Tecate and Beyond

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Our morning started early in anticipation of a 9 am departure. We rolled toward the dump station around 7:30 — after eating any remaining fresh produce before we crossed into Mexico. We were each assigned a placement number in the convoy and we use radios to communicate along the way. 

The border crossing was fairly uneventful. They requested vehicle and trailer registration and did an interior and exterior inspection of the truck and trailer. We were given the green light and we followed three other trailers into Tecate. Mayhem quickly ensued as we were told by our local guide via radio communications to “take a right at the park”. We did as we were told, but the three trailers in front of us didn’t get the memo in time, so we suddenly found ourselves solo in Mexico with no real idea of where we were supposed to head. We heard a radio transmission saying to “follow signs to Ensenada” so we did just that. Thankfully a Green Angel suddenly appeared - a green and white Ford ranger with flashing lights - to rescue us. He led us to a gas station and went to rescue other trailers who had gotten lost. 

At last we had all 12 trailers and we continued south on Mexico Hwy 3. The trip was 60 miles but took four and a half hours. Some spots were scenic and mountainous with vineyards flanking the highway. Other areas were stressful and congested. At some point, the convoy was fractured into two groups. The second group somehow leapfrogged the first and we slowly made our way through construction and traffic towards the campground.  At one point, we heard a loud thump and realized that a big truck had clipped our side mirror. It was really shaky after that - so we will probably have to get that looked at locally. 

At last we arrived. Worn out, but happy to be stationary with our feet on the ground. We had expected to have “full hook ups” but were provided a 110 household style plug and a water spout - and told that it is not advised to try to connect to sewer. We had already filled our fresh water tanks in California and we weren’t quite ready to learn the ropes of treating the water. We opened our windows and put out the awnings for shade. 

After we were all set up, we wandered down to the beach. It’s steps from the site and is beautiful!

 Apparently there are thermal springs under the sand, so other groups were digging huge holes and sitting in the water - which Jude declared to be about 10 degrees warmer than the ocean.  Jude introduced Buster to the ocean again - which led to a doggie bath. We were a little late to happy hour because of this - but got a broad overview of what the next few days would hold. 

Tomorrow’s agenda is an all day winery tour and lunch. We decided to skip out on that and spend the day tomorrow relaxing, spending time at the beach (maybe digging a hole to find the hot springs!) and hopefully finding a place to watch the Chief’s game. Jude is desperate to find a Walmart and another RC car. We will probably do our next round of grocery shopping there. 

Monday brings a half day tour of a local “zoo”. We’ll see what adventures that brings!