As I promised I am going to share our experience having Thanksgiving in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I've had people ask if "they" celebrate Thanksgiving in Mexico. Well, the answer is that Thanksgiving is a truly American holiday celebrated exclusively in the United States. It was a meal shared between the pilgrims and the indigenous people. I'm not sure what the menu looked like and after sharing a meal with my friends and neighbors here in Mexico, I wonder if we have it anywhere near correct.
Anyway, we were chatting about Thanksgiving one day and decided to invite the neighbors in our small apartment complex. Of course it is the end of November and usually the weather is wonderful, so we went with the "more the merrier" philosophy and invited friends of friends as well. Sheri and I were in charge of the turkey (we had to cook 2), stuffing, gravy, and Sheri's famous sweet potatoes. Stephanie was fixing a ham and cranberry sauce, Erik and Kalahari were in charge of mashed potatoes. After that, we told people to bring whatever they wanted. We heard promise of tamales and fresh tortillas. What showed up were beautiful salads, green bean casserole, home made pumpkin pie, key lime pie, chocolate cake, dinner rolls, apple/mango pie, quinoa salad, fresh sangria, red and white wines, coke, sprite, and flavored water along with a number of things I'm sure I'm forgetting.
The food was obviously delicious and mostly home made. But it wasn't the food that made the evening so special. It was the people. Several people mentioned that they had "never had 'that' before" indicating the whole turkey. Turkey is a common enough meat in Mexico, but most people do not have ovens, so a roasted whole turkey was something they had only seen pictures of as a US tradition. We were especially pleased that Alfredo and his family joined us. There are times in Mexico where the old ways are endearing and times where they are infuriating. Alfredo and his wife are hard working, wonderful people who are often treated badly by some of the elitist Mexican middle and upper class. We were so excited to have him and his family join us as equals at a table of Thanksgiving. How much more to be thankful for when he brought his children and his mother along. I can't think of anything to be more thankful for as I know that was a huge indication of the trust he has in our genuine friendship and our ability to provide a safe, non-threatening, non-class-based evening with all friends and family welcome at the same table.
Another highlight of the evening were meeting some of the neighbors from the US. It turns out that in one of the 14 apartments in our small complex there are two people from our home state of Washington. One from Seattle and one from Sunnyside, kind of cool since we are from the Yakima area. They are self proclaimed "anti-social" and although we have both lived there for over a year we had no idea that we were from the same state.
In addition, it was nice to spend time with other people that we definitely consider our Mexican family. Life here in Vallarta would not be the same without your guys.
Some of the neighbors said that we were like the pilgrims come to a new nation to share a meal. How heartwarming is that? I hope our presence here is a blessing for many years to come and that we continue to devvelop deep relationships with both the local people and the expats who now call this tropical paradise home. Beach Crossers is blessed to live here and as far as Thanksgiving goes, this is one for the memory books.
Beach wheelchair and mobility device rentals Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Making Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding area accessible to everyone. Visit our site at Beachcrossers.com
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Beach Crossers mobility rentals in Vallarta continues to grow
We've blogged about starting a new wheelchair business in Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta, but there is so much more to keeping it going.
When we started Beach Crossers we learned so much about all of the hoops you have to jump to have an international business. The banking, website, shopping cart and so on. The SSL, SEO, SAT, IRS, TRV, and other acronyms became common parts of our language.
Now that the beach wheelchair business has a year under our business belts there are new things to learn.
Understanding the cultural differences in the area we are working is a process. One of the things that has been interesting is that if we don't do business at a resort for a couple of months they think we are out of business and no longer call. We have to continually go back to each resort and remind them that our wheelchair rental business is still active and that we are around to assist their guests.
I'm not sure what happens to the old rack cards that we drop off, but each time we visit they are completely out. Did they give them to guests? I don't think so because that would have resulted in at least a few calls. Maybe after another year they will keep our promotional materials. I actually wonder how long that will take.
There is some competition in town. We spotted another wheelchair accessible van. We've since found out that they charge far more than we do so we're not too worried about it. There is also another wheelchair rental company, but they've been around for years and rumor is that they don't answer their phones. We are trying to be uber available to the concierges and guests. We're also getting active in the expat medical community. I'll write again as the medical expo comes around. That is going to be an interesting experience.
Today we actually had 6 products rented at various resorts. That was a new record for us. Someday hopefully that will be our average. We are definitely going to need more scooters. It's weird, but when we started this business we thought that beach wheelchairs would be our primary product, but now we rent more scooters, power chairs, manual chairs and walkers. I would have thought people would bring those things with them when they travel, but it turns out that they always get damaged on the flight so people would rather rent. The accessible van has been really busy too. We are planning to have another before the season next year.
So for now I am thinking that quitting my teaching job in Washington State and moving to this tropical paradise of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to start a mobility rental company has been a dream come true. I wish I had done this 10 years ago, but all things in their own time.
As a side note, as all of my friends back in the states are posting pictures of fresh snow I can honestly say I am thoroughly enjoying these warm temperatures and sunshine.
I will definitely write about celebrating Thanksgiving in my next blog. I am so very excited to share this holiday experience with my good friends and new family here in Mexico. They are equally excited and have begun to call us the pilgrims. It feels like a true Thanksgiving to have two cultures come together to share food and fellowship. I have so much to be thankful for.
When we started Beach Crossers we learned so much about all of the hoops you have to jump to have an international business. The banking, website, shopping cart and so on. The SSL, SEO, SAT, IRS, TRV, and other acronyms became common parts of our language.
Now that the beach wheelchair business has a year under our business belts there are new things to learn.
Understanding the cultural differences in the area we are working is a process. One of the things that has been interesting is that if we don't do business at a resort for a couple of months they think we are out of business and no longer call. We have to continually go back to each resort and remind them that our wheelchair rental business is still active and that we are around to assist their guests.
I'm not sure what happens to the old rack cards that we drop off, but each time we visit they are completely out. Did they give them to guests? I don't think so because that would have resulted in at least a few calls. Maybe after another year they will keep our promotional materials. I actually wonder how long that will take.
There is some competition in town. We spotted another wheelchair accessible van. We've since found out that they charge far more than we do so we're not too worried about it. There is also another wheelchair rental company, but they've been around for years and rumor is that they don't answer their phones. We are trying to be uber available to the concierges and guests. We're also getting active in the expat medical community. I'll write again as the medical expo comes around. That is going to be an interesting experience.
