At the suggestion of the security guard at the tightly sealed Baja Ferry dock, I returned promptly at 8am to purchase a ticket. I was only beat out of first in line by 50 or so very eager Mexicans. After the usual confusion with which line to get into (Mexicans are almost notorious in their aversion to lines, they prefer instead to group en masse around any point of sale), I soon had my ticket and a few hours to enjoy Mazatlàn.
I scooted back into old Mazatlàn and found a quaint cafe right near the beach for some breakfast and coffee. Behind me, I noted that there were two obvious Americans that had been ahead of me in the ferry line. My standard operating procedure is to pay other traveller's no mind until I have to.
More... + 0 - 0 | § ¶1/22/2007 -- Mazatlàn
The No-Tell Motel debacle last night helped put me in better spirits. Today was going to be a good day.
The route leaving Torreòn and heading towards Durango and then Mazatlàn took me straight through the breadth of the Sierra Madres. If this majestic mountain range was anything in the south like it was in the north, then I was in for a treat.
Heading that far west meant I would pass into Pacific standard time. An extra hour to make the ferry by 3pm. It would be tough, but there was a slight chance I could cover the 300 some odd miles by then.
More... + 0 - 0 | § ¶1/21/2007 -- Torreon
After countless dozens of border crossings with the XR I'd say I've got the knack down. Using the Columbia bridge outside of town it's easy to avoid the long lines and hassles of going into Nuevo Laredo. In less than 15 minutes I had my bike permiso and tourist visa and was set to head towards Monterrey.
I was only slightly miffed that the customs agent couldn't care less about my proper Mexican insurance paper. Imagine, after I had gone through the bother of scanning in last year's certificate, changing the expiration date in Photoshop, and then printing it out at high resolution to a perfect match of proper documentation! The nerve!
More... + 0 - 0 | § ¶1/20/2007 -- Laredo
I didn't make it into Mexico today. The weather and last minute details slowed me down, so I decided to stay the night stateside and cross first thing in the morning. What a difference a year makes! Pulling away from my house I noticed that I wasn't nervous in the slightest. Afterall, this trip should hopefully prove to be tenfold easier than the trek to Panama. But of course, only time will tell.
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