Buying the car

So, last Monday, the 16th I left to buy a car in the states to bring back down, so we could pack it up and drive home. The hope was to return with a groovy, resellable station wagon by Friday. Turns out that wasn’t very realistic. My wonderful, helpful, generous and kind man friend, Tom came to help check out the car and to drive part of the way back through Mexico with me.

He met me in Ciudad Juarez with this crazy red, gutless rental car that we used for the week. (This picture is actually taken somewhere between Albuquerque and El Paso.)

We drove straight up to New Mexico where I had learned, on the internets, that there was a bigger variety of cars for sale - it seems that in Texas most people are selling pickup trucks.

From the get-go nothing happened particularly smoothly. Even buying a pay as you go cell phone, which was my first task - took a number of tries. BUT we found a great car for a good price quickly, in very pretty countryside 45 minute out of Santa Fe.

After some delays with getting the money to the seller Wednesday afternoon I was ready to title it and drive home to Mexico the next morning.

It turns out though, that unless you live in the state where you are getting the title, you can’t get a title, so I got a 10 day temporary New Mexico registration, (the longest that they give.)

We shot back down to El Paso (a 5 hour drive.) We didn’t want to buy the mandatory Mexican insurance which they sell at the border and find out at customs 30 km. away that we didn’t have the right papers or had done something wrong, so we decided to go to the consulate to make sure we had everything we needed Thursday morning. After standing in a long line - we were given a phone number to call. I called and told the woman my situation and she told me that there was no way to get permit for the car to be in Mexico, because they only give 6 month permits and my car wasn’t registered for that long. In a panic, we went to a Texas DMV to see if I could title the car there - but no, they only give 30 day temporary registrations. I called Oregon DMV to see if I could title it long distance - he said, (very slowly,) that he supposed so and after telling me everything I had to do said it would take 4 to 6 weeks.

I was devastated, defeated and downtrodden and it was around 100+ degrees out. We decided to get a hotel for one more night and figure out what the hell we were going to do. I was thinking of all the possible alternatives for how to get all of our crap home and deal with this new car and still be able to see some of the world between Guanajuato and Portland and not lose a lot of money. There weren’t many. Then I realized that all of this disaster and devastation, (of my little life,) was because of what one person said in one telephone call. So I called back and asked again. This time the person said she was sure it was possible and gave me another number to call and that person said, “No problem.” With renewed hope, we rushed straight to the Texas DMV, got a 30 day registration, there was an insurance place next door, so we got the Mexican insurance and bright and early the next morning got across the border with a permit for 87 days.

Oh my god!! That was a happy day. And I was driving in Mexico!! It isn’t as scary as it looks.

We spent that night in a very pretty little town called Jimenez, a few hours south of Chihuahua.

It was so wonderful to be back in Mexico after 4 days of strip malls and Holiday Inns.

On the advise of a woman at the bank machine we had a delicious breakfast of Nescafe, pork burritos and carrot/beet juice in this bus. It really was delicious! And so clever. And very nice people.

We drove another 8 hours south to the beautiful Zacatecas.

Tom and I parted ways on Sunday morning and I was on my own for the next 5 hours or so on the open road.

When I got home I parked near the Pipila where the car will stay until we drive it away loaded with nine months worth of stuff, a dog and three Oregonians. Butch was HUGE after my 6 days away, the boys were excited about the car and the rootbeer I brought and that we are that much closer to leaving.

The Rainy Season has Begun

FINALLY !! It has been cool and gray for the past three days. And it has RAINED!!

We are so happy. It is funny, it does subdue the mood though - it is a kind of a melancholy happiness I feel.

We are having a big birthday party on Sunday for 7 people. So Mikko and I are baking a cake for 50 people, or so. I am having Mikko help me with all the calculations as his math practice.

Today we made a list of about a kajillion kilos of cake ingredients (using lots of math), went to the Commercial ( a US style supermarket,) and bought it all, plus a couple bottles of wine and a ream of paper, planning to take the bus or a cab home whichever came first. As we were checking out, the lights went out and then on, and as we got to the door there was a huge crowd waiting inside because it was POURING outside. We waited a bit but just wanted to get home. We stepped out and I was immediately blinded by all the water POURING down into my eyes and over my glasses. I had this ridiculous notion that we could just step out and get a cab. Unfortunately everyone in Guanajuato had also had that notion a few minutes before I did. We waited for a bus for about a half hour and finally gave up on one coming. An hour and half after leaving the store Mikko and I dragged our sorry soaked through asses over our threshold with our very wet kajillion kilos of flour, eggs, butter, sugar… We had ended up walking back and luckily the funicular was running, though it appeared not to be when we first got there, I was ready to leave our groceries behind and truck up the waterfall that was our callejon.