Today we actually had 6 products rented at various resorts. That was a new record for us. Someday hopefully that will be our average. We are definitely going to need more scooters. It's weird, but when we started this business we thought that beach wheelchairs would be our primary product, but now we rent more scooters, power chairs, manual chairs and walkers. I would have thought people would bring those things with them when they travel, but it turns out that they always get damaged on the flight so people would rather rent. The accessible van has been really busy too. We are planning to have another before the season next year.
So for now I am thinking that quitting my teaching job in Washington State and moving to this tropical paradise of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to start a mobility rental company has been a dream come true. I wish I had done this 10 years ago, but all things in their own time.
As a side note, as all of my friends back in the states are posting pictures of fresh snow I can honestly say I am thoroughly enjoying these warm temperatures and sunshine.
I will definitely write about celebrating Thanksgiving in my next blog. I am so very excited to share this holiday experience with my good friends and new family here in Mexico. They are equally excited and have begun to call us the pilgrims. It feels like a true Thanksgiving to have two cultures come together to share food and fellowship. I have so much to be thankful for.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Hurricane Patricia disrupts Beach Crossers wheelchair rental business in Vallarta
"Was it all a lie?" That's what someone asked me after Hurricane Patricia didn't destroy Vallarta. Wow. It's hard for me to understand how someone can think that the most powerful hurricane of all time was fiction. Is it any less impressive because we didn't lose billions of dollars in assets or thousands of lives? I find it more impressive actually. It was amazing being in the Vallarta area when the impending threat headed our direction. I was fascinated to see how the authorities efficiently evacuated thousands of people who were not only unfamiliar with the area, but many of whom did not speak the language or have any awareness of local emergency procedures.
Like many residents of Vallarta we have seen hurricanes come our direction before; most often with blue skies and calm breezes. We are blessed to have the magnificent Sierra Madre mountains to the south that function like the Great Wall of China to keep our enemy hurricanes from crossing into our beautiful paradise. Patricia was different. She seemed determined to circumvent our protective mountain range and crash head on into the heavily populated tourist zone. The bay is large. For years, we've been told that if a hurricane arrived right on target that it could spin around in the bay for a while causing incredible damage.
So, I'm running errands around town with a few of my neighbors and it starts to rain a bit. We are sitting at Starbucks at the Marina laughing hysterically about, "it's just a Category 4 drizzle!" We certainly see more powerful rains than this on a regular basis. Flooded streets and broken branches are common during the rainy season. It is the tropics after all. By the time we left Starbucks, it had stopped raining. We decided we should have T-shirts printed that say, "The rainy season in Vallarta is just a category 4 drizzle."
Patricia was not to be mocked however. When we arrived back at the apartments and settled in with our Costco dogs for a BBQ we each began to get calls and messages from family and friends. Patricia was gaining strength and headed our way. The song began to reverberate in my mind, "Should I stay or should I go?" But the calls kept coming. It's hard to enjoy a BBQ when the whole world is telling you to get in the car and head to high ground. We talked about it for about 30 seconds before we decided we should pack up and go. There were just too many people we love concerned for our lives. We agreed to meet in one hour. It's kind of crazy. What do you grab in one hour. You need to tape windows, put important paperwork in dry bags, unplug everything except the refrigerator, grab valuables, move vehicles from under trees, find the cat, and answer the non-stop text messages from friends and family members who are concerned. Oh yes, and some clothes. That's a good idea. I probably should have grabbed more than one change of clothes. Ever the optimist.
So, we have decided to take our van, and head ... hmmmmm, good question. Erik has been on the phone and we are leaving the driving to him. Amy and I throw blankets, pillows, ice chests, etc. in the back of the van. Stephanie packs some snacks and drinks. One hour and 2 minutes later we are in the van headed to the nearest Oxxo to grab a few more bottles of water and drive to Talpa. There are 4 of us in the van. Three of us have never been to Talpa. Three of us have no idea where Talpa is. A question that we would all be asked many times over the next 12 hours. Erik says it's about a 2 hour drive. As we drive past the Pemex with our full tank of gas I am praying my first thank-you. There are lines at the pumps that remind me of gas shortages long ago. People are flipping U-turns, obviously hoping that the next station won't have the long lines. I ask Erik, "Do they ever run out of gas?" "Of course." he replies, and I realize that a full tank of gas could possibly be the difference between survival or not. What a weird realization. Well, we have a full tank and seem to be well ahead of any evacuation traffic. We actually don't see too many vehicles fleeing quite yet. Patricia isn't supposed to make land for at least 12 hours. Maybe some rain ahead of that, but we aren't in too big of a hurry. We stop a couple of times along the way to stretch our legs and get a breath of fresh air. Most of the drive is pretty uneventful, but at one of our stops, I ask Stephanie, "Do you usually just let your cat out?" "What? Do I look like an idiot?" "Okay, but that cat looks a lot like Tim and it's headed into the corn field!" Thankfully, Tim comes when he's called and we don't have to find a way through the barbed wire and explore a field that was never meant to be a corn maze. The roads aren't great, but aren't too bad. There are of course random speed bumps, cows, and pot holes to avoid. The true dangers of driving at night in Mexico. Erik is familiar with the road and other than the fact that the brakes smell like a semi truck headed down Snoqualmie Pass, we make the drive in a speedy 4 hours. Yes we did stop a couple of times and there was the bit of a drizzle, but I'm pretty sure we are not setting any records to be proud of with that pace. On the other hand, we listened to a very eclectic mix of music and laughed about Tim getting out of his carrier and other just as insignificant moments in life that are the bricks of friendship.
When we arrived in Talpa, it was late. Erik had arranged a room with 3 beds for us girls and he was headed to sleep on the floor at a family home. Our room was delightful. Three double beds, a beautiful shared space on the balcony and a view that was breathtaking. Over the next 24 hours we learned a lot about Talpa and the pilgrimages that happen around All Saints Day. My catholic upbringing resurfaced as I remembered what the different bells signified from the cathedral. And, we visited the market to buy fresh fruit, rumpope, local candies, local cheese and fresh (pulling it out of the oven while we were there) hot bread. The people of Talpa were so kind and I can honestly say that it is a place worthy of an extended stay. It's small and I wouldn't see myself living there, but 3-6 months would be a wonderful life experience.
Internet was intermittent at best. We could get a few updates, but couldn't really keep up with Patricia's progress. I asked friends and family to post what they found and tag me so I could read about it the next day. Thanks to those who did just that as I found the reports very interesting.
Vallarta was spared.
