Italy is my favorite country ever. Ever. Ever. Ever.
Really, what is there not to love about this?
I also love British people. And the beaches in Oman.
But Mexico is next on the list. Definitely in my top five. I really like Mexico. Me gusta mucho.
Aside from low riders, tacos, Mexican decorative knick knacks, mariachis and Norteno music, (to name just a few things I love) here's why Mexico is awesome...
School buses without toilets take you four hours up mountain roads...
... so you can worship at the feet of a giant Jesus statue.
Mean little mules hang out on the roadsides...
... and tempt idiot tourist women to try to pet them.
Their carnival games are the best...
... if you hit the target, a Mexican puppet accordion band plays.
The skeleton isn't scary...
... it's a national symbol. That's cool.
The archaeological ruins are really fascinating...
... and even include sacrificial sites!
Mexican weddings are the bomb...
... and so are Estudiantina singers at rehearsal dinners in central Mexico.
The taxis are pick-up trucks in the countryside...
... to give you a natural, wind-kissed look.
There are some pretty amazing cities...
... and some gorgeous views.
And you can also take photos like this...
... which I took from the deck of a private bungalow in Mazunte.
You can pay the equivalent of $5.00...
... to see wild sea turtles and dolphins in their natural environment.
You can also still see Gremlins driving around...
... which is a different type of endangered species. But just as valuable in my opinion.
Plus the kids are cute...
... cute cute cute!
You can chill out on a hammock all day long...
... looking out over the ocean from your patio.
And you can literally have drinks on the beach...
... and have I mentioned Mexico is the home of the margarita?
So... last Saturday, when my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and I went to Nogales, Mexico, I discovered yet another reason to love Mexico.
It goes without saying that Mexican food is amazing, and we had a wonderful, delicious, and heavenly lunch at this cave restaurant called La Roca that is built half into the cliff (which I highly recommend if heading down south... it's worth the drive just for lunch).
Here are a couple of pictures...
Really, it's nice. I'd go back just for this place.
Plus there was nice shopping in the plaza below the restaurant, as my sister-in-law discovered...
She's an interior designer so this was right up her alley.
My brother wasn't quite as enthused...
... but he was a pretty good sport for a guy.
However, it's not the lunch and shopping that I'm writing about... it's what happened after lunch and shopping.
To get to La Roca, we had to cross some train tracks from the border crossing area. And I mean, we literally crossed the tracks (no overpass or underpass).
I made some smart comment like, "Wouldn't it suck if a train came right now?"
And my brother said, "Well, it'll hit that wall at the border so I don't think it'll be going very far."
We all laughed at the dead-end tracks, felt relieved to know a train wouldn't be coming, and went on our way to the restaurant.
So when we'd finished lunch and were heading back to the main part of town (and the border crossing point), we were just a little bit surprised when we got to the tracks and found a very long freight train sitting on them.
Not moving. Just sitting. There was no way around it either because it was too long to find the end in either direction. There was no option but to go over or under it.
You see, this is the reason I love Mexico... it's chaos.
We watched as a group of elderly American snowbirds (with great effort) got up on one car and started shimmying across the back of it to get over the tracks. Another group of girls went under the cars (which seemed pretty dumb to me).
So it was... the only way back into town was to cross over the train. I went first, attempting to hold shopping bags and climb, but I moved as fast as possible...
I didn't really have any desire to be a stow away that afternoon.
Then my mom went, and the train started moving a little. She absolutely freaked out. I started yelling at her that she was en route to Guadalajara. I've never seen a woman over 60 years old move so quickly.
We finally all made it, but seriously, it just confirmed in my mind that Mexico is another world. A lively, colorful, non-safety conscious, adventurous, very cool world.
Viva Mexico!!!
PS - One final reason Mexico is great -- it's the home of the bobble-head dog. My brother bought this guy for me from a street vendor for $3.00...
His name is Taco. And he now resides on my car's dashboard. I love him too.
3 comments:
Mexico must be great - still haven't managed to get there - because anyplace with Gremlins still rolling is the place for me!
My mom had a powder blue Gremlin when I was a child (am I dating myself?) that was always incorporated into the neighborhood obstacle course games we played. Happy day!
You are going to love what I just sent you - it is very appropos to this post :) Let me know when you get your package :)
I have a funny story about La Roca. One time when I was with my parents we went down to Nogales. We crossed over those train tracks to see if there was any good shopping over there (I was obsessed with papier mache fruit and those drinking glasses with the blue rim). Obviously we looked like a bunch of lost gringos. People kept asking us "La Roca?". Not knowing about the restaurant, I knew that they were asking "The Rock?", and naturally I thought they were asking if we wanted to buy crack (hey, it is kind of sketchy across those tracks). So we kept saying "No". We never saw the restaurant, so we never figured out what they were really asking. Then a couple of years later I was reading a guide book that I had and I saw the entry for La Roca. Ugly American strikes again!
Oh, and my sister got married in Mexico, and she had a mariachi band at the wedding!
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