The Trip Down & Back
We decided to drive down from Phoenix to Guadalajara after all. What a adventure that was.
We left Phoenix about 4:30pm on Wednesday and finally stopped in Guaymas for the remainder of the night. We started out again in the morning and made Guadalajara about 2:00am on Friday.
We were stopped at the border by Mexican inspectors, but they passed us after a quick look in the back of the van. When Yessika told him why we were going to Guadalajara, he wished me luck and advised me that it wasn't too late to back out!
Other than the initial entry inspection, we had no problems or hitches on the trip down. We went right through the "21 Km" Check point and had no troubles getting the temporary vehicle permit or our tourist permits. That took about 20 minutes at 9:00pm on a Wednesday evening. No one else in line!
The currency exchange rate was just a little under 10 pesos to the US dollar. The toll booths on the cuotas were a pain on the way back because we hadn't taken enough money out of the ATM before we left Guadalajara so we had to scrape and pinch and empty my mom's purse out to get enough spare change to get through the three between Guadalajara and Tepic.
The food was good and the two motels we stayed in were nice and clean. The Pemex fuel stations were a godsend because they took great pleasure in making sure the bugs were cleaned completely off of the "gringo-mobile" before we left after fueling up each time. To fill up our van took almost 350 pesos (about $35US) if it was close to empty. We averaged about 350 miles per tank of fuel and the tank holds about 16-17 gallons.
On Thursday morning, we stopped for breakfast in Cuidad Obregon and saw our first TV since leaving the states. The taco stand where we stopped had the Weather Channel on and they were tracking a hurricane(!!!) that was headed for landfall right where we had to go that day. Ack!
The race was on to beat Hurricane Kenna. When we passed through Mazatlan just after dark, the rain was starting and the winds were blowing just a little. We made it!
On the way back, we drove through ground zero in northern Nayarit. The swath of damage left by the hurricane was almost 75-80 miles across. All of the trees looked like they had been combed to the northeast. Powerlines were down and the Mexican Military was everywhere. I later found out that Kenna had been a Category 5 hurricane when it made landfall and was still a Category 4 storm when it went over our line of travel. Scary stuff, but we missed it going down...if only by about 3 hours.
We drove down and back on Highway 15. Wonderful travel conditions and we were only stopped once at a checkpoint...but not searched.
We left Guadalajara about 8am on Tuesday (the 29th) and stayed the night in Culiacan, Sinaloa. We left early the next morning and made the US border about 6pm on Wednesday the 30th.
The biggest hassle of the trip came when we crossed back into the US. We waited in line for about 45 minutes and then I had to open the back of the van for the officer. We all had to show ID...and then we stopped at an IHOP in Nogales, AZ, and had a decadent gringo dinner before completing the two and a half hour drive back to Phoenix.
It was a wonderful trip but I wouldn't want to do it again too soon. 20+ hours of driving is killer. I would leave home earlier in the day and stop sooner in the evening. And enjoy more of the scenery.
--David
We left Phoenix about 4:30pm on Wednesday and finally stopped in Guaymas for the remainder of the night. We started out again in the morning and made Guadalajara about 2:00am on Friday.
We were stopped at the border by Mexican inspectors, but they passed us after a quick look in the back of the van. When Yessika told him why we were going to Guadalajara, he wished me luck and advised me that it wasn't too late to back out!
Other than the initial entry inspection, we had no problems or hitches on the trip down. We went right through the "21 Km" Check point and had no troubles getting the temporary vehicle permit or our tourist permits. That took about 20 minutes at 9:00pm on a Wednesday evening. No one else in line!
The currency exchange rate was just a little under 10 pesos to the US dollar. The toll booths on the cuotas were a pain on the way back because we hadn't taken enough money out of the ATM before we left Guadalajara so we had to scrape and pinch and empty my mom's purse out to get enough spare change to get through the three between Guadalajara and Tepic.
The food was good and the two motels we stayed in were nice and clean. The Pemex fuel stations were a godsend because they took great pleasure in making sure the bugs were cleaned completely off of the "gringo-mobile" before we left after fueling up each time. To fill up our van took almost 350 pesos (about $35US) if it was close to empty. We averaged about 350 miles per tank of fuel and the tank holds about 16-17 gallons.
On Thursday morning, we stopped for breakfast in Cuidad Obregon and saw our first TV since leaving the states. The taco stand where we stopped had the Weather Channel on and they were tracking a hurricane(!!!) that was headed for landfall right where we had to go that day. Ack!
The race was on to beat Hurricane Kenna. When we passed through Mazatlan just after dark, the rain was starting and the winds were blowing just a little. We made it!
On the way back, we drove through ground zero in northern Nayarit. The swath of damage left by the hurricane was almost 75-80 miles across. All of the trees looked like they had been combed to the northeast. Powerlines were down and the Mexican Military was everywhere. I later found out that Kenna had been a Category 5 hurricane when it made landfall and was still a Category 4 storm when it went over our line of travel. Scary stuff, but we missed it going down...if only by about 3 hours.
We drove down and back on Highway 15. Wonderful travel conditions and we were only stopped once at a checkpoint...but not searched.
We left Guadalajara about 8am on Tuesday (the 29th) and stayed the night in Culiacan, Sinaloa. We left early the next morning and made the US border about 6pm on Wednesday the 30th.
The biggest hassle of the trip came when we crossed back into the US. We waited in line for about 45 minutes and then I had to open the back of the van for the officer. We all had to show ID...and then we stopped at an IHOP in Nogales, AZ, and had a decadent gringo dinner before completing the two and a half hour drive back to Phoenix.
It was a wonderful trip but I wouldn't want to do it again too soon. 20+ hours of driving is killer. I would leave home earlier in the day and stop sooner in the evening. And enjoy more of the scenery.
--David
