Trip Report - Nogales to Sayulita Pt 1
We’re making our usual journey to Sayulita in 3 stages. While in the past I liked to pay some attention, this year we are compelled to record the details of our journey south a little more aggressively as we will integrate it in an article we’ll post as part of a mobile app we are soon launching to support Sayulita. Here’s some notes on road conditions and the like if you are interested.
Pt 1: Nogales to San Carlos
Time (total): 8 hours
Tolls: 370p
Diesel fuel price: 17.15/ltr, 3.60/gal
BORDER TO IMMIGRATION
We arrived at Nogales Mariposa border crossing Friday morning at 7:49AM. Easy, no crowds.
SURPRISE INSPECTION
This was a new one (for us) Around Km 10 we encountered an inspection station with a team that was apparently checking out any suspicious vehicles entering the country. FYI we ride a Winnebago View towing a 1998 VW TDI (the perfect Mexico car, FWIW). We’ve been making this journey for 11 years or so, and this was the first time we encountered this particular inspection (or at least the first time they pulled us over). Seemed almost like a Trump backlash. A stoic young woman proceeded to review in great detail the registration docs for both the RV and the tow car, our passports, the title for both vehicles. She then entered the RV, poked around for a while, then checked the license plates against the documents, then asked me to start the tow car.
Fortunately our documents were in order (barely), and the car started.
At one point we thought she might send us back since our RV registration is scheduled to expire in 3 days. She grilled us about that, but we promised the new registration would be shipped to San Carlos in time, so she finally let it pass.
Whoa.
IMMIGRATION
A fairly strong showing of RVs and other gringo recreational vehicles were already at immigration when we arrived about 8:30 or so. Took about 45 min. No problems. Always a little thrill of relief to get over that hurdle. (We find the experience uncannily similar to trying to get Apple to approve our app for the app store, which we were doing simultaneous to standing in line at the immagration office. You have no negotiating power, your success or failure and your very ability to move forward is dependent on a environment where the rules change every year and enforcement of them are subject to the whim and mood and interpretation of the person you are dealing with. Hence the thrill when approval is given, or otherwise.)
TO SANTA ANA
From Km 16 immigration office to Santa Ana there is a lot of new road construction, making it a mostly 2 lane drive. Slower than usual, and sometimes narrow, but it almost always kept moving at around 40 mph.
SANTA ANA TO HERMOSILLO
Construction ended at Santa Ana. No problems to Hermosillo except for some rough road lanes. Had to keep switching to the inside lane as the outside lane was often an abusive mess.
AROUND HERMOSILLO WAS CONFUSING
The path around Hermosillo and out toward Guaymas seems to have changed slightly and just enough to cause trouble for the unwary (which was us). Last year we let Google Maps guide us, and we’d done it a few times so had no issues. This year there are one or two new overpasses that have apparently altered the path just a little, and we missed the cues (so did Google Maps) so were forced to make unexpected U-turns a couple of times. Always fun with a tow car.
HERMOSILLO TO SAN CARLOS
Last year this road was being completely redone and so it was almost all 1 and 2 lanes, sometimes on dirt roads. We had fingers crossed that they’d finished that construction. It is indeed better now, and a lot of new road is now being used, but no where near finished. Still 2 lanes much of the time, though a lot of that was spent on the new, much wider smoother road. So it is faster than last year.
TOTONAKA RV PARK, SAN CARLOS
We were surprised to see quite a few rigs already in the park. Jose, the manager, reported that unlike in previous years they started seeing arrivals in September, and most of those have already moved on to more southern destinations like Mazatlan. So that was good to hear - always happy to see more RVers in Mexico.
A NOTE ON OVER/UNDER PARK VOLTAGE
After having had appliances go bad in past years due to high/low voltage fluctuations in the RV parks, last year we upgraded our surge protector to the Progressive Industries EPT 30c, which offers over/under voltage protection (much more likely to cause damage than surges in RV parks). This device blocks any current below 104v or above 132v. Here at Totanaka, the overnight voltage was a steady 135v, which didn’t agree with our protector so we had no shore power all night. Not a big problem as we prefer to protect our computers and appliances and so use the house batteries, inverter and some good lanterns. \
It is morning now and, as people awake and start using their power, the voltage starts to drop to below 132 and so our protector just let the power back in. We had the same experience at parks in Mazatlan and Sayulita last year. Mar Villa in Maz stayed at 135 for 2 days. At Sayulita Trailer Park it would often dip below 104 in the night.
