Total Kilometres to Drive: 5,442

Kilometres Driven Today: 602

Total Kilometres Driven: 5,442

Kilometres Left: 0

Amount of Trip Completed: 100%

I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I slept so well last night that it was almost torture to get up when my alarm rang at seven. I just wanted to stay in bed. But I knew that I just had this final push to do and I would be able to recoup. I had a decent breakfast again (they had good coffee, but no salsa or tortillas!) and was pleased to discover that I was on the correct side of the highway to head out of town. I’d actually considered backtracking to take the bypass, but both Google and my GPS assured me that would not save me any time at all. Traffic was pretty light anyway so getting out of Villahermosa wasn’t a big deal.

The first part of my day was very easy. Crossing into Campeche, I got my very first document check of this trip, which was pretty amazing since a half dozen checks and stops of various kinds a day are normal on Mex-15 between Maz and Nogales. This federal police officer was quite thorough, checking both my immigration status and my truck’s temporary import status. He also asked me what kind of business I have.

After that, I soon got to more populated areas with lots and lots and lots of topes that meant slowing to a crawl. I had to go through a few communities, so that meant some defensive driving. I hit a guy’s sideview mirror with my passenger side mirror as I squeezed through Champoton, but it thankfully didn’t break and he just waved me off. I had to pull over to readjust my mirror, which had folded flat against my truck and was absolutely fine.

This drive felt like being in “my” Mexico, with the ocean on one side and coconut palms on the other.

I had another checkpoint most of the way through Campeche. This guy pulled me over for having a non-Mexican license plate and he was quite agitated about it, is about as best as I can describe it. If I didn’t understand Spanish, his frantic tone would have terrified me and made me think I was in big trouble. I just pointed to my TIP sticker as proof that I was legal and showed my passport when he asked for it. No biggie!

There was a military checkpoint at the Yucatán border (hence why I was parked and had time to take the above picture). A very young kid came to check me out and said that I had no license plates. I told him my Canadian state (did not know the Spanish for province and figured that state would be less confusing to him anyway) does not have a front license plate. This is when I understood why I’d been pulled over the previous two times — not having a front license plate made me stick out and then they zeroed in on the fact that I’m a foreigner. While annoying, these stops are not a big deal to me. I know my paperwork is in order and that I’ve done nothing wrong. So I just answer their questions and am then on my way.

I was going beyond Mérida, right back to the coast. Thankfully, the last stretch was on good highway and I was able to zip north towards Progreso. Even though the day had felt very long, I’d made good time and was going to land at about 4:30.

My hosts had told me to meet them at a hotel near their home and call them. I did that and could not reach them because the cell signal was too poor. I went into the hotel and asked for a landline phone (none available) and directions since I had an address and a crude map. Two boys managed to send me off in the right direction. When I knew I was close, I asked a family sitting outside for further help and they got me even closer to the house. Soon as I saw the house in the distance… Moya got caught in a sand trap. 5,440 uneventful kilometres and I got stuck within sight of my destination. I have to laugh now even if it wasn’t funny then.

An expat lady and two Mexicans tried to winch me out with her truck, but she started to dig in, too, so we gave up. She managed to get my hosts’ attention (they have a deep yard with a front gate and no intercom so they hadn’t heard me knocking) and both came out to see what could be done about my truck. F worked out a plan of attack and told me to go back to the house with V. I did so and V mercifully had me sit down in front of some wonderful food! That restored my good humour and before I knew it, F came to grab my truck keys. I went back to Moya with him and he’d jacked her up to get traction material under her. He started her up and with a bit of gas got her out! I was very impressed.

So that was that. I was officially landed! I unpacked a bit, had a few beers, gabbed lots, met my canine charge, etc. I am going to be wonderfully comfortable here in the lap of luxury. The pool was tempting tonight, but getting into my suit felt like too much effort. 🙂

It’s now past midnight and I need sleep. Hope y’all are grateful for the post because I really didn’t feel like writing it tonight! 🙂