Adios, Mexico

Thursday was our final day in San Felippe. I had a mocha fria and homemade cinnamon roll at Baja Java and tried to post the blog entries I’d written, but the internet was very slow today, and just didn’t seem to want to upload my photos.I saved them to post when we’re back in the states with better service. Jim and Janice took their Hobie kayak out on the sea when the tide came in, and then I took a turn with Jim as well, Steve being in the middle of “Master and Commander” and content to sit on the beach and read. We paddled out quite a ways, and saw a couple of jellyfish pulsing along. In the evening, we drove into town for dinner at a restaurant on the malecon. Everyone but me has tired of seafood at this point--they all had various Mexican dishes; I had “Governor Tacos”--chunks of shrimp with grilled onion and melted cheese folded into corn tortillas and topped with the chef’s special sauce. Oh, and a couple of pina coladas to wash the down.

Yesterday, we crossed back into the U.S. at Mexicali. Border crossings have always been pretty much ho-hum for us, but not this one. After questioning us as to where we’d been, how long we’d been there, and what we were bringing back (all very politely), we were told to move our RV to the side and wait. After about 15 minutes, they brought out the canine squad. The handler and the dog checked everything inside and out of both our vehicles pretty thoroughly, and left. We thought that was that, but no. Two more border guards came over and spent another 10 minutes re-inspecting our Samurai, again, inside and out. They felt around all the padding in the doors, upholstery, and window visors. They peered down the door frames with flashlights and poked and prodded up under the chassis, the wheel wells, and any other crack or hole they could find. Eventually, they appeared satisfied that we were not smuggling in guns, drugs, or undocumented Mexican nationals; they handed us back our passports and said we could be on our way. Jim and Janice got the same treatment, although perhaps not quite so thorough. Once back in the states, we speculated on why. Do they do this to all RVs? Why here and not when we came through Nogales a few months ago? Did we fit some kind of profile? Maybe retirees are smuggling drugs across the border to make up for lost pensions in this economy? Enquiring minds want to know.

We spent last night at the short-term BLM area near Holtville, and introduced Jim and Janice to the joys of a long soak in the hot springs. This morning, we went our separate ways. Jim and Janice were heading to Quartszite and then home to Salt Lake. We really enjoyed traveling with them again--it’s been many years since we’ve done that--and hope to plan another trip with them this summer. Steve and I are headed to Benson, which is east of Tucson. Steve has heard that it’s a popular place to retire, and wants to check it out. We are currently camped out in the desert at a county park about 20 miles west of Casa Grande. I found it in my Don Wright Free Campground book, and yes, this one is actually free.