Nuevo Progreso, Mexico

Tuesday November 18…10:15pm

We had set the alarm for 6:20am in order to be ready to head across the border at 7:30am. Traffic going through Brownsville was fairly heavy, but by the time we reached the bridge and border it was pretty quiet. We paid the $7.00 US ($8.40 CAN)(for motorhomes) bridge toll and crossed in to Mexico.

We were both pulled over at Mexican customs. The inspector checked that our vehicle permits were in order. These are the 10 year motorhome permits that we bought last year when we crossed into the Baja. They must be turned in at any Mexican border station at some point before they expire. She also checked our passports and had a quick look inside the RV’s. She didn’t like Whiskey, especially after Whiskey snapped at her. I think she was much faster checking Sherman as a result. We went inside and had no problem getting our Mexican tourist cards that are valid for 180 days.

We filled our propane tank, so we won’t need to worry about that for another 6 weeks or more.

We took Mex Highway 101 from Brownsville, past San Fernando to the turn off to Soto La Marina. This road was in very nice condition. Not much scenery, as this area is very fertile land and is all being used for very large corporate farming. The fields are huge, some going for as far as you can see. We pass through a few farming villages though, and the children are happy to wave at us. We went through two separate federal police stop checks. One officer at the first one spoke half decent English, and apologized for the inconvenience stating “Our concern is for your total security”. The border problems with the drug gangs have been well publicized in the media, however we saw nothing at all that would cause any reason to worry. At the second stop check, we pulled over just after it to take a break, and one of the gaurds came over to make sure we had no problems. They honestly seem to be making an effort to change the opinion people have about the police and security here.

Large farmers fields

Mexico scenery

Not much for miles...

Our goal is to get to a beach camping spot called Barra El Tordo. We didn’t make it there today, but we now have only about 110 kms (70 miles) to drive tomorrow. We stopped at a Pemex gas station and asked the manager if we could park in behind. He was very generous and said no problem, even leading us to a nice grassy area and showing us where we could dump our holding tanks in the morning. Because he spoke no English, we did all of this communication using our very basic Spanish, and some sign language. It’s kind of fun communicating this way, and he seemed to appreciate our efforts with Spanish. We don’t need gas, but we’ll top up our fuel tanks here in the morning.

Parked up for the night behind the Pemex station

Had S&G over for BBQ hamburgers for supper, and then played euchre in the evening.

Total nights sleeping in a motorhome…392

November Fuel $ 434.74 CAN

November Grocery $454.06 CAN

November Overnight costs $ 32.80 CAN