Number 3

Remember how we were on the list of things that happened on our way to Huatulco?  Meet numero tres:  The Mountain.

If we were to have taken the bus, it would have been a 12 hour drive to Huatulco.  However, with Raphael as our van driver taking us wherever we pleased on our every whim, we were able to take a different route that only took about 6 hours plus or minus a few.  I don’t know, it all blends together.  Anyway, this different route was through a mountain that was up and down and left and right and very unpleasant.  But let me tell you, I am changed because of it.

First of all, the driving is even more crazy in the mountains that it is in the city.  The roads are just as skinny, if not more, than in the canyons in Utah.  The difference is that they are about 20 times windier, and people drive about 7 times faster.  And if you come upon a slow car, you just pass it.  Raphael was pro at that.  Even in our big van he was always catching up to the car ahead.  So he would tailgate them for a while and then he would pass them.  Even over a double yellow line (which means nothing anyway, so whatev), around curves, and/or over hills in which you really can’t see that far ahead to see if a car is coming the other way.  There were SEVERAL instances when we would barely pass the car and get back onto our side of the road before the car coming the other direction would pass us.  Just like the rest of Mexico, it was only scary for the first six or seven times and after that you just get used to it and realize that no one will get hurt in the passing of other vehicles, no matter how crazy the driving.

As if the above factors were not enough to make the roads too dangerous, now add people walking along the side.  Oh wait, there is no “side” of these roads because they are so skinny!  But SOMEHOW there were always people walking along them as the cars sped by at insanely fast speeds.  It was truly shocking.  Old people, teenagers, moms with their little two-year-olds trailing behind them; every kind of person was walking next to our van at some point.  And animals, too. 

And then comes the sad part.  Many a time, these people were barefoot.  They were almost always dirty.  And when you would see their living places, it would just make your heart break.  They were so poor.  They are basically camping as their life.  It did not look fun.  It really was shocking.  The whole mountain was just one shock after another.  This is how it went:  we would drive for a while and it was just like a normal canyon, with wildlife and things growing (and the frequent person walking along the side and everything) and then a speed bump would come, indicating the start of a little neighborhood thing.  So you would look out the window and there were all these little shelter house things that people actually live in.  And people would be standing around with no shoes on staring at you as you drive by.  About 50 yards after the first speed bump, a second speed bump would come, indicating the end of the neighborhood thing.  And then the canyon would be normal again with no little shelters built at the side. 

Even though that part was sad, the experience as a whole was amazing.  Everything I saw was literally awesome.  The mountain was so pretty.  And it was crazy because we would be driving and the side of the mountain would be at the left of the van, with the cliff at the right, and then a few minutes later, the cliff would be on the left and the mountain would be on the right!  It was so weird.  The trees were way cool.  In fact, sometimes I would look out the window and just see a bunch of mountains full of green trees and it seriously looked like that part in “The Ultimate Gift” when he goes to Mexico, or is it Brazil?  I don’t even remember.  Anyway, it shows that view of the mountain with all the green trees and it’s just a big jungle.   That’s what this looked like.  So cool.

Then all this fog came and it was the coolest thing I have ever seen!  You could seriously see it moving in.  The temperature suddenly dropped and we couldn’t see anything but white all around us. 

The fog did clear shortly thereafter, and we saw more shocking things.  For example:  we came upon this little place meant for mothers to come have their babies.  You should have seen it.  It was this little shack thing that could NOT have been sanitary.  I would rather have my baby in a tent.  But apparently the ladies that live on that mountain go there?  I obviously don’t know for sure, but the fact that that place exists means it’s probably used, and again, it’s shocking to me.

So, for several hours I looked out the window and took it all in.  I thought a lot about a lot of things, and really, I don’t think I will ever be the same.  If I were to go home after only driving through that mountain, I would be a changed person.  So imagine how changed I will be at the end of this.

But as I said, it had been several hours, which for me is no big deal, but for others, winding roads cause unpleasant side effects and soon we had vomiting in our midst.  So we pulled over and took a break in the middle of the jungle.  There was one little bathroom thing we could pay to use if we wanted, but I thought, “Nah.  I can wait a couple more hours til we get there.” 

I should have gone.

Because guess what.  We got back on the winding road and began driving and driving.  More vomiting ensued.  But we decided to keep going.  And then we hit the line of cars at a dead stop in front of us.  There had been a crash.  It was blocking both lanes of traffic and no one could move.  So we turned off the van, turned off the lights, sat back, and waited.

Can I just tell you what a great experience that was?  I’m not even being sarcastic.  I was sitting there thinking to myself, “Here I am a jillion miles away from home and my family has no idea that I am literally stuck in the middle of the jungle in Mexico.  There is no way for us to get out of this.  We just have to wait.  Who gets stuck in the middle of a Mexican jungle?”  We do, that’s who.  And then we bonded like girls tend to do when they are stranded like that.  We told stories from our childhoods and played “Never Have I Ever.”  It was so fun.

About two hours later the cars began to move, and we were on our way again.

We arrived in Huatulco at 1 or 2 in the morning, but then we had to find somewhere for us to stay.  Fortunately there are men on scooters that ride around in the middle of the night looking for tourists so they can get business at their hotels.  No lie.

Thus, we found a place to sleep.  And sleep we did.