MINDFUL NOMAD ON WHEELS: 07/04/14

Sorry to keep you out of the loop for the past four days. Yes, I made it to Mexico and back across the border in one piece. Many say online and by word of mouth that Tijuana is a very dangerous place due to the drug war, cartels, and kidnappings. Luckily I didn't experience these things but when I walked into Mexico, I knew I was in a different place.

Guillaume and I had planned to spend the night in Tijuana but we slowly let go of this decision since my parents and his parents weren't comfortable, neither of us spoke Spanish, and I couldn't use Google Maps to get around without a huge data roaming fee (using data outside ownership of operator). But in order to say we traveled from Canada to Mexico we still crossed the border. Going into Mexico felt uncomfortably easy. There is a separate section on the border for pedestrians (and bicyclist) and you basically walk through some a gate and a small dark room with three or four Mexican Border Patrol Guards. There are no metal detectors and nobody asks you to see a passport or anything. You sort of just walk on through! After our first steps into Mexico, we go by a huge line of people. It truly went along the sidewalk for at least 3km. I looked at Guillaume with concern and we continued to look for a taco to eat. It was burning hot and we didn't even make it downtown. We walked near a couple of shops and we decided to forget the tacos and get back to the States.

Our first thought was to go through the car line because through the majority of this trip we've been biking on a highway so we thought it was reasonable. We waited maybe 15 minutes in the car line and were near the border until the US border patrol started shouting at us and telling us to go to the pedestrian line. Border Patrol guys are always pretty cruel especially for the US. We took a walk of shame to the back of the pedestrian line with the heat shining on the back of our necks. The line was still at least 3 km long and we decided to wait it out. Nearly four damn hours passed and we finally stepped back into the US concluding the adventure. Although it didn't end as nicely as I thought, I will remember standing in line with the brutal heat in Mexico for the rest of my life.