Ragnar's World: Illegals

As we were closing in on the Eagle Pass bridge, we prepared our passports. We came to a booth. "9 dollars!" It wasn't a passport check, it was a toll booth to cross the bridge. We paid and continued driving. Then we arrived at a large building. A guy in uniform stood there with a dog. Obviously wanted to smell for drugs. He didn't indicate that he wanted us to stop, so we continued. After driving past some guys doing some construction, we realized we were inside the city of Piedras Negras. We had passed passport control somehow. Maybe they didn't check passports here. My american friend suggested "they are so desparate for our US dollars they let anyone in!". But I wasn't so sure. But we kept on driving. Later I read online that not only were we supposed to have our passports checked and stamped, but US citizens where also required to fill out a form to be handed over at the border. I have crossed a lot of borders and at most of them, YOU are responsible for getting your passport stamped, and having your papers in order. If you don't and they ask for them after you have entered, you are in a world of hurt.

I had planned to go to Mexico for a couple of years. The total solar eclipse was again the target. April 8th the Sun and the Moon once again had a date. And I was heading out to see it.

As I have been to the US many times before, and have written extensively about it, I have cut out the rest of the trip, and concentrated on the parts that are new. The short version is that we flew to Chicago, drove up to Wisconsin to meet a friend and her family. Then drove through several states and made a few stops until we met my friend again in San Antonio. We dropped off our rental car and my friend had rented a car that could be driven to Mexico.

Some pictures from "the story so far" :

We flew just north of Iceland, letting us get a great view of the volcano

First time I have experienced clear skies over Greenland. Beautiful view!

After illegally crossing the border, we headed down the new highway 57 to our destination. Sabinas. I had originally planned to go to Nuevo Rosita. A neighbouring town. But I couldn't find any hotels. At least not any vacancies. So I settled for the town next door. And frankly, our hotel was about midway between the two. So it didn't really matter. The reduction in totality time was negligable.

The drive was magnificent in my eyes (pun not intended). I love these long stretches of barren land. With cacti and other plants clinging on for their dear life. Literally. A range of mountains in the distance, and this arid land of dryness around us. Not much different from the texan landscape we had just driven through, though. But I dunno. Maybe its just me. New country. New land. New landscapes. Same, same, but different.

Sabinas

We arrived at our hotel. Hotel Posada Santa Fe. A small motel-like hotel with its own restaurant. Which came higly recommended on its own. Our rooms weren't quite ready, so we waited in the lobby for a while. But in the end, we got our keys and drove our car into the courtyard inside the hotel. Our rooms were large and the price was low. What wasn't there to like?

I unpacked all of my gear and checked it out. Everything was good. Nothing broken or stuff failing. My newly developed filter-remover-and-putter-onner worked like inteded. I checked the script I had designed for taking photos on the day of the eclipse. It was all working as planned. Now all I needed was an eclipse.

The day before the eclipse, we didn't really have much to do other than eating and checking out the area. My mom wanted to stay in her room and rest her foot and do some knitting and reading. So I and my friend walked down to Sabinas. We didn't go quite downtown, so the only things we saw were shops and residential areas. Therefore, not much to photograph really. But it was a lovely walk. The sun warming our winter bodies.

I was starting to think about the next day. Looking up, the clouds came and went. The forecast for the eclipse day said partially cloudy. I was hoping for some break in the clouds. But I knew from experience that because the air gets colder during the eclipse, water tend to condensate and we get more clouds. But I was hoping for the best.

Sundown in Sabinas

Eclipse!

I got up early. We had gotten to bed late after a long dinner the night before. I was still a bit tired, but the thought of seeing my 12th eclipse got my juices flowing. I had already decided where to put my gear. Inside the courtyard, there was plenty of space to put my tripod, so I found a spot where cars could still drive past without running over my gear. And without blocking my view. Much to my surprise, most people left in the morning. "Don't they know there's an eclipse going on?".

After a nice breakfast, with some of the best orange juice I have ever tried, we were ready to stand in the shadow of the moon.

Cloudy eclipse

I had supplied my friend and my mom with solar eclipse glasses so they could watch it safely. The time went slowly. But finally, the time had come! There it was. The moon was barely touching the edge of the sun. It had started! Now, it would "race" across the face of the sun towards totality. My heart started racing.

I checked my computer. I had set up a script that would both take a series of photos as the eclipse progressed, and more crucially, open and close the sun filter. Much to my surprise, nothing happened. The computer was still waiting to start shooting. I checked the computer clock, and the time set in the script. The tima had passed, but the script just kept on waiting for "the right time". I was frustrated. Why can't these things just WORK??? I stopped the script and rewrote it to compensate. And started it again. Now it was working. But it was obvious to me that I needed to do a lot of manual work. The main reason I built the filter-remover-and-putter-onner was so I could just let the computer do everything automatically, and I could just stand there. Enjoying the eclipse. But that is obviously too much to ask...

While I was doing this, a mexican guy came over to talk to us. He was also here for the eclipse. I usually welcome people who wants to talk and watch. But this guy obviously didn't know the customs for ecplise viewing. It's Ok to ask and stand nearby. But this guy just placed himself in front of my computer so he would have the best view. During the whole eclipse... I guess I am too nice. So I just let him. He didn't even move when I had to do stuff on my computer... Oh well. They are everywhere. Unfortunately...

As the eclipse progressed, I looked at the omnous clouds moving in. I was hoping they would stay away for totality. But no. They moved in, and the sun kept disappearing behind thick blobs of cloud. We got to see the eclipse itself. With beautiful bright red prominences on the limb. I loved it. But I didn't get to see the beautiful corona. Which was a downer. But at least I got to see it.

A few minutes later, it was all over. My script stopped again. I didn't bother fixing it. My homemade filter-remover-and-putter-onner worked perfectly. The imaging software did not. But then again, the clouds made the images sort of half-good anyways. So it didn't really matter. The most important thing is to see it. And to enjoy it with others.

Mid totality. Clouds obscuring the corona

The best image I got of the totality

A Devine experience

A few weeks before we left for the US, I had checked the border crossing at Eagle Pass. I found that it was not unusual to spend up to 3 hours there. My original plan was to stay in Sabinas till the 10th, and then go straigth to the airport in San Antonio to fly to Chicago. But I did the math and realized we would have to get up at 4 am to make sure we made it on time. So I had already opted for another option. Leaving Sabinas in the afternoon on the 9th. We packed our stuff and left for the border 24 hours after the eclipse. The skies where clear as far as the eyes could see... Sigh...

We didn't spend 3 hours at the borde, but it did move slowly. Finally, we arrived at the passport control on the US side. After some questions, we were allowed to enter. We drove towards the little town of Devine, Texas. Just outside of San Antonio. And yes, my brain went into overdrive with the name. Devine experince. Devine hotel. Devine burgers. And so on. And so on.

A Devine tree

As a final farwell before going back to Chicago, we were treated to a thunderstorm. Water was pouring down like it was emptied from a bucket. Strong winds blew. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. LOVED IT! Devine weather! Just norht of us, hails as large as golfballs were crashing down. And a friend staying just north of Austin told me later his rental was full of dents from tennis-ball sized hails. It was a big one for sure.

Luckily, that didn't happen to us. So the next morning we could enjoy a breakfast before heading to the airport. The flight back to Chicago went without a hitch. Little delays here and there, because of the storm the night before. But nothing major. I said goodbye to my friend at O'Hare and after a few days in Chicago with my mom, we flew home.