It was hard to remember that we weren't on vacation in that beautiful little town, but responsibility was calling me back to Vallarta. We needed to get a new tire, check fluids, have a bite to eat and head back down the mountain. There were a few things I needed to do for Beach Crossers that evening. We had some products rented to people who had evacuated and we needed to make new arrangements for collecting those wheelchairs. Being back in phone reception was important, but not so pressing that we couldn't stop and enjoy a few sites along the way.
There was such a positive energy everywhere we stopped. It's difficult to describe. It's like watching the man crawl the last half mile to finish a marathon. Everyone feels more alive. That's how it felt after Patricia didn't wipe us all off of the planet. "Was it a lie?" Not at all. It was an opportunity to be thankful for what we have, for what we didn't lose, for the friendships that grew stronger, for the promise of tomorrow, and for the Sierra Madres or "Mother Mountains" that protected her children and their beautiful playground.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Living in Vallarta with Beach Crossers
It's interesting living in Puerto Vallarta, well actually Nuevo Vallarta. Since we started our beach wheelchair rental company, Beach Crossers, we have learned a million things. This week it seems like we are going to learn about the mapache (raccoon).
The first night I was back to Vallarta, I had a visitor. I never saw the visitor, but it got into the kitchen trash and made a bit of a mess. Not too big of a mess as having just returned to the apartment, there wasn't much in the trash. Many people tried to convince me that it was "Google" the cat, but I had never known him to get into the garbage before so I was skeptical. The next evening as I was sitting at the dark dining room table with my computer, the slider opened. I casually said, "Hi Googs." but quickly smelled the odor of a wild, trash eating, pest of a raccoon. I knew without a doubt that it was not Google coming in, so I jumped up from the table and backed away. I'm sure I startled the animal, but with the lights out I had no way to know if it had left or not. I grabbed a flashlight, turned on all of the lights and began to search. I knew that shaking the patio chairs would not send him scurrying if he was holed up. Well, after about an hour of searching, I concluded that he (I truly have no way of knowing if it was in fact a he or a she) had left. I closed everything up tight even though it was still stinking hot and headed to bed. For a few nights I kept the house closed up. One night the frisky visitor came in through a bedroom window that I had left open about 2 inches. Yes, I put a stick in the window. I showed the opening to the grounds keeper in the morning and to one of my neighbors. Both were certain a raccoon could not come through that small opening, but I had seen it leave that way, so I was certain that it could ... and did come through that opening. So, even a small amount of air was out of the question :( This morning when the neighbor's cat, Google got up to leave at 6:00 in the morning (he spends the night here sometimes since his owner got a puppy... with permission from dad of course!) I decided it was probably morning enough to open things up. Five minutes! It took five minutes for the bandit to find his way to the slider and come in. Of course I had barely made my way back to bed so I bounced up and once again told it to "get out of my house." It turned it's little raccoon head around and looked at my from my dining room table to see if I meant what I said. I clapped my hands a few times and he moseyed back out of the door. What to do?
The first night I was back to Vallarta, I had a visitor. I never saw the visitor, but it got into the kitchen trash and made a bit of a mess. Not too big of a mess as having just returned to the apartment, there wasn't much in the trash. Many people tried to convince me that it was "Google" the cat, but I had never known him to get into the garbage before so I was skeptical. The next evening as I was sitting at the dark dining room table with my computer, the slider opened. I casually said, "Hi Googs." but quickly smelled the odor of a wild, trash eating, pest of a raccoon. I knew without a doubt that it was not Google coming in, so I jumped up from the table and backed away. I'm sure I startled the animal, but with the lights out I had no way to know if it had left or not. I grabbed a flashlight, turned on all of the lights and began to search. I knew that shaking the patio chairs would not send him scurrying if he was holed up. Well, after about an hour of searching, I concluded that he (I truly have no way of knowing if it was in fact a he or a she) had left. I closed everything up tight even though it was still stinking hot and headed to bed. For a few nights I kept the house closed up. One night the frisky visitor came in through a bedroom window that I had left open about 2 inches. Yes, I put a stick in the window. I showed the opening to the grounds keeper in the morning and to one of my neighbors. Both were certain a raccoon could not come through that small opening, but I had seen it leave that way, so I was certain that it could ... and did come through that opening. So, even a small amount of air was out of the question :( This morning when the neighbor's cat, Google got up to leave at 6:00 in the morning (he spends the night here sometimes since his owner got a puppy... with permission from dad of course!) I decided it was probably morning enough to open things up. Five minutes! It took five minutes for the bandit to find his way to the slider and come in. Of course I had barely made my way back to bed so I bounced up and once again told it to "get out of my house." It turned it's little raccoon head around and looked at my from my dining room table to see if I meant what I said. I clapped my hands a few times and he moseyed back out of the door. What to do?
Monday, August 10, 2015
Beach Crossers Wheelchair Van takes a Road Trip from Yakima to Puerto Vallarta
This story begins with the purchase of our wheelchair accessible van. A wonderful family in Ellensburg had the van as part of an estate sale. We used money from Mom's estate to buy the van. Their mom had always loved road tripping and wanted to go to Mexico. The sentimental connection was there for both families and like most things in our business it felt like God was in control and it was meant to be.
The van that we purchased is a 2000 Dodge Caravan that was modified by Mobility Concepts in Portland, OR. They start by lowering the floor by 6-8 inches! That was obviously something that was going to be a challenge with the topes or random speed bumps in Mexico. Sometimes the topes are called "sleeping policemen" because they do a great job of controlling the speed of traffic, but they are tough on the vehicles. We knew we would need to have the van lifted. What we didn't know is that according to about 6 different locations in Central Washington, "it can't be done." All along I was thinking to myself, "I bet it can be done once we get to Mexico!" Unfortunately, that meant taking the road trip with a van that was guaranteed to drag it's bottom across a number of bumps in the road.
Life threw a few curves and our trip was delayed, re-planned, delayed and re-planned. What was going to be a sight seeing adventure turned into a quick trip with a deadline (okay, we were only expecting company at our tropical home in Vallarta, but it was still a deadline we didn't want to miss).
First day Yakima to Ely, NV. This wasn't our planned route, but it is one we are familiar with. We had planned to go through Reno to visit family, and maybe through Rio Vista to visit more family, but instead we cut out a day and took the shortest route. Some might find this a beautiful drive, but having done this drive several times in the past, neither of us were interested in sight seeing and took turns driving just to cover some miles.
