On our way through Tecoman a motorcycle ran into the side of Bill's toad. The biker suffered a broken arm and Bill's right door was punched in but still usable. We are presently camped outside the police impound while waiting for the slow mexican arm of the law to work. There is much confusion between insurance and mexican regulations and the man hurt in the accident. Nobody seems to know what to do so things are moving slowly. The accident occured Monday at 11:10 am and we are still here Tuesday for another noisy night beside a busy highway. We are told that all the paperwork should be done tomorrow morning and Bill's car released then. We will carry on with our trip after this occurs.
This is Jaimi, our interpreter. He was with us from the time of the accident until we were finished. Without Jaimi things would have taken much longer to settle. He was a tremendous help.
This is Federal Police Officer Julio. Officer Julio was at the scene of the accident shortly after it occured. Julio tried his best to help us when ever he could and still do his job as he was suppose to. Julio, prior to his 3 days off, came by to tell us to phone him on his days off if we had any problems.
This is Julio's Commandante. He could speak good english. These two gentlemen helped bend the rules allowing us more freedom than is normally given. We could camp outside the compound. It had water, garbage, internet, some telephone and a restaurant nearby. The impounded vehicles stayed with us.
And of course, there was Marilyn. She was not going to leave her house for anything. Marilyn has taken enough notes to write a book. She helped to keep everyone on track and still remained cheerful through out the ordeal. Marilyn writes about the first two days below....
Monday/Tuesday - December 1st and 2nd.
Well ...here we all sit in Teacoman at the Federal Police Compound for vehicles after Bill and I were hit at an intersection by a motorcyclist at 11:10 am on Monday. Our camper/truck and car have been impounded, but after my insistence that I would not leave my "Casa" the Federal Policia have allowed us to stay outside the compound with our vehicles. So-o-...all of us are now camped with our cement "Patio" under the palm trees, chairs circled for Happy-(or not so Happy) Hour, with all the amenities of home. We have access to our vehicle, the compound lights conveniently come on at dusk for our evening patio get-togethers, we have access to wi-fi for internet, garbage pickup is provided at the curb and the compound staff has kindly offered us the use of the shower in the little apartment above their office! The children from the restaurant next door visit us with their little puppies and play around us, enjoying the treats we give them as well as all the fun games Betty is teaching them with dice. We recite numbers in English to them and the four year old corrects me on my names for colors! They are truly enchanting, as are most of the people we have met here in Mexico. Now if only the people who control the bureaucracy in this country could get their acts together and be more organized we'd have been out of here long ago! The "Two hours and you will be done... no problema" on Monday morning stretched to three more hours, two more hours, late evening and finally 1:30 am, then another day, two more hours, another day.....you know the saying in Mexico, Manana, Manana.
Monday morning after the accident happened and the ambulance had come and gone, and while the police reports and adjustor forms were being filled out, the Federal Police Commandante (who was the only official who spoke English) said he was going to see the cyclist in the hospital to see what his injuries were and how he was. I said I would like to go and see how he was also... no problema. I asked if Lynette could come along with me and also no problema. The biggest problem at this point was arguing with the insurance adjustor at the scene who said they were NOT going to cover the accident because our vehicle was being towed and didn't have a driver behind the wheel at the time of the accident!....What????? At the same time we were attempting to call the 800 number for our insurance and legal hotline. However....800 numbers don't work out of Mexico, especially on a cell phone, so we called direct to Vagabundos through whom 3 of our group had purchased the Diamond Package for all of our vehicles insurance. They gave us a number to contact the broker for our insurance company and we were finally able to talk to Marty Adair whose father is E.B Adair the president of the brokerage company, ADA VIS Global Enterprises Inc. They told us from the very beginning that we were fully covered but the adjustor for the Mexican insurance company was adamant, no coverage! Back and forth it went. Then the adjustor said they'd cover the motorcyclist, but not any damage to my car! Then again no. Then again, only the motorcyclist. What kind of insurance was this!!!??
