It’s September 28, 2021, we just got thru the Tijuana border. We had filled out our FMM online and printed out the receipt a few days before our crossing. Driving a class A motorhome with a Jeep in tow, we needed to be in the right far lane next to the big blue building which is the INM office. With a little help from a border security employee, we were able to get in the correct lane. A border Inspector boarded our RV, looked in a couple of cabinets, checked out the bathroom, and asked to see the registration for the Jeep. Everything was in order. The next step was to get our FMM and our passport stamped. Easy, done, and done. and we were on our way.
I have heard a lot about the “border wall” on the news but to see it in real life its sur-real. Traveling down the Mexican highway 1, with US on one side of the wall and Tijuana on the other side. I was surprised that there are 2 walls, not just one, with a dead space in between them.
Once we crossed the border our cell phones stopped working so our map app was useless. We made our way to Rosarito but quickly realized we didn’t have directions to the RV park that we reserve. We found a spot to pull over on the main Blvd. I saw a woman walking in our direction, she had stopped to give a homeless man that was lying on the street some money, then continued in our direction. I open the window of the RV and asked her if she spoke English; she said a little. I told her our situation. She took out her cell phone and asked me if I would like her to call the RV park, yes, please I said. She called spoke Spanish to the other person on the line, then handed me her cell phone. I spoke briefly and handed her back her cell phone and thank her for her help. I tried to give her some pesos, but she refused it. Within 10 minutes, an employee of Mel’s Landing showed up in his truck to show us the way.
Ocean view from inside our RV
Our Jeep at Mel’s Landing
Gus on the beach
One of the first housekeeping items we needed to do was to get new sim cards and cell service here in Baja. Our research showed that Telcel was the best choice for us. The cost per service for the month for unlimited calls and text is 500 Pecos or just under $25 per line. This is the largest monthly plan Telcel has, but it only comes with 6 MB of data. We learned the hard way how quickly that goes if you stream you-tube, lol. Within 24 hours, we had to head back to Telcel to get additional data another 500 Pesos per line.
We stayed at Mel’s Landing for 2 weeks and during that time we ate at several restaurants. La Estancia is located just 4 blocks from Mel’s Landing. They have great steaks! We ate there several times.
Ochuna Restaurant has Mediterranean food. It’s a beautiful restaurant. Sorry, we forgot to take a picture of our plate before devouring our dinner, lol.
Rosarito is a very busy town with lots of restaurants and shops stacked on top of each other with little parking available. The main road has 4 lanes in 2-each directions. The intersections are for the most part 4 way stops, with a one-stop sign per direction. Sometimes there is a stoplight but only turns green, not yellow or red, otherwise dark. It takes a bit to understand the confusing rules of the road here.
After 2 weeks, it was time to hit the road.