The Adventures of Bexico, Bubba y Max: miercoles el 14 de diciembre de 2011

Buenos dias from Huatulco!!

It is 910am and I am waiting for the power to be shut off. More on that later.

Here are the notes from yesterday…my 12.5 hour and 900 kilometer day.

And after you are done reading about yesterday…keep reading about today!!

AND? Yes there are some fotos!!!

Left Querétaro at 615am and found ruta 57 in a snap. Great way to start the day!!

What’s up with this? An upset tummy the second I left the hotel!! So..time gas up (and out…ja ja ja…TMI?).

Pemex…gas…nasiest baño I have ever been in!! Travel tip…bring own TP…I did.

Sunbreak at 650am

7am Federales…18 wheeler…first mordida of the day

Peeps at the toll booth say 60 km to Arco Norte…the first place I might get lost!!

Things I had forgotten about….mecanicos put oil lamps at the end of their lot so you know they are available at night

I have seen these before and mentioned them…but like the Sasquatch…no fotos. I came across a hombre driving an 18 wheeler chasis…no cab…no windshield…just a crate for a seat and a helmet!! These are new chassis headed some where…but is there no better way?

730am….I am ON the Arco!!! When you get onto the Arco, you drive through a booth…press a button, get a card and give the cashier the card when you exit…200 km later. Kinda like pay parking

Big rig going 130 km/hr…yikes

Huge power plant or refinery…8 stacks of pollution

Fog again…I can see 100 feet ahead

Federale road stop…huddled under a canopy keeping warm…I drove through at 100 km/hr

750am 177km to Puebla

Look right…Mexico City….smog in the valley

Over pass to no where in the middle of no where on the Arco

And to prove there IS snow in Mexico.

And who knew about this?

Yup…an active volcano!!

Derrumbes…rocks falling off side of road? Translation is “landslide”…who knew?

Into San Martin…mordida last time….NOT this time!!! I did not get lost and only 4 km to get back onto 57

57…highway stops…construccion and then toll booth…50 cars 30 minutes to get to the booth and pay. Meanwhile? Tons of peeps trying to sell dulces (sweets) and such…non for me but EVERY one of them loved Moonie and howled. Tough job and I was glad to bring some smiles to these peeps!!

Lots of Feds after the toll booth…pulling peeps over for who knows what.

Virgen de Guadalupe runners and bikes…blocking a lane…reminds me of DVP (in Toronto) when they shut it down. Who allows a major highway to be shut down?

100 plus bikers (where are they going?) and lots of trucks…some of the trucks have displays and the others have people sleeping in the back

1.1 million peeps in Puebla

Very windy when I took one of the mountain fotos. Warm in the car because of el sol…but brrrr outside. Everyone wearing sweaters, pants and jackets

Zona de niebla…fog

Up the mountain and then down the mountain. They have rampa de emergencias…not very long…and if you don’t stop, you are going over a cliff!!

Rampa de frenado…braking…who knew? It is an emergency stopping area for big rigs.

What a mountain pass between Cordoba y Orizaba…biggest and highest I have seen in a long time

2^nd on ramp to nowhere…lots of them together…like they are waiting for a road that may one day be built?

So far 440 km in 5 hours…not bad. But stay tuned…as I drove highway 185 between highways 145 and then 200 into Huatulco…it was 150 km and it took 3 hours!!

Now that was ugly. The road is one lane and sometimes one lane shared by both directions. Sorely needed road work as I recalled this from my drive to Canada…but it seems they decided to do all 125 km of it in one shot. And then throw in a few dozen tope…enough said.

For the day…100 tope. Would have been 500 if I went the coastal route.

Bombom con creama? Lots of them for sale on the side of the road.

The roads after Cordoba have certainly tested the new leaf springs and rear shocks!! I must say…3 days in Mexico, missed seeing only one bache (pothole) and one tope. Oops.

Cordoba is a coffee area…selling beans, liquor, dulce etc. At least 50 booths. As you bomb by, everyone waves a packet of coffee at you.

Was not sure if I had missed an exit…so at the toll booth I asked where ruta 145 was…good thing I know some of my numbers in español!!

Third day in a row I see the caravan of new Kenworth trucks!!

Stopped at Pemex…had a good chat with 3 hombres. They all want to talk to you, but only if you can TRY to speak español. I told them about the other Pemex

Pemex is not pronounced Pay-mex or Pee-mex but Peh-mex

1210…adios to the last of the pavo…sandwich time!!

I do not think Mexicans are taught about pollution? Trucks spewing exhaust and a guy burning off his sugar cane. I wonder if they still do that in Hawaii?

Small VW pick up with no rear window. Instead? Bars welded across…no one in…or out?

Tons of piña here. Lots of peeps selling both the fruita y jugo…some hombre using a machine with one big a** lever to squeeze the juice.

Drove by a sign that stated this region was the number 1 region of piña growing in all of Mexico. Who knew?

Before I get onto 145…I will only be 100 km or so away from the Golfo de Mexico.

