So it’s complicated…
Since we are in an RV and not all the spots we stop at have full hookups or are near stores we have to plan ahead. Also, our generator won’t work if we are not at least 1/2 full of gas so another thing to plan ahead for. AND in Mexico you need to carry your drinkable (potable) water in the form of 5 gallon “garrafones” and many RV parks have vendors who roll through offering refilled jugs…but not all. So we need to look for a vendor offering “Agua Purificada” which is a station with drinking water.
Generally we try to fill the truck up on gas and get beer, groceries, and other stuff before we move to a new spot we will be at for a few days.
On days we are rolling out to another destination it can go like this:
- Find a place to fill up with gas
- Find an OXXO market to get drinks and ice for our truck cooler and also fill up on TelCel data for our cellphone hotspot
- Stop at an AutoZone for XYZ car stuff
- Go to a Mexican Walmart for groceries and electronics
And tomorrow we just need to find:
- An agua purification station to fill up our drinking water
- Fill up our propane tank we use for our stove/range and fridge
Generally we plan the next day’s trip out on google maps the evening before and log in any stops along the way too. We send the data to our phone and it helps guide us (not always true!) on the day’s journey.
Sometimes we need to stop before a big turnoff or interchange and re-scrutinize the maps to decide if the google map route is okay or not. Trust me, after you find yourself bushwacking with your RV, worrying about scraping off the vent covers on low-hanging trees and then find the highway on ramp you were directed to is nothing but a dirt road dead end… Yeah, you start scrutinizing your route rather carefully after that.
After we get rolling on the road it can be a real mixed bag. Driving in Mexico is not everyone’s bag of beans, so-to-speak. Some toll roads are wondrous and we make great time…others are in such bad shape we are literally dodging potholes in areas that are supposed to be 70mph!
AND the topes…that’s a whole other topic. They are these random speed bumps that are huge that can be marked, unmarked or a combination of both… It’s nutz. You really need to have your intuition tuned in to avoid hitting them too fast… They could literally end your trip right then and there.
A subject for another time…
We are learning to navigate the tolls, which can be quite expensive (well, I think they run about $2 to about $20 depending…I’m collecting receipts so will report later).
The gloriettas (traffic circles) can be rather a fun (or hair-raising) adventure…Mexico LOVES their gloriettas! When you have several lanes going around and then some vehicles trying to negotiate lane changes while taxis do what they do here…ignore stop signs. All this while just trying to keep the RV in the lines and figure out WTH the Google maps voice is telling you to do…
Then, there are the random checkpoints where officials tell you to pull over and then just board you and search your rig and then flag you on. The weirdest stop was right before the Sonora/Sinaloa border where (we believe) the Mexican version of the FBI boarded us, en masse, and separated Chris from me and made him literally turn out his pockets searching for excess US cash (money laundering), guns and hard drugs. Cannabis is not a big thing although I do not encourage having it around as an obvious thing.
A female officer came on board and went through my purse. She wanted to go through my pockets but I did not have any in my yoga pants.
Weirdest thing was they seemed fascinated with our stockpile (we’d just stocked up) of toilet paper and paper towels. First they asked if these were “American” products (no) and then they poked holes in the plastic packaging saying that sometimes people smuggle drugs inside the roll tubes. Then he took a roll of TP with him… We wished him well figuring he perhaps needed it.
It was rather strange but they did not have guns and one of them spoke English so explained things. I had been forewarned about this new king of search happening so we were totally prepared and calm.
I’m not saying Mexico is perfect but the US certainly has some issues with police searching and even confiscating money for no reason and I am more okay, actually here with their procedures than in the US (for some reason).
That whole full vehicle search deal is not so common (thank goodness) but that day it seemed like they were stopping all RVs.
Also, people drive differently in Mexico…it’s way loosey-goosey. We are okay with it since we were used to it traveling in Baja but you know, just another thing to track. Again, intuition and observation will get you far. And you certainly do not want to let yourself get distracted while driving down here.
Overall, not trying to scare anyone away from being in Mexico or driving down here but just know you are going to be WAY out of your comfort zone… There’s much to learn and much to track. It can seem quite chaotic at times.
In the end, somehow, life down here and the flow of things still seems to make more sense to us than it did in the U.S.
Felices viajes!
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