The Drive to Mazatlan
20 December 2007
We left Las Cruces around 7 am on December 19th, headed for Mazatlan. The first attempt to cross the border was at Naco, Arizona. However, it turns out that Mexico has closed the offices on their side that issue visas and vehicle import stickers, so we had to cross back over and then head for the crossing at Nogales. Three hours later, we were once again in Mexico and heading south on highway 15. It was dark by the time we reached Hermosillo, so the decision was made to stay there. We'd been advised to stay at what are known as "no-tell motels" --- walled motels that have a sinuous walled entrance for vehicles, and a roll-a-door garage as the only entrance to each room. You snake your way into the inner compound, then drive into your assigned room and close the garage door. The entrance to the room is through the garage. These establishments are designed for married Mexicans to have trysts with their lovers with no chance of being seen in the act. We discovered that the equivalent of turning down the covers and putting a chocolate on the pillow is to have the TV set at the foot of the bed turned to a steamy porno channel at high volume. Still, it's great security when you have a loaded vehicle like ours, with bags strapped to the roof rack.
It was up at 4 am the next morning and away, the goal being to get to Mazatlan in daylight, which we did around 4pm. We went straight to the marina to check out the boat. Kena was looking spick and span, with the stainless steel polished, and freshly washed. We dumped our gear on board and after greeting Rick, who has managed and supervised all the work on the boat, we headed for the old town for a meal.