The Adventures of Andrew Maurer

We woke up with the sun this morning at 6:30am in the Best Western parking lot. After a quick freshen up we headed back through the Mexican border, past Nogales, and to “Kilometer 21” where the checkpoint and vehicle inspection area is. After a somewhat easier time with paperwork today thanks to my birth certificate, we were issued 6 month vehicle and tourist permits for about $80 total.

We made it to Hermosillo around 2pm and decided to stay at a hotel for $28 US. It was on the drive into town and we were rather pooped from our lack of sleep and decided it would be easier this way instead of looking for a place to park. The city is very run-down compared to the western world and my impression of Mexico has changed quite dramatically. It’s a very different world over here compared to Baja.

The bus ride to downtown (not “autobus”, as I thought, but “colectivo”) was 5 pesos each (about $0.50). We found out where to get the bus back, wrote down the crossroads and route number, and perused the town. There were tons of small stores and street vendors spralled about. Unfortunately food isn’t quite as cheap as I thought it would be, but it’s still a great deal compared to western standards.

We started by walking through the market – an indoor area of fruit, meat, and various unknown food vendors. We then headed back into the streets to take in Mexican life and culture. We went to a restaurant to get a snack of chivichangas (tortillas with a bean/potato/meat mixture) which were quite delicious. We walked around some more – saw the palace and cathedral, and walked some more. We were rather hesitant to take photos in the city out of fear of being robbed of our expensive camera equipment. I guess that’s the downfall of a DSLR in an impoverished country.

Grabbed dinner in the market – 4 tacos and a bottle of coke between us for a total of 44 pesos (about $3.60 US). Katie ventured to try the “cabeza de res” taco which translates directly to “head of animal”. Though normally res refers to beef. I’m kind of bewildered about how they manage to get so much cow head meat since it seems like every Tacqueria in town sells the cabeza de res variety.

Back at the hotel now, enjoying Tecate beer and about to head to bed. We’re planning on heading to the beach tomorrow – Bahia Kino. Hopefully we’ll find a campground and set up the tent by the beach. Though I doubt we’ll have internet.

Good moments of today:

1. When we bought some meat tacos for lunch on the side of the road a squeegee man started washing the car. I ran back to the car and said to him “SENOR, NO TOCQUE, NO TOCQUES!” and he looked pretty bewildered.

2. When we got ice cream in Ley (supermarket) and I was describing that I wanted vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. “Puedo chocolate (choc-oh-latte) sobre mi vanilla (van-E-ya)” which translates to “can I chocolate over my vanilla”