September 2, 2008 (Tampico, Mexico)
After the commotion of Matamoras, the ride to Tampico was pleasantly uneventful. Mexico's countryside is filled with mountains, valleys, winding roads and many, many small towns. For each small town we enter and leave, we are greeted by topes (speed bumps). Topes are meant to slow down traffic. They come in a variety of sizes and heights and they do their job well. Unfamiliar with the road signs, we unexpectedly crossed our first few topes at full speed. You may think this is no big deal, but when you are in a low riding van it feels like you hit a brick wall! We quickly learned that the sign with 3 black humps in a row, signifies an upcoming tope, not mountains! Even by slowing down, to almost a complete stop, we scraped across each tope and checked the rear view mirror for remnants of the muffler!
September 3, 2008 (Acayucan, Mexico)
The entire day was spent in major road construction and delays. I know I intensified the day with my back seat driving (from the front seat). I slowed down and braked much more often than my husband! We reached Veracruz at rush hour. Not wanting to deal with more stop and go traffic, we pushed onward to Acayucan. As we made our exit, we drove straight into chaos. The town was having a Fiesta (Festival) and the streets were packed with cars, buses, motos, people and animals! I think the celebration was for all things that move! It was a grid lock of shear craziness. By some miracle we found our way to a hotel. The bonus of the day, was that they had an underground parking garage; until we saw the entrance. A steep, straight shot down! For all you mountain climbers out there, you could repel down this entrance! As we crawled and scraped our way down, I prayed for strong brakes. Nervous, tired, stressed and certain that the van would never make it out, I broke down and cried. Jim assured me we will get out. "We may have to unload the van, but we will get out"! Walking to the stairs, we saw a large sliding door. Pointing, we asked the parking attendant, donde (where)? He smiled and slide the door open. A street level exit! I nearly dropped to my knees in disbelief..........
La Senora
Café Latte
Café Latte
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
The Big Adventure
As a young girl. I was a girl scout. I loved being in scouts. I took the scout pledges to heart and continue to live my life by the scout mantra, "Be Prepared". Knowing that the van will be packed full and in hopes of making the border crossings easier, we contacted the Mexican Consulate in Chicago, and applied for our visas and car permit. We also decided to obtain our Mexican Car Insurance in advance; rather than making the purchase at the border. Little did we know, being prepared would save us from stiff penalties in the very near future!
Friday, August 29, 2008 (Hartland, Wisconsin)
Today is the start of a new chapter in our lives, which we refer to as "The Big Adventure"! The van is packed. The most precious cargo is occupying the 2 front seats. As the wheels turn, we pray for safe travel and say goodbye to the house that has been home for the past 12 years. We have approximately 1650 miles ahead of us to Brownsville Texas. At this point we will cross the border, via Veteran's Bridge, into Matamoros, Mexico.
Monday, September 1, 2008 (Brownsville, Texas)
This morning, we are in line to cross the border. There is a lot of activity. Traffic is heavy and there is a strong presence of Federales (Police). Knowing it is necessary to present your passport and vehicle papers for stamping at the border, we attempt to pull over and park. The Federale that is directing our lane of traffic will not allow us to park. He is shouting Go, Go, Go! Well, when a man in uniform, carrying a weapon, shouts Go, Go, Go, YOU GO! In the midst of this confusion, we miss the road sign directing us to Tampico, Mexico. We are now lost in downtown Matamoros! After 1 hour of driving in circles, we find our way out of town and back to the confusion of the border hub. A maze of intersecting on-ramps, off-ramps and multiple roads leading in all directions. We see a police officer directing traffic. Desperate for help, we stop in moving traffic to ask for directions to Tampico. This brings on a barrage of horn honking. Our stopping seems to have caused a major traffic jam! Rapidly the officer points us in the right direction and we are off. Oh yeah, this is going to be an adventure alright.........
La Senora
Friday, August 29, 2008 (Hartland, Wisconsin)
Today is the start of a new chapter in our lives, which we refer to as "The Big Adventure"! The van is packed. The most precious cargo is occupying the 2 front seats. As the wheels turn, we pray for safe travel and say goodbye to the house that has been home for the past 12 years. We have approximately 1650 miles ahead of us to Brownsville Texas. At this point we will cross the border, via Veteran's Bridge, into Matamoros, Mexico.
