Before driving in
Mexico, check with your car insurance agent on
the coverage you have in
Mexico. Regardless of coverage you already have on your own car,
Mexican law REQUIRES you to purchase Mexican Liability insurance before
you cross the border. You can obtain this insurance from Mexican
insurance agencies (look in the yellow pages in San Diego). You can
also purchase this insurance on the internet from several companies, such as Baja
Bound. Remember, you are only required to purchase Mexican
LIABILITY coverage. If you are driving a rental car, the rental
agency may require that you purchase Mexican insurance from them directly at the time of
rental ($25 to $40 per day).
If you are stopped or are involved in ANY type of vehicle accident, regardless of fault, you
will GO TO JAIL and your vehicle is impounded if you cannot furnish proof of Mexican
Insurance.
The
Directions:
We recommend that you cross the border at Tecate, California.
This is the border crossing with the least amount of traffic, and is open from
5 a.m. till 11 p.m. Crossing at Tecate significantly simplifies
finding Rancho La Paloma. Here's a map
from San Diego to Tecate, and Pastor Hector's hand drawn overview
map of the area in Mexico. It shows all three border crossings.
An alternate route would be to cross at Otay Mesa.
(A) Tecate Border Crossing: From San Diego airport,
take I-5 South. In one mile, you will exit to the right onto Hiway
94 (M.L.K Jr. Freeway) going East. In about 7 miles, make a right
turn to continue East on Hiway 94. 6 miles later, make another right
turn to stay on Hiway 94, also known as CAMPO ROAD. Follow Campo Rd.
(Hiway 94) South East for 23 miles, then make a right hand turn onto Hiway
188 South to Tecate. 2 miles later, you're at the Border. Total
distance from San Diego airport is 40 miles, a 60 minute
drive.
Welcome to Mexico! Most streets here are unmarked, so use all your faculties to try
and figure out how to get to the ranch or the worksite.
To get to Rancho La
Paloma: After crossing the border, proceed straight (SOUTH) until you get to a
stop light at the bottom of the hill. To the left, across the
intersection, you will see the main city park, with a fountain and some
large trees. Turn RIGHT, heading WEST. Follow this road for
about two miles through town. This road eventually veers to the
left, and continues out of town. Watch out for many well hidden ALTO
(STOP) signs. As you leave town, the first stop light you encounter
right before the PEMEX gas station is where you turn RIGHT again, heading
WEST. This paved road eventually turns into a dirt road leading to the ranch. Go straight at all the stop signs on this dirt road,
including the "Y" intersection. Eventually, the road bends
to the left. The ranch is two doors down on the right hand side,
with a big metal rolling gate entrance. This google
map of Tecate
may help. If you need to
print out the maps, we split this map into East
Tecate and West Tecate.
Both files are in Adobe Acrobat .PDF format, and are suitable for
printing.
To get to the
colonias:
Instead of taking that right hand turn off the main road before the PEMEX
gas station, continue straight through the light (heading SOUTH WEST) for
approximately 12
miles. This map
from Tecate to the colonias shows the way to the "T"
intersection in the Colonias, our standard "meet me here" point.
(B) Otay Mesa Border Crossing: From San Diego airport,
take I-5 South for approximately 12 miles. Exit onto I-905 EAST
bound (Exit 3) and continue heading EAST on I-905 as it changes it's name
to OTAY MESA Road. As the road bends SOUTH, follow the signs to the
international Border. Total
distance from San Diego airport is 25 miles.
Welcome to Mexico! You are
now driving in Tijuana, an adventure in and of itself. Most streets here are unmarked, so use all your faculties to try
and figure out how to head to the ranch.
To get to Rancho La
Paloma: This is a tad more difficult. After crossing the border, proceed straight (SOUTH),
going over on a bridge that straddles BELLAS ARTES. Continue SOUTH
for about 3/4 of a mile, along BLVD. GARITA DE OTAY. The road bends
slightly to the right. You will
be following signs indicating "TECATE CUOTA" (this is the
TOLL road to Tecate). At the stop light, you will need to make a
left hand turn (heading EAST) at INDUSTRIAL. This
map from the OTAY MESA border crossing will help.
Once you're on Blvd. INDUSTRIAL,
continue following the signs to TECATE CUOTA. As you leave Tijuana,
you will drive eastbound heading downhill.
At the bottom of the hill, there is an interchange that allows you to make
a right (TO THE COLONIAS) or a 270 degree turn to go to TECATE via the toll booths that you
may be able to see on the left hand side of the road.
Pay your toll (Around $7.50)
and continue on this road heading EAST for another 10 to 15 minutes.
You will eventually see a sign that indicates "TECATE LIBRE"
(Tecate Free Road). Follow the signs and make another 270 degree
turn under the free road, merging from the right lane, and heading
NORTH. Follow this road until you enter the town of TECATE.
Watch out for very well hidden ALTO (STOP) signs.
As you enter town, the first stop
light you encounter at the PEMEX gas station is where you turn LEFT, heading
WEST. This paved road eventually turns into a dirt road leading to the ranch. Go straight at all the stop signs on this dirt road,
including the "Y" intersection. Eventually, the road bends
to the left. The ranch is two doors down on the right hand side,
with a big metal rolling gate entrance. This satellite photo
of West Tecate should help you see
the last couple of miles to the ranch. The file is in Adobe Acrobat .PDF format, and
is suitable for
printing.
To get to the
colonias via Otay Mesa Border crossing:
BEFORE you cross over the North-South hiway (where the first 270 degree turn
and toll booths are) make a right turn heading SOUTH onto the new Highway (Blvd.
2000). This
map is from the colonias to the Otay Border so it's in reverse - but
you get the general idea. Continue South, making a left turn onto
the Tecate FREE (LIBRE) road heading to Tecate, then make a LEFT at the
stop sign heading NORTH. This map
of the colonias shows that area in detail. Please be aware that the map shows arrows
coming from Tecate into the colonias, you are driving the other way (EAST)
from Tijuana going to the colonias.
Once you're in the colonias, you're
on
your own!
