Callum Macdonald

Once we crossed the border we stopped in a local pool hall for our first beer on Mexican soil. I felt I had to record the moment to share!

Then we pressed on to a small fishing village called Puerto Nuevo. Most of the prices were in US dollars and there were men outside almost every restaurant encouraging us to park and dine. It reminded me of Thailand. Hassle the foreigners with a passion! We found a hotel and headed back to Rosarito for the Friday night celebrations, as there wasn’t much happening in Puerto Nuevo.

It was Zanna’s birthday so we hit the town in style. We spent an absolute fortune, but it was worth it. It all started with margaritas on the beach. We were treated to our very own bonfire.

It turned into a pretty long night. I think we got home around 4am, then continued on till the sun was well up. In an outstanding burst of foresight I realised about 9am that we’d better check into the hotel for another night in order to avoid being rudely awoken and booted out at the rather brutal 11am check-out time. I had horrible memories of awaking to the screaming of maids in Bangkok.

We took it easy on Sunday, it was a late start. Then on Monday we hit the Mexican countryside. We were trying to avoid having to go back through Rosarito on our way north. We ended up in some pretty sparse mountains and I felt I had to snap a shot for el blogo.

We spotted this outrageously bright building and I felt compelled to stop the car and brandish the camera. It turns out it’s both a garage and a computer repair shop. How very industrious!

We stopped for lunch in Tijuana on the way back, at a trendy, European style coffee shop. Zanna was desperate for the loo and it was the first place we came across with a carpark!

Then the epic ordeal of getting back into the US began. Most of the roads we found signposted for San Diego were taped off with Mexican police officers directing traffic in other directions. Eventually we found a lane where we could get round the tape, and spent at least 2 hours waiting in line.

We finally reached the border. The officer glanced briefly at my passport. He asked what we were bringing back into the US, a few beers. They didn’t even look at Zanna’s driving licence and then we were waved on through.

So, that was Mexico. I certainly won’t hurry back to Tijuana, but I hope to explore more of Mexico, further south and further from the American border!