From the first moment Winston (my fur baby) & I arrived in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico — at the very southern tip of Baja California — I knew I was in a whole new world. Looking out the window of the plane, all the airport employees that were taking care of the outside plane duties had cinnamon skin and jet black hair… different from the scene I normally see outside a plane: fair-skinned, light haired employees! Was so cool for me to see such differences upon arrival; I was so excited to have landed and was ready for the adventure to begin!

The view of Cabo San Lucas from high above, heading into my Mexican adventure.

Immediately upon stepping onto the exit stairs of the plane, I experienced the warmth of the bright sunshine as it hit my skin and encompassed my body in its glorious warmth! It was wonderful and so welcoming after leaving the Arctic cold of Colorado early that same morning! From there, I could smell the salt of ocean, and noticed the xeriscape landscaping that surrounded the outside of the airport. Fuchsia colored bougainvillea plants sparsely decorated the outside of the building providing a magnificent splash of color that made me smile as I marveled in its simplistic beauty. When I looked around, I saw brown mountains, spotted in green cactus that I knew were the gateway to the ocean that I had been so longing to see, and I couldn’t wait to put my “toes in the water and ass in the sand,” as the song goes!

We then boarded a bus that took us to the arrival terminal to start the tedious process of entering into a foreign country. With passport and travel documents in hand, I was ready to breeze through the long line of tourists and be on my way to make some music! Thinking this was going to be a cakewalk…  little did I know what the consequences or the process of bringing my sound equipment into Mexico would be. All the internet research and airline phone calls could not have prepared me for my next experience… which was going through Mexican customs at the airport. Quickly one realizes, “Ummm… this is not going to be as easy breezy as I expected!” Now, keep in mind, I was totally a red-flag target from the get go as I had a total of 12 pieces of luggage (4 of which were big black musician boxes, 3 large overweight suitcases (“Hey now.. Don’t judge.. Remember I am there for a 3month time period and needed show clothing + regular clothes, toiletries, supplements.. You know.. Stuff you need!”), plus my little canine traveling companion, Winston, his stroller & suitcase just for his food, bedding and toys etc, plus 2 carry-ones! Yes.. I admit, it was a lot of stuff!

The first issue I had was getting someone to help me cart all this stuff through the line… it was such a joke. There was no assistance. I finally had to beg the employees to help me… and finally two nice airport guys did. They told me, “Hey, fill out this form.” So I did,and was not sure exactly how to answer the questions, I just did what I thought made sense.

That was another “BIG” mistake!

The first stop I had to make was with Winston to have him inspected. All went well except for the attendant said that his heart worm preventative medicine was illegal to bring in the country and not to do it again. I was grateful that he did not take it away from me. It was more of a scolding. “Ahhhh,” I thought. “One down, one to go!” The next stop was the final inspection and when they saw me coming with all that luggage.. I was targeted for a complete search and I am sure their eyes saw dollar signs!!

They opened my big black boxes first. These were filled with musical equipment that I would need for my shows.. Microphones, stands, mixing board, cables and more cables.. Percussion stuff is what they found inside. The man inspecting kept asking me.. .What did you pay for this, and this, and that… OMG… I told him… “Well… This was given to me… This I bought used.” At that point in the inspection, the guy contacted someone on his radio and asked me to follow him to an office.

NOW I was concerned.

Into a small room with the shades closed, they took me and asked me to unpack my stuff.  I could not believe this was happening! Again they were drilling me on what I paid for the equipment. The inspector told me that on my customs paper work I did not claim that I was bringing my equipment into the county and this was considered merchandise. I told him, “Oh no no no… This is my personal equipment. I’m here to do some singing and this is my own equipment that I use on a daily basis!” Again he drilled me about how much it was all worth. I said, “I’m not sure; some I have had for a long time, some of this was gifts I received…” I was starting to get upset. “Have I done something wrong here? This is my personal stuff.” At that point he told me to wait there. I was really starting to sweat… then, the people who were waiting for me outside called, and asked if I was OK. I explained that I was being detained!

The Inspector returned with paperwork in hand and sat down at his desk and started running his calculator. He made some notes and then explained, “You must pay a tax to bring this into Mexico.” I said, “What?? On my own equipment?” Then at that point, he leaned over the desk and said in a low voice. “Put $100 cash on the table here and we will get you on your way”. I told him, “You are asking me to bribe you! I could go to jail if I did this.” He responded, “Hurry, before my supervisor comes back. I promise, this will be all over!”

At that point, he said I owed 6,900 pesos — which came to about US $385. I gave in and handed over my credit card. After almost two and a half hours of interrogation, I’d had enough and wanted out of the little room!

Finally, I was escorted with all my bags and Winston out to the curb where my ride was patiently waiting for me! Yes… this was a very eye-opening experience, and a little unnerving — one I will not soon forget! The light at the end of the tunnel for me was that I knew that within two days of my arrival, I would be rehearsing with local musicians getting ready for my first show at Cabo Blue!

In the end… all the trouble I went through that first day was worth it as I was well received by the Mexican community and made quite a few new friends and some adoring fans.

So here’s a video of one of my new-found fans, shot during a performance at Cabo Blue where I had a weekly Friday Night show.