I Broke Every Rule in Mexico and Survived...

[cationmoted]

Except 2, common sense and respect for the locals.

*Disclaimer* Many factors contributed to our safety, I strongly suggest you do some research and planning before you travel down south. :ylsmoke: I will also be happy to answer any questions if you are considering a similar journey.
I will be updating the thread as I go into a new semester so please bare with me.

Vehicle: Nissan Patrol

Cameras: I phones (sorry)



After working all summer I finally had the opportunity to take a small trip over to our neighbor. Mexico has always been on my mind as it's so close yet deemed out of reach to tourists. Now before I go any further I will agree it's not necessarily safe and we did have a couple close calls but to some, the riches are well worth the trouble.

After work on Thursday I grabbed my buddy Jason and headed towards Padre Island National Seashore. This was to be our halfway point before arriving in Monterrey. We left late and arrived at the Park around 1AM. To our surprise a lot of people were still up and about. It was only after setting up the chairs and opening a couple refreshments that we noticed a meteor shower.



At 6AM we hit the road towards Laredo. Once there we stocked up on enough water to cross the Sahara and downloaded some map layers for the Hema map application at a Starbucks. We got lots of unwanted attention in Laredo, matter of fact, after crossing the border I felt safer in Nuevo Laredo. The Crossing was relatively easy, the Mexican authorites simply asked us where we were headed and peeked inside our truck before sending us on our way. It was only until we hit the Banjercito that we started to miss the U.S.

 

[cationmoted]

After entering we headed straight to the Banjercito. This is where we would get our visa and vehicle importation permit. The first thing we noticed was the lack of air conditioning, and of course the 3 hour line to get the permit. Upon our turn the clerk could not understand why my VIN number was different or why my registration mentioned classic and exempt. She pulled us aside and spent another half an hour trying to determine if she would grant me the permit. All said and done she gave in and gave us the permit. We finally pulled out whilst getting glared down by the Federales and their anti aircraft machine guns. We were legal in Mexico.




We hit the Tollway 85D and pushed all the way to Monterrey. By this time it was late afternoon and the temperature was pushing 105 deg F (no ac).





I just put some 33x10.5 Toyos on the old girl which helped me keep my highway rpms low. That was great until we began climbing through the mountains. To offset the engine getting hot we kept the heater on full blast which was still cooler than the ambient air temperature!


The first thing we noticed once began to hit the city was the presence of the Federales (they noticed us first). They had a lot of equipment, 50 cals mounted on half ton trucks, AR's ETC.



That's a cop on a CBR 1000...



Once we hit bumper to bumper traffic Jason reminded me to lock the doors. Two men who noticed our plates rushed over and began to hassle us for money. It started with a dollar and escalated to calling us names once they figured out we wouldn't pay. Of course with the heat we had the windows open. I had no room to maneuver as we were between three trucks. As traffic began to roll I shifted to first and began moving. The two guys kept running along the vehicle committed to getting something. As I got into second they hopped onto the doors and reached in. Thankfully it didn't escalate to harming them as we would still be in a Mexican Jail cell right now:sombrero:. We pushed them off gently, hopped the curb to get around the traffic and pushed through the bad area.

 

[Quest4ADV]

Good reading, can't wait to see the rest.

But Aug in Mexico with no A/C is rule number 1 you broke

I did it back in '85 but that February, it didn't bother us until we got to Oaxaca

 

[JCMatthews]

If you don't already know this is a temple for the Church of ************************ of Latter Day Saints. They are also know as Mormons.

 

[cationmoted]

As we made progress in Monterrey, the Hema map application wasn't being cooperative. I was using an ipad and iphone simultaneously and both struggled to load the road map and satellite layers which were downloaded. We also lost GPS signal in the middle of the city but that may have attributed to the devices themselves. So we relied on old school (educated) guessing and ended up picking the highway that ran parallel to the mountains. Obviously we were doing something right since we did eventually end up at the hotel. We knew we were getting close when we saw the local vehicles decked out with snorkels and custom fabrication. No dropped trucks and big wheels here.

The first site as we entered the hotel parking lot. Plenty of properly built (and used) rigs, UTV's and ATV's parked around the hotel.








Pardon the mess, my etiquette was substituted with beer. That may have also contributed to ordering a bottle of water and then drinking it with ice. That night was the only time we ate at the hotel. The rest of our meals were substituted with phenomenal street food and local drinks.


After a quick swim, a shower and dinner we hit the sack early as we had a waterfall to reach the next day.
I didn't mention this earlier but the whole trip was born because of me killing time on Google Earth. I found a gem of a waterfall, a long dirt road and plenty of Mountains. Next thing you knew i'm asking the locals on the best route on how to reach their best kept secret.

 

[cationmoted]

Good reading, can't wait to see the rest.

But Aug in Mexico with no A/C is rule number 1 you broke

I did it back in '85 but that February, it didn't bother us until we got to Oaxaca

Thank you, I might as well do it while I'm young.

 

[cationmoted]

If you don't already know this is a temple for the Church of ************************ of Latter Day Saints. They are also know as Mormons.

Yes, and the architecture really stood out. It was one of the few things we could snap a photo of while navigating through the traffic.

