It's not a slow car, it's a fast house

Hey, got your attention with that title, huh?  As you recall in the last post, I mentioned that we were having some fun in Puerto Penasco.  Even Seri was getting pretty comfortable there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We picked up our Visa’s in Sonoita a few days ago and wrapped up our business in Puerto Penasco.  They did not have TIP (vehicle permit) in Sonoita, so we needed to drive to Pitiquito to get those.  Then we were free and legal to wander around Mexico as we wished.  So it was time to drive across the desert towards the highway (MX2) and get moving.  The scenery is pretty much the same for the entire trip to Caborca, MX.

As we rolled in to the bustling city, we noticed the vehicle beginning to heat up.  We found a neighborhood with large, shady trees and stopped for Mike to take a look.  It seemed that the fan was not kicking on as it should.  After about an hour of test light tinkering he was able to find a loose wire.  He reconnected things and we were set.  We ran a test of lights, turn signals, etc and discovered that the headlights/taillights were not coming on.  It is about 3:00 now and we still have 10 miles to go to get permits before we head to places undetermined.  So we can drive to the permit station with no lights, and just plan to park somewhere before dusk.  Or we can stay here and tackle this.

As if to help us make our decision the Municipal Police rolled up.  First there was one set.  Then two.  Then four.  It was quite a spectacle.  It seems that they were not giving us the option of staying there to work on things.  So we asked them for a local RV Park.  They said there were none.  I searched the phone and found a hotel that claimed to have 5 RV spaces.  When I told them the name, they said it was nearby and they would take us there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Mike reassembled the dash and packed up the tools.  We followed the police to the hotel and selected a cheap, double room with free wifi, AC, showers and on the shady side of the building so Mike could keep tinkering.  The dogs went in and crashed on the bed- watching ESPN in Espanol.  Mike checked and traced every wire associated with the lights.  Geneva researched switches, fuses and the next destination.  In about 2 hours, Mike had found the culprit.  A loose wire on a fuse box connection.  No power to the lights/fan fuse.  A quick repair (once located) and the lights were working perfectly.

With the mechanical hassle solved, we turned our attention back to the vehicle permit process.  We were about 7 miles (straight down HWY2MEX) from the place we needed to go for permitting.  We decided we would go check it out and grab some dinner.

Pitiquito was a terrific location for gathering TIP for vehicles.  The line was nonexistent.  The air conditioning was cool and the man working the Banjercito was polite and even funny.  As the only ones there, we were able to complete all the paperwork in under 15 minutes.  We grabbed hot dogs for dinner and headed back to the room.

Whew, tiring day.  Sort of stressful but ultimately more proof that Mike has become a very handy mechanic!