Border Crossing Blues

We headed to the border crossing at Tecate, a thriving town east of Tijuana.    I am convinced that to be a Border Crossing Agent, one has to basically believe everyone is determined to sneak themselves or contraband into the USA.  And those lonely Agents are the only bastion of defense against us, the lawless, unwashed horde.

We managed to get in the line of an exceptionally thorough Agent.  This was so not a moment of Magic!  There are 2 customs lines at Tecate, and the other line was moving along.  We were sitting.  Our Agent was banging on door panels, climbing on the roof of cars, looking under cars.  Generally trying to see if he could annoy the crap out of the entire line.  But...when it is finally your turn, you smile, you try and chat him up, you just try to get through the line.

So it is established that we have been in Mexico for six months.  We have a boat.  We are heading (eventually) to Seattle.  Oh yes.  We have a few raisins and a few dates.  A loaf of bread.  No fresh nothing.  No meat.  No soil.  No plants.   Well, those raisins and dates are enough to require a consultation by a food and agriculture specialist.  Please go park your car over there.  Sure.  Thanks.  Just take the raisins and dates.

So we sit and wait till another very nice Agent shows up to question us.  We show her the raisins and dates.  (Take the bloody things and let us go!!!).  This transgression will require an inspection of the ENTIRE car.  We get to go sit and watch 4 agents have a field day.  So what did they find?  My seashells!!  And because I had more than 2 shells,  oops, I should have had a permit to export them from Mexico and import them into the USA.  More than 2 seashells?  Get a permit for having more than 2 seashells?  Of course, they make you feel like a creepy sleaze, but assure you this is just a warning, blah, blah, blah.  At least they did not TAKE my seashells.  They didn't say anything about the big hunks of onxy or other rocks we had stashed.  And those raisins and dates -- no problem.

Bye.  Welcome back to America.  Gee.  Time for rush hour traffic.