 

[cationmoted]

Our second day in Mexico began with treating the truck to some old school high-sulfur diesel. On the way back up the Mountain we grabbed some street gorditas con coke and continued to the "waterfall". Does anyone recognize this vehicle? Its not a Nissan, Toyota or a Jeep.






From the paved mountain road we turned left onto a dirt trail. This was supposed to take us to the small village of Portrero Redondo from where we would hike to a hidden waterfall. Upon leaving the pavement it was made apparent that we were entering a national park. Thankfully who ever runs the show seems to understand the concept of conservation verses preservation as the wheeling seems to be a large contribution towards the tourism here.





After a 45 minute descent into the mountain valley we finally reached the river which happened to be a road (A first gear, low range, clutch working, and snorkel testing road). As you can see, it's an extremely popular place for the locals. Each time we asked directions to the "cascada" (waterfall) they told us to head down the river.
And so we went.



In the distance we spotted a stock FJ Cruiser and Jeep Wrangler, I figured if they could do it I would have no issue what so ever. After catching up we introduced ourselves and asked to tag along. They agreed and together we pressed forward towards the waterfall I was so intent on getting to. Little did we know what mother nature had in store...
turned

 

[gunpainter]

You got bigger balls than I. Anxiously awaiting more of the story.

Branden

 

[adrstout]

I have a feeling this is going to be pretty epic.

 

[cationmoted]

About a quarter of the way in the terrain proved to be too difficult for the locals we had befriended. The limiting obstacle required squeezing by the river bank and a boulder that had fallen down the mountain side at some point in time. The four guys parked their rigs on the bank and hopped into the Patrol. Now I had taken the rear seats out for the sake of traveling “light” so they were forced to sit jump seat style which proved to be quite a ride for them.










At this point I was really questioning the validity of the waterfall. We asked every local who passed us on their ATV's if we were on the right track and they insisted we were “only a few kilometers away”. Because we were going downstream I assumed we would arrive on the top and have to hike down.


All hands were on deck spotting and scouting the best route through the rocks. One of the guys ran up and announced our arrival. Apparently it was only a ten minute walk away. I didn't come all this way to not make it to the waterfall so I continued maneuvering through the rocks as the guys ran ahead. The final obstacle required climbing up the river bank about 30 feet. It was rutted to hell and off camber. So without spotters I began to work my way up. The rear end kept sliding down towards the right inches from a tree. Now I know I could have made the obstacle but the risk was not worth it. I swallowed my pride and parked as far as I could from the water whilst hoping the truck would still be there when I returned.
I walked up to find this. No magical 100 foot waterfall, no mermaids, and no tropical oasis. I was confused as I didn't drive all the way to Mexico to find this…


Now don't get me wrong, this place is definitely worth the drive, I just was not planning on an all out rock crawling assault (30 year old daily driver). We swam for an hour or so sliding and jumping off the rocks. The clouds were getting dark and soon the rain from the Hurricane had arrived.

 

[cationmoted]

We were on the windward side of the mountain range but since the storms were coming from the south we were somewhat spared. We hastily returned to the truck to find the water reaching the bottom of the wheels. The temperature had dropped tremendously, It must have been 40 degrees F and it didn't help that we were soaked. I fired her up, put the heater on and began our slow ascent upstream. The water had risen significantly in certain areas covering all trace of the previous lines and trails we had taken. Our willingness and ability to take photos pretty much stopped once our hands became too saturated to operate the screens of our phones. Rocks that were previously visible had now become differential killers and creek crossings became deep pools which swallowed the hood multiple times. The cherry on top was watching the hail hitting the guys as they attempted to help spot the vehicle through waist deep water.
:snorkel:




After a good few hours of fighting mother nature to keep my truck alive we finally reached the obstacle which had separated the locals' FJ and Jeep from the Patrol. It took a few more attempts than last to safely navigate around the bolder as the rocks were terribly slick. Getting on the correct line was almost impossible.
Once through, our new friends were ecstatic to see their vehicles and I was happy to lose 800 lbs from the truck. The feeling was mutual.
Now another challenge presented itself, how were we going to get their vulnerable vehicles back to the main road?


With some good spotting, teaching and a couple recoveries I managed to get the guys back to the main road without hydro locking them or busting open their diffs. I was pretty beat by then. Here are a couple of the locals' Jeeps that were waiting out the flash flood.






The truck, Jason and I were soaked, it was time for a hot shower. Later we left the hotel on foot and walked down the road to a kiosk style restaurant which dangled over a cliff side. At this point I was becoming a little more at ease with the surroundings. During dinner, we devised a plan for the next day to reach the waterfall that we had originally intended to hit. Earlier when we rendezvoused with the ATV guys at the rock pool, we verified the existence of it and made note of how to reach it. We had only so much day light to make it to the falls and then back to the U.S. before the sun would set but regardless, we were going all in.

 

[soonenough]

Really enjoying this one, excited to read the next installment :lurk:

 

[1leglance]

I love Baja and now want to explore this area of Mexico...
Good on you for taking the locals along in your rig, not living in fear these days is nice to hear.

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Great area to explore, let me know next time you are going there! There is an area that I do not remember the name to, that it is fantastic full of rivers and falls!