October 12, 2021 - October 15, 2021
Our appointment at the dealership in Jackson was for 9:00 am. Consequently, we had to get an early start to drive the 60 miles east. The service department got right to work and had our valve replace and the car ready to continue our trip by 10:00 am We made it to our hotel in Greenville TX by 5:30 pm. However, our room on the third floor did not have a working air conditioner so we were moved to a suite on the second floor. By that time we were both exhausted, hungry, and grouchy. We fed the cats and headed to a nearby Mexican restaurant for a good meal. Full tummies helped our mood and we returned to the hotel in much better spirits.
Wednesday was a long day as well. We passed by San Antonio and Austin on our way to Loredo TX. We had several tasks to complete before crossing the border on Friday. Bob gathered all of the paperwork needed for entering Mexico with a car while I visited the Cambio (money exchange) to convert our US dollars to Pesos. I tried out my Spanish a bit but I wasn’t very good. I'll just have to keep learning and keep trying.
I got up at 4:30 am so we could get to the immigration office early. We got to International Bridge 2 by 6:00 am and came to the inspection area. I guess our rooftop carrier looked suspicious and we were stopped. The inspector went through everything in the back section of the car and asked for us to open the carrier. He went through some luggage and then said we could continue. It took us awhile to find the immigration office but once there we sailed through the stations until the last one. We had inadvertently included an expired registration form. I went out to the car and searched through our glove box until I located the current form and went back to the station to get our car permit. We left the parking lot a little uneasy about where to go but got on 85 south heading to Monterey some how. Our gps was not working and the internet connection was spotty until we got out of Nuevo Laredo. The route we had to take was simple but dealing with kilometers, Spanish, and pesos for tolls was not so simple. We finally made it to Matehuala where we checked into Las Palmas Midway Inn (4 stars) at 3:00pm. The cats were about at the end of their patience with traveling as was I. We relaxed for a bit and caught up on our blogs before we went to the hotel restaurant for a well deserved dinner. Our appetizer was quite interesting and delicious. It contained cactus flowers.
Friday was our last day on the road. We are all tired of this trip and were discussing flying next time we decide to come to Mexico. Believe me, it would be less expensive, and probably less traumatic for the cats and Bob and I. Our thinking about driving was that the cats would be more comfortable and we could take more stuff. Probably a mistake all the way around.
Although we woke up early we waited until the cafe opened at 7:00 am to have breakfast before we started the final leg of our journey. The breakfast was delicious especially the fresh fruit. We got on our way around 8:00 fully expecting to be in San Miguel de Allende (SMA) by lunch time. Unfortunately, we ran into two very lengthy back ups and didn’t make it to our apartment until 2:30.
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This is the view from the entrance down the
hallway to the bedroom. |
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It is an eat in kitchen with great appliances.
It has a six burner gas range and a large fridge.
 | | Bob is at the desk in our sitting room. |
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| The opposite side of the sitting room |
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| The walls are decorated with Mexican art. |
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Our bedroom is spacious and bright.
Although we do not have windows
we have skylights everywhere. |
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| You can see how limited the clothing storage is. |
We unloaded the car and I started the unpacking process. I’m sure we will move items around as we find better spots to store them. The apartment is bright and spacious, but with very little storage. I’m sure we can purchase a few items to help with the storage.
In the middle of unpacking Lola escaped and ran into our neighbors apartment and hid. Fortunately our neighbor is a nice and understanding person. She didn't complain at all as I ran back and forth through the apartment trying to catch Lola. Finally I cornered her and carried her back to her new home for six months. Lola seems to be a bit traumatized by our move to SMA, but Kali seems happy as can be.
We were exhausted by 6:00 pm, but I volunteered to walk (7 minutes) to a cafe nearby to purchase a pizza and bring it home for dinner. One thing I found out on that walk is that the cobblestone streets and narrow side walks are somewhat difficult to walk on and will take some getting used to.
My next blog will be about settling into to the SMA experience.
Thank you for reading my blog
