to cross the border, be processed how ever we needed to be processed and on our way to Mexico City. We arrived at the right time as there wasn’t much of a delay at the border or lines at the  place with the BIG flag of Mexico above it. There was only one major problem and it was with Torch. When they typed in her VIN the system identified her as ‘Other’ instead of the beautiful Infiniti M30 2-door convertible that she was. It took some time to resolve especially with the language barrier. I don’t speak Spanish and Norma Teresa Torres Zavala didn;t speak English. If she had I probably would be better educated on why she had four names.

All-in-all the four-step process went quite smoothly. Step 1 was get the papers and fill them out. Step 2 was to pay two dollars for copies. I was able to skip Step 3 whatever it was (documentarian in me, see pictures at bottom and please explain if you can). Step 4 was to verify and resolve Torch’s heritage and of course pay the fees, $24 for my personal visa and $48 for Torch’s plus a refundable $200 deposit to redeemable when Torch left the country. Which I think I received back, not really sure, checked, yes I did!

We were free to come (and more importantly to go) and back on the road at 9:41 am, beating my two-hour guesstimate by twenty minutes!

So here is Lesson One from the ‘Journey to Olympic Golf’ or any other international travel for that matter. Get a good local phone that works and has GPS. I did not do that (mainly for cost and limited time in each country) but learned my lesson and did it in Australia and New Zealand this past winter. I had a Garmin in Mexico which was good as far as it went until I lost the satellite connection. I was relying on maps (real maps, you know the ones you can fold) and handwritten notes from internet Google Maps directions. And you know how bad my handwriting is!

I passed the first “bear left, frog right” Muppets fork in the road by choosing correctly the ‘cuota’ (tollway) and not the ‘libre’ (free local road) coming out of Nuevo Laredo and heading towards Monterrey. Going along on my merri way, however, I missed the exit for the tollway to Mexico City. I was expecting it to be closer to Monterrey but it was much earlier and I sailed right by it as far as I can figure out. So there I was in Monterrey which is beautiful and encircled by a highway I was travelling along and around for a few times. Never seeing the tollway to Mexico City I pulled out my map and when I say a highway that was on the map I took it. In this game of Mexican Roulette that road was Mexico 85 leading me to Ciudad Victoria. I rationalized the choice (like I had a choice) by noting to myself that this route would bring me closer to the Gulf of Mexico and perhaps I could have lunch in Tampico the next day at a nice place overlooking the water. The reality was something entirely different and nearly ended my odyssey two days into Mexico. More on that tomorrow.

Like the night before in Laredo I pulled into a McDonald’s to use the free internet and Priceline a room for the night. No, Priceline was not a sponsor though I did find then a convenient, efficient and cost effective way to find a bed when needed. Across from the McDonald’s was a Chilli’s so I went in there and had dinner and met some nice young people.

Day 1 in Mexico, the 19th of the ‘Journey to Olympic Golf’ was a good day. Torch and I were safe, making progress towards Mexico City and enjoying our time in Mexico.

Hopefully more of the same tomorrow but not exactly…

There are some more stories in the pictures below this request to make a donation to The First Tee…

I am looking for 100 new friends in the next 100 days to make a $100 donation (or any amount that you are able to make) to The First Tee. Each day I will be reliving the original “Journey to Olympic Golf” and hope to find a new friend in golf. Is that you? Please join me in giving back to the game we all love.

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Please select ‘Andy Reistetter’s Journey to Olympic Golf’ on the drop-down menu for the question ‘What inspired you to make a gift today? This is for tracking purposes only, Andy does not receive any part of your donation or anything financially from The First Tee organization.

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