Day 2 Ely to Nogales. Again, not the route we planned. We were planning to spend the night in Ajo, AZ, but there was some construction on Highway 2 in Mexico that we wanted to avoid, so we took a little bit longer day and made it all of the way to Nogales. Let me just mention our hotel rental for the night. According to Kayak, it was the Best Western Siesta Motel. We navigated to the Best Western which didn't have any record of our reservation. After a little investigation, we figured out that we were at the "other Best Western." That is funny in a not so funny kind of way. The "other" Best Western doesn't say anything about Best Western on any of the signs. The free breakfast was, and I'm not kidding, a box of chocolate hostess donuts dumped in a display case. There wasn't even any coffee. We needed a business center, but ... not a chance. It was clean, but it was not like any Best Western I've ever stayed at. We are pretty easy going about lodging, but this was not what we were expecting. However, it was close to the border, which made the next morning pretty easy.
Day 3 Nogales to Guaymas. What to do for breakfast now that our buffet was non existent. Yes, the Safeway bakery was the next best thing. Honestly, one of the best bagels I've ever had. I would certainly recommend it. A fresh bagel, cream cheese and juice. As a bonus there was a Starbucks in the store. Sadly there was no copy machine as we still needed copies of our car registration for the border. After a Google search we found that there were copy services across the border so we headed south with our bagels, coffee and our optimistic attitudes.
The border. Someone could have told us that there is NOTHING at the border. There is a welcome sign about the same as the one that goes from Washington into Oregon. "Welcome to Mexico!" That's it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but there was seriously NOTHING. It was kind of creepy. We felt like we had taken a wrong turn and missed the border crossing. It turns out that about 10 miles down the road you come to all of the things that you thought should be at the border. First is customs. Let me just mention that the bumps we had to cross with the van here were excruciating! No matter how slow or angled we crossed we were scraping the bottom side of the van in a big way. There is a button you push to get a red or green light. If you've walked into Mexico or arrived by air, you've pushed a similar button. Today was slow at the custom's area, so everyone got red. I wish someone had also warned us that if you get a red there is a horrible alarm that accompanies the light. Even with advanced warning it will have you jumping high enough to hit your head on the top of the car. We pulled over into the stall (scraping the van across the topes). I hopped out opening all of the doors so they could have a look at our van full of lounge chairs and plastic storage. The inspector was much more interested in the modifications to the van. They had never seen an accessible van before. Thankfully, we didn't need to cross any more topes and they didn't ask for duty or taxes; just sent us on our way while they continued to discuss the van. Next is immigration. You have to pull into a parking area where they check your resident visa or issue a tourist card. This should be simple because you either have a visa or you get a tourist card. You just need your passport and to fill out some paperwork. The next stop is to pick up your vehicle permit and it is in the same location. There is a copy center conveniently located on site (so we could have avoided running around Nogales where we never found one open). You get your copies, go to the cashier to pay for your deposit, then back to the first office, where you jump to the front of the line, and get the final approval. There is a sticker that goes on your car and you exit (again with no additional topes) and are on your way. We had our proof of ownership, proof of US insurance, proof of Mexican insurance, and current registration. Paid our deposit and got our 6 month permit. Return to the border within 6 months and we get our deposit back (or so they say. I've heard differently). Hopefully our custom's agent in Vallarta can get our vehicle nationalized so we don't have to drive back to the border every 6 months. This process took less than an hour and might have been faster if we didn't have a first day employee behind the desk. Note: Since this was written we have found that as long as you have your temporary residents visa you don't need to renew your TIP. You lose the money you paid, but save a drive back to the border.
Back on the road. When you get into Mexico you can choose to use the toll roads or the smaller roads that go through towns. Similar to the interstate vs. the state highways. Of course we were sticking with the toll roads because there are generally better road conditions, fewer topes, faster travel times and the best benefit of all: when you pay your toll you are eligible for free road side assistance. Keep your receipts and know where you are. There are call boxes about every mile and peace of mind all along the way. The Green Angels have gas, tires, batteries, water and can call you a tow truck if you need one. This gets important later :) The road from Notales to Guamas was mostly more desert, but as we headed back to the coast the biodiversity increased. This was also going to be a short day, so we finally had time to look around and enjoy the sights. We arrived at Guaymas. We had a room reserved at Playa de Cortes. It was beautiful. It was full of old Mexico atmosphere. The air conditioning was great, the view unbeatable. On a comfort scale, the beds were about a 4/10, but that is pretty normal for a lot of places in Mexico. There was no refrigerator in the room, and the bathroom smelled musty. That being said, I would stay there again. The view and grounds are so spectacular! The restaurant would get mixed reviews. The soup I had was amazing, but the Monte Cristo sandwich was laughable. It was some turkey and a slice of packaged cheese on a piece of toast. Yes, that's it. Served warm, but not melted (not sure that kind of "cheese" can actually melt). Nice people all around.
Day 4 Guaymas to Mazatlan Getting out of Guaymas was interesting as there are topes everywhere and they are not gentle. We grabbed breakfast at McDonalds and were happy to get back to the toll road. The toll road is interesting because you never know how much the toll is going to be (from 35 to 220 pesos) or how far it will be between toll booths. You would think the higher toll gets you a longer stretch of road, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern. We reserved a room at Don Palayo's in Mazatlan. The drive was pretty nice. We had a long section of road that had a speed limit of 110 km (about 70 mph) so travel was good. We stopped at Starbucks in Obregon (if you read much of my blog you'll soon realize I'm totally addicted. It's a side effect of years of living in Washington State). Since we had another short day we were able to enjoy coffee and wifi and the company of fellow coffee lovers. It was 110 outside and we ended up sitting on the patio because the air conditioning was too cold. You can always count on Starbucks to keep the temperature cool. We enjoyed our coffee, grabbed a Subway sandwich and headed to Mazatlan. Yes, 110 degrees. I asked Sheri, "did you turn off the air conditioner?" "No" she said, (not the answer I wanted), "but I noticed that it's not blowing cold air anymore." Windows down we continue to Mazatlan. About 10 miles outside of town the van starts to vibrate. We arrived plenty early, although there was a problem with our reservation so check in took over an hour. They were really nice about it, but an hour of check in is still an un-enjoyable hour. . Once we were checked in, Sheri got some ice for her very swollen ankle/foot and I got on the "On the Road Mexico" Facebook forum to find a mechanic. We had several recommendations in just a few minutes. The next morning we checked out of our room and headed to Farco Automotriz (next to the green laundry on Avenida de la Marina). We dropped off the van and headed across the street for a torta and fresh squeezed juice. Both of which were delicious. By the time we returned they had the air conditioning unit removed and were trying to find a new compressor. Auto zone said 3-5 days (no thanks) and the junk yard didn't have a used one. They ended up replacing the bearings, removing all of the rest of the compressor and sending us on our way. This was after-all our last day on the road and we could get it fixed by our own mechanic in Vallarta (highly recommend William and Willy at The Chevy Shoppe. Both speak great English, are priced competetively and always get our vehicle back to us promptly. They will also do house calls if needed). We still had a little bit of a shimmy going on so the mechanic directed us to the tire shop where we had the guilty tire balanced and headed on our way. They were such nice people and we actually enjoyed hanging around the shop for half the day. Reminded me of the time spent at Antioch Radiator as a kid where Dad and Al had areas where we were allowed to play and areas that were off limits. There were plenty of toddler toys at the shop in Mazatlan. They mechanics were friendly and brought us cold drinks while we waited.
