November 25, 2011 - We found Kevin and Dan today hitch-hiking in Mexico.

11/25/2011

Started our day in the sunshine, lots of it. We got in Guaymus in which we finally got to see the Ocean as it’s a major shrimp port. Not much else there so we moved on and picked up two young American men hitch-hiking. One in particular had blazing blue eyes and reminds me of my son Emerson. His name was Dan Petty and has come off a 6 year hitch in the Army about a year ago. The other was named Kevin Mohler and together they were headed to Argentine Patagonia to follow their passions of rock climing the mountains there. Nice kids albeit wicked smelly shoes from the torrential rains last night. Good thing about Dan was that he had grown up in Venezula where his parents taught Spanish and English, so he spoke fluent Spanish which has turned out to be extremeley helpful.

The topography has flattened out significantly and the mountains are getting smaller, fewer and more far off. The trash has subsided some, but the guys selling stuff on the side of every speed bump has probably increased. They sell everything from mangos, to shrimp, candy and even one guy was selling parrots and another young women to the truckers.

The armed police hang around the toll booths although they’re quite friendly and quite often flash us a PEACE sign which of course is quickly returned by us. There is also military which ride around in trucks of two with armed men in the back, totally dressed in black including covered faces. Other then the black uniforms and the sandbags which are quite intimidating they actually remind me of our camouflage weekend warriors in the US Guard Services who are always ready but not always called upon.

So having Daniel with us has been God sent even if these kids don’t believe in God. Kevin keeps me laughing, he could be irritable if he wasn’t smart and funny. Kevin is an Aethist who was raised a Catholic. My son, Sterling is an Aethist who was rasied Congregational Protestant and Daniel was raised in a Protestant Church in Venuzala. You can only imagine the wonderful, charged, imaginative, political, religous, musical conversations we’ve been having as we travel down the road, which for the most part are dirty and somewhat boring.

The first night they slept behind the RV, which we parked behind a Pemex and the cops came after a couple of hours to wake us up and tell us it wasn’t safe for them to sleep outside, so one went under the van and the other went and got up on a shed roof and we all went back to sleep. Like WalMart at home, Pemex is the only gas station anywhere and everywhere in Mexico and boy do they come in handy. They all have clean bathrooms which is important down here and they don’t mind if you stay in their nearby lots.

Coke pretty much owns Mexico. Every taco stand has red plastic tables and chairs which coke labels on them, as well as advertising, billboards, etc. everywhere. Sterling finally tried one for 50 pesos (40 cents) because everyone said it was better because it was made with sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup but as far as I’m concerned it still was icky coke. ce le vie!

And so I end this day after Thanksgiving with a Spanish word of the day Vibradoes = not what you’re thinking, they are little speed bumps slightly worse then a back, washboard, country road in Spring but the come in about 9 strips that end in a wicked giant one which always comes before the sign telling you it’s there. Rattles your teeth right out of your head.