Federali Checkpoint

When we pulled out of a toll booth yesterday there was a Federal Police checkpoint set up. There were a dozen or so heavily armed police waving most vehicles through as they exited the toll booth. When he saw us, he waved me over to the side. He walked up to the window, greeted me in Spanish and shook my hand. He was very polite as he asked for our documentation. I handed him our passports and he checked the photos and entry stamps very carefully.

He then politely asked if he would be permitted to look inside. I said "Si, no problema" and Norma opened the side door. He cleaned his boots and came in. First he stomped heavily on the floor in a couple of places and then he hit the ceiling hard with his fist listening for hollow sounds. Satisfied he thanked us, shook our hands again and told us we were free to go.

He was very professional and very thorough. We were very near the State border of Veracruz where they are having a lot of drug cartel activity as one cartel tries to take the area from another. There was a recent case where an American couple had their motorhome tip over on a flat section of highway. When police investigated, they found two metric tonnes of drugs in a false ceiling in the motorhome. We have these idiots to thank for the extra attention us RVers are getting! Anyway, it is no problem and we enjoy meeting the young men and women who work so hard to keep us safe in Mexico.