On the road again and headed home. We didn't even take time to backtrack to the Starbucks, we just headed South looking forward to seeing our own beds. About 2 hours later the van was shaking so severely that we knew we needed to stop. It was shaking more severely when we pushed on the accelerator. We were pretty sure a motor mount had broken. We pulled over at a call box just past the exit to Rosamorada. In my best Spanish I let the operator know that we didn't need gas, water, battery or tires, but that we needed help and that our car was broken. In hindsight, it would be good to learn the word for tow truck (grua) before taking a road trip through Mexico. She kept asking for more information and it was incredibly frustrating. Finally, I told Sheri it was her turn. I had given the number off of the toll receipt, the location of the toll box, and asked for help in every way that I could think of. I had tried for almost 2 hours without success when Sheri got on the box and said, "Carro no bueno" and shortly after that the aid car arrived. Even better though was the SUV that pulled in while the aid car driver was putting on his safety vest to cross the road to our location Rene, Julia and their son Aldo were driving toward Mazatlan when they saw us broken down. Rene asked Julia if she saw those two white women, one on crutches broken down and did she think they should stop. She hadn't seen us, but said if he thought they should stop then they should stop and was he going to be okay driving on without knowing if we were okay. PRAISE GOD. I love the Mexican people and I love the language, but I was so very happy to hear, "You guys need some help?" in English. Rene and Sheri talked with the mechanic about what the van had been up to and what our next steps would be and I chatted with Julia. What truly kindhearted people. It took some McGuivering to get our lowered van onto the tow truck, but Julia kept on the driver, watching every inch of the process to protect our muffler. When we were loaded up they said they were taking us to the next town to the mechanic. It was that time of night where the mosquitoes start to swarm so we knew we would be spending the night and headed for the tow truck. Rene insisted that we ride with them as they were going to go with us because the mechanic might not speak English. Ruiz is 25 km in the wrong direction, but they insisted. Thank God for sending these angels to assist us in our time of need! We had no problem with conversation and chatted non stop in both the front and back seats all the way to Ruiz. We spent a few hours at the mechanic together finding out that the fly wheel was either cracked or broken and that they could probably get us on the road by either the same time the next day (if it was cracked) or the following day (if it was broken). Well, only 2.5 hours from home and looking at an extended stay in Ruiz. Rene and the whole group of mechanics discussed where we should spend the night in Ruiz (I understood enough to be enamored by the care they were giving the two white women). They decided that even though there were no services nearby that we should stay at the "new hotel" because it would just be better for "the two white women". They would come get us in the morning and take us to breakfast, then come get us for lunch and hopefully the van would be ready after that. So, Rene, Julia and Aldo took us to the hotel. There was no room at the inn! I think everyone in town was looking for some relief from the heat and booked up all of the rooms with air conditioning. The hotel receptionist recommended another hotel and we were off again (remember that Rene and Julia were headed to Mazatlan and now it's getting late). On the way to the second hotel, Rene stopped to ask direction and the man said that hotel wouldn't be the best for "the two white women" as sometimes the highway road crews check in late at night and they can be noisy. He recommended another place and we were on our way. The hotel we landed at was awesome. There was no office, it was a 50s style single story building around a courtyard. The courtyard had building in the middle that was both a commons area and the home of the owner. There were chickens and cats running around, plenty of fruit trees and it turns out that it was only a block and a half to the mechanic. Most importantly, there was a room available. we were happy to see two beds, an air conditioner that worked, a bathroom with a shower and a 9" TV. The owner brought us clean towels and toilet paper. What more could we ask for. We asked Rene, Julia and Aldo to dinner and thankfully the taco place that was just outside our new home for the night was open late. The owner said not to worry about a key, she would be around LOL. The door did lock from the inside so good enough. We enjoyed some really great tacos and quesadillas and the company of our new friends. It was probably 11:30 when Rene suggested they get back on the road since they were still driving to Mazatlan. What a great adventure and wonderful people.
The next day we left our hotel (unlocked) and headed across the street to the OXXO (like an AM/PM or 7-eleven) for breakfast. Rice pudding and string cheese ... yum. We got directions to the ATM and an internet location and headed downtown with Sheri on crutches at 110 degrees. We were about half way to the ATM, which was much more than the 4 blocks we were told, when Sheri notice that right next to us was a place that said, in English "Coffee and Internet"! Seriously, just like a Starbucks from before there were Starbucks! He only had Mocha and the Internet was on some computers that were older than the ones donated to my classroom 15 years ago by the hospital because they were upgrading. He dusted off the computer, brought us some frozen mochas and we were HAPPY. His English was perfect. He called the mechanic, Reuben Guerrero, to check on the van to find out that we were going to have to stay another night. Not ideal, but we already had a room so good enough. We stopped at the panadaria across the street to pick up a loaf of sweet bread, stopped by the ATM to get money for the mechanic, and crutched our way back to the room. Wait, where is that taco stand that was here last night? I asked the owner about tacos and she said, "manana, no hay hoy." Really, this is the one day the taco stand is closed? I asked where else was close by and she said not to worry that the tacos would come to us and to just head to the room. A short time later there is a knock on the door and a young man says, "My mom said I'm going to get you some tacos?" I'm sure this was the first time they had ever offered room service! We told him what we wanted, he hopped on his scooter and brought us our order a while later. It was awesome. Dinner was delicious and we had sweet bread for a dessert.
