Have I mentioned lately that I love living here? This week I got to tag along on a business trip to Hermosillo, one of Sonora's largest cities. I have now learned to appreciate flying in Mexico on small, private planes for many reasons.
First, what security lines? We walked straight to the plane. No NSA gorilla asking to sniff your shoes. Nada. If you want to blow up your own plane, go right ahead. Sure, they check to make sure you're not loaded down with obvious weapons, but for the most part, you're free to carry all the deadly fingernail clippers you can handle.
Two, what immigration papers? I was supposed to carry my temporary visa since Hermosillo is outside the zone in which tourists are not required to have one. But, my documents are somewhere getting converted to a permenant visa. My boss said we'll deal with it if it becomes an issue. I was a little worried that it would. I was right; it did. But not like you'd think. The person at the immigration desk wasn't there, so they said we could take care of things when we were leaving. What? I'm trying to enter your country illegally! You have me at a federal facility guarded by, albeit short and scrawny, dudes with machine guns! I'm at your mercy! I could leave and never come back! Eh. Ok. I guess we'll take care of it when we come back. And we did. I don't think that flies on the other side of the border.
Three, what customs agents? After finishing our business in Hermosillo, we flew to Tucson to tie up some loose ends like stocking up at Cosco for the big fishing trip this weekend (if it's not too windy). I'll keep you posted. Anyway, on our way back, we brought all kinds of stuff. Nothing we really needed to declare. Don't worry; I'm not smuggling. We checked with customs in the States before bringing the watermelons (which, by the way we saw at Cosco for $6.79). We were fine. But we could have brought all kinds of goodies! Penasco has no customs agents.
All in all, it was a fun, enlightening experience. I told the guys on the plane that I had flown in a micro-light (one of those hang-gliders strapped to a propeller and a go-cart) when I was living in Russia. Technically that was the smallest aircraft I've been in. But this is the smallest one with doors. It was a surprisingly smooth ride. I didn't even puke!
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I'm glad you had a kickin' time. I'm jealous. Just so you know, everyone misses you, especially Marcos, but more especially me. When they ask how you like it down there I tell them you're living it up and going deep sea fishing without me. I'm glad you were able to avoid the aduana. They can get a little frisky sometimes.
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