December 9, 2003 San Luis Potosi

Would ya believe I´m back in Mexico. Beginning a month long jaunt
through my old stomping grounds. Because, ya know, I used to work down
in Mexico.

And wow, has it changed. Or have I changed? Or both?

Well, lady luck was going my way yesterday. I caught the city bus to the
train station with scant seconds to spare. Had the light been green, I
would have missed it. Then I managed to catch the 10am bus from Austin
to the border. I didn´t even get there until 10.05, it was running late,
so I lucked out there, and then bought a night bus ticket to San Luis and
was the first person to buy a ticket. The thing was almost completely
empty. So much for my fears of not getting a bus seat!

So that all went really well. Nuevo Laredo isn´t to nice a town, but
here in San Luis its really beautiful. The architecture is fabulous with
little squares all over the place and tree lined boulevards, tons of
pedestrian streets, and clean. My only beef, and its kinda a big one, is
there are no outdoor, al fresco type cafes or bars or restaurants. The
weather sure calls for it. Sitting in these cafe´s is always one of my
favorite things to do.

So the altitude here is really high, 6000ft, and I´m feeling it. I´m a
bit sick....either from the night bus or getting ready, or the altitude.
I´m guessing a little of all, but a lot of the altitude. I feel terribly
dehydrated and can´t seem to drink enuf water ....something I recall from
my days working in the Plant, which was also pretty high.

So yeah, Mexico seems different. It seems, so far, so clean. And it
seems expensive. The prices in my book, circa 1999, are almost double.
I certainly remember it being less expensive, but I was also on the
company expense acct, and had a job, and hadn´t been to such places as
India and Africa where it really is cheap. I expected it to be more
expensive, so no big deal. The two towns I´m going to next are much less
expensive as they´re farther south.

Discovered a new dish today, a Poza, which is a kind of soup. It has
great flavor and its almost more like a mexican stew. Bit spicy, loaded
with flavor, and it was the perfect fit for the little cold I´m fighting
thru.

I really enjoyed walking aroudn today taking pix of all the churches and
arcades, they call San Luis the city of Portals, and would like to spend
a little more time here but it seems pretty boring. I haven´t spoken a
word of English since I arrived, haven´t seen a sole tourist, and while
sometimes a little solitude is nice, I´d prefer some company on my first
day out.

Ah, what else? Ah yes, hassle. I got pretty sick of some of the hassle
in India and Egypt. Goes with the territory. I had forgotten how laid
back Mexico is. In India, you can´t walk 5 steps without someone asking
you for a taxi, or begging, or trying to get you to buy something. When
I arrived at the bus station this morning, I walked past the taxi stand
and did not get a single ¨Taxi?¨which is one of the most amazing feelings
I´ve ever had. Not good, not bad, just kinda odd, like you expect to
hear it but don´t. So that´s nice. I guess gringos and Americans are
so common here that they don´t bother them. There are also posted prices
everywhere which is nice .... don´t ahve to haggle over everything....and
also have had some conversations with some locals that, while difficult
for me, have been rewarding. I really missed speaking the local language
in lots of other gountries I was in.

So trying to decide what to do next. I think I may leave for Oaxaca
tomorrow, but I want to visit a friend in Puebla for the big festival on
Friday. The two things dont´really go together so I have to figure out
how to handle that.


Other than that - it feels great to be back in Mexico. The freedom of
travel is flowing in my veins too and that feels good. And its pretty
warm, although I suspect I´ll be glad i packed my sleeping bag while
sleeping tonight! The altitude! Maybe its a hint....telling me to get
to the beach...hmm...??

Off to get some sleep and get healthy!!!