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Published: August 7th 2008
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The drive to the Mexican border was like being in a Sauna on the truck for 13 hours!!! I think most of us were prepared to jack it in there and then.
Linda says Mexico is where cars come to die.....there are so many abandonned cars and scrap yards I think she may be right! Mexico is also home to the VW Beetle in all shapes, sizes and conditions. They are everywhere, often falling apart but still going.....I don't think they have MOT'S here.
After the border we camped on a beach, not the manicured beaches of Cancun or Playa del Carmen which you see in the travel brochures, but one littered with rubbish. I think the locals used the bushy area behind our camp as a toilet, but everyone was too hot to care, so we all dived in the sea until a floating turd forced us out of the water...it was just like a Jaws film. The sunset's were amazing and the bar down the beach was a welcome diversion...it won't be long before the area becomes a package holiday destination....with a little clean up of course!!!!Paradise it wasn't!!!!!
Los Mochis was the jumping off place for the Copper
Canyon railway, or Barranca del Cobra, which is supposed to be one of the most scenic rail journeys in the world. Los Mochis itself was not very interesting at all, however staying in a hotel was great after the beach episode. I must say that the train was the slowest train I have ever been on....I could have walked faster than it went....at some point I did actually think someone had to walk in front of the train waving a flag. Don't get me wrong the view was spectacular as the train wound up into the mountains, going through 86 tunnels, it was an amazing feet of engineering......but after 13 hours I did not want to see another train. The only problem is what goes up, must come down.......and we had to do the journey back in 2 days time.
Creel the place where the train stopped was a real travellers hang out. We managed to find a room for five of us for £5 per night each including breakfast and dinner!!!! The local women and children wear traditional brightly coloured clothes and the buildings are painted with a rainbow of colours.
The first night we were in a bar
and the old Mariachis came in with their guitars to play.....they were really bad and only knew about 3 songs, one of which sounded like a homage to Elvis's Viva Las Vegas, only it was Viva Chiuauhua. We all knew the words by the end of the 3rd rendition.
The next day I reluctantly agreed to go horse riding. Seeing my horse (which was about 6 feet taller than the rest of them) my initial response was to run. After all the hassel of getting on the blasted thing....(I would like to point out that I was wearing flip flops)...it was a baptism of fire as we headed almost vertically up the cliffs. Bearing in mind I have only been on a horse once before I was absolutely s****ing myself. Going down was even more of a challenge.....I just shut my eyes and prayed. The horses are supposed to automatically follow each other....although I of course had the only horse who wanted to go 'off road' (I'm sure he had 4x4 stamped on his arse). On the way home, probably eager to get me off his back, he decided to trott several times.....it bacame a battle of wills between the
horse and me....guess who won.....the horse of course........3 hours later I finally get off the horse without any feeling in my legs, resembling someone out of a really bad cowboy film.....believe it or not, I did really enjoy the experience....not sure about the horse though!!!!!
The return train journey unbelievably was worse....there were no seats available so we had to stand for 4 hours and when I did get a seat the airconditioner leaked water over me!!!!! Someone up there really doesn't like me!!!!!
Our drive to Zacatecas took 2 days and in between we camped up in the Sierra Madre mountains. The views were amazing with the cloud surrounding the mountains. That night under canvas we had the worst rain yet on the trip. It absolutely chucked it down - Thunder and lightening illuminated my tent, a wild horse went by with in inches of my head and scared the living daylights out of me. Goats bells were ringing in the hills and water running down the hill made me think that I might actually be washed down the hill myself. Suprisingly I didn't get much sleep that night!!!!!! Mexico was increasingly becoming a comedy of suituations!!!!
Zacatecas was
a picturesque colonial Mexican town. Will almost got arrested by a police officer when he told him he was a lying B*****d as they would'nt let us take the truck into the old town......turned out the policeman was right and not trying to rip us gringos off!!!! We made a quick departure to the hostel. Hostel Margarita was on a hill, and when it rain it was like a waterfall running down the outside steps.
After eating mexican food since before we arrived in Mexico, Linda and I were sick of the sight of Taco's, Burritos and enchiladas. We rebeled and went to an Italian Resturant....I could have cried....the food was soooo good and not a nacho to be seen anywhere!!!!
The drive to Mexico City was yet more eventfull....firstly we had the biggest thunderstorm I have ever been in, with forked lightening on both sides of the truck. It was very spectacular, if not a little frightening (being in a big metal box and all!) and the most lightening I have seen in my life. Secondly Will got pulled over not once, but twice by the police and asked for bribes....the first one wanted $500.....he was having a laugh!!!
After 12 hours driving I was supprised Will didn't deck one of them!!!
Mexico City marked the end of Karen and Wills reign and the beginning of a new chapter with Kirsty and Andy........
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