Road Trip of a Lifetime

I am in Monterrey!! I apologize for the delay in posting – it’s taken awhile to get settled in! I’m going to break up the last week into two blog posts: this one is for my road trip to Mexico, and the following one will detail my first few days in this beautiful city.

Day 1: Wednesday, July 29: Memphis to Dallas

View Larger Map

After a delayed departure time due to a decaying car muffler and a slow-moving Shelby County Clerk’s Office, my dad and I were finally on our way to Dallas (had to get my car muffler fixed in order for it to pass Tennessee inspection, which had to be done in order for it to be re-registered in TN). It was about an eight-hour trip, during which time we passed through Little Rock, AR, and Texarkana (I’m not sure which state that city belongs to, since it’s a mix of each!). At about 10:30 p.m. we finally arrived in Dallas, where we stayed overnight with one of my friends from college, Stefana. It was great seeing her and catching up – thanks for putting us up, Stef!

Day 2: Thursday, July 30: Dallas to Laredo

View Larger Map

We got an early start since Stef had to leave to go to work, so of course the first thing we did was to stop at Starbucks, where we reviewed our trip itinerary for that day. However, despite our morning “map prep”, it wasn’t until right outside of Dallas that I realized that we would be passing directly through Waco, where one of my childhood friends, Marianna, goes to college. Luckily she answered her phone and we were able to have a spontaneous – and delicious – lunch with her!

It was as we were leaving Waco that it finally hit me that our next stop (other than a brief stay in Laredo overnight) would be Mexico. We were on Highway 30, heading straight to Mexico and continuing through, where it would change to Highway 85. You cannot imagine my excitement when I saw a sign that read “Nuevo Laredo: 56 miles” (the Mexican border town)!!

Laredo (the U.S. border town) was not what we were expecting. We had heard it was a little bit dangerous, so I think I was already on edge. However, I think my dad was expecting an old Western cowboy town where you can walk cobblestone pathways and hear old Western cowboy music and, if you're lucky, see John Wayne (I forgot to mention that right before Waco we stopped to use the restrooms at “Willie’s Place”, a country store playing tribute to Willie Nelson, where my dad had a field day).

Laredo, though, was a mix of nice-looking strip malls and sketchier areas, depending on what street we were on. I saw some billboards and stores for U.S. naturalization services and Mexican and U.S. car insurance. Other than that, there really didn’t seem to be that much interesting or memorable about the town, other than the fact that we were sleeping four miles from the border of Mexico!

Day 3: Friday, July 31: Laredo to Monterrey

(Google maps won't let me get directions in Mexico, but you can see from the other maps if you zoom out where Monterrey is)

Having worked in an immigrant rights organization for the last year, I had been hearing and reading almost every day about issues down at the border, and until Friday, July 31, the U.S.-Mexico border had remained in my mind a nebulous concept rather than anything concrete. So needless to say, I was more than a little bit thrilled to be crossing, with also more than a little bit of trepidation.

Like I said, we were only four miles from the border so it took us next to no time to get there. However, at the border in Laredo there are two international bridges that you could cross, so it took us a little while to figure out which one to take. From the Laredo Visitor Center, we found out we take Bridge #1 to get into the tourist part of Nuevo Laredo, and Bridge #2 to pass through Nuevo Laredo on the outskirts of town, so we took Bridge #2.



Crossing the Rio Grande was a letdown – it took less than a minute. At least at the Laredo-Nuevo Laredo border, it should be called the Rio Pequeño. But, we did cross into Mexico without any problems, as we got a green light which meant that we could pass without an inspection. However, once we passed through the border we were completely lost – it was like they didn’t care where we went once we were in Mexico, and we could have easily entered the country without a passport or visa (when I drive back to the U.S., I’m sure it will be a different story). But since I didn’t want to be deported from Mexico for being there illegally, we figured it would be a good idea to find the place to get visas and a car permit. I had been told by a few people that to get to that location, after leaving the international bridge we would drive back around to a building that was under the bridge. Oh my god. Streets in Mexico are so confusing. In trying to figure out how to get under the bridge, we almost went back to the U.S. Twice. (Really – once we found ourselves back on the bridge about to drive back over, so a guard had to help us turn around and get out of there!). We finally figured it out, though, and got our visas and car permit without much problem or too long of a wait.

So.We had visas and a car permit – we were legal. We each took a huge sigh of relief (I may have needed it a little more than my dad) as we saw signs pointing toward Monterrey, and we were on our way.

Really, as soon as we entered Mexico I could see the difference. Houses seemed to be a lot older than in the U.S., but with more character. All signs were in Spanish, and it brought back memories of my time spent in Costa Rica and elsewhere in Central America. The highway to Monterrey was pretty straightforward and easy. Brown desert stretched for miles on either side of us, sprinkled with greenish-brownish shrub. Occasionally we would pass the stereotypical tiny little Mexican pickup truck, but that was about it. The ride gave us some time to relax and tune into some radio stations playing old Mexican cultural music that my dad would consider polka (proud of his Polish background, he made sure to let me know that there were many Polish that settled in the Texas-Mexico area).

All of a sudden, after about an hour and a half of driving in the flat desert, we saw mountains. HUGE mountains that were made to look like a fake backdrop from the haze. And we got to drive right through them. I’ve only been to Colorado a few times, but as much as I love the Rockies, they don’t compare to the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico.

We were amidst beautiful mountains (montañas in Spanish) for another couple of hours, and then we hit Monterrey. Or rather, Monterrey hit us....like a storm. Yes, we did come in right as rush hour was beginning, and yes, we did find a taxi to follow who could take us to my apartment building, but that was certainly a roller coaster ride through the city. Although my dad was driving, once we got to my apartment, I vowed never to take my car out in the city again, but since then I’ve driven it a couple of times and it’s been great! I am definitely glad I brought it to have a little more freedom with getting around the city, and I think I will ease into driving in Monterrey quickly.

The apartment I am living in is great. The building is about 5-10 minutes walking distance from Monterrey Tec. It has 24-hour security and a secure parking garage, and of course my favorite part: a Starbucks in the same parking lot. I live in an apartment with three other Tec students: a French guy, an Australian girl, and a Mexican guy. We each have our own room and bathroom, and we share a kitchen. The apartment is basic like a dorm room, but it comes furnished and it really has everything I need. I’ve already become friends with several of the great people who live here.

With that said, I will close my posting of my incredible and memorable road trip to Mexico. I would like to quickly thank my dad for everything he did to get me to Monterrey: helping me put together all the arrangements, and driving with me for three days straight (and that says a lot that he was willing to be in a car with me for three whole days!). He also helped me get settled into my apartment in Monterrey during the first few days of my stay here, which I will write about in my next post!

Till then, ¡hasta luego!