0075 7th Aug - Los Barriles to Topolobamp. by ferry

Nice cloudy and cool morning, so slowly packed up and showered and set off at about 8.30 am on the 1 ½ hour drive back to Pichilingue to catch the ferry to the mainland.  As mentioned yesterday I couldn’t get space on the ferry to Mazatlan until the 12^th, so I am off to a little place called Topolobampo – Just south of Los Mochis in case you try to find it on a different map from that kindly and painstakingly provided by me in the Photos section in Picasa !!! Anyway, much shorter ferry ride (5 hours instead of 15), and then only about a 3 hour drive south to Mazatlan.  I guess I will find out if there is some kind of major problem with this alternative, but at the moment I don’t see one !

Got to Pichilingue port at noon for a 2.30 pm sailing – And here I am on board and its only 1.15 !!  Good job I got here early – lesson learned re timing for Mexican ferries (and maybe buses and planes too) – Be early !!

Anyway, here the whole procedure is all much more exciting than the organization we have been enjoying on the Alaska Marine Highway ferries.  Basically here you queue up with all the trucks and semi trailers, and wait your turn.  One secret already learned is to look for trucks with nothing on their flat bed, or with their back doors open (signalling to Aduane that they have no cargo) – That line moves much faster than the one with water melons or tomatoes piled high in the back of a pick up !  And when a semi trailer moves through, you progress 100 ft, whereas when a car moves though, you only progress 19 ft !!

So I line up with all the trucks, and everyone is talking to me in rapid fire Spanish and pointing to my map on the door and place name stickers on the sides of the car, and (presumably) asking me questions !  So I just tell them Australia, show them the steering wheel, and have a laugh with them.  I hear the word “loco” a lot – I must look up what that means because I don’t think it means they think my car looks like a locomotive !  Ha ha.  After a brief inspection (in which Fernando (first customs guy who ever introduced himself to me !!)  only inspects my Mexican car permit), I am charged 150 pesos Port Tax, and then I am put on a weigh bridge – This could be interesting as I have never weighed my car, and have it listed as 2400 kg.   Well. It’s a good job they don’t charge by weight as I am told I now weigh 3400 kg !!  No wonder I am struggling to get 25 mpg !!!!  Nice to know the truth at last though.  (Hopefully only 85 kg of that total is me !!)

Then told to park up for a while, and all the other drivers disappeared, so I presumed it would be a while before we boarded. So a quick walk around, and then a Sydney lad called Mark comes over and asks about my trip – He and his girlfriend are just going to Panama and have bought a van in the US.  He tells me he is going to Mazatlan, so I ask him how long ago he booked – “Didn’t book – Have just rolled up now”, he says.   Well this will be interesting, I tell him, since I tried to book yesterday and was told there were no spots available until 12^th Aug – But if he is quick he might get on to Topolobampo.  At which point he hurried off forewarned with this important information – I guess if he is successful I will see him on board shortly – Otherwise I will see him somewhere on the road.

I then turned to make a tortilla sandwich for lunch, and just as I get everything out and slice the tomatoes etc, a man comes up and says “Board NOW”, or something along those lines.  But I have been in Mexico a week now, and he doesn’t fool me – At a leisurely pace I finish making my wraps, put everything away, and still end up in a queue again 20 yards up the road !!  Got ya !!!

On to the multi level ferry and lots of trucks everywhere – I get put down in the bowels of the ship, behind the big buses – Presumably because of my newly confirmed heavy weight moving me up into the bus class !!   Whatever, it looks like I shall be last one off  as it isn’t a drive-through ferry !!

Then I start the climb up the stairs – Elevator not working, and it is like climbing Mt Popacatapetl – We all stop for a breather half way, and it doesn’t take long in these temps for a slight sheen to appear on one’s brow.  Ships are hard enough to find your way around on – It is even worse when all the signs are in Spanish !!  I eventually find a seat to sit on, and decide to catch up on my blog, and do some of my Spanish lessons – That means I write down useful phrases in a book I have purchased for this purpose, as I find that writing things down helps them stick much better – Always have fond that, even at school – Maybe that is why I write so much ???

Assuming we have a safe crossing of the Sea of Cortez, the remainder of the day will be added later !!!

Later.    Well Mark and his girlfriend Bri from Sydney did make it onto the ferry, and we spend quite a lot of time chatting about our respective plans.  Very pleasant just being able to have a meaningful conversation with someone after a week of single word mutterings in Spanish ! Very nice young couple, basically surfing their way around central America. 

In the bar for almost the entire crossing they had a cabaret type singer who was VERY loud, but the crowd loved it.  Too loud for me.  They also had Karaoke in the intervals !!  Quite a lively ferry ride !!

Apart from that, the crossing itself is pretty boring, as it is just water all the way (duh !!), but it soon becomes obvious that we are not going to get off the boat until is it very dark – Maybe about 10 pm.  Mark and Bri and I are discussing what is our best plan of action to find a campsite in the dark when we arrive !!  Coming into Topolobampo through the reefs (which require a pilot to board) there is a beautiful sunset, but as estimated, by the time we are unloaded almost last, it is 10 pm. 

When I go down to the car, a guy comes over to me and starts going on about my car and the trip and shaking my hand, and hugging me -  His name is Juan and he is just so happy talking to me – In Spanish !!!  Anyway, I give him one of my gold kangaroo stickpins, and he is so happy he goes to his truck (he is a truck driver, as it turns out !) and gets his Mexican hat – Not a sombrero but the straw one they all wear – and insists I have it.  Then he gets another driver out of his car to take photos of us both with his phone, so I took the opportunity to get a couple with my camera too !!  Great fun !

Tom Tom thinks it knows the road a supposed camp site is on, so we decide to try that option first.  However, as soon as we get on to the road, there is a police checkpoint and in the dark I have to get all the paperwork out to show them !!  Then we were away, but suddenly we pass a truck parked on the side, and it is Juan – He wants me to go and drink some beer with him to celrate our new friendship - Amigos, as he says.  By the way, he has now inserted the kangaroo pin in his ear lobe and is wearing it as an earring !!!  I was so tired, and really just wanted to find a place to put my head down, and Mark and Bri are sitting in their car watching all this going on with great amusement !  Anyway, managed to get away – Thanks for the offer, Juan,  next time !

It soon becomes obvious that Tom Tom is lost, so we decide to just go out on the main road and try to find somewhere.  About 30 minutes up the road we pull into a Pemex petrol station, and Mark’s Spanish is good enough to get the manager to agree that we can sleep for the night at the back of the station – This is actually done quite often, and Pemex stations are good as they are reasonably secure and have toilets and sometimes even showers.  And of course are free !! Anyway, we pull round the back, I cook some spag for us all, and we turn in for the night, wondering what the place will look like in the morning !!

Photos are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0076LosBarrilesToTopolobampo?authkey=Gv1sRgCIe9lv_0sIXCigE#