On the road in Mexico with "Mexico" Mike

Mexico is people. It is not just beaches and mountains and colonial cities. Lots of countries have those. What keeps me coming back is the friendliness of her people.

My glasses broke on the road. I had a spare pair so we pushed on. By the time we got to the actual Gulf Coast, both Greg and I were ready for a break. We meandered down to Tecolutla, a relatively untouristed beach resort right on the Gulf.

Before we got here, we stopped in the big village of Gutierrez Zamora. We parked on the square and began the search for an optician.
We reasoned that a pharmacist would know. At the first pharmacy we stopped at, the pharmacist thought there was an optician in town, and asked another guy, but neither were sure. Â?Go 2 blocks,Â? they said. IÂ?ve been around long enough to know that meant to go 2 blocks and ask someone else who might know what you are looking for.

We walked across the square, confided that our car and possessions were perfectly safe on the street. We asked another pharmacist and he not only knew where the optician was, but sent his handicapped son Ricardo to guide us. The boy was well-known and local people called out friendly greetings. He took his charge of guiding the two gringos very seriously and strode purposefully. Next to the yellow building (everything we looked for in the next few days was near a yellow building) was indeed an opticianÂ?s office.
The office was closed but would reopen at 3. Rather than be upset at this we thanked Ricardo and went to have a soda. An hour for a soda seems like a long time, but not when you are in Mexico.

Promptly at 3:20, the lady optician showed up, fixed my glasses and refused any money. We went back to the pharmacy to thank Ricardo and the family. He appreciated it. Then we all got to chatting away. A middle-aged woman, Rose, was sitting in the pharmacy. Exactly what her relationship, if any, we never determined, but she surely was chatty. It seemed that she had never been to McAllen but had heard nice things about it.

Somehow the subject of her ex-husband Vincent came up. He seems to have just walked away one day and she thought it was hilarious. She asked if we were going to Tecolutla, and we admitted it. She laughed again and said that the people there were very loving. She looked at Greg and predicted that he would soon have a Mexican wife. I apparently was too obviously happily married to rate such a comment.

So far, Greg has not been betrothed, but it may be just a matter of time. Stay tuned.

ThatÂ?s Mexico. A simple thing like getting your glasses fixed can lead to a relationship with a whole family and your being included in theirs. Not a bad deal at all.

We checked out half a dozen hotels before settling on the old Grand Hotel Â? the Hotel Tecolutla. It has been around even longer than I and unlike me, has been remodeled several times. It looks good. They gave us a 200 peso discount because I was the famous Â?MexicoÂ? Mike. The fact that there were only three other guests at this 100+ room hotel may have had something to do with it too. They would probably give Mikey Mouse a discount.

This hotel has memories for me, all good. Many places in Mexico are like old friends, and this is just one of them. Most have changed, both psychically and physically. Here, at least, there is no pall of fear or negativity. That was not true in San Fernando.

At the hotel desk, I started a conversation with a guest, Hector, who lives in Cd. Valles. I was telling Claudia, the head desk clerk, about how Gogorrón hot springs helps my psoriasis. Then I related that I had a dream to import the water and sell it but the government had told me that they owned the water and could not export it. He laughed. A good friend of his owns a hacienda there and will sell me all the water I want. He laughed, �We will send you a pipa (tanker truck) full of water from Mexico. Most people would want a pipa full of cocaine or marijuana, but you want water!�

He said it was dangerous in the north of Mexico right now. His wife used to shop in McAllen but does not drive there now. Yet, he drove here to Tecolutla. �That is different, it is Veracruz.� So the whole safety issue depends on where you are standing.

In no way can anyone say that all of Mexico is unsafe. Can someone say that the border states are unsafe? Yes, but with a caveat. We drove the Gulf Coast highway. There was so much traffic on it that the idea of an Â?unauthorized roadblockÂ? was laughable. I have talked to a lot of Mexicans who drive these roads. Up North we have the idea that Mexicans are Â?living in fearÂ? afraid to drive the roads. That is invalid. There were hundreds of them on the road with us. The biggest danger is some man-eating potholes and drunk drivers. So far we have avoided both.

