Travel day – Part 2 in Mexico

Technically, this post begins in the air over the Gulf of Mexico, I presume. I am in an aisle seat so I truly have no concept of where we are geographically. However, I wanted to share that my first “survival conversation” just took place. The flight attendant hands out two forms to all passengers who are not traveling on a Mexican passport. These forms are a Mexican immigration form and a customs form. These must be completely and accurately filled in before I get in line for Mexican immigration at the DF airport. Being the consummate planner that I am, I failed to pack a pen for this. Go figure! Everyone on the plane sitting around me is Mexican (we will assume Mexican because this is a flight to the capital of Mexico, not because they are all speaking Spanish. I know better than that!). The gentleman next to me has a pen. I wait quietly for him to finish his forms and then I ask, “Disculpa, ¿puedo user tu pluma?” He hands me the pen. Phew! Mission accomplished. See, now that wasn’t so scary, was it? 😀

These two forms are my immigration and customs declarations. The immigration line was very long. I think I waited almost an hour. When I got to customs, I pressed a buttom that randomly decides who to search. Fortunately, I got a green light so I was able to move straight to the bus terminal.

I stopped to pick up more pesos at one of the airport cambios and then I walked to the bus terminal to purchase my ticket for Cuernavaca.

This is when my travel plans got a little bit interrupted. The bus ride from DF to Cuernavaca should take about 90 minutes. Today, because of traffic, it was a 3 1/2 hour ride. Now, I was riding in style with sporadic wifi, A/C, a movie and on-board bathrooms. However, it was a longgggggg ride.

Finally, I arrived at the Cuernavaca bus station where I promptly retrieved my bags and got into what I thought might be an illegal tax. It turns out that it was actually a licensed taxi, but I didn’t know that at the time. My driver was polite and friendly. We arrived at my host family’s house at around 5:45 (CST).

So, for those keeping track, my time from door to door today was 13 hours and 45 minutes and included a car, a train, a bus, 2 planes, a taxi and lots of walking.

Mexican customs form