Re: Just drove to Mexico and back!

we have to go to toward spouse's family which is an equal pleasure, but I've heard its great. You should definitely feel safe there as I have heard that there is a steady stream of visitors from California and Arizona on the road to Rocky Point. I think you may go into a different border crossing from where you are to get there, but in case you go through Nogales, here are some helpful hints.

We got off on exit 4 which is about 2 miles before the Mexican border. That is where we bought our Mexican car insurance. We used Sanborn's and they had an office off of the lobby of the Holiday Inn express. You need to get it because your USA insurance will not cover you beyond a certain 20-mile zone if that. And if your current insurance covers you for collision, it will not be accepted for liability in Mexico. The price will vary depending on the vehicle and the number of days there. It could be anywhere from $50 to $130 for the entire visit. There are also plenty of places to exchange dollars for pesos there. I was dreading all of this, but it took a total of about 30 minutes to get the insurance and then go get some pesos. I'm sure they have places all over southern Arizona and Nogales, Arizona, but this stop on exit 4 was literally all in one parking area and the exit was very neat and clean.

Here are some driving tips from our insurance brochure:

1. Don't drive at night: Avoid driving at night. Loose livestock, wild animals, poor lit roads, lack of shoulders can make it dangerous. My opinion of this tip was we had to drive at night and had no problems. Occasionally, a cow or two were really close to the road. Do be aware of the lack of shoulders in places. That is very important. Other than that I-19 in the USA became I-15 in Mexico and there wasn't that much difference.

2. Remember the speed limit is in Kilometers. Most cars have Kilometers on their speedometer in smaller numbers beneath the larger numbers. I had no problem with this.

3. Have some pesos on hand as you will need them on the toll roads. We drove 9 hours down and encountered about five toll booths in total. The tolls ranged from 25 pesos to 125 pesos. I would say they averaged 60 pesos. That amounts to about $3.61 cents.

4. The gas will be at Pemex. It is the only gas station they have. It is nationalized. The stations are neat and clean and you must take full service, meaning someone will pump your gas. They will be in uniform and they all looked very neat and professional. You will not be allowed to self-serve.

5.WATCH for TOPES: Topes are speed bumps. They can be big or small and will come without warning. They usually appear as you are approaching a new town. Look for the car in front of you breaking, or forgetting to and taking a little shock absorber action. Either way, that will let you know there is a topes. It really will not be a problem.

6.Angeles Verdes (Green Angels) Fortunately, we didn't need the Green Angels, but if you have a mechanical emergency, Mexico's tourism department offers, mechanical road assistance to you free of charge by dialing 078. I guess this is like our HERO units here in Atlanta.

I would love to go to Rocky Point. We were planning to go to Keno Beach, where a niece of my spouse has purchased a lot, but we just didn't have time. One of the days in Hermosillo, we had to take my father-in-law to a doctor's appointment he had scheduled.

Not sure if you have to register your vehicle at "Only Sonora" stop, as you may not have to depending on where you go. I did register mine. Also, I got a tourist visa at the border and paid $24, not sure if everyone has to do that.

Lastly, I visited Sedona, Arizona in the late 80's. It must be amazing to live in one of the most beautiful places in the country!!!

Also, you might want to keep some peso coins in the front compartment as you will encounter many men, women, and children of all ages at red lights and stops. They will sell anything from things you can really use like sun-visors, or fruits and gums, to wanting to wash your windows. If you give them a five peso piece or so they are happy. It probably amounts to pennies and nickels you are giving them, but they really need it and you'll feel better. They actually work hard doing this and they are all friendly, even if you don't give them anything. Nobody was pushy. I gave a few a couple of coins to not wash my windshield. Many of them are young kids, or in family groups selling food. Its not threatening, but rather just part of the flavor of the trip.

If you go, have a great time.
Go Tigers!!!

Clemson81to85

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The border crossing is very interesting to me. I say to me

Jun 18, 2016, 11:45 AM

because I am the type that makes it interesting in my head. I look at houses, trees, etc and say to myself, "wow, this is literally the last tree, house, or patch of ground in the United States. The crossing at the Nogales port of entry is in the middle of the towns of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora. You are driving south on I-19 and then you find yourself in the middle of Nogales, Arizona. You turn a couple of curves and suddenly there is a port of entry, with a fence/wall extending from either side. You are going into Mexico at this point, so you see only Border officers for the Mexican government. There was no wait going into Mexico. They flagged us in and I assume we could have simply kept on driving through Nogales, Sonora and into Mexico. But I knew that a vehicle check in station was 21 miles later, I wanted to get out and make sure I wasn't forgetting to take care of any business at entry. So, we got out and went into immigration office where I got a tourist visa for $24. As I said, I registered the vehicle at Only Sonora about 21 miles later.

