Mexico: safe and sound in Baja California

From San Diego, it's only about a half hour ride to the border. We had talked to Aline and Olivier the day before and they had given us some good tips to cross the border and what to expect in Tijuana. As the signs indicated that we were 3 miles from the border, we both had butterflies in our stomachs. Not sure whether it was out of excitment or anxiety but we were for sure feeling something. We took the last exit before the border to check into insurance for our bikes but since they only insure motorcycle for liability (nothing for accidents or theft) and it is not mandatory in Mexico, we decided not to take it. Now, we were going to cross the border, having just seen the big wall that seperates both countries.

A few detours before getting our paperwork straight

Crossing the border was actually the easy part: no line and they waived us in. Small victory: we are now officially in Mexico. We knew that the work was now starting: get our tourist visas and temporary vehicle import stickers. We parked our bikes right after the border and started asking where we could get them. We were told we had to walk to the city and then come back. As we followed our guide, he took us to a one-way turning gate. Wait, how are we supposed to come back to our bikes? Oh, just take a cab back from the city, he replied. Since that plan did not sound right, we told the guy we would go back to our bikes and drive there. That was probably the right decision but little did we know that the directions we were given to get there were wrong. We ended up where we did not want to be: downtown Tijuana! We drove around for about 20 minutes before figuring out how to get where we wanted to be. Very nervous all the way since we saw a bullet hole earlier in one of the windows at the border and had heard about the issues in border towns. Well, we made it finally, without hearing any gunshot and without being run over by a truck.

As we walked towards the Banjercito office, we were wondering how easy this would be and if Caroline's basic Spanish would suffice to get us through it. First, we went to the Immigration office where they told us that we both needed a Tourist Visa. Paperwork filled in, we went to the “Banco” to pay for it, $22 each. First step completed and Caroline's Spanish came in very handy to understand what next. Back to immigration, get a stamp and then make copies to all the documents and then go back to the Banco and pay for the $27 Importation sticker. Each time you have to wait in line of course and we had to do each step twice. Two hours later, we were done and so happy we were all set and had been successfully getting what we needed. Our first border crossing all in Spanish, probably the easiest one since there was an official system and set of requirements, all easy enough to complete without anyone's help.

A new riding chapter of our trip

As soon as we had all the paperwork, we left Tijuana real quick as the further from the border, the safest. We rode south towards Ensenada. The bigger plan was to ride all of Baja California down to Cabo and then take a ferry from La Paz to go on the mainland. Even if we were on the Autopista with toll (read a nice road that only foreigners bother to pay for) we felt right away in a total different environment. Everything looked different: the houses, the cars around us and the dryer more dusty surroundings. As we felt the highway to take a local road, we started to understand that the pace is definitively slower here, especially on the road: big trucks, buses, old and slow cars, crazy pick up trucks... We had it all for our enjoyment! We thought we would make it further but decided to spent the nigh in Ensenada, 100 Kms south of the border. It was a neat midsized town closed to the ocean, where we enjoyed a 1962 movie at the Cultural Center.
After a good night sleep in a hotel (we did ship our camping gear back), we took off to visit the nearby wine country. Something we were not aware of but this area was the first one to produce wine in Mexico. At Vina de Liceaga, we tried a Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Not bad but nothing remarkable either.

The rest of the day was made of riding and a nice lunch at a hole in the wall Taqueria, or rather hole on the side of the road. Food has been really to our liking so far and we will see how long this will last. The road again was full of slow vehicles and lots of curves: lucky that with a motorcycle, these guys are easy to overtake. We also went through three military checkpoints. We were told they should ne no brainers and are here for our security and so they actually were. We feel miles and miles away from the US, speaking and reading signs in Spanish, in desert like environment with some views to the ocean. Rules are different here on the road, much more "flexible", and so far we have enjoyed the change of pace and scenery. We did feel welcome to Mexico as people have been nothing but friendly so far and hopefully, the rest of the experience will remain that pleasant.