Leaving Monterrey, and northern Mexico

Matachines wearing traditional dance costumes
Matachines wearing traditional dance costumes

food

Candles offered to the Virgin

We will be leaving Monterrey Sunday morning, and go south direction Tampico. We need to move faster, but were happy be in Mexico, and to eat plenty of great food.

We went yesterday to visit the Basilic of Guadalupe and witnessed one the hundreds of pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin María.

The upcoming feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is December 12. This is one of Mexico’s most popular event. She is said to have appeared to Saint Juan Diego near Mexico City between December 9 and December 12, 1531.

I bet we will see more related ceremonies on the road, going through Mexico.

Mustache contest
Mustache contest

El Doctor to explorer: “Welcome to Mexico”

El Doctor welcomes me in Mexico
El Doctor welcomes me in Mexico

Eventually, we passed the Mexican border Tuesday around 6 p.m.
We left San Antonio late in the day, after deciding to put new tires on the truck. It took us approximately two hours to pass immigration on both side of the border, fill the temporary importation forms for the car, and go through a custom checkpoint later on down the road.
It costs $50 for the importation and my driving permit, which allows me to reach the Guatemalan border in a couple of weeks.
Mexican custom officials were puzzled by the content of the car, and were not really excited when they saw the mess in the back of the truck. After a glance, they waved us through.

Soccer in Mexico is more than a game, according to Mexican kids
Soccer in Mexico is more than a game, according to Mexican kids

After a night in Monterrey, I woke up early and ran to get my first picadillo breakfast tacos in Mexico. After which, I went to the doctor to receive five shots including yellow fever, meningitis, typhoid, polio, Hepatitis A, tetanus and diphtheria.
Lionel was good to me, and the price was sweet – compared to the U.S. – at something like $210.
That was yesterday. Since that, we have just been walking through the city, grateful to be in a new country.

The city of Monterrey dominated by the Sieera Madre mountains in the background
The city of Monterrey dominated by the Sieera Madre mountains in the background

The weather is not amazing yet, but we are taking it easy, just going to markets, visiting friends, and eating all the time.

Gorditas for breakfast on Friday
Gorditas for breakfast on Friday

The last few weeks have been kind of busy and stressful, and I need to gain back some weight. I went down with a cold as well lastly, and I don’t have much energy. Anyhow, I already began to bounce back, and I feel really happy about being on the road.
Happy thanksgiving to all my friends in the U.S., mine will be celebrated with fish tacos.