Things were pretty low key and quiet at Hope, AZ, no big adventures. Also we were busy winding up our trailer deal a lot of the time. I was looking forward to our trip to Mexico hoping for a new adventure.
Be careful what you ask for! Everything started out ok. The couple (C and J) met us in El Centro at a trailer park in the middle of the town and we stayed two nights. This morning we headed to Calexico on the border and stopped to buy our insurance for the vehicles.
That done, we crossed the border into Mexicali.
I was surprised how large a city it was. The border guards did have us pull over and looked briefly in our trailer and sent us on.
We drove several miles in the city following signs to San Felipe. There were a few overpasses but the traffic was manageable right up until a motor cycle policeman pulled all of us over.
He approached our trailer with a big smile and a “Buenos Dios”. Then he spoke to us in rapid Spanish with many gestures. He knew a few words in English but they weren’t helpful. After more intelligible conversation and him waving his ticket book around I got the gist of the problem . Evidently we are not allowed to drive a trailer over any bridge (Overpass) in Mexico. For this unspeakable crime he issued us both $80 tickets. I was trying negotiate with him and he suddenly dropped the fine to $50 each. We came up with the money and paid him just as a young Mexican man stopped and asked if we needed help. We explained the situation and he went off on a tirade at the cop. He told him that he was ripping us off and there is no fine for mistaking taking the bridge. The cop was trying to defend himself but he stranger kept at him, now taking a phone picture of the guy and saying he was going to report him.
This seemed to make the cop very nervous and he quickly returned our money. So we were saved by a complete stranger. How about that? And he didn’t even stay to be thanked.
We didn’t drive over any more bridges.
More adventures to come…
