Into the north of Mexico
Crossing the border into Mexico is a breeze. The United States charges a $3.50 toll, Mexican customs agents look over the bike, and then it’s up to me to find the immigration and vehicle import office around the corner. It’s a big building with big signs. You can’t miss it unless you don’t read Spanish. I read Spanish better than I speak and understand it. Inside, the three-step process takes about an hour.
Step one is immigration for the tourist permit. Step two is in the same building immediately after step one for copies of my passport, vehicle title, and just completed tourist permit. Copies cost $0.25 each. Then I’m off to step four, the bank, which is also in the same building. I pay for the tourist permit and vehicle import as well as a vehicle deposit at the bank. I’m still adding up the cost because my receipts are in Spanish, USD, and pesos. When the transactions clear with Capital One, I’ll know exact amounts.
After making myself official, I head out of Nuevo Laredo and on to the remote roads of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila. Mountains spring up out of nowhere to my delight! The roads are beautiful if straight. The views, breathtaking. I’m excited to be in Mexico!
After a quick look over by customs, they send me around the corner to this building to process my tourist permit and vehicle import.
That’s a bullet hole for sure.
I’m very pleased with T-Mobile’s data coverage; these towers show up from time to time and offer Edge and 3G speeds.
The mountains start immediately!
Mexico has roadside devotions to God just in case you’re on the road and miss Sunday Mass.
Finding camp the first night is tricky; I’m several kilometers out of town and everything is fenced!
This spot looks good because it’s mostly hidden from the road that’s only 20 meters away.
I make camp before sunset.
The fence is meant to keep the animals in; certainly it’s not meant to keep me from exploring. A windmill pumps water into this concrete tank. It’s so windy, the water overflows today.
Whatever the animal is that eats from this tire, it has an awesome view.
Maybe this was once a house.
I wake up to caballos eating and snorting on the other side of the fence!
They run off when I make noise, and then they inch closer as I quiet down.
Atop a hill in Monclova, I find fast 3G internet and Skype with Eric.
Given how few buildings are painted, the graffiti adds a nice colorful touch to this abandoned wall.
Hours and hours of straight roads in the desert between these beautiful mountains.
For night two, I’m a few clicks east of Mapimi and north west of Torreon; this concrete slab will do just fine.
