Tarrying

We've decided to extend another day here at Lake Casa Blanca. For one thing, once we got settled in I started on some projects, including getting rid of some of the "stuff" that's been lingering in my "to dispose" pile, and I'm still in the middle of that. For another, we'll need to get about US$400 out of the bank in Mexican pesos to pay for the diesel, and it will be easier to do that Monday than today.

Yesterday evening we rode downtown on Chip to La Posada Hotel, right on the river between international bridges 1 and 2, and had dinner in their steak house, The Tack Room. A bit spendy for Laredo, but the food was excellent, the salad bar was impressive, and they even set up a table for us on the balcony overlooking the square, on an evening where the weather was just perfect for dining al fresco.

In the course of finishing the research on our route through Mexico, I discovered that the bridge I had intended to cross, the World Trade Bridge (AKA International Bridge #4), is restricted to commercial traffic. That means that our choices are to fight our way over Bridge #2, right through downtown Laredo and into downtown Nuevo Laredo, or head a few miles further west to International Bridge #5, which bypasses Tamaulipas altogether, crossing instead into Colombia, Nuevo Leon.

As fond as we are of Mexican cities, it's best for Odyssey to avoid el centro whenever possible, so, reluctantly, we will cross at Colombia. For those following in our footsteps, Colombia is a better choice anyway, since it is a newer crossing designed for large vehicles, and there is ample parking to go in to immigration and the Banjercito to get your paperwork done. We're told there is simply no RV parking for such at the older crossings downtown. We already have our tourist cards and vehicle permits, so it's not an issue for us either way.