Mexico - the beginning

Hola,
For the second installment of my travel odyssey, I decided a Central American trip was in order, as I love the food, culture, sports (futbol), and the amazing variety of scenery that this region has to offer. This would also be a great opportunity to brush up on my once-competent Spanish skills that are slowly beginning to fade away. So, I did a little bit of research and booked my trip just a week before leaving, deciding that I'd fly into Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, stay throughout Mexico for about a month and a half, then possibly visit El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala and/or Honduras before flying home from San Pedro Sula, Honduras in early December. This trip will offer me some amazing sights and chances to meet some hospitable people, yet it won't be as easy as my last trip. I won't have a van in which to sleep or store some of my stuff. I won't be 100% confident with the language, at least not in the beginning, though my Spanish should come back to me fairly quickly. There isn't the well-travelled tourist network around most corners. I will have to watch for pickpockets and thieves more than before. Also, I have to worry about cleanliness and disease and all of that fun stuff. So, I actually did something proactively (which is rare for me), and I went to a travel doctor the day before I left. (This was just slightly proactive, but you can't just expect a drastic change in my procrastination habits just because I had tons of free time.) I got immunized for typhoid and Hepatitis A, both of which can be easily contracted through dirty water, fruit or other foods, since I know that I won't be able to resist the roadside food stands that I dream about. I also got some malaria pills for Guatemala and Honduras, though I'm hesitant to take them after hearing bad stories about the effects of them on dreams and causing depression, etc, though my doctor assured me that this type of pill doesn't have those side effects....we'll see.

Anyway, I boarded the plane from Atlanta, and we made a quick stop through Mexico City. As my friend Josh recently noted, the sprawling urbanity of the place is unfathomable. We descended through the clouds of smog onto a city that seemed to never end. In every direction, houses are packed together up and down the hillside and throughout the valleys. Some appear to be nice neighborhoods, but the majority look like tiny boxes from above, each one built flush against the next one. Parts of the tiny neighborhoods reminded me of Lego structures from my childhood, which then spurred a brilliantly compassionate chain of thoughts in my mind, wondering if that grey castle Lego set that my brother and I completed as children would be nearly as hard now that I'm older. I personally hope not, but you never know. This follows a whole line of thinking from a few weeks ago when I hooked up my old Nintendo and realized that many of those games are now ridiculously easy as compared to my epic struggles during my childhood with the goombas, Bowsers and other 8-bit opponents. So, after equal time reminiscing about my plight with the animated villains and the poverty and pollution of one of the largest cities in the world, I boarded the second leg of my flight over to the tip of the Baja California peninsula, Cabo San Lucas. It was a nice change in light of my recent long-haul flights to arrive at my final destination only 7 hours after departing, compared with a 24 hour trip down to Fiji and a 26 hour return trip from Sydney.

Descending upon the small airport of Cabo, I saw the rugged mountainous landscapes covered in sage brush and cacti, leaving no doubt that this area truly is a desert oasis. I thought that I'd probably stay in San Jose del Cabo, a smaller, less touristed town near the airport, but I had no plans as I arrived at the airport, taking in the hot, humid air. Yes, I know that humid air doesn't fit the description of a desert, but it was. It's hurricane season here, ok. Which in Cabo basically means that there might be just a bit of rain. I passed through the customs area, consisting of a few guys in military uniforms that looked me up and down and told me to pass. Apparently the guy had x-ray vision, which was fine with me. Next, I entered the last room of the airport, filled with pushy taxi companies and tour group operators. I mentioned that I wanted to take the bus to San Jose and somehow got hooked up with a man behind the booth telling me about the discounts that he could get me on different activities. I could get the VIP price (half-off) any of the cruises, excursions, etc if I just attended a free breakfast the next day. Not being one to turn down free food or discounts, I took the bait, and then I got more of the details of the timeshare presentation that I'd be attending. He also mentioned to me that if I was looking for a place to stay, he could offer up a room at his house in Cabo. Of course it sounded shady, and I was more than a bit suspicious, but something about Cervando, a Mexican that grew up in LA and spoke perfect English, convinced me that it would be alright, so I agreed to go with him, knowing that I knew his name and where he worked if something did go awry. (For you amateur travellers out there, this is probably not at all a good idea, but whatever.)

So, Cervando told me that he had to wait for one more plane to come in before he could go, so he and I, along with his buddy Neftali, went to a local bar to kill some time. I had to circle back around the airport and meet them in front, since it was against the law for them to be seen walking out with me and just renting his place to me on the side. Cautious of the Federalis (police), we made our way out and met up again with Neftali. We soon came upon a dirt road and took it up to a concrete building with a bit of green paint. This local 'bar' seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, yet just a minute or two from the airport. Of course, I was a bit suspicious at this point, but I decided that I'd trust the situation and go in with these guys. Inside was a quiet bar with two pool tables, a jukebox and about 4 other people. We had another hour before the next flight, so we played a few games of pool, and Cervando turned out to be a ringer. At one point, Neftali disappeared, so I was a bit suspicious and even walked outside and checked to see if anyone was checking out the car in which I had stored my bags or anything like that, but everything checked out. Neftali came back, and he told me that his boss had called, so he had to walk outside, so that he wouldn't hear the music. I calmed down a little after that, being able to keep an eye on both of them and feeling a bit of trust growing. We had a drink or two, including one which I apparently bought for the flirtatious bar-girl, though I didn't even hear when she asked me this. Cervando warned me about that, but it was only a $2 misunderstanding, so it wasn't a big deal.

Soon we had to go back to the airport where I waited outside, watching the hotel and package operators play around and jockey for position just as the travellers came off the plane and through the baggage claim. I talked with a few of them and another traveller from St. Louis that seemed to be trying to relive his college frat-boy days with stories and drinking and partying. Within a few minutes of landing, Cervando and Neftali were done working for the night, and we all got into Neftali's car and departed on the 45 minute drive to Cabo San Lucas. They entertained me with the one radio station of the area (for a minute, Cervando was excited to find a second one, only to realize that it was the same station somehow transmitting through a different signal) and by playing songs from Neftali's cell phone, but I couldn't see much along the dark road, passing by the occasional lights of a resort along the coast before continuing through the desert. Once into town, they gave me a quick driving tour of downtown, complete with cat-calls to the attractive or semi-attractive American tourists that were walking the streets with clever pick-up lines shouted from the open window such as "Hey ladies, can you tell me the way to California?" and "I love you...oooohhhh." Surprisingly this didn't amount to any dates or even responses for my new friend, so we continued up the road. We passed the obnoxious neon lights and loud music of Squid Roe and Cabo Wabo, the two most popular party spots in town, and we quickly made our way up into the hills that surround the city, spread around a picturesque bay. About ten minutes from town we arrived at Cervando's house, a small two-story cement structure in a neighborhood of many similar looking houses. It wasn't impressive, but it was clean enough. He showed me to my room, which was just that - a small room with only a mattress on the floor. He gave me a sheet, and I was set for the night. Though I had a better feeling about the situation, I still woke up a few times during the night, looking around for my bags. The next morning, I woke up early and got ready for my day. I'd begin with a timeshare presentation, and who knows what would follow.