The other big problem here for us is of course Language Barrier. Our Spanish is limited and certainly not good enough to handle this type of incident so we were very fortunate to have a Mexican man at the scene of the accident who spoke up and said he knew English. He told us, "Don't worry, I speak English and I saw everything, I will help you". His name is Jaimi (pronounced Hamee eh) and he has been a godsend for us.
Lynette and I finally went off in the patrol car, first of all to the Policia Officina where we were offered a water or pop while we waited. Then back out to the patrol car where I asked if I could take a picture of Lynette and the police car. The commandante said yes, sure and even offered her his hat to wear and then wanted a picture of himself as well! He was very polite and accommodating and we had a pleasant conversation while we drove to the hospital. I went in with him to the emergency ward while he interviewed the motorcycle driver who was being prepared for a cast on his arm. On returning to the accident location the Commandante told Bill he would have to be detained at the police station and our truck/camper and car would be seized and impounded! Our travelling companions said they weren't going to leave us and the Commandante agreed that we could all go and stay at the compound. We were given a police escort by an officer in a patrol car with lights flashing. (Muy Importante personnes!!) A caravan of four heading to the compound while the police car blocked traffic! Bill and I had to park our vehicles right out front. I was then told we would have to leave our truck/camper and car locked up behind the iron doors on the inside of the compound and the police officer had to do a complete inventory of the contents of the truck, car and camper. I said what am I supposed to do, can I stay with the vehicles in the compound? No, I would have to leave and should maybe find a hotel and my friends find somewhere to park. I told him, no, I sleep in my camper. I was adamant that there was no way I was leaving my "Casa" and that I would just "stay and read my book" while he inventoried. I then followed him around the truck while he checked inside and then he stopped. He must have phoned his Commandante because he then came back and told us to park the vehicles on the large cement pad outside of the iron doors at the front of the compound and that all of us could stay there overnight and it was safe. (There was no more mention of inventory or locking our truck,camper,car in the compound). The insurance adjuster arrived at the compound and Bill was then taken away to the Police Station and aside from a phone call from him at the Municipo Publica (court) we didn't see him until 1:30 am. I must mention, that throughout this ordeal, Jaimi our English Speaking Mexican friend from the accident scene, stayed with us the entire time, interpreting into English for us and translating our English to Spanish for everyone we talked to. He even went with Bill to the Police Station and the Municipal Publica (court) until all hours of the night. We learned that the Municipal Publica runs 24 hours a day. When Bill got back at 1:30 am saying everything was done and we just had to wait for the Mexican Lawyer and the Insurance Adjustor to post the bond in the morning at the Municipo Publica we figured we'd be on our way by tomorrow noon. They said this bond they would do first thing in the morning and then the court would release our vehicles and we would be done. Having Bill released was a relief as we had all be worried about him not having had any lunch or dinner or anything to drink. Unknown to us at the time was that the Police had provided both he and Jaimi with a fried chicken dinner and pop from their pop machine while the piles of paperwork were being filled out. When Bill had offered to pay for his dinner they were very firm about not accepting any money. Our day ended at 2 am when we all fell into bed exhausted! Many issues around insurance were still unresolved and though we didn't know it, even more problems were to present themselves over the next two days!