We have seen a lot of military presence. We see that as a good thing. Just for fun I went up to a soldier at a gas station and asked him how far it was to Veracruz. He told me, but he was serious. I guess I would be too, if I had his job. But the Mexican people I meet are still as friendly and joking as ever. So, people are aware, but not living in fear as the newspapars report.

Finally got started on our adventure a day late. Those who know me are not surprised. Writing from the breakfast table at Hotel Escondida on the highway before the bypass of Cd. Victoria.

Stopped in San Fernando, Tam. It was late and we wanted to be tucked away before nightfall. San Fernando used to be a fun place to go, so close the the border, so friendly, so laid-back.

Alas, there was a psychic pall over the town. As you know, there was an unpleasant event there a few months ago. We were not worried about that, it was in the past, but the dark negativity hung like a low-lying cloud over the citizens.

The first hotel we saw, one I had written about 20 years ago when I wrote for The Monitor newspaper, was a jumble of broken glass and busted-down doors. The nice one next door, which had been the source of many fond memories was padlocked. Since it used to have a jacuzzi, I knocked anyway. A reserved woman told me they were closed. I asked if there were other hotels in town. She named one.

"Is it the best," I asked?

"No," she laughed, "but it is the easiest to find.

Apparently she doubted the great "Mexico" Mike's pathfinding ability. Wise woman.

It was rather sad. I asked at a store for hotels. At first no one wanted to talk to me, but a little old abuela told me about a hotel that was very "tranquilo" but way out of town. Nah, I thought.

I got back to the car and my companion, a former policeman and soldier, said he did not get a warm fuzzy feeling from San Fernando. I agreed and we moved on. We did not feel unsafe, not at all. If was just, "Why would we want to be around bad vibes?"

So, while I would not let the current situation discourage anyone from driving, I think I would avoid San Fernando. The negative energy still permeates the area..

Onward! There are more adventrues to have.

One reason for this trip is to escape the incredible, soul-sucking negativity of people on the border. It is not that they are bad people, it is just that all most of them concentrate on is the bad news coming from Mexico. I've been around Mexico for 40 years. People here have always been more negative than those up North. Right now the negativity just seems to be more intense. Negativity and fear feed upon themselves. Yep, only an idiot would say there are no bad things happening in Mexico. At the same time, there are a lot of bad things happening in the USA.

If a Mexican citizen wandered into a known gang stronghold in Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles or even where I grew up in Lopezville, TX (near McAllen, TX) and got shot, would it be an international incident? Lo me dudo.

Many of my friends acted shocked that I was going to Mexico. You'd have thought I said I was going to vacation in beautiful downtown Beirut. I have not had so many people praying for me since I was a teenager and needed an army of angels to keep me alive. Their concern is touching, but misplaced. The funniest was one person who told me about people killed in Monterrey. I said, "How many people get killed in Houston or Los Angeles every weekend?" She did not miss a beat. She said, "Oh those are bad people, probably involved in drugs." You can't win when talking to negative people. It's best not to try.

I will be driving all three coasts (Gulf coast, Caribbean coast, Pacific coast) of Mexico in the next 40 days. But these postings will be more than a trip of places visited. Any long trip to Mexico is an exploration of oneself, a journey of discovery. At least that is how it has always been for me. I go not just to see the scenery but to allow the destinations to evoke something in me that needs to be birthed. I travel to meet local people, to learn how they live and think, not just to see sights. I would like to introduce you to the people of Mexico who make the places worth visiting.

Don't worry, there will be plenty of what, where and why typical of useful travel writing. This won't be just the emoting of some sixty year-old belatedly finding himself. But it will be a deeper journey than many blogs I have read. There is a place for everyone on the Internet. This is my place and I invite you to join me. Mi blog es su blog.