Having never crossed the US/MX border by land, I was a bit nervous, but I had done my research and knew exactly what to expect on that fateful Saturday morning:
1) Drive into the line that says “Items to Declare”
2) Pass through the traffic light. Green = proceed, Red = stop for inspection.
3) Stop at kiosk to complete visa application
4) Pay fee at bank
5) Return to kiosk for passport stamp
6) Drive into Mexico
What actually happened is that I was in a sea of cars and all the lanes were labeled “nothing to declare”, so I just kept moving with the traffic. I got to the red/green light thing and I got a green light….kept moving. Then I looked for a kiosk, but I didn’t see any so I kept moving with the traffic. In the middle of this massive crush of cars, a MX border agent appeared and motioned the truck behind me to the side for an inspection. I was waved through. When I slowed down enough to figure out where I was, I was on the MX Highway 1D on my way to Ensenada. Oops! The whole thing took about 7 minutes.
In my research, I had read about military checkpoints on MX highways so I imagined Debbie and I would be stopped at one and held for days or we would arrive at Ensenada and be sent bask to the border to do things the right way. I spent the entire white knuckled drive to Ensenada (80 miles on winding roads in the mountains above the coast, with people driving far beyond the posted speed limit) worried about getting pulled over, tazed and thrown into jail (think Brokedown Palace). I tried to keep my game face on, but I don’t think I fooled Debbie.
Upon arriving in Ensenada, I immediately called my liason and ‘splained what happened at the border. He said there was nothing to do because everything is closed over the weekend; wait until Monday. So Debbie and I spent two days as illegal immigrants in Mexico. That’s one for the “have you ever” game.
Early Monday morning we went to the immigration office and got right with God and man. No more laying low and using fake names. I am legally allowed to remain in MX for 180 days!