The difference between the United States and Mexico's standard of living and culture is evident immediately upon crossing. I mean it is really immediate and stunning in the differences in houses, etc. although Nogales, Sonora looked much better than it looked back in 2003 when I was last there. So did all of Mexico for that matter. I think we go through another check point down the road a few miles where they check our papers and then we are on our way. On our trip out west, our first glimpse of Mexico is not at Nogales, but rather in El Paso, Texas. When driving through El Paso on I-10, Mexico is literally on one side of the interstate and the United States is on the other. You can look over and see houses and cars that are in Mexico at that point, but we don't enter there. We drive through New Mexico and Arizona and enter the next day at Nogales. By the way the Sun Bowl is right beside the interstate 10 in El Paso as is the Independence Bowl right beside Interstate-20 in Shreveport which is also along the way.

At the port of entry returning to the United States, there is more scrutiny. We arrived at the border pretty late in the evening and the wait was about 1 hour in the car lanes. I imagine it would have been longer had it been earlier in the day. At this point, you are dealing with only U.S. Border patrol officers. He is in a booth like a toll booth. Some cars get flagged to pull over to the inspection station to the right and others do not. In 2003, I got flagged, this time I did not. At the inspection station a dog will make his way around your car and several patrol officers will look around the car, while one asks you some simple questions. As I said, this time we did not get flagged so out experience was the following:

Border officer looks into the car and says are you U.S. citizens? I said I am and she is a permanent resident greed card holder. He asks for my passport and looks it over. He takes her green card and looks it over carefully, then scans it into a computer that verifies its authenticity and documents her return to the United States. While holding a green card, but not yet a citizen, she is not supposed to leave the U.S. for longer than 6 months at a time. So this scanning was very important. At the beginning of asking for our documents, he tells me to lower my back seat window please. I do so and he takes a flashlight and looks into the backseat. He then returns to the front window and asks the following:

1. What was the purpose of your visit to Mexico?
2. Where did you go?
3. How far down there is that? (knows the answer to this, but just checking to see if I do)
4. What do you do for a living in the U.S.
5. Is this your vehicle?
6. How long have you been down there? ( he knows this also because he is looking at my tourist visa)
Interesting to note that many, many of the U.S. Border officers are U.S. born Hispanics. The officers are young and fit for the most part. I would say most are in their 20's, 30's and 40's.

Then looks at my wife and asks the following:
1. Where does your family live?
2. What do you do for a living in the United States?

Then he says, OK, you guys are good, have a nice trip. The mechanical arm raises, we drive through and just like that, we are back in the USA. Yes, I'm 53 years old and yes, my mom and dad still expected texts and phone calls along the way. I guess you're always their kid no matter how old. I can tell you there was one happy 75-year-old woman in South Carolina when the text said we are back in the USA, staying in Nogales, Arizona tonight. To her, as long as it was even one inch this side of the fence, she was good to go. She really had nothing to worry about, but try and convince her of that.

The actual border is a magical part of the trip in my eyes to see the US flag flying high (although at half-staff on this particular evening due to the Orlando tragedy that happened earlier that morning). and the Mexican flag flying high on the other side. To a lot of people it wouldn't be a big deal, but that kind of thing turns me on.

There are additional checkpoints after the border. One is along I-19 between Nogales and Tucson where they asked to see proof of citizenship (passport) and wife's greencard. It was really quick. Then there is another along I-10 in the New Mexico and Texas state border area. I guess these are just to make sure someone didn't slip through the cracks.
Here are some internet pics of the border, though it looks better in person. And I didn't see the magic or flags and people in the first couple of pics I looked at. But they give you some idea.

https://www.google.com/search?q=port+of+entry+nogales+arizona&biw=1366&bih=603&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz-oOo87HNAhUSL1IKHWsQCFUQ_AUICCgD

flag link

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Just drove to Mexico and back!

I have never been to Rocky Point because