Tuesday morning the Mexican Lawyer and the Insurance Adjustor were supposed to come to the compound with the release papers after posting the bond and Jamie would come at 11:30 to translate for us. Then we could be gone by 2 hours! Surprise, surprise, the Lawyer and Adjustor don't show up! Betty composes an e-mail to Vagabundos on all our behalf's stating our concerns regarding our coverage. Bill and I SKYPE E.B. Adair the owner of the brokerage firm and he again states we are 100% covered for our vehicles whether they are being driven, are parked or being towed and not to worry, as long as our car was operable, to continue on with our vacation and we could get the car fixed when we got back to the USA We asked that he sends us something in writing so we have it with our policy papers, which he does. (Vagabundos had forwarded Betty's e-mail to E.B. Adair's son Marty and he forwarded it to his father!) E.B. says if we're not out of here by noon to contact their company lawyer Heraldo and gives us his office and cell number. Jaimi arrives at noon and after lunch he and Bill, driven by John, go to the Police Station to find out what is going on. More problems...the patient has been moved to the larger hospital in Colima (approx 40 km away) to have his arm set and hasn't signed the Insurance release papers yet. The adjustor is still there (he lives in Colima). Then the police officern from yesterday comes looking for Bill (who is still at the Police Station!) and tells us that when Bill and Jaimi get back he wants Jaimi to call him on his police nextel from the impound office here as they have the same nextel radio system. (Not all cell phones work well here and not everyone uses land lines. We notice the two-way nextel system is used with more success. However, not everyone has them so there is difficulty reaching people who don't have the same communication devices! ) Bill and Jaimi return and call; now the police need a copy of the report Bill got last night at the court (which they had been very reluctant to give to him but he had insisted we needed for our records!) We try to fax a copy from the compound office but the machine doesn't seem to work so back to the Police station they go! The Police need to see it so they can talk to someone at court to figure out the fine. Finally the police receive a fax from the courts and give Bill a ticket for failing to yield right of way. The fine is 841.44 pesos. (We later find out the charge is changed to "failing to stop" and Bill has to sign a paper stating that he has no animosity towards the motorcyclist and the motorcyclist has to sign that he has no animosity toward Bill). The Motorcyclist has been charged with speeding.
At 5 pm the adjustor comes with the original accident report and says we have to fill out the form again, this time with no crossing outs and no writing above or below and more neat and clear. We reluctantly do the form again. The adjustor leaves with Jamie and they go to the Municipo Publico to see if they can get the release papers for our vehicles . They return at 7 pm, no papers, another problem. The patient still hasn't signed and if he doesn't sign before going into surgery for the arm he won't be recovered from anaesthesia for 2-3 hours or more. The adjustor can't phone the Mexican lawyer because he is supposedly in with the judge and won't answer his phone. Finally at 5:30 we again phone E.B. Adair's lawyer Horaldo and let him know of the fiasco going on down here. He says to call back in ½ hr and he will make some calls. The adjustor then gets a call from the Mexican lawyer saying he's going to have the surgery delayed until the patient signs. In the meantime, a fellow in a SUV drives up behind the adjustor's car and listens to our conversations to the adjustor about how angry and upset we all are with the delays as are E.B. Adair and his lawyer. This fellow, who Jaimi thinks is the adjustor's boss, talks on his phone but doesn't approach us. When we are making more phone calls, the fellow goes over to the adjustor and talks and laughs and then leaves. The adjustor then takes Jaimi and Bill's copy of the court papers and they go back to the courts to get release papers for the vehicles which they should have gotten last night but didn't! They come back at 7:30 without the release and now say they need the registration papers for the motorcycle for the court before they'll give us a release. Problema...the family of the cyclist are all in Colima at the hospital but the bike registration papers are here at their house in Tecoman and the house keys are here at the lockup with the motorbike. They need to drive to Colima, pick up the mother, bring her to get the house key, take her to the house to get the papers and then drive her back to Colima....then take the papers here to the courts...what a gong show! By this time it will be very late and of course we won't be going anywhere tonight! Also, the adjustor now tells us the cyclist has gone in for surgery without signing a release but they assure us they have a verbal agreement and they will have papers drawn up for him to sign when he wakes up! Jaimi and the adjustor leave, supposedly to go to Colima to get the mother and retrieve the motorcycle documents. Our travelling companions gather around us for a supportive talk before we all call it a night.
