Category: Mexico

Our travels into Mexico.

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20251127 – Crossing into Mexico, Puerto Penasco

We woke to a nice morning just north of the Organ Pipe National Monument on some free BLM land. Last night when we arrived I noticed two sets of campers as we parked, about 100 yards off. This morning, I see there are dozens of people out here. Love BLM land. Kathy had looked up some insurance for Mexico and found a site that has 20+ years of history called Baja Bound. They have an online quote and purchase option so we looked it up. A 6-month liability policy was about $200 and full coverage for Mexico was $1200. We decided to go with the comprehensive in case something arises we might have an option to recover. We purchased it and set the active time to 11AM.

I took the pups for a long walk through the desert and got to stretch my legs a bit. It felt nice to be out camping again. Zuzu was happy for a walk, as always, and Maggie trots along with a big smile every day. I made a quick breakfast of Hashbrowns, bacon, and eggs and we lounged a bit waiting for the time to leave. We decided to try and get out TIP for the truck as it was only 17 miles down Mexico Highway 2 and had good reviews on iOverlander. Around 10:45 we left and headed toward Lukeville.

The border crossing had a line of traffic leaving the USA with not much coming back across. There was a fuel station just before crossing so we topped off the tank and then got in line. The line moved quickly and we were sent through with a wave. We parked on the other side and I found some help getting our visas stamped. That process was also very easy as we had the forms already filled out and permits paid online. We proceeded into Sonoyta and then on to the Banjercito (customs). I waited in line for about 30 miutes and then was asked by someone what I needed. He explained that it would be s 2-3 hour wait since their power and systems were down and everything was manual. He checked Howie real quick, looked through the paperwork, and said I needed two copies of my visa for the next Banjercito we stopped. He showed me multiple places in Baja and on the mainland and said there was not time limit since Baja and Baja Sur were Tourist Zones. Super nice guy. We headed back to Sonoyta and then turned south to Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point).

It was only about an hour’s drive and we looked at iOverlander for some RV parks. One was pretty well rated called Playa Bonita, so we navigated the streets and checked in. It’s an RV lot, not really a campground, but it has power and water and showers and restrooms and a dump; we are good with that. I asked for a spot by the beach, but we had to get 5 nights, and we are only staying here 3, so we got one just across. It is an OK spot. I probably should look for a shade tarp down here since the sun is not like Alaska. It’s 75 and sunny and beautiful here.

We will be here for a few days, and I will use that time to catch up on the plog for things we did while back home (Orlando, New York, Repairs, etc). I may back-date the posts to keep them organized. We only took a couple of photos so far, but we will get better at it as we go.

Thanks for following.

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20251126 – On the Road Again

It’s been a month and a half since the last post. We’ve been really busy, first with Dr appointments and more recently getting the house ready for rental. The medical appointments all went well except for the fact that the colonoscopy and heart monitor did not happen. The butt doctors in the USA are not the best for getting things done. They require an office visit for a consultation before you can get scheduled for a procedure. I’ve tried to force a procedure schedule but so far it hasn’t helped. The scheme they use is that it takes 1-3 months to get a consultation, and then they will schedule a procedure. Problem is they tell you the scheduler will call in 1-3 weeks to get the procedure scheduled, which can take another several months. And when they don’t call, it is nearly impossible to get an appointment. I called and called and left messages and never received a call-back to get checked. Unfortunately the consultation appointment was paid and I have no recourse other than giving them a poor review in Google and on the United Healthcare app. It’s going to be great with the coming of robotics and AI as that will remove most of these roadblocks the butt doctors have in place.

The same seemed to be true with the cardiologist, although they did call back with an appointment at the end of December when we will be out of country. All of this was noted to them when I set up the appointments at the end of September/early October. I am still impressed with the Alaska Heart Institute, as they managed to get all the testing done and worked through our travel schedule. It took several trips back to Anchorage, but they had a proper management system.

So other than that, all of my bloodwork, tests, and health checks look great. Kathy also managed to get tons done and has a clean bill of health. We are stocked up on meds and ready for round 2. The house looks amazing and I’m sure renters will love it. Here’s a photo of the completed patio ceiling (the last part not completed).

I took a bit of time trying to figure out how to “have it all” with travel and keep the house unrented, but in the end I realized it’s not good fiscal policy to pay a mortgage on a place we will not reside in for a while (thanks Kathy for that deep dive). So beginning in November we packed up the house, cleaned it, finished some work on the patio, repainted, and hired a company to manage it. Crossing our fingers it rents quickly and we get great, responsible tenants. Some great friends offered a space in their old home to store our stuff so that helps with the travel budget (thanks Tim and Donna). We hope we can get them down to Mexico or Central America during our travels. My brother Rick and his wife Terry are also helping with storage of my FJ and our 5th wheel.

We left “home” again and moved back in to Howie on November 25 and traveled to Willcox to drop off the bike and tailgate at my brother’s house. We had a quick visit with Rick and Terry and my parents and then today headed south. I was planning to cross in Nogales so we can get a TIP for the truck, but that route was 120 miles longer than going through Lukeville. We will be traveling in Baja, Baja Sud, and some of Sonora and a TIP is not required there. Plus we can try the Banjercito in Tecate, Ensenada, or even La Paz when we get there. We managed to navigate the Mexico visa paperwork and have paid our visitor fees and have paperwork to be stamped at the border. So tonight we camped on BLM land just north of the Oregon Pipe National Monument and will head to the border in the morning.

Thanks for following our journey. Thanks to Garret for suggesting a sway bar for the truck as that improves the ride with Howie immensely. Thank you Tim and Donna for housing our stuff and Kathy’s car. Thanks Beau and Makensie for watching our place and pulling the mail. Thank you Rick and Terry for storing our big camper and FJ. We hope to see you soon somewhere on our travels.