Each year, I’ve come to realize, I am very reluctant to return to Mexico. For some reason, I have yet to determine (but may, by the end of what will probably end up being a marathon post), I grow less and less excited about returning to Mexico each year. This year, while I wanted to cross the border, I wasn’t looking forward to actually being IN Mexico. The basura everywhere gets depressing. The roads can be frightening. And it is always worse in my mind than in actuality. Life is really so much harder down here and maybe that is it. Life can be hard in the US but it seems that the hardest life in the US is still easier than the harsh life you find in Mexico.
We found the border processing place to have the sign completely obscured by the pavement (it was lying on the ground, and were you in an airplane, you would have had good sineage for your permiso for your vehicle. Course, if you were in an airplane, you would have had no need, and really, that is So Mexican. If you don’t need it, it will be obvious and easily found. Otherwise, you’re going to be on a treasure hunt.
But we crossed on New Years day and I had hoped that this would afford us some slack in the red tape department. We got our permiso for the van, declined the 10 year permiso for the trailer, got permisos for all 4 kids, but for the first time, couldn’t PAY for the people permisos at the aduana. Only the vehicle permiso. So we are still all, slightly illegal. We’ve never taken out permisos for the kids before; they are always illegal, but have always gotten our own FMT’s. We now need to find a bank and pay for them apparently. I had read that an agricultural inspection was on our road but New Years day they weren’t working and we kept all our meat (Xmas ham, lots of chicken) and veggies.
I guess I should go a bit further back in time since I haven’t updated in forever, and I might need to think to do that and I’m not yet coffee’d up and Ellen is pestering me, so for now you can sit in stunned silence and wait.
