A Taste of Cruising Mexico

The check-in process went very smoothly on Friday morning. We were in and out in about 1/2 hour. We were pleased to find that our import permit from 2008 was still valid and we did not have to go through customs and pay their fees again. Also, our favorite gentlemen in Immigration is no longer there. Chris will remember him. Rogellio told me they had lots of complaints about him and finally transferred him to somewhere like San Quintin International Airport. The new folks were super helpful and friendly.

We spent the evening visiting with our new friends, Jim and Chrissy aboard S/V Loomba-Loomba out of Seattle. We plan to buddy boat with them for the next few days down the baja.

It turns out that today, November 20, is Revolution Day in Mexico. Probably an even bigger deal because this is Mexico's Centennial year...1910-2010. You can see signs all over proclaiming this fact. There have, of course, been several revolutions in Mexico but this one commemorates the beginning of the modern Mexico era. Porfirio Diaz ruled as a cruel and vicious dicator for 35 years after overthrowing the french dictator Maximillian in the late-1800s. The 1910 revolution overthrew Diaz and involved a number of characters that you may have heard of, including Pancho Villa, Carranza, Huerta, Obregon, etc. None of them trusted each other and for the next 6 years or so they ousted and assasinated each other, with Obregon untimately ruling through to the 1930's. Enough of history...

All the schools bands, youth clubs and military organizations came out to participate in the big parade for "Dia del Revolucion". There were lots of marching bands, acrobatics, and dignataries and the streets were packed with people. Lots of fun until the rain started and drenched everything but everyone's spirits.