8 December ‘06
It wasn’t long after leaving El Centro, that we got a good idea of what it was going to be like driving on the other side of the border. After leaving Interstate Highway 8 from El Centro, we turned south onto CA 94 which took us to the border crossing at Takate. It was a beautiful drive, with narrow roads that kept us on our toes, trees that sometimes made us duck, and the curves…well it was exciting. When we approached the border, we found that we were only one of many that were to cross this early Friday afternoon. In front of us were 12 to 15 semi trucks that seemed to move very slowly, then there was the cars…they came out from around us like someone had pulled their chain, and rushed through without any “wait time”. The problem was, they had to move into on-coming traffic to do this and I didn’t feel we could do the same quite as gracefully or get away with it. Well after 10 minutes of waiting and 50 cars going by, I bit the bullet and said “we’re going”…Pulling out wasn’t a problem, it was having all the cars and trucks now coming at us in “their” lane. This must happen all the time, as they all went off to the shoulder or slithered by us with out giving any kind of “jesters” to us. Crossing through the gates was a test as well…they were a tight fit. Not only were the gates tight, the streets in front of us as we continued through Tecate were just as tight. We even had to pass cars and small delivery trucks that were double parked on these narrow streets. There was a lot of knuckle biting going on, and oh yes, Louise had to shut her eyes a couple of times (damn glad she wasn’t driving). Going across the border was no big deal as there was only this stop and go signal that stayed green all the time, so we just continued through without any questions or regulations. Then it was onto Ensenada down highway MX 3. This route took us through a number of mountain passes that were filled with hairpin turns and steep climbs and steeper drops into the valleys below that are filled with grape vines on the wires and the large wineries. All that we have heard and read about the narrow roads without shoulders is absolutely TRUE… You really notice it when you’ve got a large truck coming at you and he is hugging the shoulder, as you are trying to do, and you’ve just missed each other as he passes. Coming over the last pass, we find the Pacific Ocean out there in front of us and Ensenada all along the coastline. Now it is time to find the Immigration Office. Fortunately, about 5 years ago, we had to find this same office, so I thought we just might be lucky enough to drive right to it. Luck was with us two different ways…one, we drove directly to it, and two, there was a parking spot right at the front door that would handle both the coach and the toad…”Can You Believe This (that)?”… We grabbed our passports and headed right in. Once inside we found out that about 2 years or so ago, they changed the procedures of getting the immigration papers. Now you must get them at the border crossings…”Although”…you can get them if you pay a fine…hell, the fine was $5 and I sure as heck wasn’t going to go all the way back to the border….here’s my $5. Well the whole bill came out to $10 dollar fine (Lou’s and mine) and $50 for the pass. Now let’s get on the road and get to a campground. The immigration office is located just a block off the wharf, the road is a wide two lane with a raised center divider. We had to find a place to turn around, so a little way up the road, I found my place and made the big swing….”woops, we aren’t going to make it!!!” Sure as heck, I had gotten myself into a position that I was now blocking just about all the lanes and can’t back up (you can’t back up with the toad attached to the back). I jumped out of the coach with Louise hot on my tail, the keys to the Tracker in hand and heading out to do the quickest un-hitch you’ve ever seen. Now if this would have happened in the States, I would have seen more “signals” and heard more horns a blowing…not here, they take this kind of stupid deal as possibly common place…no big deal. I still didn’t hesitate, we were un-hitched and pulled away before the dust hit the ground from us getting out or the coach. We can laugh about it now, but it wasn’t too funny then.
It wasn’t long after leaving El Centro, that we got a good idea of what it was going to be like driving on the other side of the border. After leaving Interstate Highway 8 from El Centro, we turned south onto CA 94 which took us to the border crossing at Takate. It was a beautiful drive, with narrow roads that kept us on our toes, trees that sometimes made us duck, and the curves…well it was exciting. When we approached the border, we found that we were only one of many that were to cross this early Friday afternoon. In front of us were 12 to 15 semi trucks that seemed to move very slowly, then there was the cars…they came out from around us like someone had pulled their chain, and rushed through without any “wait time”. The problem was, they had to move into on-coming traffic to do this and I didn’t feel we could do the same quite as gracefully or get away with it. Well after 10 minutes of waiting and 50 cars going by, I bit the bullet and said “we’re going”…Pulling out wasn’t a problem, it was having all the cars and trucks now coming at us in “their” lane. This must happen all the time, as they all went off to the shoulder or slithered by us with out giving any kind of “jesters” to us. Crossing through the gates was a test as well…they were a tight fit. Not only were the gates tight, the streets in front of us as we continued through Tecate were just as tight. We even had to pass cars and small delivery trucks that were double parked on these narrow streets. There was a lot of knuckle biting going on, and oh yes, Louise had to shut her eyes a couple of times (damn glad she wasn’t driving). Going across the border was no big deal as there was only this stop and go signal that stayed green all the time, so we just continued through without any questions or regulations. Then it was onto Ensenada down highway MX 3. This route took us through a number of mountain passes that were filled with hairpin turns and steep climbs and steeper drops into the valleys below that are filled with grape vines on the wires and the large wineries. All that we have heard and read about the narrow roads without shoulders is absolutely TRUE… You really notice it when you’ve got a large truck coming at you and he is hugging the shoulder, as you are trying to do, and you’ve just missed each other as he passes. Coming over the last pass, we find the Pacific Ocean out there in front of us and Ensenada all along the coastline. Now it is time to find the Immigration Office. Fortunately, about 5 years ago, we had to find this same office, so I thought we just might be lucky enough to drive right to it. Luck was with us two different ways…one, we drove directly to it, and two, there was a parking spot right at the front door that would handle both the coach and the toad…”Can You Believe This (that)?”… We grabbed our passports and headed right in. Once inside we found out that about 2 years or so ago, they changed the procedures of getting the immigration papers. Now you must get them at the border crossings…”Although”…you can get them if you pay a fine…hell, the fine was $5 and I sure as heck wasn’t going to go all the way back to the border….here’s my $5. Well the whole bill came out to $10 dollar fine (Lou’s and mine) and $50 for the pass. Now let’s get on the road and get to a campground. The immigration office is located just a block off the wharf, the road is a wide two lane with a raised center divider. We had to find a place to turn around, so a little way up the road, I found my place and made the big swing….”woops, we aren’t going to make it!!!” Sure as heck, I had gotten myself into a position that I was now blocking just about all the lanes and can’t back up (you can’t back up with the toad attached to the back). I jumped out of the coach with Louise hot on my tail, the keys to the Tracker in hand and heading out to do the quickest un-hitch you’ve ever seen. Now if this would have happened in the States, I would have seen more “signals” and heard more horns a blowing…not here, they take this kind of stupid deal as possibly common place…no big deal. I still didn’t hesitate, we were un-hitched and pulled away before the dust hit the ground from us getting out or the coach. We can laugh about it now, but it wasn’t too funny then.