How To Breeze By Mexican Customs. By Kevin Franklin A FOOL AND his peso are easily parted, especially if he deals in dollars. Generally, in the border regions of Mexico, I never bother to exchange money from dollars into pesos. Dollars are welcome just about everywhere. In times of economic instability, gringo dough is even preferred by many Mexicans. As long as you carry a calculator and know the official rate of exchange, you can almost always get along just fine. During periods when the peso is actually sliding downhill in value, you can even do better than the official exchange rate. An inordinate number of barber shops, for some strange reason, seem to deal in this kind of exchange speculation. By dealing in dollars you avoid paying high exchange fees or going home with a wad of pesos. However, this kind of greenback fidelity can backfire once in a while. Take, for instance, the lonely Pemex station 45 miles southwest of Hermosillo, Mexico. In the U.S., remote gas stations always have higher prices. In Mexico, the state-run gas stations have their prices fixed by region. Theoretically, this station sells at the same price as less remote stations farther ahead, so I stop sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, I check the fuel price anyway, because there's nothing certain in travel except uncertainty. Yes, yes, the attendant admonished, the price here was the same as elsewhere. Only after I filled my 32-gallon tank did I discover that, while the gas price was the same, the exchange rate was about 10 percent lower. When dealing with only a few dollars, these kind of interactions can be more amusing than annoying. In a way, they carry with them a certain kind of enlightenment. It's almost like a good riddle. Sometimes the obvious answer turns out to be wrong for reasons, in hindsight, that should have been, well, obvious. The attendant was entirely honest in his answers to my questions and in the amount of fuel he pumped. It's not his fault I failed to see the entire spectrum of variables in the equation. Forking over a few extra dollars to the local thimblerigger doesn't smart nearly as much as losing $11 to the Mexican customs guys. From the time Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood pursued Geronimo into the Sierra Madre, crossing the Mexican border has always had a certain number of trials and tribulations. For a while, anyone with foreign plates driving into Mexico had to post a bond for the worth of the vehicle. After a major uproar, that was trashed and replaced with an $11 entrance fee. Of course, Mexico still requires a credit card bond. If you don't return your vehicle permit documents to the check station within six months, the Mexican authorities will charge the value of your vehicle to your credit card. I'm sure that results in a multitude of contested Visa bills. Happily, this past year, Sonora Governor Manlio Fabio Beltrones implemented the "Only Sonora" program. It allows tourists to visit the state of Sonora for free and requires only proof of citizenship, driver's license and proof of vehicle ownership. If you're going outside of the state, the vehicle bond and fee still apply. Of course, it helps to know this before you go. At the 21-kilometer checkpoint tourists have several hurdles to jump through, none of which are too complicated if you know what to expect. The first step as you approach the checkpoint is to park your car in the parking lot on the north side. From there proceed to the immigration building. Inside, you'll fill out a tourist card. Be sure to have either a passport, military I.D. or voter identification card with an accompanying picture I.D. Have at least one, if not two photo copies of all these documents and any others you bring with you. Sometimes, different officials want you to surrender copies of various documents. After immigration, proceed to the customs building. There are several windows here, and it's important to get in the right line. Look for the "Only Sonora" sign, or inquire as to where to go for the "Only Sonora" vehicle permit. If you get the regular vehicle permit you'll be out $11, like me. After shuffling up to the "Only Sonora" customs officer, show your driver's license and proof of vehicle ownership. After filling out some documents, you'll be told to wait. After enough time or tourists have accumulated, an official will emerge and lead the group back to their respective cars. One by one, he will place the "Only Sonora" sticker on your windshield, and you're free to travel in Sonora. On your return it's imperative you stop at the 21km checkpoint and turn in the paperwork and sticker. Ostensibly, all this bureaucracy is to prevent you from selling your car in Mexico. Apparently the Mexican auto industry has not entirely embraced the concept of free trade and fears an influx of less expensive American cars. Personally, I think it has more to do with Mexican official's love of paperwork. Traveling to Rocky Point or Baja is considered part of the frontier zone and none of these permits, stickers or documents are required. But with a little advance preparation, crossing the checkpoint and traveling in the rest of Sonora is now almost as easy. After going through the checkpoint once, it will seem like a breeze. Oh yeah, and you can exchange a few dollars there too, if you want to avoid currency foibles at certain Pemex stations down the road.

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