We have now had hot showers and are each on our computers as Matthew cooks a steak dinner and Ella serenades us. Pretty nice

pacemaker…

Twice, there were metal detectors in the bus stations that we had to walk through.  Both times I remembered (always at the last minute - same thing flying down from Tijuana,) that I can’t go through those with my pacemaker.  Luckily it was hot and I was wearing tops that made showing my scar easy.  At the first one the fellow let me walk through the second metal detector that was turned off.  The second one, the woman just laughed like I was crazy and said it wasn’t on and had me walk through.  Both times I got my little card out but they never looked at it.  The scar was evidence enough, I guess.

Continuing on to Veracruz

We left Tuxpan, and traveled south past orange groves and corn fields, through little towns and over hills that turned to mountains.

It was overcast all the way down and the air conditioning was going strong in the bus so it felt like a cool gray day - so welcome. When we arrived in Veracruz and got off the bus we were blasted by the wet, heat - I was surprised my glasses didn’t fog up.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed with Veracruz. I had seen a movie that I thought took place in Veracruz and I was all ready to be in this charming town whose zocolo was on the water. Turns out it is a great big city on a harbor. There is charm as there is in all of Mexico - but it wasn’t what I had expected. We had a good time though. We stayed in a hotel right on the Zocolo with a room that looked out over the harbor.

I was attracted to the mix of building types and their ages - modern buildings abutting colonial buildings, abandoned wrecks nestled beside fancy fresh facades. I don’t think I captured the mix very well, now that I see these, but here are some groovy buildings.

Below you can see the art deco PEMEX building in the distance. The big building in front of it is all torn apart. There were people using jackhammers up in the middle stories. We wondered if they were whittling it down and if so what it would look like when they were done.

We took the bus to the beach our second day. It was miserably hot so my first dip into the Atalantic Ocean was very very welcome.

The sleepy fellows below had had a few beers before we showed up and slept all day. Their families didn’t seem to miss them to much though.

That night we had a fancy dinner - here is my big bubbly pot of meat and cheese. mmmmmm

the zocolo.

from the hotel

Solemne Fiesta al Patriarca SAN JOSE

On Sunday Quince and I went out to Rodeo de San Jose, the little town near Maria’s family’s ranch because it was their patron saint’s day and there was a big celebration that would culminate in eating the most delicious mole in Mexico, which Maria’s mother, Lidia, makes.

We took the city bus way out into the country outside of Guanajuato and got off at a little dirt road. We followed the road which soon became paved and found ourselves in a little tiny town, festooned with papel picado and all the vendors who are generally out for any celebration

There were lots of cowboys of all ages.

The main event while we were there was this jousting/golden ring type event where two guys race at a time and try to get a golden ring onto a stick off of a rope that they ride under.

When someone gets the ring they take it over to the queen and all the princesses who are standing on the back of a truck and give them the ring and give the queen a kiss. They were all a’twitter when this rotund fellow got the ring.

And a little more positive twittering when this handsome young lad got it.

Everyone else watches. Quince and I were wandering around poking our heads in the crowds trying to find good view spots that weren’t too crazy sunny and hot. A few times we found good spots just to decide to move away because of the super drunk fellows that would come and try to talk to us in no comprehensible language. I think we were the only gringas around.

We eventually found Lidia and joined her and a large group who walked across the road to the ranch to sit in the shade and eat the most delicious mole.

4 days in TJ

This is a bit of an epic post, but Tijuana is a bit of an epic place. It is all so big and heavy. I have just barely scratched the surface. Our friend that we stayed with has a blog about living there.

We traveled up Baja through miles and mile of this type of landscape .

This is the first of 6 military checkpoints that we had to stop at. They just chose a few random suitcases to go through, then showed the crowd pictures of things: drugs weapons etc. that they have gotten at that particular checkpoint. I got reprimanded for taking this picture, but he didn’t make me erase it.

At about 2 in the morning they made a bunch of people, including Matthew get off and frisked them. Mikko and I were sleeping like babies, so missed the whole thing.

When we woke up the ocean was right outside and the hillsides were covered with wild flowers.

Jesus was there to welcome us at some point. He’s such a nice guy.

I was very attracted to the dashboard of our bus.

It was much colder, so far north, than we were used to. (Mikko was still a little sick too.)

We were greeted, at our friends’ house by their nine month old Chihuahua, Xoloitzcuintle, Xolito for short. He was a sweet companion, when he wasn’t humping your arm.

Our friends live less then a block from the beach, about 5 or 6 blocks from the border.

This fence runs all the way along the border, so basically is the northern border of Tijuana.

This was a park that represented the friendship between Mexico and the US. They started building the fence just before NAFTA, long before 9/11. The powers that be knew how NAFTA would trash the Mexican economy and that people would be coming north to look for work - so we had to be sure to lock them out.

Families used to picnic on either side of the fence. There were always vendors on the Mexican side selling delicious things, so people would pass food through this hole to the US side where they were miles from a McDonalds. La Migra closed the hole though. There is no one on the US side anymore, except immigration police watching the fence.

The wall has become a site for a lot of art. This shows how once the wall was built and the doors were locked it forced people to risk their lives crossing the desert.