The next morning we went to the OXXO for rice pudding and string cheese. Sheri sat down on a planter box and I was going to head down to the mechanic. Just then, here comes our van with a smiling mechanic behind the wheel. He flips the u-turn and I go for a ride with him. Sadly, the van was still shaking. They had replaced the fly wheel which was in fact broken, but that obviously wasn't the only problem. Sheri took a ride and we all agreed that we were heading back to the mechanic. With only 2 seats in van, I walked down and met them there. They took apart the left axel, then the right. Oh, there's the problem. The CV joint was broken. This time Auto Zone said 5-7 days and the junk yard didn't have one. During this time, they brought us ice cream, offered us their car, and showed up with lunch. There was one mechanic that spoke English, so all in all it went really well. They took the broken part to a machine shop where it was sanded and welded to almost perfectly smooth. He said it wasn't fixed, but would get us to Vallarta. We asked if we should drive slow and careful and he said, "No, it's good to go. I guarantee it for 7 days." And we all laughed. Now, how to get back to the toll road? It was dark when we got to Ruiz and it's not exactly on the toll road. Rueben said to follow him and he got on the scooter with his brother driving and started leading us out of town. Rueben is obviously well known and well liked because he was like the Grand Marshall in the "We got the white women back on the road" parade. We were so glad he took us to the road, because he tried to avoid topes and when there was one coming up instructed us on where it was most gradual. Such nice people. We broke our rule about driving at night. The most important reason to not drive at night is that most of the highway in Mexico is also in open range, cows are black and like to sleep on the road. There are steep shoulders and random speed bumps. There are some areas of the country where criminal activities escalate at night. We were far south of any criminal hot spots, there was a long line of semi trucks going our way, and we would be home by midnight. We actually arrived at the house at about 12:30. We had just enough time to sleep, unload the van into the living room and pick our friends up at the airport at 3:30. Perfect timing. And a fun road trip. Mom would have loved it.
The van that we purchased is a 2000 Dodge Caravan that was modified by Mobility Concepts in Portland, OR. They start by lowering the floor by 6-8 inches! That was obviously something that was going to be a challenge with the topes or random speed bumps in Mexico. Sometimes the topes are called "sleeping policemen" because they do a great job of controlling the speed of traffic, but they are tough on the vehicles. We knew we would need to have the van lifted. What we didn't know is that according to about 6 different locations in Central Washington, "it can't be done." All along I was thinking to myself, "I bet it can be done once we get to Mexico!" Unfortunately, that meant taking the road trip with a van that was guaranteed to drag it's bottom across a number of bumps in the road.
Life threw a few curves and our trip was delayed, re-planned, delayed and re-planned. What was going to be a sight seeing adventure turned into a quick trip with a deadline (okay, we were only expecting company at our tropical home in Vallarta, but it was still a deadline we didn't want to miss).
First day Yakima to Ely, NV. This wasn't our planned route, but it is one we are familiar with. We had planned to go through Reno to visit family, and maybe through Rio Vista to visit more family, but instead we cut out a day and took the shortest route. Some might find this a beautiful drive, but having done this drive several times in the past, neither of us were interested in sight seeing and took turns driving just to cover some miles.
Day 2 Ely to Nogales. Again, not the route we planned. We were planning to spend the night in Ajo, AZ, but there was some construction on Highway 2 in Mexico that we wanted to avoid, so we took a little bit longer day and made it all of the way to Nogales. Let me just mention our hotel rental for the night. According to Kayak, it was the Best Western Siesta Motel. We navigated to the Best Western which didn't have any record of our reservation. After a little investigation, we figured out that we were at the "other Best Western." That is funny in a not so funny kind of way. The "other" Best Western doesn't say anything about Best Western on any of the signs. The free breakfast was, and I'm not kidding, a box of chocolate hostess donuts dumped in a display case. There wasn't even any coffee. We needed a business center, but ... not a chance. It was clean, but it was not like any Best Western I've ever stayed at. We are pretty easy going about lodging, but this was not what we were expecting. However, it was close to the border, which made the next morning pretty easy.
Day 3 Nogales to Guaymas. What to do for breakfast now that our buffet was non existent. Yes, the Safeway bakery was the next best thing. Honestly, one of the best bagels I've ever had. I would certainly recommend it. A fresh bagel, cream cheese and juice. As a bonus there was a Starbucks in the store. Sadly there was no copy machine as we still needed copies of our car registration for the border. After a Google search we found that there were copy services across the border so we headed south with our bagels, coffee and our optimistic attitudes.
The border. Someone could have told us that there is NOTHING at the border. There is a welcome sign about the same as the one that goes from Washington into Oregon. "Welcome to Mexico!" That's it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but there was seriously NOTHING. It was kind of creepy. We felt like we had taken a wrong turn and missed the border crossing. It turns out that about 10 miles down the road you come to all of the things that you thought should be at the border. First is customs. Let me just mention that the bumps we had to cross with the van here were excruciating! No matter how slow or angled we crossed we were scraping the bottom side of the van in a big way. There is a button you push to get a red or green light. If you've walked into Mexico or arrived by air, you've pushed a similar button. Today was slow at the custom's area, so everyone got red. I wish someone had also warned us that if you get a red there is a horrible alarm that accompanies the light. Even with advanced warning it will have you jumping high enough to hit your head on the top of the car. We pulled over into the stall (scraping the van across the topes). I hopped out opening all of the doors so they could have a look at our van full of lounge chairs and plastic storage. The inspector was much more interested in the modifications to the van. They had never seen an accessible van before. Thankfully, we didn't need to cross any more topes and they didn't ask for duty or taxes; just sent us on our way while they continued to discuss the van. Next is immigration. You have to pull into a parking area where they check your resident visa or issue a tourist card. This should be simple because you either have a visa or you get a tourist card. You just need your passport and to fill out some paperwork. The next stop is to pick up your vehicle permit and it is in the same location. There is a copy center conveniently located on site (so we could have avoided running around Nogales where we never found one open). You get your copies, go to the cashier to pay for your deposit, then back to the first office, where you jump to the front of the line, and get the final approval. There is a sticker that goes on your car and you exit (again with no additional topes) and are on your way. We had our proof of ownership, proof of US insurance, proof of Mexican insurance, and current registration. Paid our deposit and got our 6 month permit. Return to the border within 6 months and we get our deposit back (or so they say. I've heard differently). Hopefully our custom's agent in Vallarta can get our vehicle nationalized so we don't have to drive back to the border every 6 months. This process took less than an hour and might have been faster if we didn't have a first day employee behind the desk. Note: Since this was written we have found that as long as you have your temporary residents visa you don't need to renew your TIP. You lose the money you paid, but save a drive back to the border.
