lml@lancaironline.net Mailing List Archive

Hi Gang,

We've arrived safely back in Virginia. What a trip!

Earl Schroder requested pictures. Here are a few.

Hal Woodruff asked about sources of info. Without a doubt, the best single source of info is the Baja Bush Pilots Association. Their web site is: http://www.bajabushpilots.com . If you're considering flying in Mexico or Central America, join the BBP. The BBP also organizes trips such as the Whale trip that we joined up with in Mulege. We met a bunch of great folks who love to fly and have a sense of adventure.

Bill Hogarty asked about "permission" to fly our experimentals in Mexico. Yes, it's required. Just read the back of your airworthiness certificate. In Mexico it is granted through an "entry permit" (required for certificated aircraft also). There are two types of entry permits, single entry and multiple entry. The cost is now the same so you might as well get a multi entry which is good until the end of the year in which you requested it. You pick this up at your Airport of Entry in Mexico. You will need the original and two copies of: Airworthiness Certificate, Registration, Pilot license, Medical, and insurance. The fee is about 50 US dollars for the permit and about 20 dollars each for tourist cards. Sue and I paid right around 90 bucks in Juarez which was exactly what we expected.

The thing that you should plan on and not get too excited about is the time that it takes to get this stuff done. Remember, you're going down to Mexico to relax. The Mexicans will help you learn not to hurry. Plan on at least an hour to complete the formalities, maybe longer. At some airports (Juarez, for example) you need to complete customs at one building, entry formalities at another and fuel at yet another. Other airports (Guaymas for example) everything is handled at the same spot.

I want to emphasize that, without exception, every contact that we had with a Mexican official was friendly, helpful and courteous. At no time did we feel any pressure to slip a few bucks under the table or anything like that. Mexico has changed and this type of petty corruption is frowned upon. You can certainly help the process by being prepared and organized, though.

As far as insurance requirements, here is a quote from the BPP web site:

"The Mexican government has made a recent change that allows US liability insurance to provide protection when in the Country of Mexico. In order for this to be accepted, the words "Liability Insurance in Mexico" must be stated in your policy and that the limits of coverage are covered. (we advise that US pilots continue to purchase Mexican insurance for at least one more year, primarily to insure that Mexican authorities understand that you are covered and don´t face additional challenges in the case of an incident."

"The Baja Bush Pilots have the necessary licenses and Mexican Insurers to provide this insurance at a discount to our members. This insurance is US$110 per year for private aircraft and US$250 per year for business aircraft. "

Fuel is another question that most pilots have. We paid the equivalent of about $2.70 a gallon. In addition to the cost of fuel there is a government fee that you pay each time you fuel regardless of the quantity of fuel you upload. This fee is based on wingspan. For anything under 10 meters (all Lancairs) the fee is about 7 bucks. It increases dramatically for larger wingspans.

On our trip we visited Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and then cleared into Mexico at Juarez. Leaving Juarez, we crossed the Chihauhuan desert and soon found ourselves over the mountains of central Mexico. Not much in the way of airports. The major cities all have paved strips but most other places have only dirt strips. These dirt strips won't show up on your GPS database, so if you need one you'll have to find it the old fashioned way.

Our first destination was Alamos in the western foothills of the Sierra. Alamos is a beautiful colonial town that makes you feel like you stepped back 100 years in time. Alamos is somewhat off the normal tourist routes and is, therefore, rather unspoiled by modern development (no McDonalds or Holiday Inn here, thank goodness). We found a range of excellent lodging available spanning everything from inexpensive B&B's to a small 5 star hotel (if you stay here, they'll put your plane in the hotel's hangar for free). Lots of good restaurants here too. The people here were genuinely warm and friendly. We felt perfectly safe walking the streets any time of the day or night. There is a small community of US expatriates living here also. It would be quite tempting to move here.

On our third day in Mexico we flew to Guaymas, a port city on the eastern shore of the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California). The airport is a good paved strip with a tower, fuel and all necessary services. I would probably consider this as my AOE if we come down here again. On the flight line we met an American couple in a Bonanza who live here. They gave us a ride to our hotel, the Hotel Playa de Cortez.

Day four we crossed the Sea of Cortez (less than a half hour over water) to Mulege in Baja. The Hotel Serenidad has a dirt strip here that is quite popular with pilots flying in Baja. The runway is dusty but smooth and in generally good condition. Here we joined up with the Baja Bush Pilots for what is known simply as "WHALES". It's three days of great fun, good company, tremendous food, maybe a margarita or two and a fly-out to the Pacific coast for whale watching.

One night the town hosts a BBP street party for us. They close off the street and put on a great party with plenty of food, drink and live music. On Saturday nights, the Hotel Serenidad hosts a pig roast. What a blast.

Of course, the highlight of WHALES is whales. We fly over the Baja mountains to Laguna San Ignacio. The laguna is on the Pacific coast and the great grey whales come here each winter to calve. There is a primitive dirt strip here where we all land. We split up into small groups of 6-8 and take small open boats (pangas) into the laguna. After about a 1/2 hour boat ride to the mouth of the lagoon, we spot whales. The whales are completely aware of the boats' presence and most will simply submerge while 100 yards from the boat. You can't really approach them (it's illegal and futile) but you can move to the general area where they are and, if you're lucky, they will approach you.

There are perhaps a few dozen truly memorable moments in our lives. If you are fortunate enough to have one of these mammoth gentle creatures approach you and seek your contact, you will know that such a moment has arrived. On two seperate occasions we had a mother and baby approach our panga. They came up to the boat and blew bubbles, surfaced and allowed us to actually pet them. They were enjoying "playing" with us. Looking into a whale's eye while you stroke his skin is an experience that I will never forget. Clearly, the whales could have flipped our boat with the slightest flick of their fin with no effort at all. But instead they would surface under our boat and just barely touch it. I believe that they enjoyed the contact as much as we did.

Leaving Mulege, we landed again at Guaymas for fuel and clearing out (you must depart from an AOA for the US). We cleared US customs at Del Rio, Texas and flew up to Fredericksburg, Texas. Here there is a fantastic hotel right at the airport called the Hangar Hotel. The atmosphere is WWII military. The bar is the "Officiers Club" and there is a P-40 in the hangar that also houses the restaurant. If you're ever flying near here, stop in. You won't be disappointed.

If any of you are considering a trip down, we would be happy to any help that we can. Here are a few photos of our trip. Enjoy.

1. Clearing at Juarez

2. Crossing the Chihuahuan desert

3. Approaching Alamos

4. Overlooking Alamos

5. Approaching Mulege

6. Los Gallito airstrip at the Hotel Serenidad

7. Us at the hotel

8. ZQ under the palms

9. The "landing judges"

10. This place really fills up

11. Sue's "small" margarita