So far we have been to the Federal Police Office in Teacoman, the Ministerio Publico to see the judge, back and forth numerous times to fill out forms and papers, talked to the adjusters, police, Mexican lawyers, US lawyers, and the Federal Police Commandante. Through it all we have been very fortunate to have Jaimi (Himee) translating for us. Jaimi saw the accident and told everyone exactly what happened. He said he saw us stop before crossing and that we were almost totally through the intersection when the motorcyclist came at a very high speed around a bend in the road and didn't even slow down before smashing into our towed car's passenger side doors. This he related to the adjustor and the police at the scene. Although our travelling companions behind us saw everything and offered to be witnesses, the police said "no,no", and weren't interested in hearing them or taking a statement. There were no skid marks on the road at all which showed no attempt by the cyclist to stop. Thankfully the driver was wearing a helmet and only suffered a broken arm. That however, has complicated things and so we go back and forth until all the departments are satisfied and the accident resolved. I took many pictures at the scene of the accident but they still have charged Bill with failing to yield the right of way, even though we stopped at the Stop sign and waited for traffic to clear before crossing. The motorbike was not visible at that time so he must have been really travelling when he came around that bend! He has been charged with speeding but of course the insurance will be expected to pay him even though he has no insurance and was the one who caused the accident. Take note....in Mexico you are considered guilty until proven innocent and nothing moves quickly!
Although the US brokerage company is working to get this resolved, the Lawyer and the Adjustor for the Mexican end of the Insurance Company only seem interested in the settlement for the Mexican motorcyclist, not in getting our vehicles released so we can be on our way!
I guess this is just one more thing we will all chalk up to experience. Although we've all heard stories of unbelievable incidents taking place here previously, now that it has happened to us, it has somewhat colored our perception of Mexico. However, that is not going to stop us from continuing on with our "Adventures" ....and if and when we are "released" from our camping spot on the patio of the Federal Policia Compound we will be on our way!!
Wednesday morning is our attempt to pay Bill's fine at the bank while he stays here, calling lawyers and waiting for someone to show up! Larry has thankfully taken over this lengthy rendition for the rest of that day and any following...!
Bill and I are truly indebted to our wonderful travelling partners who have stood by us throughout this stressful experience, driving us everywhere, loaning us phones to use and being there for us at every turn in events. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for helping us keep our sanity and know we can never repay them enough, (although possibly Cerveza and Tequila could play a part in that!!! )
Sorry to make this such a tirade, but since you get to hear the great parts of our travels, you also get to hear the not so great ones too and we want to be as informative for you as we can in case you find yourselves (Heaven forbid) in a similar situation.
Marilyn
Continuation of Larry's account: This morning Wed. Dec3rd we drove to the local store (bodega) to do some shopping. Marilytn had the papers to pay the fine. The first bank we went to said we had to go to another bank. We went to the other bank and they said we had to pay in Colima, another city 40km from here. We came back to the compound with the groceries. Phoned the police and they said we could pay here. So....Bill is going back to the bank to try again.
The Bureaucracy here is incredible. We are in contact with lawyers in the states, the owner of the insurance company, the police, the adjuster and our interpreter. We get sent here, then there, then back to here or whatever. It is now 1:05 and I am not sure if we are further ahead from this time yesterday. We are getting to know the city of Tecoma pretty good from all the running around we get.
Our insurance company says we are fully covered and there is no problem. There may be no problem....but we are still here and cannot leave. So....tell me....is there really no problem.......
