A Mexican Virgin

Our caravan of race teams just after crossing into Mexico.

Tim has been to 49 states and most Canadian provinces, but had never been to Mexico until this week.

We crossed the border at Santa Teresa, New Mexico, very near to El Paso, in a caravan with about ten other teams at about 8:00 AM. Some, like us, already had their paperwork finished so were able to proceed quickly. Others had to get their Tourist Visas and vehicle permits, but were not held up very long. Then it was the 200+ mile drive to Chihuahua, mostly through desert.

We stopped to get everyone collected at the first toll booth, because the rest rooms there are cleaned regularly. After a short chat, we were on our way again.

It may look like an early '50's Studebaker,
but it is all race car under the skin.

Many of the houses and the places that provide food are little more than shacks. Regular houses are often simple concrete rectangles. Nothing like the multi-story, many room houses you see in much of American suburbia.

We arrived at the Hotel Soberano, headquarters for the Chihuahua Express, at 1:00 PM. Paul arrived about an hour later via air. Several teams had already chosen their service areas in the parking lot and were setting up. Ray found a suitable space and we took the car off the trailer. We went through the registration process, got our Mexican racing licenses, a quick medical check, and took the Porsche through tech. All went pretty smoothly. Since it will be sunny and hot, the pale Minnesotan on the team (Tim) slathered on plenty of SPF-30.

In spare time, Tim reacquainted himself with the rally odometer in the car, a TerraTrip 303. We are having odd issues with the clocks in our cell phones, so will have to rely on the Official time pieces to make sure the clock on the TerraTrip is set properly.

We ended the day with a very fine dinner at La Mansion, one of the better local restaurants, specializing in grilled steak.