Reunited with Igor... and into Mexico!

We were up at 6:00am Wednesday morning, and down for our included hotel breakfast at 6:30am. It was actually better than expected, with lots of eggs, cheese, fruits, cereals, and yogurts.

Then we had to figure out how we were getting from the hotel to the border crossing. Uber apparently works in Reynosa, but the system showed that any available drivers were quite far away.

So we checked with the reception at the hotel, and asked them to order us a taxi. We explained that we wanted to go to the border crossing. She said that one of the hotel employees could take us but they wanted 250 pesos ($17 CAD, $12 USD) which is fairly expensive for a 5 km (3 mile) ride. She said a taxi would be 300. We didn't have much choice, so we agreed.

We set off with the guy, but at an intersection, he started turning what I thought was the wrong way. It turns out he thought he was taking us to the pedestrian bridge crossing in the center of town, which is a further distance and possibly why it was a bit expensive. Anyhow, we got it all sorted out, and he took us to the right place, but we ended up giving him the 250 pesos anyhow.

Meanwhile, we had been in touch with Bjorn and Freya, and we knew they were on schedule to meet us at the border at 8:00am.

Waiting at the Pharr - Reynosa International Bridge for Bjorn, Freya, and Igor.

Here they come!

Right on schedule.

Photo taken at 8:01am!

Hugs all around, and great to see them after their three week trip through the U.S. And of course great to see that our plan came together!

Next step though, was to get the border paperwork all sorted out. 

Bjorn and Freya needed tourist permits, and that was easy to sort out, although the price has gone up to 717 pesos ($49 CAD, $35 USD) each. 

When you fly into Mexico, the tourist permits are included in the cost of your airfare. So Ruth and I already had ours. Problem is, they don't issue you an paper permit unless you specifically ask for it, and it hadn't occurred to me to do that. And I needed an actual paper permit in order to process the Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for Igor. So unfortunately I had to buy another one.

Then it was on to the next booth where I had to do the TIP. Igor gets a ten year permit, and the cost hasn't changed since we did Sherman's first one many years ago. It is charged out at $55 USD, but then they actually bill your credit card in the equivalent pesos.

And then we were on our way! The whole process took 40 minutes!

We took the cuota (toll road) towards Monterrey. It's fairly expensive, but there have been some problems on the free road, and just to be on the safe side we decided to pay the money. I think the total was over 400 pesos ($27 CAD, $19.50 USD) for the 200 km (120 mile) drive.

It's a fairly boring drive on the toll road, so we didn't take any photos. We turned off at Cadereyta and took the back roads to Santiago where friends Chris and Juan live.

We stopped and took a photo at the Cueva De Los Murcielagos (Bat Cave). 

A nice mural at the parking area.

Igor at the Bat Cave.

Arrived at Chris and Juan's with no problems. We had been here a couple of times before over the years, but it has been quite a while. Chris was out doing some shopping, but Juan was there to let us in.

Sat around getting to know each other and reminiscing, and of course Chris and Juan hadn't met Bjorn and Freya before. Before you knew it time was flying and none of us had had lunch yet. They ended up taking us out to a local restaurant where we had a fabulous meal.

Ruth and I each had a big plate of Enchiladas Suizas.

Ruth, Bjorn, Chris, Juan, Freya, Kevin.

(Taken with Juan's phone).

We were stuffed. Delicious meal, thanks guys! 

During lunch, we had mentioned that Igor's brakes still needed some work. We had had the front ones done in Ottawa before they left, but the rears needed to be done as well. I thought the price in Ottawa was too high, and the mechanic there thought they would last until Mexico, and they did. Of course far cheaper to have them done in Mexico. But both Bjorn and I could tell they needed to get done sooner than later. 

They called the mechanic they use here, and he said if we got it to him before 5:00pm, they would be able to start on it first thing this morning. So that's what we did! Chris and Juan have enough room for all of us to sleep inside the house.

Chris, Ruth, and Freya.

Group photo!

Kevin, Ruth, Chris, Juan, Bjorn, Freya.

Already had a phone call from the mechanic saying he should have Igor ready around noon. The cost of labor will only be 1,600 pesos ($109 CAD, $78 USD) but of course there will be parts on top of that. The total will be way less than half what it would have been in Canada!