Back on the road. When you get into Mexico you can choose to use the toll roads or the smaller roads that go through towns. Similar to the interstate vs. the state highways. Of course we were sticking with the toll roads because there are generally better road conditions, fewer topes, faster travel times and the best benefit of all: when you pay your toll you are eligible for free road side assistance. Keep your receipts and know where you are. There are call boxes about every mile and peace of mind all along the way. The Green Angels have gas, tires, batteries, water and can call you a tow truck if you need one. This gets important later :) The road from Notales to Guamas was mostly more desert, but as we headed back to the coast the biodiversity increased. This was also going to be a short day, so we finally had time to look around and enjoy the sights. We arrived at Guaymas. We had a room reserved at Playa de Cortes. It was beautiful. It was full of old Mexico atmosphere. The air conditioning was great, the view unbeatable. On a comfort scale, the beds were about a 4/10, but that is pretty normal for a lot of places in Mexico. There was no refrigerator in the room, and the bathroom smelled musty. That being said, I would stay there again. The view and grounds are so spectacular! The restaurant would get mixed reviews. The soup I had was amazing, but the Monte Cristo sandwich was laughable. It was some turkey and a slice of packaged cheese on a piece of toast. Yes, that's it. Served warm, but not melted (not sure that kind of "cheese" can actually melt). Nice people all around.
Day 4 Guaymas to Mazatlan Getting out of Guaymas was interesting as there are topes everywhere and they are not gentle. We grabbed breakfast at McDonalds and were happy to get back to the toll road. The toll road is interesting because you never know how much the toll is going to be (from 35 to 220 pesos) or how far it will be between toll booths. You would think the higher toll gets you a longer stretch of road, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern. We reserved a room at Don Palayo's in Mazatlan. The drive was pretty nice. We had a long section of road that had a speed limit of 110 km (about 70 mph) so travel was good. We stopped at Starbucks in Obregon (if you read much of my blog you'll soon realize I'm totally addicted. It's a side effect of years of living in Washington State). Since we had another short day we were able to enjoy coffee and wifi and the company of fellow coffee lovers. It was 110 outside and we ended up sitting on the patio because the air conditioning was too cold. You can always count on Starbucks to keep the temperature cool. We enjoyed our coffee, grabbed a Subway sandwich and headed to Mazatlan. Yes, 110 degrees. I asked Sheri, "did you turn off the air conditioner?" "No" she said, (not the answer I wanted), "but I noticed that it's not blowing cold air anymore." Windows down we continue to Mazatlan. About 10 miles outside of town the van starts to vibrate. We arrived plenty early, although there was a problem with our reservation so check in took over an hour. They were really nice about it, but an hour of check in is still an un-enjoyable hour. . Once we were checked in, Sheri got some ice for her very swollen ankle/foot and I got on the "On the Road Mexico" Facebook forum to find a mechanic. We had several recommendations in just a few minutes. The next morning we checked out of our room and headed to Farco Automotriz (next to the green laundry on Avenida de la Marina). We dropped off the van and headed across the street for a torta and fresh squeezed juice. Both of which were delicious. By the time we returned they had the air conditioning unit removed and were trying to find a new compressor. Auto zone said 3-5 days (no thanks) and the junk yard didn't have a used one. They ended up replacing the bearings, removing all of the rest of the compressor and sending us on our way. This was after-all our last day on the road and we could get it fixed by our own mechanic in Vallarta (highly recommend William and Willy at The Chevy Shoppe. Both speak great English, are priced competetively and always get our vehicle back to us promptly. They will also do house calls if needed). We still had a little bit of a shimmy going on so the mechanic directed us to the tire shop where we had the guilty tire balanced and headed on our way. They were such nice people and we actually enjoyed hanging around the shop for half the day. Reminded me of the time spent at Antioch Radiator as a kid where Dad and Al had areas where we were allowed to play and areas that were off limits. There were plenty of toddler toys at the shop in Mazatlan. They mechanics were friendly and brought us cold drinks while we waited.
On the road again and headed home. We didn't even take time to backtrack to the Starbucks, we just headed South looking forward to seeing our own beds. About 2 hours later the van was shaking so severely that we knew we needed to stop. It was shaking more severely when we pushed on the accelerator. We were pretty sure a motor mount had broken. We pulled over at a call box just past the exit to Rosamorada. In my best Spanish I let the operator know that we didn't need gas, water, battery or tires, but that we needed help and that our car was broken. In hindsight, it would be good to learn the word for tow truck (grua) before taking a road trip through Mexico. She kept asking for more information and it was incredibly frustrating. Finally, I told Sheri it was her turn. I had given the number off of the toll receipt, the location of the toll box, and asked for help in every way that I could think of. I had tried for almost 2 hours without success when Sheri got on the box and said, "Carro no bueno" and shortly after that the aid car arrived. Even better though was the SUV that pulled in while the aid car driver was putting on his safety vest to cross the road to our location Rene, Julia and their son Aldo were driving toward Mazatlan when they saw us broken down. Rene asked Julia if she saw those two white women, one on crutches broken down and did she think they should stop. She hadn't seen us, but said if he thought they should stop then they should stop and was he going to be okay driving on without knowing if we were okay. PRAISE GOD. I love the Mexican people and I love the language, but I was so very happy to hear, "You guys need some help?" in English. Rene and Sheri talked with the mechanic about what the van had been up to and what our next steps would be and I chatted with Julia. What truly kindhearted people. It took some McGuivering to get our lowered van onto the tow truck, but Julia kept on the driver, watching every inch of the process to protect our muffler. When we were loaded up they said they were taking us to the next town to the mechanic. It was that time of night where the mosquitoes start to swarm so we knew we would be spending the night and headed for the tow truck. Rene insisted that we ride with them as they were going to go with us because the mechanic might not speak English. Ruiz is 25 km in the wrong direction, but they insisted. Thank God for sending these angels to assist us in our time of need! We had no problem with conversation and chatted non stop in both the front and back seats all the way to Ruiz. We spent a few hours at the mechanic together finding out that the fly wheel was either cracked or broken and that they could probably get us on the road by either the same time the next day (if it was cracked) or the following day (if it was broken). Well, only 2.5 hours from home and looking at an extended stay in Ruiz. Rene and the whole group of mechanics discussed where we should spend the night in Ruiz (I understood enough to be enamored by the care they were giving the two white women). They decided that even though there were no services nearby that we should stay at the "new hotel" because it would just be better for "the two white women". They would come get us in the morning and take us to breakfast, then come get us for lunch and hopefully the van would be ready after that. So, Rene, Julia and Aldo took us to the hotel. There was no room at the inn! I think everyone in town was looking for some relief from the heat and booked up all of the rooms with air conditioning. The hotel receptionist recommended another hotel and we were off again (remember that Rene and Julia were headed to Mazatlan and now it's getting late). On the way to the second hotel, Rene stopped to ask direction and the man said that hotel wouldn't be the best for "the two white women" as sometimes the highway road crews check in late at night and they can be noisy. He recommended another place and we were on our way. The hotel we landed at was awesome. There was no office, it was a 50s style single story building around a courtyard. The courtyard had building in the middle that was both a commons area and the home of the owner. There were chickens and cats running around, plenty of fruit trees and it turns out that it was only a block and a half to the mechanic. Most importantly, there was a room available. we were happy to see two beds, an air conditioner that worked, a bathroom with a shower and a 9" TV. The owner brought us clean towels and toilet paper. What more could we ask for. We asked Rene, Julia and Aldo to dinner and thankfully the taco place that was just outside our new home for the night was open late. The owner said not to worry about a key, she would be around LOL. The door did lock from the inside so good enough. We enjoyed some really great tacos and quesadillas and the company of our new friends. It was probably 11:30 when Rene suggested they get back on the road since they were still driving to Mazatlan. What a great adventure and wonderful people.