Tomorrow, on to Mazatlan...
Pt 1: Nogales to San Carlos
Time (total): 8 hours
Tolls: 370p
Diesel fuel price: 17.15/ltr, 3.60/gal
BORDER TO IMMIGRATION
We arrived at Nogales Mariposa border crossing Friday morning at 7:49AM. Easy, no crowds.
SURPRISE INSPECTION
This was a new one (for us) Around Km 10 we encountered an inspection station with a team that was apparently checking out any suspicious vehicles entering the country. FYI we ride a Winnebago View towing a 1998 VW TDI (the perfect Mexico car, FWIW). We’ve been making this journey for 11 years or so, and this was the first time we encountered this particular inspection (or at least the first time they pulled us over). Seemed almost like a Trump backlash. A stoic young woman proceeded to review in great detail the registration docs for both the RV and the tow car, our passports, the title for both vehicles. She then entered the RV, poked around for a while, then checked the license plates against the documents, then asked me to start the tow car.
Fortunately our documents were in order (barely), and the car started.
At one point we thought she might send us back since our RV registration is scheduled to expire in 3 days. She grilled us about that, but we promised the new registration would be shipped to San Carlos in time, so she finally let it pass.
Whoa.
IMMIGRATION
A fairly strong showing of RVs and other gringo recreational vehicles were already at immigration when we arrived about 8:30 or so. Took about 45 min. No problems. Always a little thrill of relief to get over that hurdle. (We find the experience uncannily similar to trying to get Apple to approve our app for the app store, which we were doing simultaneous to standing in line at the immagration office. You have no negotiating power, your success or failure and your very ability to move forward is dependent on a environment where the rules change every year and enforcement of them are subject to the whim and mood and interpretation of the person you are dealing with. Hence the thrill when approval is given, or otherwise.)
TO SANTA ANA
From Km 16 immigration office to Santa Ana there is a lot of new road construction, making it a mostly 2 lane drive. Slower than usual, and sometimes narrow, but it almost always kept moving at around 40 mph.
SANTA ANA TO HERMOSILLO
Construction ended at Santa Ana. No problems to Hermosillo except for some rough road lanes. Had to keep switching to the inside lane as the outside lane was often an abusive mess.
AROUND HERMOSILLO WAS CONFUSING
The path around Hermosillo and out toward Guaymas seems to have changed slightly and just enough to cause trouble for the unwary (which was us). Last year we let Google Maps guide us, and we’d done it a few times so had no issues. This year there are one or two new overpasses that have apparently altered the path just a little, and we missed the cues (so did Google Maps) so were forced to make unexpected U-turns a couple of times. Always fun with a tow car.
HERMOSILLO TO SAN CARLOS
Last year this road was being completely redone and so it was almost all 1 and 2 lanes, sometimes on dirt roads. We had fingers crossed that they’d finished that construction. It is indeed better now, and a lot of new road is now being used, but no where near finished. Still 2 lanes much of the time, though a lot of that was spent on the new, much wider smoother road. So it is faster than last year.
TOTONAKA RV PARK, SAN CARLOS
We were surprised to see quite a few rigs already in the park. Jose, the manager, reported that unlike in previous years they started seeing arrivals in September, and most of those have already moved on to more southern destinations like Mazatlan. So that was good to hear - always happy to see more RVers in Mexico.
A NOTE ON OVER/UNDER PARK VOLTAGE
After having had appliances go bad in past years due to high/low voltage fluctuations in the RV parks, last year we upgraded our surge protector to the Progressive Industries EPT 30c, which offers over/under voltage protection (much more likely to cause damage than surges in RV parks). This device blocks any current below 104v or above 132v. Here at Totanaka, the overnight voltage was a steady 135v, which didn’t agree with our protector so we had no shore power all night. Not a big problem as we prefer to protect our computers and appliances and so use the house batteries, inverter and some good lanterns. \
It is morning now and, as people awake and start using their power, the voltage starts to drop to below 132 and so our protector just let the power back in. We had the same experience at parks in Mazatlan and Sayulita last year. Mar Villa in Maz stayed at 135 for 2 days. At Sayulita Trailer Park it would often dip below 104 in the night.
Tomorrow, on to Mazatlan...
