Casa de Chacala

This year we drove down to Mexico. The trip took five and a half days and was really a pleasant way to start our holidays. We had been concerned that our bodies would complain about sitting in a car for that length of time but all the physio and massage work we have been having paid off. The highlight of our trip down was Zion Canyon. The red cliffs lit by sunlight towering over us as we wound our way around the box canyon were spectacular. We will spend more time in this area next time we drive down.


The border crossing at Nogales was hectic. Crossing into Mexico at the first border was easy, we just drove through a lane that had no other cars in it, realizing too late that it was the wrong lane, but the border guard waved us through with an exasperated look on his face. We thought that was a little too easy. We knew we had to get insurance, tourists cards and a car permit, but in the craziness of Nogales traffic we could see no signs as to where to get these. We stopped and asked people in stores and were directed to five different places until one person told us just to continue down the road for about 20 kilometers and we would see it. We arrived at about 4:00 pm at the real border, there was hardly anyone there, we thought good, but no, it was shift change time, and it still took us two hours to get the three pieces of paper we needed. A little jangled we drove up to the border, chose the lane of "Nothing to Declare" (Our car was loaded to the roof and we had rain gutters strapped to the top) and we were waved through. We stopped in the next town and had a beer.

From here on it was uneventful. It took two and a half days to get down to Chacala. The road to Mazatlan was a good four lane highway and we made good time.

We arrived in Chacala to find our house bathed in a rosy hue. The sun was setting and the house was lit with a its fabulous rays.