In am headed to a baaaaaad tank of gas. Halfway through and I am at 140 km vs the normal 200 plus….argh.

Improvise? Need lights to mark road through the construction area? How about red pails with a light bulb under them? And the string is 50 pails long!!

Drove through Benito Juarez where 300 people live. It is the 3^rd Benito Juarez I have driven through today.

Yahooo…the state of Oaxaca!! Where is my first military checkpoint?

Guy with no legs…in a wheelchair…at the tope…looking for money.I called him a faker and gave him some coin. KIDDING about the faker part.

Overpass to nowhere!!

Carpinteros making tables at the side of the road…is this only a Oaxacan thing? I must be getting close to home!!

I “lost” 15 minutes at the checkpoint military…but it was a good 15 as I made 2 new compañeros and they wanted to hear about Max, my past career and the drive.

Bex….remind me to tell you what the soldiers said about hijo vs hija…and they were looking for puro (cigar) as that is what they expect from a new padre. Chocolate if you have a hija.

Hey guess who is about to have niño #3? Silverio y espousa!! I could not understand when…but it is either in a week, or they have known a week.

Stopping for gas is like a Nascar unscheduled pit stop for a flat tire. Everyone passes you and now you have to go and pass them again. It is all a game…I am good at the game!!

Chatted up the guy installing tope…”no mas por favor” and he laughed and mumbled something about safety!!

As I drove through the poblados (villages), I see a ton of niñas con niños but the kids all look clean and healthy.

Last tank of gas? 270 km todos!! Yikes.

And Bex will understand this…it was a Holiday Inn situation too…perfect timing!!

Not exactly what Bob Barker had in mind…lots of dogs “sleeping” on the side of the road. Sad.

Military checkpoint….my goatee must have scared them…I was waved through

Wow was it windy coming down the last pass. The camioneta was rocking. Oh….100’s of windmills in this valley!!! Smart thinking!!

Here is the sign folks…Huatulco in 207 km!! It is 430pm and that 207 is going to take 2.5 hours. And yup…that is what it did take!!

Last toll booth before home…$27 pesos!!

5pm…130 km more to go….and this is one CRAZY winding road with some CRAZY drivers and the sun is going down…after 5670 km don’t let it end this way!!! Ja ja ja

So…home at 7pm, unloaded my suitcase, turned on the fridge, threw in a laod of wash and headed out. Los Portales for dinner…hello quesadillas…and then hola to the boys at Gabriels. And while there who walks by? Hola to Randy, Karen y amigas!! Small town of Huatulco!!

Then it was home and lights out!!

Now…here are the notes (and fotos) from today, miercoles 14 de diciembre de 2011.

And how was the first day back home? Awesome would be one word to describe it!!

I was lights out at 10pm or so…ear plugs were probably not needed, but our bedroom window does face Carrizal so it can get a bitt (heex4) noisy. But were they needed? Nope..not even sure if it was even noisy last night.

But what happens to the internal alarm clock after getting up at 530am for the past 6 days? At least it let me sleep in until 715am!!

Hey…320pm and almost right on schedule…the power is back. And I did not see any electrocuted Mexicans!!! Bonus for them and us.

Back to the day….

So up at 715am and time to do a broom and mop. Three months away and the place was dusty and just had some floor build up. Then it was off to the wash and wiping down a few counters etc.

I did have a quick phone call with Bex and even though it was muy temprano…early, she was up and Max was snoring in bed with Oma.

I need to give my sister-in-law Kim a big thank you. She borrowed a car seat, installed it and gave Bex y Max a ride to the airport. And then after helping Bex to the check in ect…got us a score on the extra and overweight, second suitcase!!! Thanks a lot Kim…made both of our lives less stressfull!!!

So the stress of the drive, the rush to clean the condo and unpack…then come home and see a note that there would be no power today from 9am-330pm!!! Huh? Good thing I did not buy too many perishables and they managed to stay cold in the freezer until the power returned.

I headed for the gym…hola to Silverio at the gate as well as a quick catch up with Hector y Marciano. Last night it was a catch up with a slimmed down Ricardo and his papa Marcelino…who should run for strata council Presidente!!

Nice clima…not too hot at 930am and the sun was out…not a cloud in the sky.

First stop…Elder the llantero (?)…tire repair man. He was happy to see me and along with the otra dos hombres (who I have also met many times), we talked about the trip and of course Max!!

Then as I was near the gym…hola to Tony, mi mecanico. He has not been back to work in 3 months plus, due to the finger that was broken when the transmission fell on it!!

Anyway, he is well and drives once a week for 2 hours to Salina Cruz for his physio. He is back to work next week and I will have him deal with the clutch fan, rotate the tires and cambio de filtro y aciete.

Can you believe he said I have put on weight? Ruder…but true!! Ja ja ja

Soooo much español forgotten over 3 months…but it is coming back slowly.

Off to el gimnasio to get back in the shape that meets Tony’s approval!! Paid $1200 pesos for 6 months and found out the gym is closed Dec 24-Jan 1. I asked if I could pay for 5 meses y 3 semanas and the gal (forget name) laughed.

