An Adventure Begins

We made it across the border at Los Indios and encountered no real problems. Of course, when we crossed into the Mexican side of the border, we had to push a button for a red light/green light customs check. We got the red light. I had to take down, from the top of the truck, all the luggage I had just secured down at the motel, open them up, let them inspect and then re-secure them all back on top. A half an hour to get through that, then on to immigration, the posting of a bond and insurance for the truck. Another hour and we are finally on the road, hoping to reach Tampico before dark.

Shortly after we cross the border, we have a detour. The Route 180 that we usually take is closed, and we are detoured to Reynosa, about 30 miles away. A little out of our way, but we find a road that will get us back to the Route 180, so off we go. Or so we thought. Once we arrived in Reynosa, we found so many conflicting signs directing us to the road out of town, that we were driving in circles for the better part of an hour. Finally, Mischelle sees a small sign with our route number, and we are back on the road again. It's now, almost noon, and we still have a good drive in front of us.

Along the way, we pass a caravan of 30+ military vehicles, full of men and equipment. With all that is going on in Mexico, I wonder where they are headed. We manage to make it to Aldama, a small town about 30 miles north of Tampico. It's been a long day, the dogs have been great, and it's time to call it a night. I've stayed here before, and the dogs were welcome, so this was our first stop outside of the US.