Getting Back

Route Follow the same route—Highway 5—that you used to arrive at the Cube until you get into the South end of Mexicali. Here the road toward the border takes a different direction from the one from the border. When you reach the traffic circle with the train tracks, just past the Mega discount store, go straight across and bear slightly right where the road forks. If you see The Home Depot on your left you are going the right way. If you see The Home Depot on your right you are going the wrong way! (Make a right turn somewhere and cut across to the road you missed.)

Pit stop If you are not squeamish about using cheaper Mexican gas you should avail yourself of one of the many Pemex stations en route to top up the tank and use the bathroom because there will be a long wait ahead of you at the border.

Negotiating the U.S. border Exiting Mexico is very different from entering Mexico. Be prepared to wait at least a hour to cross. On Sundays it will be an even longer wait as weekenders return. Have your current passports or green cards ready.

A few hundred yards from the border gate the road fans out from two lanes to five or six lanes around an S curve. Usually, the right lane is faster because there are more inspection booths on that side. If you have pets with you, you may need to show veterinary paperwork. Watch out for hustlers misdirecting traffic, and the volunteer window washers can be annoying.

Once you have entered Calexico there is a delightfully tacky Chinese restaurant about five blocks across the border on the right called Yum Yum's if you're hungry.