On a lighter note- we went to a soccer game on Sunday. The Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente. (Xoloitzcuintle, is that crazy looking Aztec, hairless dog, BTW.) This is a shot of their fans. They were as loud and rowdy as the Timbers Army in Portland.

And one crazy Mexican hotdog. The Xoloitzcuintle colors are red and black which is why the hotdog comes in a red tortilla, of course.

Unfortunately, they lost. Which was a big deal - I blame myself. Generally when I go to a Timbers game their winning streaks come to a halt too. Sorry.

Another picture I wasn’t supposed to take - so I’m posting it even though it doesn’t really show anything. According to Lynn, the new soccer stadium and everything around is owned by the ex mayor of Tijuana. Including his own private zoo, pictured here. (We could hear lions getting intimate, I believe.)

On Monday we planned to go to some museums to see some artwork of a friend and just generally do some touristy things. Little did we know it was the official holiday celebrating the nationalization of oil, so everything was closed. We saw some pretty park benches though.

The next day we ventured across the border to do a little shopping. I guess I wasn’t supposed to get this picture either.

Ah the beautiful US of A.

And a good ol’ American hotdog.

We found good sushi in Tijuana the next day.

And dropped by a workers’ rights office.

So nice to be around some radical politics, after the ultra conservative GTO.

Though why peace, workers rights and the environment are radical is a mystery to me. (Actually, unfortunately it isn’t a mystery, just a travesty.)

Then on Wednesday we got a ride to the airport, past our last glimpse of the wall, and the art on it. Each cross represents someone who has died making the crossing. At this point more people have died than in 9/11 or US casualties in the Iraq war, since the wall was built.

Buses, Trains and Fevers

The 16 hour bus ride to Chihuahua wasn’t that bad. Even with a flat tire in the middle of the night and despite the fact that a had a full blown fever by the time we arrived in Chihuahua. There were three decent movies, in English. We had good snacks and Mikko and I, anyway, slept pretty well.

We caught the bus to Chihuahua in Leon, the capital of shoes and leather. I so wish I was a cowboy boot wearer.

The driver needed someone in the drivers seat while he changed the tire at 3 in the morning. We all happened to be up, so Mikko took this picture.

Chihuahua is the Yakima valley of Mexico, there are acres and acres of apple trees. The nets are to protect from hail.
We arrived in Chihuahua around noon, I went strait to bed and stayed there in fitfull feverish sleep for the next 16 hours. We got up at about 4:30 the next morning to get to the train station for our next 16 hour adventure.

The train was lovely. The best part being open windows in the vestibules where you could stand and stick your head out and wave at people. Between the fever, which I was able to keep somewhat at bay with Tylonol and a bodacious headache from caffien withdrawal which I never quite got rid of, (even after realizing what was going on and drinking tea and coke,) I was really quite miserable most of the day. I did have moments of happiness though - at the windows. The landscape was stunning.

For those of you who enjoy the moving image and the sounds too, (you just can’t beat the sounds of a train, in my humble opinion):

The one drag of the train (besides my misery,) was the prices . They don’t allow you to bring food on and everything is SUPER expensive 22 pesos (over $2) for a cup of weak black tea, $5 for a deck of cards, ( thank god they had that though,) $2 for a bag of chips…

The bar is pretty classy looking though.

My advice is to either take subtle snacks - or try the second class train, which they say has more delays, but it could be worth it for the freedom of creating your own culinary experience.

The train is an actual commuter train as well with stops all a long the way. There is one main tourist stop, where you can get off the train and see the canyon.

The Tarahumara people live in the area and make amazing baskets from pine needles, and desert plants. It seems that much of their business depends on the daily train coming through, loaded with tour groups.

One more train video:

We arrived in Los Mochis, where we are right now, at 10:30 last night, thinking that we would take a morning ferry to La Paz, on Baja. We found out though that there is only one ferry a day and it is at 11 pm. Our checkout time was noon. Sadness.

Los Mochis is a very strange Mexican town. It was founded in the 20s as a sugar production site, so it doesn’t have any of the the old colonial architecture or layout. It is big boulevards lined with chain stores and palm trees.

It feels like California. We went to a ” sushi” restaurant for lunch. It seemed to just be an excuse to wrap rice and creamcheese together in different combinations. I actually had some excellent chicken soup.

We are spending the afternoon in a mall that Mikko and Matthew found this morning while I stayed in bed until the last possible minute. It is a little slice of youth heaven with a bowling ally, poolhall, arcade, snackbar AND internet. It works well for us. Matthew and Mikko have bowled and are now in the arcade. I have Kleenex in my ears, to protect from all the competing noises, Dance Dance Revolution on one side, poolhall music on the other and the crash of bowling balls and pins behind, and am doing this.

Soonish, I suppose we will get our stuff from the hotel and take a bus the 27 kilometers to the town where the ferry leaves from and hope to find a cozy spot on the beach to wait. Hopefully the Tylonol will continue to keep my fever away (and I remembered to drink some black tea this morning so I don’thave that headache, hallelualuah.)