Once upon a time in Mexico - part Dos

Though of course there are many great things about our trip - the most exciting event was making a wrong turn near the border on our way out of the country...

I know. I should have taken a few minutes to review the map and the directions for getting back to the border. I didn't.

I'm still not sure exactly how I missed the sign or the turn or whatever. We were moving along quite nicely, sign after sign pointing to San Diego I5/I805, and then no more signs... I drove on for a few minutes thinking perhaps we were still okay, and then I looked at La Reine, and she looked back, and we both said - "I don't think we're going the right way."

I turned on my cell phone, and called up the GPS and handed the map screen to La Reine who watched for a minute and confirmed that we were definitely not headed in the right direction... Crap.

La Reine's younger brother and his family were with us - in their own van, following along valiantly. (Yes, not only was I losing myself, but others as well.) And we were all headed merrily back into Tijuana toward Otay - another border crossing 30 miles East - not what we wanted for sure.

We radioed back to the inlaws that we were going the wrong way, and that we were going to try to navigate back to the right path, so to stay close!

La Reine was navigating, and indicated that I should take the next exit she thought, and sure enough there was a sign indicating San Diego etc. So I took the turn, and BIL followed along right behind. And right behind him?

A police officer on a motorcycle.

I hear the siren and see the flashing lights.

We pull over and he talks to BIL for a minute, and then pulls up and talks to me. He tells us we were speeding on the exit (limit 45kmh ~20 mph) and that we need to pull up ahead to the side of the road so he can cite us. Crap!

We pull over as indicated. BIL gets out of his car and comes up to meet the cop as he approaches on La Reine's side of the car. We roll her window down, and she begins to cry. The policeman asked where we were headed, we told him we were just trying to make it back to San Diego and the states. He looks at our licenses and registration. He tells us that we're going to have to follow him to the police station so that we can pay our fine, in cash. We ask how much - $1560 each (my heart stops) then he mentions - it's pesos... So a mere $143 dollars per vehicle. I look at BIL and ask if he has that much cash left - no, of course not. I do, but I don't have enough for him, so we ask the policeman if there is a bank near the police station. Of course - we just have to park our cars in the impound lot, and walk a couple of blocks through one of the worst sections of tijuana to the ATM - remove money in broad daylight, and walk back through those couple of blocks to the police station to pay the fine. Or, if we don't have the money, we can see the judge and get some papers that will allow us to pay the fine once we return home. How long will that take I ask - he replies that it depends on the courts. I also infer here that while we wait - it won't be in the lap of luxury - and my wife and children, and BIL's wife and children will be waiting right there with us in the police station - no thanks.

Eventually senor policeman says that maybe, in order to save us time and hassle of course, we could pay just one of the fines, to him, right there, in cash, and he could even take us to the border. At this point - I jump all over that. Hand him $140 american dollars (cervezas y tequilla para usted y para sus amigos!!!), and he proceeds to jump on his bike and ride away... We believe he's left us at this point - but he was waiting at the next corner, and true to his word, led us right to the border.

BIL was mad after the fact. He says, and I agree, that there was no way we were speeding, and we should have fought it... I remind him that you don't fight the police or the judges in Mexico, and that we were lucky to get away as we did.


Adios senor policia!