More Monclova!

Here is a link to a Wikipedia entry about Monclova if you'd like to know more about where we are:
Monclova

After reading the entry about the zoo under "Parks and Gardens", I decided we may not visit. (It wasn't actually on the itinerary anyway)

We have until noon to check out today, and we're taking full advantage as this is the first time in our trip that we're not in a hurry to get somewhere. It should only take two hours from here to get to Monterrey, our next destination, so we can take our time. Holly will definitely enjoy sleeping in late, and this gives Shawn time to work on his motorcycle a bit and make sure it's ready for the road later today.

Crossing the border yesterday was an adventure. We got to the desk where you purchase vehicle permits and we needed one for the truck and one for Shawn's motorcycle. There we were told that we could not get a permit for both, that you are only allowed to bring in one vehicle. Because we are not married, I could not bring in one of the vehicles because they are both in Shawn's name.

I think Shawn almost died but then he realized there is a form on the back of the pink slip to fill out when you sell the vehicle and sign it over to someone else.

I am the proud new owner of a chopped Honda motorcycle!

After that was sorted out, we found out we didn't have enough cash to pay the fees and were expected to get our tourist cards first, which involved finding an ATM and going to another office. After asking a lot of people, we finally knew where to go and started walking for the ATM. It was a little unnerving as we walked past a military check point completed with men in fatigues, their heads covered with balaclavas, and carrying huge automatic weapons. They don't smile when you walk by, which makes it even more frightening.

The last thing we wanted was to spend more time in a border town after all the horror stories we've read in the news, but to be honest, it was a really cool looking little town. Everyone that worked there was super friendly with us, and very patient with our bad Spanish. The people in the lineup behind us weren't as impressed, but very soon we were on our way.

The road to Monclova was well paved and other than having absolutely no shoulder on the secondary roads, the highways were just as safe as at home. To the sides of the roads were short bushy trees and lots of those cactus that have oval flat "leaves". There were fat cows and horses here and there, and we passed a lot of ranches.

Most of the towns we passed were very poor, just cinder block one room shacks with tin roofs. The city is by far a rich place in comparison.

Shawn white knuckled us through the city to the center of town looking for a hotel, but we opted to head back outwards and settled for comfort at the Comfort Inn because they had secure parking for the truck. The traffic in the city is CRAZY. The streets are very narrow, people change lanes with no signal and there is always someone honking at you to budge just another inch so they can pass you somehow. It will be nutty to drive through Monterrey, a HUGE city compared to here.

Last night we ate at this incredible little restaurant where all the local families seem to take their kids. It was a pizza place and our huge pizza came with an order of nacho fries, fries drizzled in spicy cheese. They were delicious! Our waitress did't seem pleased to be serving us, and in fact didn't seem pleased by life in general. I got a nice smile though when she had counted out our change and I told her to keep it. I don't imagine people tip well in general in a pizza place.

That just about covers our experiences to date, at least from my perspective. Today we will try to get photos and will have adventures to report about getting to Monterrey I'm sure.