Travel Notes from Our January 2022 Trip to El Salto

Feb 14

Transporting a chihuahua through customs and immigration in a Mexican airport

After nearly 20 fishing trips to Mexico, you’d think that the process would be remarkably routine by this point, bordering on boring. On the contrary, there’s something about the route from the US to Mazatlán, and then on to the lake, that’s ever changing, and fraught with potential missteps.

If you’ve been there multiple times, you likely know what I’m talking about. If you don’t intend to go, then the following bullet points may not be worth your time. On the other hand, if one of these nuggets of information can make someone’s trip better, or help them avoid a small or large crisis, then I’ve done my job.

As we almost always do, we flew American Airlines, a carrier that has been plagued by cancellations and delays in recent months. Fortunately, none of our four flights suffered any scheduling issues.
While we normally fly through Dallas, this time we went through Phoenix, which I’d guesstimate we’ve done on less than a quarter of our trips to Mazatlán. This enabled us to spend a day with Hanna’s dad, who we’ve only seen once since the onset of the pandemic. This is purely anecdotal, but the Phoenix-to-Mazatlán and Mazatlán-to-Phoenix routes seem to get delayed less often than the Dallas routes.
Our flight from DC to Phoenix was jam-packed, but the flight from Phoenix to Mazatlán was only about half-full. I was able to move to an exit row by myself.
We arrived shortly after the Dallas flight and rushed to get into the customs/immigration line. They had passengers from the two flights line up on either side of the hallway and then they let all of the Dallas folks go first. That seemed reasonable, until travelers from a third flight (possibly United from Houston) came in. Even though they arrived after us, they were allowed to proceed through immigration at the same time, in an adjacent line.
I had no idea you could bring a dog into Mexico without quarantining him first, but the lady in front of us in line had Cerveza the Chihuahua to prove otherwise.
We haven’t hit the “red light” that requires enhanced inspection of your luggage in several trips. Somehow I think we’re due.
We arrived on the same day as a group of 20 coming from all over the country to meet up. Several of them came on private aircraft, so we had to wait for them, which took quite a while.
We’ve always ridden from the airport to El Salto and Picachos on Anglers Inn’s private vans. This time our group was large enough that we got a luxury bus instead.
Advantage of the bus: It has a restroom so we saved on the midway rest stop break.
Disadvantage of the bus: They served us Pacifico in a can. The bottled stuff tastes crisper.
As usual, I’d emailed ahead and our rod tube and tackle bags were waiting at our room. For some reason I always expect a hiccup, and it never happens. Their service is flawless.
Anglers Inn has the travel COVID test down to a science. The lab technician comes in during the lunch break, so you don’t miss a moment of fishing (they do encourage you not to drink alcohol that morning), and your printed results are available that evening. Fortunately all of our group “passed.”
Even though we had 16 anglers returning to the airport at the same time, we got the vans and not the bus. I was more than fine with that. It was the a.m., so I wasn’t yet in the mood for a Pacifico.
While we didn’t get the “red light” on the way into Mexico, Hanna got the random flag for enhanced security on the way home and had her carry-on bags searched.
As I’ve noted before, Anglers Inn will pack you sandwiches for the airport if you don’t want to spend on Carl’s Jr. or the other in-terminal options. If you ask for them, get the BLTs, which are otherworldly, not the ham and cheese, which are at best ordinary. Breakfast burritos are another option, but they don’t necessarily travel well.