Leaving La Paz – 5/31/2013
Jun 1st, 2013 by rallyadmin
We dock about 30 minutes late and don’t start disembarking for another hour. The trucks and trailers on the upper level have to be off-loaded before we can get the cars off. That, of course, is only the start of the Byzantine procedure of leaving the port.
First, check off each license plate from the manifest. Then get 146 pesos for port tax. Then wait for crossing truck traffic. Wander about looking for exit. Find exit but get stopped by marine pointing me in a completely different direction that looks like it will take me back to the ferry. It does but at the boat a security points me to an exit that takes me even farther into the port area but when I completely convinced that I’ve gone the wrong way, I round a turn and there’s the line of vehicles that I followed off the ship stopped, waiting for a search by the marines.
There’s a line of cars and pickups and 2 lines of 18 wheelers. And, at first, it looks like nobody is moving. Then the 18 wheelers start moving off and slowly in small groups of 2 and 3 the cars and pickups start moving. As each one comes up to a marine with a red flag, he looks inside the vehicle and waves most of the cars and pickups into another waiting line. As that line moves, another marine picks certain vehicles to do a U turn and go back for a whole vehicle x-ray. The Cherokee is so blessed.
Wait in line for the x-ray. Move up to the line. Back up a bit. At the line, not over it. Then through the x-ray and another U turn back into the first line (or was it the second line?) The first marine now points each vehicle into still another lane where the vehicles are ever so slowly strip searched for drugs and other contraband.
They’re polite but very thorough and, again, they can’t resist the galvanized storage locker which is padlocked. They ask for the locker to be opened and I can’t get the lock to open. I try the key that I know is the right key a number of times and, when that doesn’t work, I try others on the key ring. Of course, they don’t work. Finally, I just tell the marine to cut the lock. They always have bolt cutters to open the locks on the 18-wheeler trailers.
He sends another marine off to get the bolt cutter, and, smiling asks me for the keys. I show him the key that I think (know) is the right key. He takes the key and in a couple of seconds (and before the bolt cutters arrive), he has a big Cheshire Cat grin and the open lock in his hand. The other marine arrives with the bolt cutters only to be disappointed by the first marine showing off his trophy.
After all this effort to get the locker open, they carefully remove my latop and passport case. And then they end up looking at only a couple of items in the locker. There’s the cursory look under the dash and seats and into a duffle or two. Then a very polite “Gracias” and a wave to move on.
I small search for the terminal area where John is waiting for me. A few signs in Spanish would be very helpful. Maybe some arrows on them, too. Whatever. I find John, load up, hit the ATM and we’re on our way. To find fuel. We find fuel. Now, we’re really on our way. South to Cabo San Lucas. But the road eventually turns around and we’re finally going northwest up Baja. With some luck, we may be home in 2 days.
Obi-wan.