Our friends in Mazatlan warned us of the perils and problems of returning North as they bade us farewell. We received strict instructions as we departed, to beware of the strange food and water in estados unidos, and how it tends to disrupt the digestive systems of returning gringos, now used to the culinary pleasures of salsas, seasonings and exotic fruits offered in our winter home.
Sure enough, within hours of crossing the border, Bonita was attacked by a vicious intestinal invader which sent her scurrying to el bano and then laid her low for the evening. It was as if the American microflora and microfauna, being reintroduced to the gringa body so accustomed to chiles and passionfruit, were making a point: "THAT'S what you GET for leaving us BEHIND for the winter!" Could this be part of Jorge W's border defense plan???? Luckily, esposo Larry provided good pallative care with toast and tea for dinner, so recovery is now complete!
Two days of hard driving got us from Mazatlan to San Carlos and then to Tucson. The cacti are blooming in spots and hawks were perched on poles along our route, so the scenery kept our attention. We encountered huge greenhouses along the way, as well as cultivated fields of grape vines, corn, tomatoes and grain. Mexico certainly is a "breadbasket" country!
The border crossing went fairly smoothly and took about an hour, from the stop to turn in our automobile permit and have our passports stamped at the banjercito a few miles south of the "frontier", to the U.S. customs gauntlet at the Port of Nogales, AZ. Following someone who obviously had more experience crossing the border than we, we skirted around the trucks that were lined up for miles in the right lane, and snuck through an open gate. The impatient navigator coaxed the hesitant driver on, through the last Mexican maze. Relieved to not be stopped and thrown in jail for not following appropriate paths and procedures, we headed down the road to the next checkpoint, where la casa on wheels was inspected by a United States border patrol officer who took our forbidden uncooked eggs and chicken, lunchmeat and salchicha de pavo for the homeless shelter. DANGEROUS items, those!
We returned to the Desert Trails RV park outside of Tucson and settled in for a couple of "R & R" days, where we enjoyed some quiet space, beautiful birds; and a great book selection in the clubhouse. Once Bonnie recuperated from " las touristas de estado unidos", we headed into Tucson to the local In-n-Out drive-in for some classic American fast food, and had a moment of silence in memory of cousin Ann, who initiated the tradition of the In-n-Out burger and fries fix on her visits to California.
Later this morning, we'll head North a short distance to Pine, where we'll connect with friends Al and Caroline for a couple of days. From there, we'll head for Oregon - a pretty hard three day push.
