From El Norte to Cozumel (and back)

By Jeffrey Gowing

My pal, Carla, has traveled to Cozumel many times in the past via flights from San Antonio. I’ve made the same trip with her on a half-dozen occasions over the years since moving to San Antonio from New England in 2000, always to enjoy the spectacular scuba diving for which this destination is famous.
For me, the journey has always been about the enjoyment of getting there, and the adventures one can experience along the way. Travel via airplane is easy, but you miss out on ever seeing any part of the countryside. Most of my voyages of discovery have been made in the past by way of sailing my C&C yacht, Vamp, to various tropical locales. In December of 2012, I began researching online resources available for a road trip via private automobile from El Norte to Cozumel (and back). I'd been asking my pal, Carla, for days if she wanted to take this trip with me, letting her know that if she declined, I was going to fly into either Cancun or Mexico city to see the parts of Mexico I wanted to visit by bus. Finally, at the last minute before I was about to book a flight, she said "Yes, I'll go." Much of the information which I could find on the Internet was at best confusing, and at worst, rife with dire warnings about safety, and the prevalence of drug trafficking in Mexico. Read on to discover that what we encountered on our trip completely contradicted those erroneous warnings, and find out for yourself what a joy traveling the back roads, or “blue highways”, can be. It is my hope that our short account of our trip down the Gulf Coast might inspire the reader to explore that marvelous country just south of the border.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeffrey Gowing
• Release date: Jan 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301752348

Jeffrey Gowing

The author is a lifelong sailor whose formative years were spent exploring the waters of Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts and cruising the New England coast from Maine to Manhattan. His voyages have taken him from off shore trips to Bermuda, to a stint as a charter and delivery captain based in Miami, the Virgin Islands and the Eastern Caribbean. He now is a resident of San Antonio, Texas and travels to scuba dive in Cozumel, Mexico as often as work and finances permit. Look for his new novel, From El Norte to Real de Catorce, available as of August 2013.

Book preview

From El Norte to Cozumel Mexico

(and back)

Jeffrey Gowing

Smashwords Edition

From El Norte to Cozumel Mexico

Copyright 2013 Jeffrey Gowing

All rights reserved

Cover design by Laura Shinn

Formatted by Laura Shinn

Digital ISBN: 9781301752348

Smashwords License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Prologue

My pal, Carla, has traveled to Cozumel many times in the past via flights from San Antonio. I’ve made the same trip with her on a half-dozen occasions over the years since moving to San Antonio from New England in 2000, always to enjoy the spectacular scuba diving for which this destination is famous.

For me, the journey has always been about the enjoyment of getting there, and the adventures one can experience along the way. Travel via airplane is easy, but you miss out on ever seeing any part of the countryside. Most of my voyages of discovery have been made in the past by way of sailing my C&C yacht, Vamp, to various tropical locales. In December of 2012, I began researching online resources available for a road trip via private automobile from El Norte to Cozumel (and back). I'd been asking my pal, Carla, for days if she wanted to take this trip with me, letting her know that if she declined, I was going to fly into either Cancun or Mexico city to see the parts of Mexico I wanted to visit by bus. Finally, at the last minute before I was about to book a flight, she said Yes, I'll go. Much of the information which I could find on the Internet was at best confusing, and at worst, rife with dire warnings about safety, and the prevalence of drug trafficking in Mexico. Read on to discover that what we encountered on our trip completely contradicted those erroneous warnings, and find out for yourself what a joy traveling the back roads, or blue highways, can be. It is my hope that our short account of our trip down the Gulf Coast might inspire the reader to explore that marvelous country just south of the border.

Chapter One

Day One – San Antonio to Brownsville – 283 miles

We got on the road much later than I would have liked today, leaving San Antonio at eleven in the morning. Mea Culpa. I told Carla there was no hurry, and I should have known better than to ever say that. On our last day in SA I had photocopies made of all the documents we’d need at the Matamoros border crossing