Hola to Hector, his wife and another senorita whose name I forget…but they all wanted to know about Max. The tattoo? Some LOVE it and others are not sure. Have I broken some taboo by having the hecho en Mexico symbol tattooed?

Quick work out as I was to meet Samuel y Moises and have them help me move the stuff from the camioneta to our condo…hello 3^rd floor.

They were right on time…smiling as usual and Samuel was still wearing the shoes I gave him in September. Moises was now eyeing the pair I had on and I told him I needed another 6 meses mas and I would give them to him.

I gave Samuel some $$ to grab some Coke and then we unloaded. It only tool 30 minutes or so and I gave them $50 pesos each for helping out. Nice hombres and we had some good catch up.

Here they are antes unloading the camioneta. In the picture, Moises is on the left….izquierda.

That was one full camioneta!! The big box is our satellite dish!!

I left everything where it was unloaded and took the camioneta to get cleaned…inside and out. It took an hour…we got the bird carcass out of the rim…and the truck looks great again. All for the low price of $70 pesos and a $10 propina.

Back home and started the organizing. Currently I only have the 4 big blue bins to deal with and then the living room will be clear. Max’s room? It has a bunch of “stuff” in it and I am sure Madre Bex will want to organize it in her own way. Phew…ja ja ja

Bex had done a great job closing down B10 and I am on the 3^rd load of wash cleaning all the towels and sheets that had been draped over things to keep them dust free.

The plan?

Off to Che and also pay the Telmex bill. Then it will be home for dinner, finish the unpacking and then maybe hook up the new Blu-ray player!!

I have sent Roman an email and hope to have the satellite installed soon!! Hello NFL con Max!!

I will give the place a vacuum (once I find it) and mañana a quick mop so we are all ready for mi familia!!

Where are they? They made it through security and with the plane delayed 90 minutes, they have time to chill before heading to Mexico City (DF) where they will now land at almost 10pm Mex time.

They have to pick up luggage, clear customs and then get a porter to help them to the Hilton, which is inside the airport. Their flight mañana leaves at 850am and will be here before 10am. Hello pool time before noon!!!

I had an email with Mike at Nissan and he asked me to send him the good and bad news. I sent him two emails and have not heard back…ja ja ja. Stay tuned.

No fun? How about the landlord at our North Van condo. Argh did she make our lives stressful the last few days. A poor communicator and businesswoman…and I will say nothing else until we get our damage deposit back…possibly minus $250 for a BS elevator charge and possibly more for cleaning she felt was not up to snuff.

BS BS BS…stay tuned.

Ok…off to Che etc. I am half way finished Tuesday’s blog update and will finish that when I get back.

Saludos

Forgot to tell you about my 45 minutes of pool time. “You back” from the friggin puro smoker…but I am trying a new approach…the new friendlier Bubba. And there was a lady who always remembers our names and knew we were away for Max. Anyway..she wanted to be filled in , so I obliged.

Had a good float and only 45 minutes so I didn’t burn…and because I have a ton of work to do in organizing the condo!!

Ok…paid the Telmex for diciemebre and we will see if the speed is fast enough for Bexico’s projects.

Then onto Nissan to say hola to all mis amigos. Loco Pablo, Carlos the service manager and (darn) one of the parts guys whose names I cannot remember. That might be embarrassing as I have regalo for both of them!! Ja ja ja

They too think the issue is the clutch fan…no idea if they have ever changed one. Yikes. They were all busy so I will return and headed off to Che.

Big by there…and had to use Visa as my new Amex (con chip) does not work in Mexico!!! Argh…so much for travel points. Loaded up for Bex and myself and we have such a big fridge y freezer…it is wonderful!!

Home and some more wash, an email from Mike at Bby Nissan and la cena. Simple dinner tonight. Some ground beef and Heinz 57 bought in Nogales AZ. I will have some on a big a** rib eye soon!!

What did Mike say? He did not answer all my questions (yet) but did say if I get the fan to him before October 2012, I will get a refund. Mis padres might be coming down for a visit. Can you say hola to a clutch fan “carry on” baggage? Ja ja ja

Did I mention that I did not see Daniel mi amigo from Fonatur? And that his section of town does not look like it has been touched for a while? Maybe vacaciones? Stay tuned.

Just back from laying out some of the Terro. Home one days and the lil’hormigas are here and will drive Bex batty…so I try to be proactive. These are the smmmmmalllll ants but this Terro stuff works wonder. Grabbed four containers of it on my way up through USA.

Ok gang…that was my miercoles. It is 7pm…finish dinner, finish wash, put away some items from the blue bins, maybe hook up new Blu-ray and new speakers…and hit the sack.

Bex y Max will now be arriving in Mex City around 1030pm. Ugh. Full flight and crappy seats she texted….not sure what that meant (via text), but she will be home at 10am tomorrow and I will gladly take over Max-duty and give her a rest.

Oh…some fotos?

There used to be two large, and dead, trees here. No mas.