The next day we left our hotel (unlocked) and headed across the street to the OXXO (like an AM/PM or 7-eleven) for breakfast. Rice pudding and string cheese ... yum. We got directions to the ATM and an internet location and headed downtown with Sheri on crutches at 110 degrees. We were about half way to the ATM, which was much more than the 4 blocks we were told, when Sheri notice that right next to us was a place that said, in English "Coffee and Internet"! Seriously, just like a Starbucks from before there were Starbucks! He only had Mocha and the Internet was on some computers that were older than the ones donated to my classroom 15 years ago by the hospital because they were upgrading. He dusted off the computer, brought us some frozen mochas and we were HAPPY. His English was perfect. He called the mechanic, Reuben Guerrero, to check on the van to find out that we were going to have to stay another night. Not ideal, but we already had a room so good enough. We stopped at the panadaria across the street to pick up a loaf of sweet bread, stopped by the ATM to get money for the mechanic, and crutched our way back to the room. Wait, where is that taco stand that was here last night? I asked the owner about tacos and she said, "manana, no hay hoy." Really, this is the one day the taco stand is closed? I asked where else was close by and she said not to worry that the tacos would come to us and to just head to the room. A short time later there is a knock on the door and a young man says, "My mom said I'm going to get you some tacos?" I'm sure this was the first time they had ever offered room service! We told him what we wanted, he hopped on his scooter and brought us our order a while later. It was awesome. Dinner was delicious and we had sweet bread for a dessert.
The next morning we went to the OXXO for rice pudding and string cheese. Sheri sat down on a planter box and I was going to head down to the mechanic. Just then, here comes our van with a smiling mechanic behind the wheel. He flips the u-turn and I go for a ride with him. Sadly, the van was still shaking. They had replaced the fly wheel which was in fact broken, but that obviously wasn't the only problem. Sheri took a ride and we all agreed that we were heading back to the mechanic. With only 2 seats in van, I walked down and met them there. They took apart the left axel, then the right. Oh, there's the problem. The CV joint was broken. This time Auto Zone said 5-7 days and the junk yard didn't have one. During this time, they brought us ice cream, offered us their car, and showed up with lunch. There was one mechanic that spoke English, so all in all it went really well. They took the broken part to a machine shop where it was sanded and welded to almost perfectly smooth. He said it wasn't fixed, but would get us to Vallarta. We asked if we should drive slow and careful and he said, "No, it's good to go. I guarantee it for 7 days." And we all laughed. Now, how to get back to the toll road? It was dark when we got to Ruiz and it's not exactly on the toll road. Rueben said to follow him and he got on the scooter with his brother driving and started leading us out of town. Rueben is obviously well known and well liked because he was like the Grand Marshall in the "We got the white women back on the road" parade. We were so glad he took us to the road, because he tried to avoid topes and when there was one coming up instructed us on where it was most gradual. Such nice people. We broke our rule about driving at night. The most important reason to not drive at night is that most of the highway in Mexico is also in open range, cows are black and like to sleep on the road. There are steep shoulders and random speed bumps. There are some areas of the country where criminal activities escalate at night. We were far south of any criminal hot spots, there was a long line of semi trucks going our way, and we would be home by midnight. We actually arrived at the house at about 12:30. We had just enough time to sleep, unload the van into the living room and pick our friends up at the airport at 3:30. Perfect timing. And a fun road trip. Mom would have loved it.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Beach Crossers is driving to Puerto Vallarta from the Pacific Northwest
Well, this is going to be an adventure. I've found some really good resources for our trip. I joined "On the Road Mexico" and "Puerto Vallarta: Everything you need or want to know" groups on Facebook. It's amazing how you can post a question and have 100 replies in a relatively short time. If you want to know where the gas stations are located, just ask. If you want to know whether or not you should stay on the toll roads, just ask. There are people driving that route every day and they can give you current road conditions and border crossing information. I'm still debating on the route, because I have a lot of information to sift through. I'm also going to borrow a login and put together a triptik from AAA. I haven't found an online resource that is nearly as thorough. If you have something I'd love to hear about it.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Beach Crossers adds a wheelchair van to their options for Vallarta
This is our newest addition to our service. We've found that many people need a lift from one place to another and there just aren't many options in #Vallarta. Importing the van is becoming the next hurdle in the never ending list of hurdles we've jumped thus far. Vehicle import seems to be "frozen" at this time unless you have a 2006 or 2007 vehicle. Then, the wait is about 5 weeks at the border. Well, at least that is the word on the internet. We are planning on driving down in June. Looks like we will be getting a 6 month permit at the border and hope that sometime in that 6 months the rules ease up. We were also told that once we get our permanent resident visas we won't be able to bring the vehicle in at all and would not be able to renew our 6 month permit. So, we are really not sure how the wheelchair van is going to get into the country or how long we will be able to keep it there, but we are praying and hoping that things work out with this. It would be so nice to add this option to our product line.
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