HI Everyone: Remember there will be times we can't commulnicate because of the small towns we are staying in. We crossed the border without any difficulty. It took about one hour and we were the only ones there.

It was very hot at 830 am (80s). I am carrying so much that I get confused as to what is legimate and what is fake (dummy wallet). Not paying sufficient attention, I gave the immigration officer my dummy credit card. When it was rejected, he acted as if that happened all the time. Within an hour, we were off.

It was very windy. We decided to stop early-about noon. We had lunch at a small restaurant. Mom had a large meal. I just ate the crumbs and drank a coke. It takes a while for me to reach a comfort zone. We crossed the street and stayed in a hotel. It was fine and had a pool ($35.00).

The next day we headed to La Pesca, about 90 miles more. At Soto La Marina, the turn off to La Pesca, we stopped and mom had breakfast. I just ate the crumbs with a coke. The young attendant asked me if I spoke english. I must have a great Mexican accent. There was a middle aged man she was worried about. He has been their everyday for a month. He has MS in fairly advance stages and it frightened them. He told me he was just living on the beach in La Pesca and was fine. I explained his problem and they seemed happy. It was sad.

We left for La Pesca. It is a rustic fishing village on the coast. The affluent from Victoria and Monterrey come there for the weekend to fish and swim. Lonely Planet said don't blink your eyes or you will miss it. If you blink your eyes you will kill yourself. They have perfected at least 15 "topes" on dirt roads. We found the recommended "Rivera del Rio" hotel. It was great for $45.00 a night. It had a nice restaurant.

The swimming pool ajoins the Gulf of Mexico. The water was warm

We left the next morning (October 3, 09) for Tampico. Tampico has over 300,000 people. The zocalo, Plaza de Armas (center of town), has been rebuilt. The other historic square is Plaza de la Libertad. Tampico is a very busy and congested port city. The largest in Mexico. We are staying at the Hotel Mansion Real Tampico. It has everything and is at the Plaza de Armas. The first photo below is of the Plaza de Armas. The cathedral is in the background. The second is Plaza de la Libertad.