We drove through the night and hit Phoenix by morning.  We filled a cooler with groceries and continued south to the border at Douglas.  We planned ahead and bought Mexican car insurance online, but still spent half an hour standing in lines to get the car permit just over the border. Don't expect efficiency! Remember, you go to Mexico to learn to slow down, relax, and stop being in such a terrible rush all the time.  Fill out your forms, take them across the street to the bank and pay (if necessary, see driving details below), then come back and finish up.

Here, Chantal flirts with a guard. "How can I improve my English?" he asked me as he searched the trunk for contraband. "Stop every American tourist that comes through," I advised him, "and talk for 20 minutes."

Driving details: if you want to cross more than a few miles into Mexico, you'd better come prepared with the following items: A) passport, birth certificate, or validated voter registration form from the post office. B) US or Canadian car insurance and registration. C) $24 for a 6 month car permit. D) $20 for a 6 month personal permit (required for a driver, and if you're staying less than 8 days, everyone else gets a free permit). E) $5-$7/day for Mexican auto insurance. You can get this price online or in the same office where you do all your paperwork, which is the building just as you pass into Mexico. Read up online about the various coverages and don't be afraid to splurge the extra $2 per day for the get-out-of-jail insurance in case of an accident, which is a felony in Mexico.  Traffic may be different in Tijuana, but all drivers we encountered were extremely polite, obeyed traffic signals, etc. For gas, watch for the green Pemex signs, the only brand. "Lleno" (say yay'no) means "full." You'll find restrooms there, but you usually have to supply your own toilet paper ("pah-pel ah-chay") and the men's may not have a toilet seat.

Despite Shaun's insistence that Chantal was just a great friend, his friend at work (hi Kent) was contantly saying "You gotta propose to her!"  so Shaun and Chantal worked out a little story to cheer him up. "Will you marry me?" Shaun asked. "What took you so long!" Chantal replied, throwing her arms around his neck.   Back at work nine days later, Kent asked if Shaun had popped the question. "Yep." "What did she say?" "She said 'What took you so long?'"  He could have carried the charade on longer if all the girls in the office hadn't overheard and rushed over. "Shaun's engaged?!! You didn't even say anything!"  Decieving Kent was one thing, but fooling everyone else with all their enthusiasm and support was too much to carry on longer than just enough time to tell the story.

The Schmidt's had moved to Argentina (or somewhere south) for a couple years, but Shaun and Chantal decided to stick around and attend church in town the next morning anyway in hopes that Shaun would recognize someone else. 

They followed a dirt road and found a spot to set up the tent next to the car, and headed back to town in the morning, where Chantal ran into two girls she had known in school or France.  Small world! Kristi, Rachel and Jodi were student teaching at Academia Juarez and invited us to their place for dinner. We ended up staying the night there, jogging a couple miles in the rain and visiting a few of their classes the next morning, then resuming their journey south.

Kristi and Chantal show off their St. Patrick's day colors.

Shaun at the Academy gates.

Rachel leads the class in a group project.

Hour by hour, the kilometers ticked away.  Surprisingly, neither of us ever got bored of the drive. The scenery was beautiful and the conversation good.  We always kept our eyes peeled for Tope (say toe-pay) signs - speed bumps.  Some topes are useful for cleaning any dirt off the bottom of your car or ensuring that you get your money's worth from that extended warranty on your car's shocks.

We occasionally stopped to ask directions, partly because the signs are slightly hard to follow at a point or two (and we didn't bring good maps) and partly just because everyone was so sweet and we enjoyed talking with them.  After giving us directions in Madera, for example, a police officer pulled us over to add a few details he thought of afterward. iiiWe love Mexico!!!

Forty-five minutes before sunset, we finally reached Basaseachic Falls. We drove to the overlook and watched the sunset light up the clouds and the cliffs with reflected light. Shaun stared down at the pool below the falls and remembered rappelling the 1,000' falls with Ben, swimming through white caps at the base, and climbing the mossy wall up to safety. What fun!

We set up the tent next to the car again (taking advantage of low tourist season when we could get away with it) and listened to snow fall on the tent all night long.  In the morning, we woke up to two inches of dense powder and beautiful mist and clouds floating up the valley below.

We went for a quick walk through town before turning in, but it was too cold to stay out for long. Quote of the day, overheard from another tourist hurrying back from dinner:   "Feels like Alaska!"

Here Chantal poses in front of a bread truck - "Bimbo," the Spanish-speaking world's answer to Wonder, only in Spanish, it's considered healthy (according to the ads).

Before leaving for Cusarare Falls in the morning, we stopped at my favorite bakery.  I told the woman there that I had been there years before and never forgotten it and was finally back. She seemed pleased and dished us up twenty pesos worth of deliscious pastries while her adorable children hovered nearby.

Directions: drive through down to the main square (going north), turn left (east) and right (north again) just before the tourist information center (the only right turn available). Continue for two or three blocks and you'll find it on your right. Tell her that you heard she had great stuff from other tourists.

Shaun knocks loose rock down to protect our heads, since we forgot the helmets in the car. Even though no water was falling where we dropped over the edge, the wind whipped up as clouds passed and blew the waterfall to our right right onto our heads.

Chantal was surprised to not feel nervous about the rappel.

Rafael (from Spain) and Audrey (from France) watch from above. Later Rafa walked over and asked what kind of rappel device we were using. "Do you want to go?" I asked.  His eyes lit up and he accepted. After rappelling and hiking back up, his eyes glowed with excitement and gratitude. iViva la aventura!

 
Rafa nears the half-way point.

The weather finally warmed up on Friday and we finished up our Creel adventure by renting a rowboat and paddling around the lake and taking in some sunshine.

As an extremely cute, happy family from El Paso rowed by, we challenged them to a race and they eagerly accepted.  Their four paddles against our two made our shoulders ache just to keep up. 

Driving home. Chantal's first time in New Mexico. We drove most of the night, camped for a few hours at a picnic area, then finished the drive home while catching spotty radio info about the war that had just begun.