Mail and Meds in Mexico

We learned a very big and VERY expensive lesson this year. Good thing we both believe that money isn't the most important thing in our lives.

We thought we were really smart this year when we arranged for our mail to be shipped to us from our Washington marina to the San Carlos Marina. As soon as all of our tax records and my prescription meds had been received in Washington they were shipped to San Carlos via FedEx. Last time we were here, in LaPaz, our mail was sent to us by our daughter-in-law by US Mail. It took 30 days, we figured the mule got sick and had to recuperate, then the mule got lost, but we got it.

When our FedEx'd mail reached Guadalajara, Mexico it stopped. We were told that they didn't deliver to San Carlos (why the H didn't they mention that when it was shipped!). After the delay it was returned to WA. We asked that it be shipped by UPS because we knew that UPS delivers to the San Carlos Marina (it wasn't shipped that way originally because they don't ship ground "due to the hi-jackings"). The UPS mail dot to Guadalajara and stopped again. This time when I checked the tracking it said that Customs had the parcel and needed additional clearance.

I called the UPS Mexican rep and she told me that because it contained prescription medications it needed a Health Dept. permit. I asked how to get one and she said that I had to fill out form A. Okay, email me one. When I received the form, I translated it, and it was more in line with companies importing chemicals and drugs, not individuals getting meds. I filled it out any way and emailed it back to the rep. Up to this point she had been "Johnny on the spot" every time I emailed her. Now, she wasn't so accessible. I called UPS customer service and was told to call the rep. I explained that although she spoke English I still couldn't understand her. Oh well. Back to the rep. I asked if she was going to submit the form or if not how should I do it. No response.

Meanwhile I started searching the web for any info relating to getting meds into the country. I found the Mx Dept of Health site and then attempted to call for help. Just like in the States - I call the phone decision tree that was almost unintelligible. I pushed a number for English and got a person who spoke only Spanish. I was about to lose it.

At that time I happened to be doing my laundry at Barracuda Bob's laundromat. The Mexican guys that work there speak English and have always been incredibly friendly. So I gathered up my frayed ends and asked Oscar if he could help me. I needed someone who spoke Spanish to listen on the phone and help me get the info and help I needed. He said sure, meet him at 3pm when he got done working.

It turned out that in a previous life Oscar was the customer training supervisor for a mobile phone company (which will remain nameless). He got a phone tree runaround and became disgusted. He was determined to get thru to a human and get what he came for. When the connect was lost and we had gotten nowhere, I felt bad about keeping him. No problem for him but he told me to come again the next day and he would use his phone - which might work better.

That evening I search the net again and discovered that the Mexican government has clamped down on allowing prescription meds to be mailed into the country. All attempts to file form A had just gotten mired down in the system. The next result is that prescription meds have to be hand carried into Mexico by the user. I instructed the UPS rep to return the parcel to Washington and then called Oscar and told him the news and thanked him for his help. Guess what - the rep responded to this email within minutes. She was obviously happy to be rid of this problem.

The parcel was back in WA in just a couple days and I had the UPS agent send our mail to a business address in Tucson. Five days later and less than $20 it arrived. We made the 7-hr drive and picked it up within an hour of the delivery.

The end result: Over $300 in shipping charges, we missed our April 15 deadline for taxes, I ran out of my most important drug and our mail travelled over 10,000 miles!

So, if you can't, or prefer not to buy your drugs in Mexico, you'll have to drive back to the States to get them.