To get to Mexico from USA we crossed the worldly famous San Ysidro border to Tijuana – one of the busiest borders worldwide. From San Diego it is just a couple of kilometers and you can already see a difference. And a Wall. So, what do you think, how will be our crossing Mexican border with bikes?
We didn’t know what exactly we have to expect. Security checks or filling forms and long bureaucratic procedures? Actually, the border crossing with bikes went really smooth. Apart from the fact that we had to pay for a six-month-visa instead of a free three-month-visa. For that we are now actually very happy. But about this late.. At the end it was just filling the form and showing ID and paying and taking all the staff through scanner and putting it back on bike. And that`s all. Crossing Mexican border with bikes is pretty easy.
Bienvenido a Mexico a.k.a Mexican welcoming directly after border crossing
The first impression of Mexico: we were standing a bit lost on a square and checking our phones for directions. It took like 10 seconds until a friendly man stopped and asked us where we want to go. We had no idea where is our hotel so hetook his map out of his backpack. Then he spent his time explaining us the best route to reach our hotel and he even gave us sightseeing tips for Baja California. Inspired by the friendly man we made our way to our ,,gorgeous” hotel. Hotel without windows and the entry through the garage which you can not lock:) Yes, yes, Bienvenido a Mexico!
After short exploration of our 2x2m room we went for our first Mexican food highlight: Sushi! Yes, a proper double portion of freestyle Sushi with hot spiced local influence and a lot of love. Giant portion. Or, to be completely honest – 3 portions. The chef was so amazed by our food exterminating skills, that he invited us to a fried ice cream as a desert… And we were in heaven. So of course, we really really highly recommend this place.
Then we just pretty slowly rolled back to the hotel (without bikes).
Crossing Mexican border with bikes vs. Crossing Tijuana with bikes
Mexican border crossing in Tijuana with bikes was easy. But getting out of Tijuana by bikes – that was a nightmare! Busy roads with big trucks and steep roads and also sticky air and many dead ends… Several times we almost got hit by the spiky screws which almost every local truck has on its wheels. And it was all up and down bike touring in Mexican heat. However, somehow we made it. And once we were in Rosarito, traffic got less and we had more space and shoulders to ride on. The following two days we took the highway 1D until Ensenada. It is beautiful scenic ocean road.
How we managed to get to the city of beer – Ensenada, you can read in our next post 🙂