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Monday, September 1, 2008 (Brownsville, Texas)
This morning, we are in line to cross the border. There is a lot of activity. Traffic is heavy and there is a strong presence of Federales (Police). Knowing it is necessary to present your passport and vehicle papers for stamping at the border, we attempt to pull over and park. The Federale that is directing our lane of traffic will not allow us to park. He is shouting Go, Go, Go! Well, when a man in uniform, carrying a weapon, shouts Go, Go, Go, YOU GO! In the midst of this confusion, we miss the road sign directing us to Tampico, Mexico. We are now lost in downtown Matamoros! After 1 hour of driving in circles, we find our way out of town and back to the confusion of the border hub. A maze of intersecting on-ramps, off-ramps and multiple roads leading in all directions. We see a police officer directing traffic. Desperate for help, we stop in moving traffic to ask for directions to Tampico. This brings on a barrage of horn honking. Our stopping seems to have caused a major traffic jam! Rapidly the officer points us in the right direction and we are off. Oh yeah, this is going to be an adventure alright.........
La Senora
Sunday, May 13, 2012
For Sale
We land in California and are greeted by family. Having had contact by email only for the past 5 months, we are excited for this reunion and to hear the voices of loved ones. We spend a few days together, swapping stories and catching up on life, before hitting the road for Wisconsin; our final destination.
During our 3 day road trip, we make 2 firm decisions in regard to our upcoming move. We will drive our van to Mexico and take only our favorite, can't live without belongings, that will fit in the back of the van. We agree to sell everything else, rather than pull a trailer or ship goods by cargo. I know this sounds crazy, but once you get over the emotional hump, it is actually liberating to let go of material items. Though sentiment makes for indecision. We had to have 3 Garage/ Moving Sales before we could part with all of our relics. I just don't understand why someone would not want a fushia colored sports jacket from the 70's or cobalt blue parachute pants, for when you feel like dancing MC Hammer style!
The house is officially on the market. The sign is planted in the front lawn as well as a statue of St. Joseph, to guide the right buyer to our home. We hoped for a quick sale. Unfortunately, 4 weeks after posting our sign, the U.S. economy began showing signs of struggle. This was just the beginning of what would be a continuous downward spiral. Fourteen long months will pass, before the house is sold. Looking back, we feel very fortunate with our outcome........
La Senora
During our 3 day road trip, we make 2 firm decisions in regard to our upcoming move. We will drive our van to Mexico and take only our favorite, can't live without belongings, that will fit in the back of the van. We agree to sell everything else, rather than pull a trailer or ship goods by cargo. I know this sounds crazy, but once you get over the emotional hump, it is actually liberating to let go of material items. Though sentiment makes for indecision. We had to have 3 Garage/ Moving Sales before we could part with all of our relics. I just don't understand why someone would not want a fushia colored sports jacket from the 70's or cobalt blue parachute pants, for when you feel like dancing MC Hammer style!
The house is officially on the market. The sign is planted in the front lawn as well as a statue of St. Joseph, to guide the right buyer to our home. We hoped for a quick sale. Unfortunately, 4 weeks after posting our sign, the U.S. economy began showing signs of struggle. This was just the beginning of what would be a continuous downward spiral. Fourteen long months will pass, before the house is sold. Looking back, we feel very fortunate with our outcome........
La Senora
Monday, May 7, 2012
Leaving Home Or Returning Home
Have you ever been somewhere, where you have never been before, and felt familiar to your surroundings? I tell myself this feeling is a result of our 5 month stay. So why do I feel like we are leaving home rather than returning home?
Our bags are packed. Tomorrow morning we depart for California. Making the most of our last night, we head to the beach to watch the sun set. Over dinner, we take a trip down memory lane. We have had a good adventure! We achieved what we set out to do. We relaxed, immersed ourselves in the culture, learn a bit of Spanish, lived spontaneously and disconnected from our tiny piece of the world. As we look through this window of life, reminiscing about our experiences, we decide to make a life choice. If we really want to live in another country, we need to do it now! If we allow ourselves the time to re-settle into our "old life" our boldness will dissipate. Deciding to move from a developed country to a developing country is not for everyone. More times than not, it is a step back in time rather than a leap..........
La Senora
Our bags are packed. Tomorrow morning we depart for California. Making the most of our last night, we head to the beach to watch the sun set. Over dinner, we take a trip down memory lane. We have had a good adventure! We achieved what we set out to do. We relaxed, immersed ourselves in the culture, learn a bit of Spanish, lived spontaneously and disconnected from our tiny piece of the world. As we look through this window of life, reminiscing about our experiences, we decide to make a life choice. If we really want to live in another country, we need to do it now! If we allow ourselves the time to re-settle into our "old life" our boldness will dissipate. Deciding to move from a developed country to a developing country is not for everyone. More times than not, it is a step back in time rather than a leap..........
La Senora
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