Welcome to the world where you make your own rules.
If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere.
Marilyn Monroe
(This post belongs to a series, “Crossing Borders”- Family Road Trip to Costa Rica)
Ahhh. Amazing.
We’re doing it. We’re really driving through Mexico. And with our family of six.
It was doubted, decried, disparaged and denigrated – the roads, the danger, the irresponsibility, the impossibility.
- Smooth as silk
1st Broken Rule – You can’t do the ‘impossible’
But we were doing it, right this moment. And we were lovin’ it!
Smooth as silk beneath our tires, the road wandered like a ribbon through an alluring countryside while we cruised along at a speedy 100 kph (about 70 mph).
Vineyards stretched as far as the eye could see, reined in by rows of brightly flowering hedges.
Scattered like Skittles across the landscape, haciendas were eye candy in their vivid oranges, greens, blues and pinks.
The sun shone brightly down upon us from her place in the sky, radiantly proud to reveal Mexico to our eager eyes.
- Me encanta MickeyD’s
Road signs proclaim Bienvenidos! Buen Viaje! or an often reminder, Me Encanta McDonalds. (Even though we never actually see a McDonalds)
We only stop to pay our toll fee (about US$4), which accounts for the quality of the roads, or to us el baño. It’s 30 pesos for toilet paper, but luckily we brought our own.
Hermosillo, the capital city of the state of Sonora with a population of about 700k, comes from the Spanish word hermoso (beautiful).
Having last eaten at Jack-in-the-Box in the States, we set out in search of some food to feed our hungry brood of children.
Hermosillo is large, and I’m astonished by its ‘modernity’.
Having rarely traveled outside the U.S., I’m amazed to discover a thriving, contemporary metropolis.
I thought this was the third world. It’s not what I imagined it to be like at all.
2nd Broken Rule – The world is defined by my reality
We’re taking this journey so we can discover first hand what it is really like outside our little corner of the Earth.
We pass McDonalds (finally), Arby’s, Burger King and other ‘familiar faces’. We finally choose KFC, a little hesitant I suppose to jump right into to the local food, but also anxious to get back on the road by going ‘drive thru.’
Our drive thru plans don’t go as expected however, when we’re reminded again that my husband doesn’t speak ‘fast food’ Spanish. He tries to order popcorn chicken and chicken strips, but what he should have ordered was ‘pope-corrrn cheek-un,’ and ‘cheek-un strreeps’
Again he goes inside to get the order right, since it’s easier communicating face-to-face.
Waiting in the car, the kids and I are entertained by two boys who want to wash our windshield. I decline, but we smile at each other, and I show them my laptop and camera, which entirely fascinates.
At length the hubby returns, and we get back on the road toward San Carlos as the sun begins to set in lovely Hermosillo.
It’s only our first day driving in Mexico and already we’re breaking Rule #1- Don’t drive at night.
3rd Broken Rule – Follow the rules inflexibly.
- Marina Terra Hotel
Our yearning to be wake up on the beach outweighs our fear of night travel.
With smooth toll roads free from potholes, and no livestock or people on the road (thus far in our viaje), we figure we’ll be safe.
Arriving in San Carlos, it’s way past dark, but the town is still hoppin’. It’s so busy in fact that we stop at three hotels before we find a vacancy.
The winner is the MarinaTerra Hotel. It’s beautiful and luxurious, a little pricier than we wanted to spend, but when you have a car full of kids that have been driving all day long, you take what you can get.
(This post belongs to a series, “Crossing Borders”- Family Road Trip to Costa Rica)
