We made it to the San Ysidro border crossing by about 9:30 am. Even though we had gone through this before with our taxi excort, we nearly messed up again getting to it. But at the last second, cutting across 2 lanes of traffic amidst much honking and hand waving we arrived in the right spot, and settled down to wait for 45 minutes in line. I’m convinced the signs are obscured intentionally by the taxi drivers. During the wait, we waved away the vendors hawking trinkets.
No one had asked for our tourist cards during the entire trip. We were supposed to return them on our way back or they would notate something in our file, and we would not be allowed to get a free one in the future. But there was no way we could figure out how to get to the correct building without going back into Mexico, and wait in line on both sides of the border for a second time. It was too much of a hassle. It was likely that in the future we would plan a trip longer than a week because there was so much driving involved. In that case we would pay in advance and get the permit by mail. The other possibility was the whole thing was a complete scam. However that was not what we had read on line.
We made it to the Ford dealership, dropped off the truck, and rented a car. Then we spent the rest of the day at the San Diego Zoo. Our favorite exhibits were the Orangutans, Gorillas, and the Reptile House.
The aviaries were really nice too but we rushed through them in order to get back before the dealership closed at 6 pm.
$875 later we had our repaired truck and newly programmed and replaced TCM. (The part was $575, and installation and tax was $300.) It was 2 hour job consisting mainly of the time it took to reflash (program) the TCM. Jason noticed immediately the the truck ran differently, and soon he realized it ran better than before. Regen happened much less frequently which improved many things including our gas mileage.
We pondered our experience. For overlanders, breaking down is not a matter of if, but rather when. We needed to adopt a different attitude about it. Despite the inconvenience, it was part of the experience and we should treat it as such. Of course we wanted to be as prepared as possible. Knowing as much as possible about the vehicle was a good starting point. Jason had already installed the performance monitoring computer. What we needed now was a copy of the Mitchell F550 repair manual. We thought it’d be a good idea to take a course in Ford 550 repair. Storing key replacement parts and tools was also important. We had a decent start on that already. Preparation in advance for where repairs can be made, and how to contact the shops, might be another. In Baja a satellite phone would be handy, as well as a process to find phone numbers without internet access.
Although we were relieved to be back in the familiar US, there was a tremendous sense of freedom in Baja. If you wanted to camp in the wilderness you could. If you needed a ride you could easily flag one down. If you needed a mechanic, you could find one. If you needed to break every traffic rule, so be it. There were many little mercados in convenient locations where you could stop and quickly get groceries and something to eat. With care you could eat safely and stay healthy. The two rules you wouldn’t want to violate were bringing weapons or drugs into the country, and these clearly weren’t part of our agenda. Our biggest shortcoming was our lack of Spanish. In the big cities of Ensenada, Tijuana, La Paz, and Cabo San Lucas there were many English speakers, but not where we went. We resolved to work on Spanish before the next trip. Despite our vehicle troubles, we greatly enjoyed our first, of hopefully many, overland trips to Baja.
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