Last Day in Mexico

Heading west
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I was up at dawn.  I found the Senora and told her I’d changed my mind about breakfast because I wanted to get an early start on the road to avoid the construction crews.  When the sun came up I took a photo of the long shadow of my van, heading west.  I noticed that the few trucks/campers on the road were still driving in the wide shoulder, rather than on the main part of the highway.

Driving on shoulder
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I took another photo of one of the topes about which travelers are warned in all of the travel guides.  Topes are the speed bumps (sometimes VERY high) that are erected to keep drivers from speeding.  While it was true that there were not always signs warning that topes were ahead, I never found them to be a problem.  I expected to find them in school zones and as I entered or left a small town, and I would slow down in those places even if there had been no topes.

Dreaded tope
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At about 10am I pulled off the road into some shade to eat breakfast, read my Bible, brush my teeth, clean the van windows, and study my maps.  It was about the same distance to go toward Brownsville or to go the way I’d come down (through Reynosa).  I opted to return the way I’d come.  I saw a Greater Road Runner, a few Northern Mockingbirds and a hawk I couldn’t identify along the way.

Dust clouds?
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I wondered why it was so desolate between Soto La Marina and Reynosa, on the border.  One would think that Mexicans would want to live as close to the U.S. as possible if it was true that so many wanted to cross the border.  There were some crop fields along the way, but not many.  Mostly it was a dusty, sandy, scrubby landscape.  In one area of crop fields where a tractor must have been tilling the ground, huge dust clouds rose into the sky.  I took a photo of them; but when I look at the photo now, all I see are beautiful, blue skies.

Bright neighborhood
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I breezed along and saw the turnoff to the Pharr International Bridge—a smooth, new road.  Soon after I entered it, however, it was blocked off.  The detour led me down a terrible narrow road for miles.  I was sure I’d taken a wrong turn, so I stopped at a cement factory to ask directions.  They assured me I was going the right way.  I ended up in a very poor section on the outskirts of Reynosa; then I really did get lost and ended up in a new industrial park.  A kind Mexican responded to my request for help and led me in his car until I was back on the right track.  On the way I passed an unusual neighborhood filled with tiny houses painted in brilliant colors.

Crossing Rio Grande
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I was soon at the Mexican border, caught in a standing traffic jam to cross the bridge.  It was a good thing I had filled my gas tank.  When I finally got to move, I was soon crossing the bridge over the Rio Grande.  It was a very long bridge.

I parked and went into the same building where I’d gone when I came into Mexico.  I cancelled my vehicle permit and was then directed to a small white cabin to cancel my “Promise to Return Vehicle” form and to take off the sticker.  Nobody was there.  I was told the clerk was in the “red room.”  I finally figured out he was in the restroom.  When he returned he took my form and gave me a razor to scrape off my sticker.  I had expected that would be done for me.  I scraped off what I could and had to leave the rest of the sticky mess to deal with when I returned home.  I paid 24p to cross the bridge.

Long bridge
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As I approached the U.S. border I found myself at the back of another long line of vehicles.  There were fifteen cars ahead of me, and there were four lines like that.  I finally got to the front of the line and was asked if I had any plants, etc.  I said I had an apple and a mango.  They waved me to a special area where somebody came over to look inside the van.  They took my fruit.  I told them I hoped they enjoyed them since they were so delicious, but they said they were not allowed to eat them.  What a waste.

Waiting at border
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It was good to be back in familiar territory where I could understand what people were saying.  I drove to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge again, which was close.  I wanted to tell the volunteers there that I had found the courage to drive into Mexico.  I walked a few trails but it was during the heat of the day and I didn’t see much.  Then I drove to Estero Llano Grande (the canal) and saw a lone Roseate Spoonbill and American Avocet.  From there I went to the state park and saw a Gull-billed Tern.  Some people were gathered around a short tree at the entrance with cameras (always a good sign).  They had discovered a Whiskered Screech Owl, a rare find, and I had another life bird.  I was able to meet some of the birders and share my Mexican adventures.  One of the men had done combination birding/mission trips to Africa and Venezuela and we shared some stories.  I told him I’d really hoped to drive all the way to Costa Rica, originally wanting to form a birders caravan (I’d posted as much on the Ohio birding website before I’d left but hadn’t gotten much of a response).  He had some interest in that, as well.

I went to Burger King for dinner and spent the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Harlingen.