It is now 6 pm Dec 3rd....At 2 pm Bill, Larry and our interpeter left for the court house because we heard the lawyer and adjuster were there waiting for something. We found them and the mother of the accident victim. The mother said she was very afraid that she would have to pay her son's expenses for the hospital and was getting nothing from the insurance company for the motorcycle or her sons loss of wages. We talked to the adjuster and lawyer with her and the adjuster said she would not have to pay anything to the hospital, the insurance would pay 1200 pesos to have the motorcycle repaired but because they could not prove her son had a job and made money, they could not pay any compensation for lost wages. She than said rather then fixing the motorcycle she would rather have the cash. The adjuster said they could not pay her money, they had to pay the victim. We than asked the adjuster, "what are we waiting for at the court house?", (they have been here all day long)...they said we are waiting for the judge's boss to come from Colima (40km away) to sign the release papers for the insurance settlement. The judge's boss would not be arriving until after 6 p.m. si we decided to save some time and take the papers along with the papers showing the fine was paid to the local federal police and get the release papers to release Bills car. We said we were told we had to take them into Colima to get the papers....they said no, they can do that here.... So, we drove the mother back to her home to look after some kids with the promise (and 30 pesos for cab fare) to return to the court house at 6 pm when the judge was suppose to arrive. We then went to the federal police station to confirm this.....The policeman (a very nice and helpful man) said no....we must go to Colima to get the release....he than showed us the letter of orders stating exactly that.....Now we are back at the police compound campsite to pass the others the news that we are here for yet a 3rd night, get a bite to eat and then head down to the courthouse around 6:30 and wait again...
Billy and John arrived back from the municipal offices around 9:30 p.m. They were very tired but in their hand they clutched the release papers from the judge. Billy relates the long wait they had then finally seeing the judge. There were many arguments back and forth with the lawyer and adjuster and the judge and our interpeter Jaimi. Finally the judge (after pacing back and forth and in a foul mood) said "NO, YOU WILL HAVE TO COME BACK TOMORROW AND SEE ME AGAIN!"......It was when handing Billy's papers back him the judge noticed Billy's T-shirt......the shirt said "Cabela's fishing gear and outfitters" and he asked Billy if he fished and if he liked to fily fish..... Well of course Billy liked to fly fish and the two of them talked fishing for a bit...... Then the judge said "come on...lets go into my office and get this problem settled". So they went into the office and 10 minutes later they had their papers signed and stamped. They could now go....
It is now 7:20 a.m. Thursday camped outside the police impound. This morning we need to take all the papers including the release from the judge, the receipt for paying the fine and drive to the city of Colima to the state Federal Police office where Billy will get the impound release papers. He can then take these papers to the impound here in Tecoman and pay the compound storage fees and his car and truck will be released....We will then be free to go...We will leave here in about an hour....
It took us about an hour to drive to Colima on a nice highway with very nice scenery. We arrived at the Federal Police station and went to the office of infractions. We were the only ones there (I was surprised) and the clerk took our papers, reviewed them and sat behind his desk for 10 minutes. He then came back with the papers filled out and said the commandant needs to sign the release but he is away today and will not be back until tomorrow. He says normally the vehicle cannot be released unless the papers are signed but he will phone the impound and tell the man that it is okay to release the car. What....that's it. We were done within a 1/2 hour and on our way back to Tecoman. When we arrived back at the compound Billy went in and gave the papers to the man there, paid the compound fees of $300 pesos ($30.00 cdn) and we could leave...Yeeeeaaaaaa. We packed up our stuff, topped up our water tanks and were off to Playa Pasquali which was only 20 or so Km. away......We were free!!!! We celebrated our freedom with a wonderful spaghetti and meat balls meal prepared mainly by Sherry and John.
The accident occured at the corner of Calle Insurgentes and Libriementos at the "Tree of Life" statue. We have renamed the intersection..."Billy's Corner"!!!
12/04/08-12/05/08....Playa Pesquali, near Tecoman
Satellite view
Playa Pasquali is a nice beach 20 km or so from Tecoman via good road. There is bus service to town. We are camped on the NW end near the outflow of a river fed lagoon great for a bath. It is a free beach with lots of restaurants.
Some of the scenery from Tecoman to Barre de Neixpa showing the jungle and ocean.
12/05/08-12/06/08....Barra de Nexpa...aprox 40 km North of Playa Azul...
Satellite view
Barre de Nexpa is reached by turning off Mex200 at km 55 up a small hill, turn right at dirt road, down hill then turn left and follow the road to the end. There are several camping spots on the left, washrooms and showers, no hookups, water and a restaurant. The rent is 30 peso/person. There is Nexpa River nearby for swimming and bathing. A good surf beach.
